Bricks in Motion
We are a friendly filmmaking community devoted to the art of stop-motion animation using LEGO® and similar construction toys. Here, you can share your work, join our community of other brickfilmers, and participate in periodic animation contests!
A place to discuss, share, and create stop motion films.
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Lets see some pics!
No problem 
Here's some behind the scenes photos of a battle scene I'm working on. Boy, this is harder than I thought...:/
Looks pretty nice. If I had a better microphone I would audition.
Just finished animating a battle sequence. *groan* 
This is turning out to be harder than I thought. I have to animate over 30 minifigures at the same time, and because there are so many of them and they all carry huge rifles, it leaves only a small space for my hands to fit and for them to move and makes animating very difficult. The first battle scene in my opinion has turned out to be a letdown. Let's see if I can do better on the next battle scene I do, the climax! (And luckily, when I film that I won't have semester finals to deal with)
I'm really interested! I would like to audition as General James McPherson. He seems to fit 
Filming is falling behind. I originally planned to finish filming all battle sequences by the end of today, but I've contracted the flu. 
I'm still pushing for filming to be done before New Year, though.
@MySimpleWorld, I apologize, but McPherson, as well as most of the other roles, have already been taken. I'm sorry I did not fix the casting call sooner, and Iappreciate your enthusiasm for the project.
Last edited by texas_cheeto_hog (December 23, 2014 (07:39pm))
I had some friends come over last week to help me finish the voices, and around the same time I finished filiming. Well, sort of. I had to cut the project in half for two reasons A: the final climax is yet to be filmed, and at the rate I have been filming, it would take me another week or so. B: the judges at the technology fair I am entering it into only allow presentations to last up to 10 minutes, and the climax would have made it exceed that limit.
This project is turning out to be very different from what I had in mind. I wish I could go back to spring of 2014, when I was really into the project, and told myself, "don't wait until summer to write the script! Do it now, order the pieces now, film during the summer, edit in October, have it ready early! Etc." However, the script was not finished until late June and because I attempted to squeeze in another film project before this one (S.S.R.) I was double booked. Storyboard in did not finish until November, filming did not begin until December, and, instead of filming being finished by the end of December, it did not finish until last weekend.
The final product is not turning out to be the epic I wanted it to be. The lighting is lousy, the angles are mediocre, the animation is only decent, and the set design is poor. Also, because I started filming so late in the game, I was unable to get voices or original scoring for this movie, which I narrow down to the fact I expected too much of myself. I expected to be able to make a sweeping, tragic epic even though I am still an amateur, I expected to be able to animate over 50 figures at once in a thrilling battle scene, and I expected to be able to film an entire project in less than one month. This is not the blockbuster that I wanted to launch my studio into a golden age.
However, I am still satisfied with this film. It is far from what I wanted, but it still is far better than anything I have previously done, both animation-wise and story-wise. This is my first real movie that is not being narrated or using simple story telling. This movie has also helped me to see what I have been doing right and what I need to fix. For example, I found the software Istopmotion fits my needs best, I found that I need a new lens for my Nikon, I found that I need a webcam to get tight shots, and I found I need more experience with digital effects and animation before I try to make epics. So, before I try another ambitious project, I am going to make smaller scale brickfilms that will build my ability throughout 2015, although I will eventually release I director's cut version of this. Thank you for the support!
Thanks for explaining everything.
I know how much it hurts to see what would have been an amazing film turn into something far less, and then not even get finished. But you've already managed the best response there is: Take away all the things you've learned, and put those things toward making your next films that much greater.
Brickfilming is a learning process, and much of the skill and knowledge is best learned by experience. In this case, it seems like you've learned a lot, and are ready to tackle the next project in light of that. You tried some ambitious things, and while they didn't work out this time, never give up on trying to push your limits and trying something new.
I finally finished the movie yesterday! I presented to the judges at the competition about an hour ago. I eagerly await the results at 3:30pm (EST)
I'm at the awards ceremony now. The tension's killing me! 
Last edited by texas_cheeto_hog (February 5, 2015 (04:55pm))
The film won 1st place in animated graphic design at the competition in my age group! It will move onto state on March 7th! Until then, I will be unable to post it due to the competition's rules, but I will put a trailer out sometime within the month. The film runs at nearly 18 minutes long, with plenty of fast paced action, to keep an eye out!
P.S. sorry these pictures take up so much space, I upload them from my phone, which leaves them at a default size.
Whoa, congrats! I really actually hadn't been keeping up with the progress of this Civil War brickfilm. I didn't even know that you had finished it!
Congrats again! I can't wait to see it!
Thanks, guys!
The film won 1st place in my age group in Animated Graphic Design in the statewide fair! I've posted the video to the film directory, so check it out if you're interested. Here's the link: http://www.bricksinmotion.com/films/view/6594/ I would like to thank everyone involved, including If I Were A MiniFig and Dyland, who, unfortunately, could not compose music for the movie or voice act in it (respectively) due to how far behind I fell on production and the tight deadline. 
I originally intended to film the second half of the film after the contest, but I felt somewhat satisfied with the ending in this cut, and I've also taken down many of the sets, so I've decided to move on to something else instead, though I have a few completed deleted scenes I intend to post.
Finally, I would like to apologize for being so egocentric with this project. Looking back on many of my posts, I've noticed they were more about me making an impressive Brickfilm than contributing to the community. I guess I was so carried away by the idea that this would be my magnum opus, that I would make an epic first impression on the brickfilming community, that a strong sense of self importance built up in me. Everything was all about how great this movie would be, about how genius a director I was, how inspired this idea was, blah, blah, blah.
The actual making of Blue and Gray was a very humbling experience for me. I realized that I am still new, that I am still a bit of an ameteur, that I still have a lot of room for improvement. I would like you all to know that from now on, I will work on contributing to the community, instead of just bragging about how great I think my movies are and building my ego. I feel really low about how I acted, and I'm very sorry for not focusing on what Bricksinmotion is all about.
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