The Mandalorian is finally here, and I’m all in. And I’m not alone, this is the Star Wars extended universe we’ve been waiting for, the fans love it. Brick FORCE Studios was all in even before it premiered, putting a ton of work and love into this stop-motion trailer recreation, check it out.
With a delicious bowl of KakarikO’s thanks to the endless creativity of Julius von Brunk. A warning though, it may be a bit unsettling for the hardcore Zelda fans to see Link so…loquacious, but it’s funny and charming and it was a ton of work. Watch the video below.
Micro builds like this make me so happy. With just a handful of parts builder Everblack not only built an instantly recognizable scene, he transported me to any given Saturday morning of my childhood. Yes the Flintstones was originally created as a primetime show, with a decidedly adult audience in mind (it’s modeled after the Honeymooners after all) but when it’s good storytelling done with tongue firmly inserted in cheek, kids will watch too. And boy did we.
While I'm a purist when it comes to building, for animation I break all the "rules" all the time. We glue parts, drill them, cut them and modify them to make them work for the project, it's just practical to get the job done. I know it would make a lot of you cry to witness all that activity with tools and bricks in the same space, but here's a fascinating animation by BricksBrosProductions that has both, and as far as I can see, no bricks were harmed in the making, enjoy!
I've gotten a lot of questions about my custom motion control system I built for stop motion animation, from the LEGO community and beyond. So I decided to put together a video to share what it is and how it came about.
The cat's out of the bag. The "super secret" project we've been working on at BrickNerd Studios is finally in the wild and we can share. You may have seen some behind the scenes teases through the months, but we've kept what we were working on under wraps. Credit for the structure goes to the LEGO enfield model shop. The animation was done by James Morr and turned out spectacular. I did the cinematography, editing and compositing, as well as built all the equipment. Check out the finished spot.
This project required multiple custom built motion control rigs, which kept me busy for weeks. I scratch built an Arduino based motion control unit, a follow focus, giant turntable and dolly track system. The camera rig is a Ditogear slider mounted vertically, with a custom built counterweight system and a Stage-R pan/tilt head. Here's a behind the scenes peek at just a fraction of the work that went into this project.
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing this absolutely charming animated short by Maxime Marion at CineBrick in Portugal last month. I won't waste a lot of time trying to sum it up or describe it, I'll just strongly encourage you to take five and half minutes out of your day and watch this, you won't regret it. Maxime would also like to give a big shout out to Kloou for the mad building chops.
Last night I went to see The LEGO Batman Movie. Yes, it was the day after the opening day (what can I say, I'm a busy guy), and yes it was in a theater full of children, but it's a family movie, and I wanted to experience it with it's target audience. Besides, I'm effectively a 12 year old, just ask my wife. I went in with pretty high expectations, The LEGO Movie was pretty awesome, and Batman was my favorite character from that, so the bar was high. I'm happy to say it did not disappoint, I loved it.
It has everything, action, laughs, heart-felt moments, excellent dialog, top-notch performances, more action, more laughs and so many subtle (and not so subtle) references and easter eggs that it will take another couple viewings just to take it all in. The writing is fantastic, and it has...*gasp* ...a story! And it's not just yet another bad guy threatens Gotham, batman saves the day sort of tired narrative (it is, of course, a subplot) but at it's core it's a film about family, being alone, and being afraid of loss. Real, genuine, emotional content from a bunch of polygons rendered to look like a bunch of toys. That's not a trivial accomplishment. CG features are a dime a dozen these days, but few are really capable of evoking an emotional response beyond a couple chuckles. The film starts out heavy on action, then slows down pretty abruptly. If I have a minor complaint it's with the pacing, when it slows down, it slams on the brakes. Judging by the fidgeting in the theater, the kids felt the same.
The talent gathered to bring this to the screen is so good it's hard to grasp. I didn't read much before viewing, and I only knew a few key cast members. But during the credits I was thrilled to see so many A-list names. That's the power of the DC and LEGO brands, and the faith in the filmmakers to do this properly. This is a spoiler-free review, and those names were a surprise to me, so I'll let you be surprised too. I am also proud to know several people involved in this production, and I tip my hat to all you crazy talented artists and technicians. And before you ask, no, I didn't work on the movie. I did do some animation for some of the promotional tie-ins, but I had nothing to do with the feature.
One of the things I love most about this film, and The LEGO Movie, and from the preview The Ninjago Movie, is the care the filmmakers take to ground the film in classic brick filming. Subtle things like adding barbs to hands during fast moves to simulate motion blur, swapping out tubing for arms when they need to stretch or squash, staying true to building techniques that we have to use in the real world. Of course, in CG you can break any rule you'd like, but they "keep it real" for the most part. Of course, for better animation they play fast and loose with things like shoulder attachments, hips and general limitations of the Minifig design. And of course, Batman's cowl has a full range of emotions and flexibility that simply would be impossible in actual bricks. But there's a story to tell and I understand why they did it. The simple inability to make a figure shrug has frustrated me in the past, why purposefully hamstring yourself? I feel the filmmakers struck a good balance in what's possible and what's practical.
