"My first tentative steps were on the set of ‘Murder She Wrote’..."

WHEN Karla Goodman’s parents ed away within six months of each other, it forced her to consider her legacy in life.

The actress turned producer/director, who lives near Ballinspittle, described it as a ‘pivotal’ time which saw her think about her purpose in the greater scheme of things.

Her mum and dad were both very influential in her life, and it was her dad who unknowingly inspired her to work in the creative industry.

“Mum died very suddenly in April, 2020, and dad died that October. It was such a huge loss,” said Karla.

“Mum was from Morrough, Offaly, and she met dad in London where she worked as a nurse. She was very stylish and would spend her money on fashion before food! Dad was this gregarious, funny character, the rock of the family. He made amateur family cine-movies when we were young. I around the age of seven helping, as his assistant editor, cutting, splicing and gluing the Super 8 film in the basement of our home in Sussex. 

I didn’t have any idea at the time obviously, but it probably encouraged me to do what I’m doing today.

That is running Made to Measure Films, a full-service video production agency she set up in Cork in 2014, where she’s driven by a ion to tell stories, including, more recently, her own ion projects relating to conservationism.

Among other things, Karla’s worked with the Cork Environmental Forum on a short for International Biodiversity Week. 

“It was such a joy to look at nature through macro lenses and the people that care so ionately for it,” said Karla.

All these things combined won her the ‘Creative Professional’ award at the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year awards last week.

Her career has been diverse and she started as an actress working in theatre, film, and radio with the likes of Miriam Margolyes, Minnie Driver and Michael Palin.

“My first role was playing Emily Brontë, a lovely experience, but I I was also working as a gardener by day! Starting out, it was all about the side-hustle to allow you do what you really wanted to do!”

Fast forward a bit, and she retrained as a broadcaster and worked for Granada, her first foray into TV, and where she met her now husband Colm Crowley (Head of RTÉ Cork).

She worked as a shadow assistant on high profile shows like This Morning With Richard & Judy and Coronation Street, and observing from the gallery taught her some valuable lessons that have made her the success she is today.

Watching the director, I could see that if they kept their cool and confidence, everything tended to run smoothly; I learned that if you treat people well, respect them and their skills, you get the best from them.

She always had a love of photography and after winning a scholarship to study photography and drama at Berkeley University, California while still a student at UCL, London, it was inevitable that she would cross over to behind the camera at some point in her career.

“Colm and I moved from London to Dublin, and my first tentative steps were on the set of Murder She Wrote being filmed at Ardmore Studios, Dublin, where I was one of the assistant directors. It was initiation by fire with gruelling long days and a 5am start to a 11pm wrap. I moved into TV not long after that and found myself working with Tony Robinson (Baldrick) on the much-loved show Time Team for Channel 4. A very different experience, dealing with academics and archaeologists rather than actors and writers. I continued to work in TV production from documentary, drama, to live TV, all of it very different and all of it hugely enjoyable,” Karla re.

The couple moved to Cork when Colm ed RTÉ Cork, and Karla paused her career to start a family.

“I chose that. My work was all or nothing so unless you had huge resources or you couldn’t do both,” she said.

The couple have three children and “they are all very different”, Karla says, “only one of them is interested in acting!”

She loved those years, indulging her creativity at playtime, and said the kids’ parties were like “mini-productions!”

When their children reached national school, she felt herself getting itchy feet.

“When I was involved in filming a black and white movie with the kids while they were in primary school, that actually premiered in the Park Cinema in Clonakilty, I knew it was time to go back to work,” she said.

She up-skilled and launched Made to Measure Films, which allows her flexibility to choose and pitch projects that really appeal to her.

“The premise is to create story-driven videos for businesses, campaigns, short films and documentaries. My role is producer/director and the most thrilling part of that is to take all the hard preproduction work to location and make it happen.

I am great with people, I understand what is necessary to allow them to relax, perform and be authentic in front of the camera, and I love it. 

My theatrical background has given me a very real understanding of working with people, dealing with their story, and directing them to be their best selves within that tale. This includes business and political leaders coaching them to present themselves confidently and concisely.”

Karla has worked with the likes of Graham Norton, filming for his journey with Invivo wines, and is due to work with him again this summer. “I’ve also worked with poets such as the late Derek Mahon, TV personalities and politicians across the parties, and the focus is always on what they have achieved and how they tell it,” she said.

Karla ed Network Cork in 2021 and re initially “showing up tentatively to a few events”.

“Straight away, I could see that it wasn’t one of those brutal, sterile groups, but more like a group of like-minded women who each other. When that happens, it really works, and that’s what is special about Network Cork – it’s this great celebration of women.”

Winning the award last week was a “magical moment” she said.

“We laughed a lot that evening! It meant a lot.”

Her summer is already looking very busy and will include diverse projects such as travelling around the iconic Fastnet to film whale and dolphin activity as part of a Fáilte Ireland project, as well as creating stories about various heritage sites that can be accessed via QR codes.

“I’m also researching a project on Holy Wells in Cork and Kerry. I’ve a big interest in rekindling local heritage, snippets of history that are almost forgotten,” she said.

“We have recently been commissioned by the Heritage Council to film traditional crafts people keeping ancient Irish skills alive and really getting the back story around their ion to champion old crafts.”

Part of Made to Measure’s mission is also to help high profile companies, semi state companies, and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) companies tell their stories using broadcast standard production values.

“Really important strategic messaging by large companies can sometimes get lost in the noise of social media, and needs major campaigns with authority to cut through to the public. That is what we do,” says Karla. 

We create high profile films that look more like TV programmes than social media posts.

“I really enjoy working with companies to distill their story and goals and communicate their strategic vision using some of the best broadcast professionals in Ireland.”

She is hugely interested in developing drama of course and is currently working with a number of writers, both established and new, to create home-grown drama for international markets.

“We are surrounded by an exceptional cinematic landscape and the potential is huge for international storytelling,” she said, adding that she is always happy to hear from new writers with ideas with mainstream commercial potential.

Karla also its she is always itching to get back in front of the camera too: “I just find it so much fun! You just laugh so much when you’re in a rehearsal room, immersing yourself in a fantasy world and pretending to be someone else. I love it.”

That’s something else she learned from her dad: “He would always say; ‘Life is meant to be fun, don’t take it too seriously!’ so that’s what I think my legacy is now: continuing to do my creative best, caring for the planet, and to have fun with life.”

See www.mtmfilms.ie

Next week: We catch up with Virginia Foley, of Up She Rises, who won Network Cork’s Solo Businesswoman award.