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Hi, my name is John Thompson and I am an independent video producer based in Garvagh in the North of Ireland. I produced my first video in 1987 - a 46 minute documentary called Tight Lines on the Agivey a salmon fishing film with top Irish angler Bert Atkins. Tight lines was advertised in various fishing magazines and attracted enough attention to promote the making of Angler's Paradise and Fly tying for Beginners in 1988. Bert Atkins again played the lead roll in both these productions. In early 1988 I met Ballymoney man Stuart McDonald who persuaded me to make a film of the North West 200, the fastest motor cycle race in the British Isles. Together we assembled seven camera crews and covered the '88 race, we called that video Wheels on the Triangle. The North West video was not a financial success, however with help from two businessmen P.J. O'Kane (Garvagh), James Reid (Ballymoney) we continued to cover the race for the following three years.
I then produced a three hour compilation tape of the ' 88 ' 89 and ' 90 races called Wheels, Speed and Black Magic, a bargain at £9.99. In 1991 I produced the first of my farming videos which were to become my trademark. Farming down the Years featured Tommy Doherty, Willie Turner and the late Michael McNamee. Narrated by local G.P. Dr. John Kerr, Farming down the Years was an instant success having an appeal not only to farmers but to schools as well.
In July ' 91 I was introduced to Singing Farmer - John Watt and together with country singers Victor Gregg and Henry Gaile we produced The North West Country Collection a two hour video featuring the cream of local talent from around the North West of Ireland. In 1992 I released Lint and Linen the story of the flax industry in Ulster during the 1950s, followed in 1993 with bestseller Days of Hunger (the famine years 1845 - 1849).
In 1994 I made A Taste of Farming Life which is still my favourite farming video. Also in ' 94 John again I teamed up with John Watt ands made a video for Trevor Smyth productions of Ballymoney called Watt's About. The Ferguson Record Breakers followed in 1995, The Hiring Fairs in ' 96 and The History of Farming 1997. In 1998 The Singing Farmer and myself got together again and produced The Oul Turf Fire funded and marketed by John Watt himself. The Thompson, Watt partnership has survived until the present day with a string of successful videos:My Own North Antrim Shore (1999) The Place That I Call Home ( 2000 ) Around the Country Roads ( 2001 ) A Wee Bit O' Farmin' ( 2002 )
In 1999 I produced The War Years, a look at country life during World War 2. In 1999 I also produced a Wildfowling and Rough Shooting in Ireland hailed by many sporting gentlemen as the best shooting video ever made.
In 2000 Preserving the Past looks at farming in the 1930s, before the advent of electricity and when most farm work was carried out by men, women and horses. In 2001 I made a one hour documentary about the history of my own home town, Images of Garvagh, this has since been followed by vol 2 and vol 3.
In 2001 I produced another successful video The All Ireland Vintage Rally
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