Hey everyone, and welcome to the official page of the 2020 Brain V.S. Brawn Brickfilming Competition! This is the first time I've hosted a contest, so any feedback is more than welcome.

No dates have been determined yet.

The theme for this contest is brain v.s. brawn, in other words, smarts against strength. This doesn't have to be limited to a skinny nerd beating a muscle builder in an arm wrestling match. Countless interpretations are possible, so be creative! The basic guideline is an underdog defeating a favorite; the rest is up to you!

• Entries must be comprised mainly of LEGO or similar building brick toys. Using CGI and digital VFX is encouraged, but keep fully animated CG shots to a minimum.

• Entries must be a minimum of (roughly) 30 seconds in length, NOT including titles and/or credits. There is no maximum to how long an entry can be.

• No mature and/or explicit content is permitted. This includes, but is not limited to: swearing, sexual content, and blatant drug and/or alcohol references. Blood and gore is allowed, but keep it to a minimum.

• Only videos you have created after the contest start time are allowed.

• To ensure the above rule, entries must follow the contest theme, as well as include a series of modification, or MOD, elements; more on this later

• You may only submit one entry per participant. However, if you create your own film and then collaborate with someone in making another film, this is fine.

If any of these rules are broken in any way, your entry may be disqualified!

The judging panel for this contest will be as follows:

• Aaron Soileau (Brickman Pictures - Myself)
• Shelby Pritchard (Pritchard Studios)
• Michael Stohr (Slotborg)
• Dominic Schmidt

The judging criteria will be as follows:

• Production values (story, animation, set design, cinematography, sound design, etc.) - Perfect score = 20 points

• Interpretation of the given "brain v.s. brawn" theme - Perfect score = 15 points

• Originality - Perfect score = 10 points

• Creativity in the use of the MOD elements - Perfect score = 5 points

There will be a two part judging system. All judges will rank each film’s individual categories by the above points system, and add those categorical scores to create a final categorical score, which will equal 50 points in a perfectly ranked film. Separately, each judge will also give each film an overall score based solely on their personal preferences, on a scale from 1-50, with a perfect score equaling 50 points as before. These two scores will then be added together for a final score, making 100 point a perfect score from one judge. Each judge’s score will be added together for each respective film, making 500 points a perfect, final score. The top ten entries will be listed in descending order of these final points scores. This way, every entry will be judged on its individual categories, as well as include the “human” element of the judges’ personal tastes.

In order to prove that your film was created in the allotted time frame, your film must include certain modification, or MOD elements, in your film. These MOD elements will consist of a color MOD and a letter/number MOD, and will be announced at the start of the contest. The color MOD will consist of two random colored bricks that must be connected to, or touching each other. The letter/number mod will be one of the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet (A-Z), or an Arabic numeral (1-9). If the number MOD is chosen, it will not be zero, as this could easily be confused with the letter "o." Likewise, the letter “o” will not be chosen as a letter MOD. You must include one or the other of these MOD elements in every shot of your film. You do not need to use both, however. A film would qualify using only the color MOD, or only the letter/number MOD. You can mix it up for scene to scene, or even use both in one shot. As long as one or the other is in every shot, you’ll be fine. A "shot" is defined here as a continuous view of a given location. If the MOD element is shown in a certain position and the camera then moves to a position in which the MOD cannot be seen (like a pan shot, for example), this is perfectly acceptable. Once the camera cuts to a different location, however, the MOD element must be shown again when/if it returns. They are not required in any fully digital titles/credits, but will be required in any brick-built shots on which titles/credits are overlaid. The MOD elements cannot be inserted digitally in post-production. While you cannot lose any points regarding the usage of MOD elements, extra points will be awarded to creative usage of them. The main purpose of the MOD elements is to merely ensure that films were made within the time limit, but a film that integrates them creatively will fair better than a film that simply sticks it in the background for the shot to qualify.

Now for the fun part! There will be a prize pool for the top 3 placed films. 1st place gets to choose a prize, second place chooses between the two remaining prizes, and third place receives the final remaining prize. The prizes will be as follows:

Adobe After Effects CS6 - Fully Licensed Software

Exclusive Royalty Free Music Pack

Exclusive Royalty Free VFX Pack

To submit your entry, e-mail your video to [email protected] as an unlisted YouTube video, password protected Vimeo video, or a shareable Google Drive video.

• There is a server for Brain V.S. Brawn on Discord here. Feel free to join there for any chat regarding the contest. All five judges will be active there, so feel free to ask any questions as well!

• Though only the top 3 entries will receive prizes, all entries ranked in the top 10 will be listed here, and in the project Discord channel, according to their rank.

• It's not required, but requested that you use the contest logo in your film.

• If you have any questions pertaining to this contest, feel free to ask them here on BiM either in reply to this topic or via PM; email me at the above address; tweet your question @Brickman_817; or ask your question on Discord either in the contest channel or by PM.

I'm super excited to host this contest and I cannot wait to see the awesome brickfilms everyone creates. Good luck everyone!
 

-Brickman

Last edited by Brickman (September 30, 2020 (08:26am))

"THAC XVII” Entry • YouTube Channel • I voice act