RTÉ to spend €240k on Fair City photographer

Fair City is RTÉ's longest-running soap opera.

Cash-strapped broadcaster RTÉ is to spend €240,000 on a dedicated photographer to take still images of its long-running soap opera Fair City.

The three-year contract will see the winning applicant produce a minimum of 16 approved still photographs a week of the show and its production, with RTÉ retaining the rights to all images.

The photographer would be expected to be on set or on location to cover scenes as they are filmed for 50 weeks of the year, RTÉ said.

Such still photography is typically used in promotional or publicity material for a relevant show.

The photographer would be expected to be on set or on location to cover scenes as they are filmed for 50 weeks of the year, RTÉ said.

Sample scenes suggested within the contract invitation include: "Zak is freaked when Carol reveals that the gun is gone"; "Dearbhla is prevented from filling Gar in about Zak because of Gar’s commitment to taking Joan to dialisis [sic]"; and "Erica blindsides Doug when she declares Fergal B gives her the ick".

The public broadcaster noted only photography approved by the programme’s director is to be allowed, while a shoot is not to be impeded in any way by the taking of such stills.

However, the contract specifies that scenes can be, where appropriate, "held" for stills once the director and cast are agreeable, though for no more than a minute at a time.

Those applying would be required to "capture the dramatic moment” to very tight deadlines, RTÉ said.

Those applying would be required to "capture the dramatic moment” to very tight deadlines, RTÉ said. All suppliers must meanwhile be Garda vetted, according the contract documents, which is set to commence from November of this year.

Fair City, set in the fictional north Dublin suburb of Carrigstown, has been on the air since its launch in 1989, and is the longest-running drama in Irish TV history.

The show made headlines recently when a series of storylines dealt with attempts by the far right to radicalise the population of Carrigstown, with limited success.