Using just 10 pieces and less than 2 minutes, Mirko elegantly establishes characters and conflicts. The cinematography is simple and clean. There are no distractions here, nothing extraneous. It’s just great animation.

I researched a bit today on the ole’ internet for some examples of sporting brickfilms and I found ten videos plus two of our own creations that we made recently.  So……I present “A Dozen Sports Brickfilms” in order based of the current number views.

Seattle Seahawks Win OYO Super Bowl XLVIII! by thefourmonkeys was released on the Sports Illustrated Kids YouTube channel and website.  It recreates the most recent Super Bowl with OYO Sportstoys minifigures.  It’s the newest of the dozen brickfilms.

LEGO Snowboarding Tricks – Brickfilm (HD) by Plastic Planet Productions is a beautiful take on snowboarding done brick style.  It has very smooth animations and is quite a fun watch.

The Red Sox World Series Victory, in OYOs! by thefourmonkeys was also released on the Sports Illustrated Kids YouTube channel and website.  It was released just shortly after the completion of the 2013 World Series and enjoyed a small viral affect due to the blogging and tweeting about it. Of the 1/2 dozen sports brickfilms that thefourmonkeys made for SIKids, this one is the most popular. The sporting fans loved the beard tug and helmet adjustment.

Lego Freeskiing: Deep Pow by Oxburger Studios.  I found this film for the first time today. Wow!! The cinematography, lighting, and scenic elements draw you into this awesome snow skiing adventure.

Lego Sport Champions: Hockey by LEGOsports The LEGOsports channel looks pretty dormant these days, but they left us with some great sports brickfilms. Although the equipment they used to make their films is fairly antiquated, their brickfilms stand the test of time and are well worth the watch.  They also used no minifigures which makes them special just for that fact.

Lego Sport Champions: F1 Racing by LEGOsports This F1 car race is a super exciting thrill ride at high speeds.

Champions League Final 2013 in LEGO (Borussia Dortmund v Bayern München) by Weevil888.  Pure football (soccer) excitement.  The stop motion is not incredibly smooth, but the use of the original announcer audio pulls you into an exciting brickfilm.

5 Greatest NBA Finals Moments Legoized by tauntrtv recreates plays from basketball championship games.  It’s a well produced video with decent stopmotion that has me remembering the old NBA days. I’m not a big fan of basketball, but you don’t have to be in order to enjoy this. Ahhhh, the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Lego Skater by Keshen8 brings brickfilming and skateboard half-pipes to amazing reality, with a little exception to the overly gory spill the hapless skateboard takes.  OUCH!

Bricksports.de: NFL Super Bowl XLV by Bricksports.de.  Bricksports.de recreates Super Bowl XLV in LEGO.

Brick by Brick: Running: Usain Bolt wins gold in 100m final by the Guardian.  The video was produced by the Guardian (an online news group) and they have also released a dozen or so brickfilm sports recreations. The animation is a little choppy, but the sets are really good and you get a great feel for the energy of the events recreated.  I really liked the water in the Michael Phelps video.

Lego Mini Golf by MlCHAEL HlCKOX Films is the king of sporting brickfims according to views.  It currently has over 12 million views and is one of the most popular brickfilms on YouTube.

If you know some more great sporting brickfilms, leave a comment with a link.  We would love to watch them.

There is very little animation in this video, but what is there is crisp and character-driven. I highlight it to remind readers that a compelling concept that is well executed can make a lasting impression. I also had a similar problem with this minifig head, which i initially saw as having a nose above a moustache, but I now see as having an evil smirk above a goatee. Have you even encountered an ambiguous minifig head?

I’ve had the first edition as an indispensable part of my library for years now. Without it, there might not have ever been a “Little Guys!” film, and who knows if I would be here talking to you guys right now! It was with this book that I first learned how to consider the different scales of my LEGO creations, to build curves, and to organize my collection in an efficient manner.

The sample sphere from the ULBG was used as a basis for the character designs in “Little Guys!”

What’s in the Book

The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide is written as both an introduction to the hobby for new LEGO fans and as a reference guide for expert builders and AFOLs. The ten chapters of the book cover the various scales of building, different artistic media (sculptures, mosaics, etc.), and the planning, setup, and execution of whatever MOCs you decide to build.