But like I said, this is a story about family, and it's a welcome departure from the gritty, depressing Batman content of late. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed Nolan's trilogy, but you have to admit, they're a bit...dark. And I don't want to ever see anything as campy and stupid as Shumachers' Batman and Robin ever again, but a little levity and self awareness would be appreciated. And don't get me started on Batman v Superman, I stand by my original 9 word review: "A plodding, uninteresting mopefest intermittently interrupted by catastrophe porn". I found this film not only faithful to the history of Batman, but downright reveling in it. It's self-awareness was evident, and makes for some great laughs and sweet nostalgia. The themes of the film make for some insightful moments, and genuine character arcs, all with a group of characters and an environment we are all so familiar with they feel like relatives and places we have visited. Yet this film feels fresh, earnest and willing to please. And please it does, I give it 5 out of 5 Nerdlys.
Being a fan of animation, as well as an animator myself, I've always had a soft spot for the zoetrope. It's amazing that a simple spinning drum with slits is all you need for the illusion of life. I saw a zoetrope similar to this one by Fogtod a couple years ago at BrickCon, but it used minifigures for the animation. I have to admit I sorta prefer the low fidelity, chunky charm of this version.
We don't watch much sports at our house (is American Ninja Warrior a sport?) but we do watch this from time to time. And when you combine it with stop motion animation and LEGO, well, that's a winner in our book. Find out what happens when the Ninjago team faces the course. The animation in this is pretty amazing, and the build is fantastic. I don't know who to credit for it, but it's excellent work.
There are AFOLs in all walks of life, but it makes me especially giddy when one is from the entertainment industry. Builder breakbricks72 happens to be an Emmy winner and producer/director in the animation business, so it comes as no surprise that the animation in this adorable brickfilm is nothing less than outstanding.
I'm very proud to have played a small role in bringing this to life. This is the result of small group of talented artists called The Animators Collective working very hard for just a few short weeks. Two of the shots were completed here at BrickNerd Studios, and we contributed several elements for use in other shots. Check out the breakdown below to see just what went into the 28 frames of the bacta tank shot alone.
Collaborator and friend Kevin Ulrich of Brotherhood Workshop is getting hitched this weekend. To celebrate he put together this absolutely adorkable short telling his love story. Give it a view, it will fill you with warm fuzzies. Congrats Kevin and Celina!
Ever wonder why Batman is so grumpy this time of year? Happy holidays from BrickNerd!
Yes, it's finally here! You all saw the epic battle, now see what happens next. I know it took forever to get this thing done, but I hope it was worth the wait. Huge thanks to everyone that helped make it a reality.
Yes! BrickNerd Studios wrapped animation on this film over a year ago, and we've been (not so) patiently waiting it's release. Well, it's finally here! A LEGO Brickumentary opens this Friday nationwide and on iTunes.
As a bonus treat I'm going to be displaying screen-used sets and models from the movie at the Arclight Hollywood starting Thursday afternoon. I'm also going to be speaking with the filmmakers at a Q&A afterwards on Friday and Saturday evening. If your in the area and want to attend make your reservations now with this link.
I'll also be at the Royal after the 3:15 screening in West Hollywood on Sunday
I'm super excited for tonight. I'm on the second of my two panels at this year's San Diego Comic Con, Making The LEGO Fan Scene. Join me, Nathan Sawaya, Brandon Griffith, Joe Meno and Paul Lee as we talk about different aspects of the LEGO fan community and LEGO art.
I'm finally going to get to show my animated short Batman vs Superman to it's core audience!
Join us from 6-7 in room 23ABC, see you there!
Stop motion is not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for the impatient. I've spent a great deal of time in the last couple years working in this medium and it gives me an even greater appreciation for this brilliant short by Rogier Wieland. It's charming and funny, and worth a watch. And take some time to watch the behind the scenes after, see what goes into making such an ambitious project.
Just over a year ago BrickNerd Studios completed work doing a load of animation (a lot of which is in this trailer!) for Beyond The Brick, a LEGO Brickumentary. I'm happy to see it's finally coming out soon. Check out the trailer!
This was yet another epic round of Iron Builder. Once again I'm floored by the creativity and ingenuity of the builders. And as if the flood of MOCs that somehow incorporated that infernal pitchfork part wasn't enough, builder 6kyubi6 ends this round with a stop motion animation inspired by Jon Rolph's "Paint. A Short Lego Film". Well played sir.
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