Topic: Septemberfest 2020: Animation Contest
Septemberfest 2020 Animation Contest is OVER!
Judging will happen soon, but in the meantime, check out the entries!
YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P … JTM8fBCYUK
Google Drive entry: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mjyDH8 … UPmux/view
Submitted Entries
Giraffeboy329
AwesomepantsFilms
BRICKABASH
Unroyalty
JO Co
Mustache Maniacs
KG
Useless
AoW-Gamer
Bananaslama1
JacobCrow
twickabrick
Aroben
Wammy
Kmfulmer100
2x4 studios
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We also have a Septemberfest 2020 photography contest! Click here for more info.
We're in danger. It's Septemberfest again. But what does that mean... for you?
Septemberfest is an annual celebration of the best brickfilm of all time, The Citizen of the Year. If you haven't seen it, please do check it out:
Why is this the best brickfilm of all time? Uhhh..... because it is, duh! Inside jokes aside, this month is set apart every year for the celebration of such a remarkable film as well as the brickfilming community as a whole. But every so often, we amp up the celebration with a contest. Lucky you, this anniversary isn't ruined! Announcing Septemberfest 2020 Contest!
The contest is simple. Make a brickfilm (it doesn't have to be stop-motion!) featuring the theme, enter it in the contest, quote famous lines The Citizen of the Year repeatedly to friends, family, and strangers throughout Septemberfest, and win awesome prizes! (Okay maybe that third one is optional...)
The contest runs from September 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020.
Theme
The theme of the contest is The Citizen of the Year. It's up to you to choose how to interpret that theme. You can either take inspiration from the original best brickfilm of all time, or come up with your own ideas. It's up to you! The Citizen of the Year (the contest theme) shares the same title as the brickfilm, yes, but it's up to you to decide how to use it in your film. Be creative, or make a blatant ripoff, we want to see both!
Prizes
The prizes for this year's Septemberfest contest are generously provided by The LEGO Group via the LEGO® Ambassador Network. A huge thank you goes out to them!
Now... for the good part! The top three winners will pick from a prize pool of three prizes featuring the following prizes:
10266 LEGO Creator NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, 40341 LEGO Xtra Sea Accessories, a Dustbin Parrots Vinyl Sticker, plus three parrots in a trash can!
21321 LEGO Ideas International Space Station plus 40309 LEGO Xtra Food Accessories, a Dustbin Parrots Vinyl Sticker, plus three parrots in a trash can!
60230 LEGO City People Pack - Space Research and Development plus 40313 LEGO Xtra Bicycles, a Dustbin Parrots Vinyl Sticker, plus three parrots in a trash can!
Also special thanks to Pongowl for designing this year's Septemberfest logo!
Judges
Entries will be judged on criteria including originality, production values (animation, set design, cinematography, sound, etc.), story, and creative interpretation of the theme by the judges. Rather than judging on categories individually, judges will examine how all these elements work together to create a complete film. Films will be discussed and ranked collectively by the judges until a consensus is reached. The top 3 films will eligible for the prize pool. Entries below 10th place will not be publicly ranked.
Dewfilms
Dewfilms is a longtime member of the brickfilming community, and a moderator on Bricks in Motion. She has directed some brickfilms herself, but is also well known for her voice acting work. She's also been a reoccurring judge for Bricks in Motion contests.
Brickcrazy
Brickcrazy, also known as 5-K Animations on YouTube, is a fellow community member who has created a number of very well received brickfilms over the years.
Walter Benson
Walter is a longtime member of the Bricks in Motion community, most notably known for his film That's the Way it Goes!.
rioforce
Rioforce is the administrator of Bricks in Motion (and coincidentally the host of this very contest!). He's known in the community for his work on Sola Luna as well as hosting contests on Bricks in Motion.
Rules
Films must consist of primarily LEGO (or similar building block toy) animation. Stop-motion, CGI, hand drawn, and experimental animation are all acceptable. Films may include other forms of media, but must be primarily animated.
No mature or explicit content is allowed. This includes, but is not limited to: swearing, excessive gore, overt sexual content, and blatant drug references.
Films must consist of at least 30 seconds of animation.
Submitted films must be new films, created specifically for this contest.
Only one film submission per person.
The entry you submit to the judges must be the entry made publicly available to everyone else.
Use of copyrighted material (such as music) is allowed, though be aware of copyright infringement. Use of copyrighted material will not affect the judging of your entry. While using copyrighted/trademarked material is allowed, you are discouraged from basing your entry on pre-existing franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel, etc. Originality is favored.
You must be a registered Bricks in Motion member to enter.