The Skull Island design, from Red Brick Saga Pirates of the Caribbean — design grid and final version

There’s also the “Brickopedia”, an abridged listing of some of the more common LEGO parts and elements, sorted by category. This can be useful if you need a quick reference for a part name or number, or if you’re just looking for some inspiration for your own brick sorting approach. Granted, a lot of this information is also online, but there’s something to be said for the condensed economy of having a book in front of you.

Finally, the latter part of the book also showcases LEGO-scaled design grids, with an explanation of how they work as well as links to download and print them yourself. These can be extremely helpful if you’re trying to design something to fit within a certain space, or if you just want to sketch out an idea before committing it to brick. (We use these all the time over at Paganomation.)

Differences in the Second Edition

Having poured over the original book back when it first came out, I was curious to see what changes would be in the new edition. The most obvious one is plastered right on the cover: the second edition does have color photos and instructions. But I was a bit surprised when physically comparing both books…  the second edition is way thinner!

First edition: approx. 7/8″. Second edition: approx. 1/2″

The new book has 10 chapters, down from 13 in the original. Gone are the sections on sorting and storage, tools for building (a bit on brick separation has been rolled into chapter 2), and Technic building (probably because there’s a whole other new book devoted to it now).

The other differences are a bit more subtle:

• The Brickopedia has been whittled down, from 55 pages in edition 1 to 41 pages in edition 2.
• Some brief, potentially redundant bits on scale have been removed from the Microscale chapter.
• A section on writing reviews in the “Beyond Just Bricks” chapter is gone.
• Other assorted edits and minor rearrangements.

Overall, I wouldn’t say these changes hurt the book in any way. The ULBG has just become a more streamlined version of itself… which is the whole point of putting out a new edition of a book!

How this relates to Brick Animation

I came to the ULBG from the perspective of both a LEGO fan and an animator. Just like with any form of artistry, there are many tips, tricks and lessons that crossover from one medium to another. Here are a few that I took note of…

• Page 70 talks about Miniland scale facades, and how it can be advantageous to only concentrate on perfecting the parts of your model that will be seen by your audience. Hmm… sounds familiar.
• A section of the Jumbo Elements chapter (p. 78) mentions the importance of testing, tinkering, and trial-and-error to get the results you want.
• The chapter on Sculpture talks about using reference material when designing and planning your work (p. 109).
• Page 82 has probably the most helpful, universal advice any artist can use: “Make things only as complicated as they need to be and no more.” The bottom line? Simple is good.

The number of LEGO reference books has been steadily increasing in recent years, which makes sense given the flourishing LEGO fan community. Despite being one of the earlier entries in this catalog, I recommend The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s guide as essential reference material for any brick animator or LEGO fan; young or old, novice or veteran.

(Plus, it’s now also available as an ebook… hello, iPad.)

The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide, 2nd Edition by Allan Bedford

“The Machine” is the latest of a handful of brick animations that blur the line between stop-motion and live action. According to the animator, it was filmed at 25 frames per second (FPS), and had motion blur added in post-production to make it ever smoother. The short is worth a quick watch for the great cinematography and the inspired animation of the eponymous machine, but I’m mostly using it to launch into a larger discussion of FPS.

Choosing an FPS is an important part of making an animation, there is a constant balancing act between the smoothness of the animation and time required to make it. An animation set at 5 FPS is bound to look jumpy, but it can still be engaging (this is the frame rate I recommend for beginners). As the FPS increases (10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30), the animation gets smoother, but the time investment to create it rises steeply. Many brick animators settle at 15 FPS as a good balance between smoothness and amount of time invested, but there are a few that venture into those high ranges.

The best cautionary tale in this respect is “Dr. Jobs and his Scary Laboratory.” While the single completed episode of this series features some of the smoothest animation I’ve ever seen in a brick animation, the incompleteness of the remaining segments stands as a testament to the dangers of independent animators pursuing hyper-real frame rates. But let’s pretend for a minute that time is not an obstacle, what would the optimal frame rate for brick animations be? Is super-smooth, life-like animation the end-all be-all?

