Topic: THAC 2023 - Coming January
Hello one and all, and welcome to THAC 2023, the 20th THAC!!!! This past THAC was the biggest THAC of all time with a record number of 120 entries. I'm so excited to see how many entries we receive this time around and can't wait to see what you all make 
Check out the announcement video:
The Twenty-four Hour Animation Contest, or THAC for short, is a Brickfilming competition that lasts exactly 24 hours. All writing, recording, animating, and editing must be completed within the span of one day. It is as challenging as it sounds, but equal parts fun and a major staple of the community!
THAC will commence on Saturday, January the 7th at 7:00 am EST. It will end exactly 24 hours later, on Sunday, January the 8th at 7:00 am EST. Please click the link to see when it will start in your timezone. A countdown to the contest can be found here:
https://countingdownto.com/?c=4473482
Anyone who is a registered member of Bricks in Motion is eligible to enter THAC. If you are not yet a member of Bricks in Motion but wish to enter, please register by Saturday the 8th of January. Judges may participate but are disqualified from being ranked and from receiving prizes. Joint productions are allowed, but it is up to you to divide up the prizes if you win anything.
To assure that you create your entry within the 24 hour time frame and to prevent cheating, the theme will be announced at the start of the contest. You are allowed to brainstorm ideas beforehand and/or prepare builds for your sets, but there is no guarantee that your ideas will match the theme. The theme will either be a single word or phrase. For example, the last THAC’s theme was “Perspective”.
You must include the THAC logo for at least 3 uninterrupted seconds of your entry. This could be at any point in your video and any variation of the logo that will be provided.Several high-quality resolution versions of the THAC 2023 logo can be found here.
In addition, we also require the use of the “mod element.” A mod element is a visual component that must be physically included in each shot of your film to prove that it was made in the 24 hour timeframe. There is an exception however, with a 15 second lenience rule. You do not have to include the mod element for a maximum of 15 seconds. Hopefully, this will allow you to film close-ups or other shots where it may be difficult to incorporate the mod elements. Additionally, we want to provide leeway to entrants who forget to include a mod element in a shot or two. In short, if you omit or forget the mod element in a few shots–that’s okay! Just make sure the shots without the mod do not exceed 15 seconds. Additionally, we do allow mod elements to be cropped out in some shots but you must provide proof that the mod element was present, by sending me an uncropped still of the shot. You can send me this either through messaging me on discord or by including it in your submission email.
There will be two mod elements to choose from–you do not need to use both, you can pick one or the other, or even mix and match them. As with the theme, these mod elements will be announced at the start of the contest. The first mod element is a color mod. This will be a combination of two random bricks that must be connected together or touching. (For example, a green brick connected to a white brick.) The second mod element is a letter mod. This could be any one of the 26 letters in the English alphabet. You may use upper or lowercase versions of the letter, but the letter must be recognizable.
Your entry must be entirely animated and edited during the 24-hour period. To prove this and as a long-time tradition of the contest, mod elements must appear in every shot of your film with the exception of 15 seconds. More on this below.
Your entry must consist of primarily LEGO (or similar building block toy) stop motion animation. Live action, CGI, and hand drawn animation are allowed but stop motion must be the primary focus.
Your entry must consist of at least 30 seconds of stop motion animation. There is no maximum time limit.
No mature or explicit content is allowed. This includes but is not limited to: swearing, excessive gore, overt sexual content, and blatant drug references. (If you are unsure about whether your film will be accepted, ask me or one of the judges).
You may not make your entry public until after the deadline. The entry you make public must be the entry you submit to the judges. You cannot create a version of your film that includes the mod element to send to the judges and then release a second version of the film with the mod element removed. Once the judging process is over and the official results have been announced, you can make any changes you wish.
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. Additionally, due to time restraints of the contest, music may be created before the contest. While using copyrighted/trademarked material is allowed, you are discouraged from basing your entry on pre-existing franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel, etc. There is no direct score deduction, but a film that uses pre-existing intellectual properties will not be viewed as favorable as a film that creates something entirely new.
Check out Chris W.’s video about mod elements: https://youtu.be/YKO2McX25jY
Entries will be judged on criteria including originality, production value (animation, set design, cinematography, sound, etc.), story, and creative interpretation of the theme. Films will be discussed and ranked by the judges until a consensus is reached. The top three films will be eligible for the prize pool. Entries below 15th place will not be publicly ranked.
The judges this year are:
Penta
Penta is one of the administrators of Bricks in Motion and of the Brickfilms Wiki. He is known for his History of Brickfilms video series, the Benny n' Lee series, and for Taco Trouble 2: The Trial. He is also a co-host of The World of Brickfilms Podcast.
Blandeer
Blandeer is the LAN Ambassador for Bricks in Motion, liaising with LEGO to organize our juicy contest prizes. In 2022, he released the exceedingly long-awaited Afro Driver. If you are lucky, you might also catch one of his very interesting livestreams.
BP
Bricks & Pieces (BP) is one of the admins of Brickfilm Day, where he is involved with organizing events and community project brickfilms. He has also contributed to top-10-placing entries to the last five BRAWL contests on Bricks in Motion.
Zach (MindGame)
MindGame is a longtime fixture of the community, with many notable films to his name including Stranger than Fishin', The Profession, The Cleaners, and films in the Ben and Andy series. He also holds the record for largest number of successful THAC entries (12), which date all the way back to the very first THAC in 2005.
Yetgo
Yetgo is an admin of both Brickboard and Brick à Brack. Her 2022 film The Time Ship won two prizes at the annual German brickfilm festival Steinerei.
LOTW Studios
LOTW Studios is the current host of THAC and host of the World of Brickfilms Podcast. He is most known for his App Man series and came 1st place in BRAWL 2021, with his entry The Tracker Tracked.
The LEGO Group via the LEGO® Ambassador Network, are very generously providing us with the prizes. A huge thank you goes out to them! The 1st place winner will have the choice to pick out of the 3, followed by the 2nd place winner, who chooses between the 2 remaining prizes, with the 3rd receiving the remaining prize.
Please note that there is the possibility of supply shortages with sets, but the prizes we are offering are:
Jazz Quartet 21334: LEGO Ideas | Toruk Makto & Tree of Souls 75574: Avatar | Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent 31132: 3in1
If you have any questions, please contribute to the discussion below, or message me on the Bricks in Motion Discord!
Last edited by William Osborne (January 6, 2023 (04:47pm))
