President Michael D. Higgins and Armenian Genocide Day

After 11 months without any 'cutbacks' uploads, I was forced to respond to President Michael D's participation in Turkey's Gallipoli commemoration ceremonies, moved by the Turkish government from the usual date of 25th of April to the 24th of April - why? Purely to clash, coincide with and eclipse the 100th remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, traditionally remembered each year on April 24th. Sure, remembering the Irish dead in Gallipoli is great, but not on this particular day, and not in Turkey on this particular day... This is what Michael D. should have said in Turkey today...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW5uTAwDpRw

Tonight, news.am points out that the Irish PM (Enda Kenny) has failed to use the word 'genocide' in expressing his condolences for the Armenians' 'terrible suffering and loss'...

http://news.am/eng/news/263880.html

The Armenians are using the forget-me-not flower as the symbol of their genocide remembrance. The remembrance campaign is titled 'remember and demand' (demand that the genocide is recognised.

https://www.armenianow.com/genocide/60808/armenia_forgetmenot_symbol_genocide_centennial

http://www.armnet.org/events?id=350

All Good Things!

Highly talented (but impoverished) award year Animation students from IADT are holding an off-campus exhibition/screening/event in Dublin's Lighthouse Cinema and Block T in June. The kids are funding the exhibition through cake sales and Fundit! Give generously and become part of the project!

We are all IADT students, but ALL GOOD THINGS is not an IADT event, it's completely independent and self-generated. However, hosting an exhibition and screening, printing artwork, creating a zine and serving food & refreshments doesn't come cheap, so we've set up a FUND IT campaign to help cover a portion of the costs. 

We'd appreciate any contribution you could make! In return we're offering a range of rewards, and you'd be investing in the night itself, our artwork, and our futures.

Check out our FUND IT page here: http://fundit.ie/project/all-good-things

Become part of some epic animation stories!

https://www.facebook.com/IADTAnimation14?notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite

https://twitter.com/IADTAnimation14

New Film Progresses Slowly

Have finally (after 8 months of agonising) started the construction of characters for my new film 'The King and The Princess'. Here are 4 heads started - they'll have interchangeable mouths and foreheads. The heads will be proportionally large, making the characters feel much less 'realistic' and much more like puppets. The film will use the 'cutbacks' production pipeline, but I'll endeavour to (in the words of Steve Woods) 'make it look a little bit more finished'. I'm still thinking of using Paradjanov style collage layouts... Hopefully start shooting on Paddy's weekend...

first heads for 'King and Princess' film

'cutbacks' for IADT MA Broadcast Production

Thanks to Siobhain Kehoe for asking me to appear with some 'cutbacks' characters on her IADT MA Broadcast Production live tv show 'THE COMEDY CROWD'. Shot in the new NFS tv studio on Wednesday 4th of February. Well done presenter Tara Flynn and 'Totally Wired' musical comedy group Emmet Quinn and Lorcan Hughes, who performed their hilarious 'Organ Donor' song...

'cutbacks' characters ready to roll in new NFS building tv studio

'cutbacks' on breakingnews.ie!

Thanks to Clare Carroll for spotting this breakingnews.ie article about me! Headlined as 'Irish animator takes on Justin Bieber', the article swings through 'cutbacks' and even takes a look back through history as far as the Bosco days... Even Faherty is quoted...

Thanks to breakingnews,ie's Conor Hallahan. Well done!

http://www.breakingnews.ie/discover/irish-animator-takes-on-justin-bad-boy-bieber-620934.html

Cutbacks Mention on Reddit!

Thanks to Grainne Kirwan for spotting this 'cutbacks' related string on Reddit... Lots of good accurate critical analysis here...

Just discovered my old lecturer from college makes animated youtube videos in his spare time. They're actually pretty good! I think they deserve more than the handful of views they're getting.

submitted 20 hours ago by gapmunky

bolg 18 hours ago
I remember these - used to watch them quite a bit with friends in/around 2011 especially the Mick n Ming ones...then for some reason a lot of them disappeared...anyways, this will make perfect procrastination material for my exam study!

mcctaggart 18 hours ago
I've been subscribed for a while and also think he deserves more views. I like his animation style and I admire how quickly he can put together a video about any particular current event. It must take a lot of work just making the puppets let alone animating them.
But I think his satire needs to be stronger, more biting, fouler or darker or possibly surreal for people to notice. I think if he had a dedicated co-writer from the Scrap Saturday/Spitting Image mould, that would push the humour of the pieces and he would receive wide acclaim and probably a spot on tv in some capacity.

gapmunky 18 hours ago
I think he'd be better if he satired world events more like in this bieber one. He usually only does very niche stuff in irish culture and politics that not many people would get.

mcctaggart 18 hours ago
nah, there is a huge appetite for the satirization of politicians and figures in high society. Scrap Saturday used to be massive because the jokes ripped them apart.

gapmunky 18 hours ago
I've never heard of that until now! interesting.

gapmunky  20 hours ago
Sorry about linking to the middle of the video! :/

abitterthrowaway 1 point 13 hours ago
This one is excellent: http://youtu.be/Q6TY00yTFoA

karma-toes 12 hours ago
Story of the week!

brim4brim 9 hours ago
Used to listen to these all the time until I stopped going to YouTube

devilabit 13 hours ago
I think he might need to improve the tag names on the video in youtube settings. The JB name should gather more views that way.

OutRunTerminator  20 hours ago
Better than Podge and Rodge...

http://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/1w6sed/just_discovered_my_old_lecturer_from_college/

Ming posts us on Facebook!