Personally, I think very high frame rate animations can feel sterile, and I find attempts to perfectly simulate real motion in animation to be uncanny. I am reminded of Jean Baudrillard’s essay on Simulacra and Science Fiction:

There is no more fiction… it is the real which has become our true utopia… presented with transparent precision, but totally lacking substance, having been derealized and hyperrealized.

What do you think? The more frames per second the better? Or is the charm and art of animation precisely in the frames an animator chooses to include (and which to exclude)?

“The Machine” on Youtube

“Dr. Jobs and his Scary Laboratory” on YouTube

1) “Mein Herz [My Heart]” by Pawnshop Orchestra (2006)

This music video is probably the most straightforward Fabuland animation out there. A cat and a goat are in love, but far apart. The goat overcomes distance and an octopus to be reunited with his true love. Short, sweet, and barely weird.

2) “Edward and Friends” by FilmFair (1987)

“Edward and Friends” was an officially licensed series to promote the Fabuland sets. However, rather than using actual Fabuland products, the characters are made of clay, allowing for a much greater range of expression. This series is standard kid show fare; each episode presents a small challenge that is overcome in a friendly manner. The only weirdness here is intrinsic to the Fabuland product line: it takes place in a Scarreyesque village of anthropomorphic animals. But as we all know, overly-cheerful facades often harbor horrible secrets. (There are plenty more episodes for those who want more.)

3) Nestlé Orzoro Commercial (1985)

In this frenetic 15-second commercial, a pig and a panda pull back a curtain to reveal a forest. In the forest, six Fabulanders pop out of a tree and wave before disappearing again. But the forest was just another curtain! Some characters fly through the air to place logos! Another curtain! Oh look, it’s the product! How did the pig get trapped inside? No time to worry about that, he’s saved by a parrot on a trapeze! Another curtain, everybody bows! What was that commercial about?

4) “Barney’s Cherry” by Thauka Kuki Team Entertainment (2012)

Even after watching this film half a dozen times, I’m not sure I’ve quite “solved” it. This animation is very clearly a riddle on multiple levels. Firstly, there is the riddle presented via intertitles, which the viewer is given time to ponder before being presented with an answer. However, that answer doesn’t really satisfy, and it’s clear that there are visual clues throughout that point to the real solution (the very first titlescreen makes sure we know this).

But even after I figured out that (highlight to reveal spoilers) Bonnie is cheating on Ed with Barney and actually wanted to free Barney, but was tricked by the statues watering the flowers, I still don’t understand why the horses on the side of the screen turn into different animals at 0:47, why the characters spend so much time looking at the sword and cherry, or what random flashes of light are all about. But because the film is well animated and has a good score, I don’t mind revisiting it again and again.

Warning: the following films contain objectionable content

5) “A day in the life of…” by Complesso Gasparo (2007)

Following the advice of a real-life chihuahua, a Fabuland monkey breaks the shackles of his buttoned-down life. He then proceeds to break-dance everywhere, deface a wall with obscene graffiti, take off his head, and attack a pig on a motorcycle.

6) “The Franky Job” by David M Pickett (2007)

Rather than review my own film, I’m going to quote Zach Macias‘ Bricks in Motion review:

It’s essentially a noir private-eye film, but at its core is laced with hidden subtexts of racism and bigotry. The film is at times humorous, thought-provoking, and disturbing, mixed together in a blend that would seem abstract (and is for the most part), but seems to come together somehow at the end.

7) “Fabuland” by Grégory Métay et Olivier Couëllant (2000)

This is the quintessential Fabuland animation and deserves 10 times as many views as it has. It features the most fully realized busy Fabuland town, and music and voice acting that perfectly fit the style of the characters. There’s a lot to admire here from  an animation perspective; the swaying palm trees are my personal favorite. Despite not knowing French, I felt like I understood the story perfectly thanks to the great visual storytelling. But why did I put this as the weirdest animation? Let’s just say it takes some very surprising turns.

Honorable Mention: “The Fabuland Housewives” by Mark Larson

Though not animated, this hilarious webcomic by Mark Larson is an impressive feat that must have taken countless hours to script, design, photograph, and code. Like the ABC show that inspired it, it is chock full of scandal, gruesome murders, and shocking twists. However, it’s also uproariously funny and well worth a read if you’ve got a few hours to kill.