Deadline
The deadline for submission is October 31, 2020 at 11:59pm EDT.
Films may be submitted and made public any time after the start of the contest.
To submit your film, fill out this form. You will receive a confirmation email within two days of submitting the form (but usually sooner).
Our recommended method of hosting your entry is uploading to a video sharing site like YouTube, Vimeo, or NewsGrounds. Google Drive entries are allowed but discouraged due to the limited accessibility of Google Drive files. If you have any questions or issues, please reply to this topic or use the Forum email to contact me (I'm also on the BiM Discord server too!).
Entries may be public or unlisted at the time of entry. Private or scheduled entries cannot be accepted. You may schedule your entry after acceptance in the contest, though.
Q&A
Q: Are we allowed to use the contest logo in our entry? In the credits of our film, for example?
A: Yes, although this is not required. If you want a high-resolution version of the logo to use for this purpose, here and here are a couple variations of the logo on a transparent background for that purpose.
Q: May we ask contest judges to voice act for our entries?
A: Because of the limited number of people on this site with experience in voice acting and access to recording equipment, we've decided to allow it. Please refrain from involving them in creative roles beyond this, however.
Q: Should entries focus on a particular genre?
A: Your film can fall into any story genre you like, as its story ultimately fits the criteria laid out in the theme section. The examples are just examples; there's no need to stick to film noir, science fiction, or any other particular genre.
Q: Can we collaborate with others to create an entry?
A: Yes! Collaboration is encouraged. However, we won't be able to divide up the prizes evenly for you, so you'll have to determine who receives the prizes in the case of a win. Entries may be submitted on the basis of one entry per director, so you can help with someone else's entry and still enter a film you've directed.
Q: May we post trailers, images, or other work-in-progress elements of our film publicly on the forum?
A: This is encouraged! Feel free to post about the progress on your film in the forums. You can even make a thread devoted to your progress on a film if you like. In fact, you might even find some of your work-in-progress stuff promoted on our social media...
Q: Can we use some non-LEGO elements in building our sets and characters?
A: Yes. The films should be primarily LEGO or LEGO-styled elements, but can definitely contain anything you want (within the rules).
Q: Are we allowed to release alternate versions of our films at the same time as the version submitted to the contest? (for instance, a version with profanity or other restricted content)
A: In order to maintain the integrity of the judging process, please only release the version you are submitting to the contest publicly at the time the deadline passes. Entrants who violate this rule may be disqualified. If you want to re-release a revised version of your film, you may do so after contest judging is completed and results have been announced.
Q: Are we required to include any "mod elements" like BiM's THAC contest?
A: No. Those are used in THAC to ensure films are created in the 24-hour period. You have two months this time. Even if you did submit a film you began working on before this competition was announced, that would be fine as long as you haven't released it anywhere before this contest, and it fits the theme of this contest.
Q: How fast and loose should I play with the content restriction rules?
A: Ultimately, we want winning entries that won't earn us angry emails from parents, or concern from contest sponsors (present and future) if they win and are celebrated throughout Bricksinmotion.com and our social media postings. This community has members of a diverse variety of ages and backgrounds in it, so for a competition we want to be respectful of that. These rules are undoubtedly going to be limitations for some filmmakers, but we believe it's still possible to make compelling, even dramatic stories within these limitations. Potentially, one could approach them as creative limitations that empower the filmmaker to find more original, inventive ways of conveying ideas in a story.
Q: When can we share our films publicly?
A: Any time! We encourage you to release whenever you want for this contest. This is different than most Bricks in Motion contests, but it's Septemberfest! It's a laid back time for a fun contest. That said, be aware that releasing your film early does let the other entrants know what their competition is like. But don't let that stop you if you want to release early!
Q: What’s the deal with The Citizen of the Year? Why is it so special?
A: The Citizen of the Year, a masterpiece of modern and classical cinema, has been known to trigger enlightenment upon being viewed as well as curing a plethora of diseases. Really though, it's just a fun joke. Check out the wiki article on The Citizen of the Year for a bit of a backstory on why this film has become such a cult hit.
Q: Do I need to include parrots in my entry?
A: There’s no requirement for parrots or trash cans to appear in your film. Brownie points if you do though. 
Q: Can we take clips from The Citizen of the Year and use them in our own films to help tie the worlds together?
A: Yes! You will not be disqualified for using clips from The Citizen of the Year. Using clips is considered fair use. That said, this contest isn't specifically about that particular brickfilm, so there may be no need to use clips from it.
Last edited by rioforce (October 31, 2020 (09:14pm))
