Bricks in Motion
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EXPANSE | A Brickfilm
Take a journey to the edge. Find out what lies in the darkness of the EXPANSE. My first Brickfilm since 2012.
(Contains moderate violence.)
Last edited by RedBrick1 (December 14, 2014 (11:11am))
Great mood in this film. I liked the camera angles and the quick changes between them. Animation looked nice but I would have liked to have seen a bit more reaction, like a bit of a bounce when the man hits the ground at the beginning rather than a dead stop. Quite a cool film overall and it's always good to see some darker and creepy films around here.
Haven't seen one of these void films in a while, they were certainly all the rage back in the 2009-2010 range. The cinematography and pacing were nice, I never felt lost with what was going on. The end was really interesting; I'm always skeptical of these black/white expanse films, as there have been so many of them.
Bringing back to the real world was pretty creative, and far darker than I was expecting.
My biggest critique would be that the animation didn't seem super smooth, a lot of the motion started or stopped a bit to suddenly, and I don't think there were quite enough in-between frames on a lot of the movements, especially the head turns. Overall though, it's a really nice film, it's always nice to see something different from what's currently popular. 
@sillypenta, That first fall was one of the first clips I animated for the short. I was VERY rusty when I started production on this.
@AquaMorph, Thank you. Wanted to release something a bit different then another "Darth Vader vs. Batman" or "Star Wars Trailer in Lego." Not that there is anything wrong with some of that, but I did want to create something a bit on the moody side.
@backyardlegos, Glad you didn't get lost, pacing the film was a bit of a challenge for me. Tweaked it quite a bit over the editing process. (The first edit was nothing like what you just watched.) Was trying to think of a way to make the ending unique and fairly jolting, and I think it worked fairly well. I have never been the best animator on the site, still learning and working on my technique. Used some more in camera movements this time as well, which is something I have been experimenting with. (You happy Squid? 
)
I decided to try something like this, after watching an "artsy" brickfilm that someone uploaded. It had one black minifigure and one white, chasing through a maze of bricks. (Also black and white.) If anyone can remember which film that was, I would appreciate it if you refreshed my memory.
I thought it was great. The camerawork and sound editing was particularly good.
I thought it was great. The camerawork and sound editing was particularly good.
Thanks for mentioning the sound design. Put more work into that then usual. Layered many different sound effects until I got the... um.... effect, that I was looking, errrr, LISTENING for. 
As for the camerawork, I tried shooting this like I would a live action film and I think it payed off.
I thought the lighting was really great. It's got a really nice look to it, and it also helps that you seem to have a rather good camera.
I'm not sure I really understood what was happening, but it had an interesting feel to it.
I really liked it. As I said on Youtube, I'm not a huge personal fan of blood in brickfilms. However I think this great atmosphere. The cinematography, sound design and lighting really add to the creepy feeling.
Last edited by BrickTective Productions (December 15, 2014 (08:39pm))
I'll just echo everything that's already been said about the sound editing, the dark atmosphere, and the animation. But, I also wasn't particularly a fan of the blood effect. Other than that, I agree with Aqua about how this is one of the best dark brickfilms in a while.
I thought the lighting was really great. It's got a really nice look to it, and it also helps that you seem to have a rather good camera.
I'm not sure I really understood what was happening, but it had an interesting feel to it.
Thank you very much for taking time to give your thoughts on it. The camera is actually a C910 webcam. I have a DSLR, but I have never used that for animation. (Maybe someday.)
The idea I was attempting to convey, was that the main character was having some type of internal battle. That internal fight spilled over into the real world, and he hurt one of the people closest to him. Kind of deep for a short brickfilm, but that was the premise.
I really liked it. As I said on Youtube, I'm not a huge personal fan of blood in brickfilms. However I think this great atmosphere. The cinematography, sound design and lighting really add to the creepy feeling.
Thanks for the thoughts. I really do believe that the blood did fit with the mood I was attempting to build, it was an artistic choice and I didn't add it simply to have blood.
I'll just echo everything that's already been said about the sound editing, the dark atmosphere, and the animation. But, I also wasn't particularly a fan of the blood effect. Other than that, I agree with Aqua about how this is one of the best dark brickfilms in a while.
Thanks, hopefully others will attempt darker, more serious brickfilms in the future. Did you not like the effect of itself, or the inclusion of the blood?
It was just how the blood spattered. It looked a little too fake, by just adding a red tint to the screen, instead of having it spray from the minifigure's head.
Spoiler (click to read)
It was just how the blood spattered. It looked a little too fake, by just adding a red tint to the screen, instead of having it spray from the minifigure's head.
Thanks for the suggestion. I have tried the red tint/cloud before, wanted to try a different approach this time. (I had all these blood effects clips that I never have gotten to use.)
I like this. Really liked the lighting and the cinematography, it helped give a creepy feel. I agree with the shot of the guy falling, it could have used some more easing, but otherwise the animation was good. Not entirely sure about the blood effect, but I think it worked well enough.
The ending shot, though, of the living room in the expanse didn't work for me. I felt like it killed the illusion, of the expanse being in the guy's head and the living room being in the "real" world.
Aside from that minor complaint, though, really nice work.
I like this. Really liked the lighting and the cinematography, it helped give a creepy feel. I agree with the shot of the guy falling, it could have used some more easing, but otherwise the animation was good. Not entirely sure about the blood effect, but I think it worked well enough.
Spoiler (click to read)
The ending shot, though, of the living room in the expanse didn't work for me. I felt like it killed the illusion, of the expanse being in the guy's head and the living room being in the "real" world.
Aside from that minor complaint, though, really nice work.
Appreciate the feedback. About the fall, what did you think of the 2nd one? Was that enough of an improvement?
Wanted to show him bouncing back in forth between reality and his mind, in that final shot the 'monster' pops back up along with the sound effect that I linked to him. It indicates that the main character has begun to phase back into the Expanse. At least that is what I was going for.
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