Bailebeag and The Death of Gordon Murray - creator of Camberwick Green, Trumpton, Chigley and other worlds...

Thanks to my brother James for sending on the link to the Guardian's obituary for Gordon Murray, creator of Camberwick Green, Trumpton, Chigley and other stopmotion worlds... Camberwick Green started in 1966 and my father Jim Quin followed just over a decade later, with his Irish equivalent 'Bailebeag' (small town), commissioned by Liam O Murchu in RTE. The parallels between Murray's worlds and the world of Bailebeag were similar - with a distinctly retro-looking, unmodern view of society (at the time, I always felt that Murray's series had been made sometime in the early 1950s!).

Da (Jim Quin) with his (1977) version of Quin Films 'Bailebeag' - ping pong character heads!

As the Guardian obituary points out, Murray's Camberwick Green, Chigley and Trumpton were set in an idealised pre-WW1 Edwardian society, a time when England seemed uncorrupted by war, crime,societal change or class struggle. Bailebeag, with its short trousers, summer sunshine and male-dominated Irish rural idyll was set in some vague pre-mechanised 1940's summertime Ireland, the world of my father's childhood, where the priest and the Garda Sergeant were the definitive authority figures and where the postman was an exotic, bicycle borne traveller linking the parish together on a daily basis, powered by gossip and news. Not only was there no crime in Bailebeag - it never even rained in Bailebeag!

Sergeant Pat and Jimmy from the later (1984) version of Quin Films 'Bailebeag'

The original (1977) Bailebeag series shared Gordon Murray's stopmotion technical origins, with ping pong ball heads, magnetic feet and cardboard houses - very little of those originals (characters or sets) survived, although we didn't 'burn everything on a bonfire' like Gordon Murray. A lot of vehicles and props were 'bought off the shelf' in nick nack stores like Hector Grey's in Liffey Street. I was 15 or 16 at the time, fascinated by learning the 16mm and TV ropes with Da, Bill Russell, Pat Hayes, Alan Pleass and others and discovering that I could actually animate the characters and tell stories onscreen. The first Bailebeag series were shot in the converted attic of our house in 32 Leopardstown Gardens - truly the first stopmotion studio in Ireland.

Gordon Murray showed us a wonderfully metronomic way to tell childrens' TV stories, but Eric Thompson's reinterpretations of Serge Danot's 'Magic Roundabout' showed us how such childrens' programming could be both entertaining and anarchic. Later, Jiri Trnka showed how simple techniques could tell complex narratives and people like RTE's Joe O Donnell showed how childrens' programming could and should be a noble profession, not a mere stepping stone to a TV career path.

Bill Russell, Bolex and Da (Jim Quin) with the original (1977) version of Quin Films 'Bailebeag'

My career since has persisted with an explorations of the untapped potentials of stopmotion and animation. Whilst I'm not producing for TV any longer, I'm still endeavouring to make anarchic short films, new media and longer form projects. The learning, exploration and (occasionally) discovery continues... Thanks to all the early pioneers - Gordon Murray included!

Gordon Murray - creator of Trumpton, Camberwick Green, Chigley and other worlds...

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jun/30/gordon-murray-obituary-creator-of-trumpton 

http://www.davidquin.ie/quinfilms.html

IADT Graduation 2015 - RDS!

The afternoon of Wednesday 18th of November 2015 saw the graduation of IADT's Faculty of Film Art and Creative Technology programmes, including our gang from DL832 Animation! A lot of the celebrations slightly cramped by the fact that many graduates had to return to work the next day (a good complaint in some ways)... For all, it's the start of dazzling careers - it shall happen! A career is a marathon, not a sprint! The best of luck to ALL!

RDS - the assembled crowd

RDS - The Robing Room

RDS - the gang in their seats!

RDS - in the line, ready to go!

RDS - Marty with her parchment!

RDS - Marty and DQ

RDS - Marty Sherra Aidan

UCD Science Expressions from 2013

UCD's Dr. Brendan Rooney directed me towards this UCD Science Expressions website which features two of our 3rd year group animations from 2013 - 'Friends Fight Stigma' and 'Sanctity of Sport' (winner of the UCD Science Expressions competition in 2013 - I'm still trying to remember what prize we won exactly?). I never even knew the videos were online!

The projects were tough work at the time for some of our most brilliant DL041 Animation students, but there was great learning in the process.

UCD Science Expressions website

Sanctity of Sport (2013) on Youtube

http://www.ucdscienceexpression.ie/projects/new-project/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIf5IGT58EA&feature=youtu.be - Link to 'Friends Fight Stigma' on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqK3EAzc6A&feature=youtu.be - Link to 'Sanctity of Sport' on Youtube

SKVC panel - Lithuania

Just returned from a week-long programmatic review panel for SKVC in Lithuania. Thanks to Annie, for expertly Chairing, to Natalia for facilitating our work and special thanks to my fellow panel members and new friends Julia, Vilma, Mika and Peter! Four programmes reviewed in Kaunas, Klaipeda and Vilnius. Return to Lithuania at the end of November.