Jazis - thanks to Ming Flanagan for the posting on Facebook! Go Ming!

https://www.facebook.com/Lukemingflanagan/posts/10201334659677096?comment_id=5512721&notif_t=comment_mention

Armenia - The Cartoon

Thanks to Ruzanna Sarukhanyan for directing me to this Youtube channel of Armenian animations! I'll trawl through them over the next few weeks, but Ruzanna was recommending the charming 'Gtnvats eraz', about a girl who enters a dream world to find the dream her grandfather has lost...

Thanks to Ruzan! Հայկական Մուլտեր

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHido3SxxrtwZ77_OJM4xtA?feature=watch

Cutbacks - Justin Bieber!

Dominic and Iggy make a 2014 start with 'Justin Bieber Bad Boy!'. The cutbacks2010 site on Youtube is at 809 subscribers and 182,376 indicated views (although it's 397,000 over the channel's lifetime. I've just started work on my next animated short - not quite a 'cutbacks' project, but using parts of the 'cutbacks' production pipeline...

Liverpool Irish Festival - DQ presents Irish Shorts Programme 2!

For my sins, IndieCork's Una Feely has given me the task of presenting tonight's Liverpool Irish Festival's Irish Shorts 2 programme at the very impressive Liverpool FACT at 18.30. Films include 'Atrophy', 'Foxes' 'Two Wheels Good', along with Rinkydink's 'Salmon of Knowledge' and my disgraceful 'Furniture - Murder and Love'. All prayers welcome!

Liverpool Irish Film Festival - Screening One

Irish Shorts Screening One at FACT in Bold Street Liverpool last night - nice crowd! 'Rubai' and Clare Brady's 'Wasted' probably the highlights of the show. 'Mister Heaney, a wee portrait' went down grand and DVD for 'leitronium' glitched, leading to a rather fractured-narrative experimental result - weird! 'Salmon of Knowledge' and 'furniture' tonight - may the DVD Gods shine upon us!

Thanks to Una Feely for the invite to participate!

IndieCork Film Festival

I'm presenting my 'satirical films' at 19.30 in Fellini's in Cork on Friday 18th of October as part of the first IndieCork Film Festival! Thanks especially to Mick Hannigan and Una Feely for the invite to present! I'll be showing the various Mister Heaney films, Rinkydink and the Salmon of Knowledge and my disgraceful 'Furniture - Murder and Love'. All welcome! We'll have a laugh!

http://indiecork.com/

Liverpool Irish Film Festival

Thanks to IndieCork's Una Feely for inviting me to show 4 films at the Liverpool Irish Film Festival... 'Mister Heaney, a wee portrait'. 'Leitronium'. 'Rinkydink and The Salmon of Knowledge'. 'Furniture - Murder and Love' in the Irish Shorts programmes on Sunday and Monday... According to the programme, I shall introduce the films....

Sunday October 13th, 6:30 pm
Monday October 14th, 6:30 pm
FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L1 4DQ

A programme of classic and contemporary short films curated by Úna Feely of IndieCork Film Festival

IndieCork’s Una Feely brings us some of the best and most interesting short films produced in Ireland this year, as well as some of the great shorts of the past. Once again the screenings will be introduced by some of Ireland’s finest young filmmakers. IndieCork is a new festival of independent cinema based in Cork, Ireland.

http://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/events/irish-shorts/

http://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/events/irish-shorts-2/

Skin in The Game

Donald Taylor Black's documentary 'Skin in The Game' (2012) was shown in The Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire last night (091013), to an enthusiastic audience of 120 people! Several people in IADT were surprised to see me onscreen, with my long hair... My Gawd! Only two years ago - seems like a lifetime!

Furniture for Cork Film Festival!

'Furniture - Murder and Love' has been selected for the 58th Cork Film Festival (November 9th to 17th 2013). It's disgraceful! Festival Programme to be published by October 2nd.

'Furniture - Murder and Love' marches on...

The 'cutbacks' short film 'Furniture - Murder and Love' will be screened at the 2013 Dublin International short Film and Music Festival DISFMF (quite a mouthful). Doesn't appear to be in competition though...

http://www.disfmf.ie/

Lab Grown Burger

Jazis, the latest wonder of science is a lab-grown beef burger, a Frankenburger, funded by Sergey Bryn, co-founder of Google. All the problems in the world and science grows us more fast food. What next? Cloned Kentucky Fried Chicken?

Furniture - Murder and Love! - This Made No Sense!

Lovely Youtube comment from KrazyKomix, longtime 'cutbacks' supporter, on the latest 'Furniture - Murder and Love' film...

This made no sense

How right the kid is... Have entered the Furniture film (fingers crossed) into a few more festivals. We shall see...

'Furniture - Murder and Love' - funniest film I saw...

Whilst Laura describes the film as 'FILTH', Melissa says 'Doorty' and Joachim Pietsch says 'brilliant', Padraig Fagan's comment is still my favourite... 'the funniest film I saw at the film fleadh over the weekend'. Praise indeed! Thanks to all! Keep watching!

Submit 'Furniture' to 2013 IndieCork Film Festival

Have just submitted 'Furniture - Murder and Love' to the 2013 IndieCork Film Festival! Deadline for entries is 29th July. Festival is on from 16th to the 20th of October. Fingers crossed...

http://indiecork.com/submit/rules-and-regulations-for-entries-indiecork-film-festival/