So what do you think? Why are Fabuland animations so weird (or did I exaggerate how weird they are)? Are there any major works I missed?

“Would you rather be Spider-Man or a Jedi Knight?”

This impossible question was once posed to me by a friend who knew that my geeky obsession with LEGO was rivaled only by similar obsessions with Star Wars and Spider-Man. So you can imagine the kind of loop-de-loops my brain did in 2003, when LEGO Spider-Man sets first appeared on the shelves next to LEGO Star Wars sets. While I treasure the few Spider-Man sets I was able to buy then, my favorite thing to come out of the LEGO Spider-Man license is “Spider-Man: The Peril of Doc Ock” by Spite Your Face Productions.

For those of you who can’t remember the internet before YouTube, brick animations used to be something of a rarity. Spite Your Face Productions was one of the early pioneers in this respect, and their work helped inspire a generation of aspiring young animators. In the summer of 2004, I had just finished my first major brick animation (an incoherent, 45-minute, pop culture mash-up), and was starting production on a longer, slightly more coherent sequel. With its buttery-smooth character animation, “Doc Ock” became the ideal to which I still aspire.

Story

Doctor Octopus is terrorizing New York City until Spider-Man arrives to save the day. Somewhere in the middle, an elephant shows up. The “two characters fight” plot is, sadly, a very common one in brick animations. With no narrative arc to speak of, these films tend to live or die on the quality of their technical aspects and the popularity of the characters fighting. “Doc Ock” not only excels in both of these categories, but also manages to fit a good deal of humor in, making it enjoyable for a broad audience.

Design

Since “Doc Ock” was commissioned by LEGO and Sony to promote the release of “Spider-Man 2” and the associated LEGO product line, it incorporates both the perpetual sunset of the movie posters and characters, vehicles, and buildings from the official LEGO sets.

After a few detailed establishing shots of New York City, the animation progresses to more simplistic sets that keep the focus on the action. By the final showdown, all traces of the skyline have vanished.

The orange and purple lighting schemes bring out some really nice hues in the tan and bley buildings, and are very flattering to Doctor Octopus. The lighting is not so kind to Spider-Man, who occasionally looks jaundiced. Occasional lens flares reinforce the connection to the movie poster.

Animation

Doctor Octopus’s tentacles are the real stars of this short, and four of the reasons I can watch it again and again. They are in near-constant motion and move with amazing speed and fluidity. Repeated viewings are necessary to appreciate the nuances of their movement (and to see all the humorous objects they grab).

Spider-Man is also well animated; his web-slinging in particular is as fluid as possible given the constraints of the minifigure’s joints. One of my favorite moments is when he scrambles behind the speeding train car.

There are a fair deal of special effects used in the short; many of the wide shots of the city are composites of multiple shots. Now that I have a keener eye, these shots look flatter and less impressive to me than they did eight years ago. However, they serve their purpose, and given the constraints this short was produced under, it is understandable why SYFP went this route as opposed to building a massive New York City set.

Sound

Since there is no dialogue, the music and sound effects do a lot of heavy lifting in this short. The score by Jason Graves responds perfectly to every action on screen, switching quickly and effortlessly between epic, antic, and frantic. The sound effects are similarly well-matched to the animation. This is a perfect example of what sound design should do — punctuate the animation without distracting from it.

Overall

Nearly a decade after it was released, “Doc Ock” is still one of the finest examples of the brick animation form. What it lacks in story, it makes up for in animation prowess. It blends action and humor in a way that has become characteristic of official LEGO animations, and remains popular in LEGO fan animations. It is also notable for its place in the history of brick animation, and well worth your viewing time.

And for those who would rather be a Jedi Knight than Spider-Man, don’t miss “Star Wars: The Han Solo Affair,” also by Spite Your Face Productions.

Spider-Man: The Peril of Doc Ock [SpiteYourFace.com]

I’ve been experimenting with animation and film making for a long time now. As a kid, I was first inspired by things like The Muppets, Wallace and Gromit, Star Wars, and anything from Will Vinton Studios. These classic creations piqued my interest in stop-motion, sculpture, character animation, and general weirdness. I started pursuing these interests using the medium I knew best — LEGO bricks.