Biznis Pelikan - Vilnius

  

Genocide Museum - Vilnius

 VMU Kaunas

VAA Klaipeda - photography

team in Klaipeda (image from Annie)

Baltic near Klaipeda

Near Klaipeda

VTDK - exhibition space

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation studio

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation

VTDK - digital editing

VTDK - photography

VTDK - sound studio

VTDK - library 

VTDK - tv studio

'collage' in 2015 Galway Film Fleadh and no Frameworks

I did promise last year that 'A Warning To All Kings' would be my last self-funded short film ever! My latest animated short offering, a more experimental piece called 'collage' features multiple animation techniques and is 'an often abstract attempt to depict tortured lives and loves in the Ireland of 2015.'

The title of the piece is a respectful nod to filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, whose incredible house museum I look forward to returning to later this year, in Yerevan in Armenia. Imprisoned many times by the soviet authorities, Parajanov said 'I was not allowed to make movies and I started to make collages. Collage is a compressed film.'

Thanks to Ruth Matthews and Daniel Gallagher for the voices on 'collage' and thanks to ace producer Fionn Boland for looking after festival entries et cetera!

On a downside, my latest Frameworks application was shot down earlier this week - not even shortlisted, extremely disappointing. What can I say?

http://parajanovmuseum.am/

http://quindpdp.blogspot.ie/2014/01/yerevan-sergey-parajanov.html

http://quindpdp.blogspot.ie/2014/05/my-last-short-film-ever.html

Return from Croatia!

The revalidation visits and meetings in Academy of Applied Arts University of Rijeka and in University of Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts are done, and I reluctantly return from Croatia!

Group shot - Branko, Dea, Marina, Egle, Davor, Janja, Goran and DQ in Rijeka (image by Egle)

Enormous thanks to our revalidation panel - Janja Sacic, Bozica Dea Matasic, Egle Ganda Bogdaniene, Branko Matulic and Vjeko Kis. It was a pleasure and an honour to work with you all. You have given me many new and valuable insights, lessons, perspectives and hopes for the future!

Huge appreciation too to AZVO's Davor Juric and Marina Grubisic, who kept us on time and on track and whose determined organisation of our training, visits, meetings, travel and accommodation allowed us every opportunity to focus on our tasks in hand! Thanks also to Goran for his expert translations!

There is much work to do in education in Croatia, but I have every confidence that the nation will take strength from its hugely important place in the history of art to guide the students of the future (from Croatia and from all over our globe) to become great artists and even greater human beings! Our work has truly been 'emotional labour', a very moving and inspirational experience. I learned many things and I promise that I will return to learn much more!

Thanks to all!

Kvarner Bay, Rijeka

Ceramics, Rijeka

Davor and Janje, Rijeka

Dea and Branko, Ceramics, Rijeka

Dea, Janje, Egle and Marina, Rijeka

Dean and Davor, Rijeka

Dean and Library, Rijeka

Egle and Erasmus ceramic student, Rijeka

Goran, Rijeka

Mosaics, Rijeka

Mosaics, Rijeka

Trip back to Zagreb from Rijeka

Art Academy Zagreb - Maca

Another Art Academy Zagreb Maca

Branko, Dean, Natalia, Vjeko, Davor, Marina and Goran, Art Academy Zagreb

Egle, Vjeko and Marina, Art Academy Zagreb

Dean's office, Art Academy Zagreb 

Branko, Egle, Dea and Professor, Art Academy Zagreb

Big plaster horse, DQ in Art Academy Zagreb

Librarians, Tania, Marina and Dea, Library, Art Academy Zagreb

Library, Art Academy Zagreb

Branko in Library, Art Academy Zagreb

first year space, Art Academy Zagreb

Vjeko, DQ, Dea and Life Drawing students, Art Academy Zagreb (image by Egle)

Life Drawing, Art Academy Zagreb

Life Drawing, Art Academy Zagreb

Sculpture, Art Academy Zagreb

A mysterious student and her dark works, Art Academy Zagreb

Mysterious student, DQ and Goran, Art Academy Zagreb (image by Egle)

Animation and New Media student, Art Academy Zagreb

Animation and New Media students, Art Academy Zagreb

Vjeko, Egle and Goran, Art Academy Zagreb

View through atelier window, Art Academy Zagreb

Statue of Jan Jelacica, Trg Bana Jelacica, Zagreb

Frankfurt Airport - blue screen of death (computer issues in Fraport delay Friday's flights)

https://www.azvo.hr/en/

http://www.bozica.matasic.com/

On my very brief lightning tour of Zagreb centre, I nearly got to visit the 'Museum of Broken Relationships' - looks fascinating! Next time!

https://brokenships.com/en/visit