Dave O’Carroll from The People We Meet is something of a modern storyteller, creating videos that are approximately five minutes long that highlight and give a voice to local businesses and people he admires. O’Carroll uses his newly launched brand and website, The People We Meet, as a platform for him to speak to “people who are creating beautiful stuff or people who are helping people”, he explains while speaking to The University Times.
He divulges: “Last summer, I decided I only wanted to work with people who I admire creatively or admire in what they do for other people.” This is what motivated O’Carroll to start The People We Meet, a project he began only last year. The hardest part, he comments, is “realising that I should have done this sooner”. Luckily, The People We Meet is well underway now and has, so far, been a success story in its own right. He elaborates on his goals for the website: “If I can give those people a boost and help them spread their word, that would be amazing, but if the videos can help other people do the same, chase their own dreams, that would be really cool.”
Since they were uploaded in November, his two videos, one featuring Francis St-based coffeeshop Two Pups and the the other featuring event company H&G Creations, have already garnered over 60,000 views. He says that “the reception from the first couple of videos, and the reception overall has been really strong”. This is unsurprising considering the high quality and engaging conversation that takes place in the clips. The videography is captivating, and O’Carroll accurately captures the people being interviewed. His experience in working with branding shows, as O’Carroll has an eye for good design and knowing what audiences look for in video content.
A quick learner, O’Carroll’s knowledge and skills in videography are all self-taught. He elaborates: “I put in loads of research last year on cameras I wanted and what kind of format I wanted, and I just bought the camera and started getting to work.” He explains that it takes him about 40 hours to put together a video between filming and editing, but that he expects this time will decrease the more familiar he gets with the equipment and software. He highlights how enjoyment in the work contributes to his success: “If you enjoy as well, it just comes. You don’t mind spending three hours how to do something small because you can’t wait to execute it.” The effort O’Carroll puts into his videos, however, is apparent – they are coherent and tasteful, tactfully telling the stories of those being interviewed.
He explains that his next videos will focus on One Strong Arm, a Dublin-based letterpress studio that he admires, and illustrator Fuchsia Macaree. O’Carroll is passionate about working with companies, people and brands that he supports, and this is evident in the content has produced so far. He reveals that he was originally concerned about finding companies and brands that he wanted to work with: “I worried ‘are there enough of those people out there?’, but there definitely is, there definitely is, and that’s really cool.”
With more projects and expansion on the horizon, 2017 is set to be an exciting year for O’Carroll. In addition to creating more content for The People We Meet, he reveals that he has just completed a music video for Dublin-based band Tomorrows and it has just been released – an opportunity he wouldn’t have had if not for video experience he gained while working on The People We Meet. He is also working on another music video at the end of this month in Berlin. He highlights that an interest in travel is at the fore of his work and passion. “When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do to, I wanted to create something that would allow me to travel, so there’s definitely going to be a week later this year where I do like three videos in London or where I go to Berlin to do like three videos”, O’Carroll states.
While the People We Meet is only just beginning, O’Carroll has endless opportunities to expand and continue what he is doing to give brands, companies and people a voice. His parting words ring true in the work he does: “I think if you do something you really enjoy and that you really love, good things will happen. That’s the story.”
