Professional camera gear doesn’t have to break the bank to get all the right moves. This is how to build a functional, three-axis camera slider using nothing but LEGO and a bit of engineering know-how.
Read MoreWith the tragic loss of Alex Trebek last year, I wanted to build a meaningful tribute to the man and his legacy of knowledge. So I built a moving kinetic sculpture of the “Greatest of All Time” tournament and discovered that building LEGO is not too dissimilar to Jeopardy. I knew the answer of where I wanted to go, I just needed to figure out the right questions that would get me there.
Read MoreThe 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.
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!
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.
Something that you might not know about me is my love of bad movies. Not just films that are poorly made, but those movies that are so bad, but made with such earnestness and passion, that somehow they've gone past awful and ended up good again. I'm a huge fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax, and they're unique take on the bad movie shared experience. When I heard that RiffTrax was having a contest inviting people to recreate some moments from James Nguyen films, I knew just what had to be done.
Please note, this is awful, just like the film that inspired it, you've been warned.
Remember The Italian Job? Where Michael Caine and his lads raced through Turin in iconic Minis to rob a bullion van at the orders of big-time criminal Mr Bridger?
Now you can watch it again, as UK builder and animator Steve Guinness has recreated it as a stop-motion brickfilm, complete with Minis, police chases, and a cliffhanger ending (see what I did there?).
'Hang on lads, I've got an idea...'
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!
My pal and animation guru Kevin Ulrich of Brotherhood Workshop has teamed up with How It Should Have Ended to show us how Star Wars The Force Awakens might have ended. In which Kylo gets his emo butt handed to him...oops, spoilers. I even got a shoutout in the credits!
Ever wonder why Batman is so grumpy this time of year? Happy holidays from BrickNerd!
LAST year, a little film about plastic toy bricks hit theaters and immediately became a worldwide phenomenon. Starring the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Will Ferrell, The LEGO Movie followed the adventures of minifigs Emmett and Wildstyle as they battled the big, bad Lord Business. After pulling in more than $250 million at the box office, TLM was a bonafide pop culture hit.
Read MoreStop 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.
Friend and fellow filmmaker Paul Hollingsworth and his daughter followed in John Hammond's footsteps and spared no expense making this EPIC tribute to Jurassic Park. If you're a fan of animation, LEGO, dinosaurs or humor, you're going to love this film. There's also a great behind the scenes video, where you can see that making these films is as much fun as watching them. I chatted with Paul this morning and he said "Teaching Hailee how to animate has been a great way to spend time together doing what we love." I couldn't agree more.
The School of Life released it's latest video, The Right Person. Produced at BrickNerd Studios in collaboration with Spastik Chuwawa. Don't let the misguided standards of dating sites and social pressure prevent you from finding the right person. Be romantic and realize nobody is perfect, including you. Done by James Morr, Dane Erland and me, a crew of three.
What goes better with death and destruction than minifigs? BrickNerd Studios, in partnership with SpastikChuwawa was recently tasked by The School of Life to do exactly that, and this is the result. We had a great time producing this two minute short, and we're pretty proud of how it turned out.
BrickNerd Studios is extremely happy to announce our latest project is online, Batman Vs Superman. This was a ton of work but also a ton of fun. I'd like to thank everyone that helped make this a reality. Please watch and share!
Old LEGO magic still has its charms. We revisit Borgin and Burkes and Dumbledore’s office to compare how their buildings, curious objects, and magical creatures have changed across generations of Harry Potter sets.
Want to customize a minifig without fancy printers or toxic fumes? Learn how to use the dark art of reductive design to literally erase the line between official and custom LEGO parts.
LEGO meets tabletop combat in the Brassbound universe. We talk with creator Paul Antoine about designing microscale armies, turning builds into game pieces, and developing games with a growing community.
When a legendary archaeologist minifigure meets the spin cycle, adventure calls! Follow along as we reclaim the lost fedora of Indiana Jones and uncover how to repair a LEGO keychain.
LEGO adventurers need somewhere to unwind between quests. We talk with Sleepy Dragon Inn designer Marin Graux about classic Castle, medieval hospitality, and how his design evolved for the BrickLink Designer Program.
From sketches to superglue, see how this custom LEGO motorcycle earned its street cred. We chat with Jean-Yves about the design, prototyping, and even heat resistance of his LEGO customizations, taking them from prototype to the pavement.
October has arrived with a fresh selection of LEGO contests and challenges. Don’t miss your chance to build a MOC and maybe even win some awesome LEGO prizes. With a new LEGO Speederbike Challenge, and a Halloween contest or two, there’s plenty of inspiration to be found!
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It is time to take to the skies to see all the LEGO floating islands that populate our imaginations. Check out these gravity-defying rocks and learn why they might be one of the best ever collab ideas.