As my study of these things continued into college, I struggled with whether or not to make my thesis film a LEGO film. Was it practical? Would audiences see it as a gimmick? Could it even be done? Fortunately, I was able to find a few prior examples of fantastic, minifig-free brick animation, which solidified my decision and helped inspire me further. One of these films was “ROBOTA” by Marc Beurteaux.

Story

(Spoilers to follow.)

ROBOTA tells the story of, well, Robota; a wheelchair-bound automaton wandering through a futuristic, grey-scale city. Robota dreams of having her legs repaired, but can’t afford to; so she bets her panhandled cash on a robot cockfight. Eventually, Robota makes her way to a somewhat eccentric robot hospital, where her dream of getting new legs comes true… sort of.

Design

The world of ROBOTA is well-defined from the get-go, starting with some great establishing shots of the bleak, mechanical city. The lighting is stark and moody, adding to the atmosphere, and a few of the vehicles and sets have some neat built-in lighting.

The character designs in ROBOTA are really clever. Even though 95% of the ‘bots are built completely in grey, they each have a uniqueness, and feature plenty of NPU. Look for the guy with a boxing bell for a head, the one-legged droid on crutches, and the bartender’s SNOT noggin. (Also, who knew robots could have nipples?)

In fact, the grey color scheme of the robot characters is used to great advantage at many points in the film, particularly when color comes into play at the cockfight. Each of the robot birds has a distinct color scheme, and since there is no dialogue in the film, the betting on the fights is conveyed through the use of colored tickets used by the characters. A fight between blue and yellow robot birds stands out all the more when contrasted with a grey robot audience.

Animation

The animation in ROBOTA is impressive. There’s lots of great subtlety from each of the characters, especially Robota herself. Her arms are Classic Space arm pieces, giving her gestures flexibility and variety.

The secondary robot characters are well-animated, too. What’s nice is that, for the most part, these background ‘bots are rigged only to be able to accomplish what’s needed for the shot — whether it’s reacting, fighting, or just subtle head turns. On the film’s commentary track, director Marc Beurteaux talks about how the characters were rigged with the intent of solving every animation problem in the simplest way possible, and it shows.

The robot birds are pretty sweet, and despite having click-jointed legs, they seem to move with a great fluidity and style. The flying shots of them are well done, with supports being hidden as opposed to masked out in post-production (impressive!).

There are a couple of post-production visual effects in the film, but none of them really stand out or feel poorly integrated (except maybe for one breaking bottle). The film is primarily a stop-motion piece, and there are some great in-camera panning and trucking shots, which are simple but well-executed.

Sound

The sound design for ROBOTA works in much the same way — it’s simple, effective, and serves the film well. There’s enough of a variety of robot droning, buzzing, and beeping to make Ben Burtt proud.

For the most part, the music is also electronic sounding, save for the finale song “Hooray, Hooray!” by Pat Bowman. It’s a more melodic, almost musical theater sounding piece (apparently, at one point, this film was supposed to end with a dance number). While tonally different, it still somehow fits the mood of the overall film, and ends things on a lighthearted note.

Overall

ROBOTA has one of the traits that I believe any LEGO animated film should have — that it would have been a great film whether it was made using LEGO bricks or not. ROBOTA creates an immersive world, tells an engaging story, and is totally worth repeated viewings to catch all the creative details.

Plus, it’s got robots. I can’t recommend it enough.

Where to watch this film

ROBOTA made the festival rounds in the mid-2000s, winning a few awards in the process:

• Best Canadian Film, Resfest 2005
• Outstanding Achievement Award, New Haven Underground Film Festival, 2006
• Best Art Direction, Chicago Short Film Festival, 2006

ROBOTA used to be available on DVD via robotafilm.com, but it appears that website is no longer in existence. It is available to view on YouTube.

Marc Beurteaux’s website also seems to have disappeared, though you can still view a few of his blog entries on the WILDsound Film Festival website.

Robota: An award winning Lego animation [YouTube]