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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I'm thinking of writing a how to brickfilming book. It would cover stuff like.
Set building
Walk cycles
Lighting
Pans, Zooms, Switching the Focus in a shot
writing for brickfilms
What camera to use
Editing
Recording the dialogue
Green/Blue Screening
And lots more.
I'm not sure whether it would be a real book ebook or maybe an ebook on a CD with example's of stuff like walk cycles etc.
Would you buy it? and What do you think?
I don't think so, MovingBricks. Not that I'm discouraging you, but to be honest, there is no way you can create a book or even an ebook because 1. You have to find a publisher, like Harper Collins or something like that and you have to pay them some SERIOUS money for them to publish you book. Same goes with the ebook. Secondly, you need to have some experience in brickfilming, or not people won't buy your book.
Sorry. No harsh feelings. I'm just giving my opinion.
You can publish books yourself.
But still, he's a rookie.
Not a bad idea...I'd prefer it as an ebook or in a pdf format. I'm a fan of brickfilmig books and magazines. About how much would it cost? By the way...does anyone know of a magazine that regularly publishes stuff on animating?
But still, he's a rookie.
If you're distributing the book to a small crowd of people it's actually easier to self publish. And if it's an e-book it won't cost him anything.
Well maybe it would work.
I think it would be cool if there were a book about brickfilming. It could introduce more people to the hobby properly witch information they need to get a good start to it. 
I would read it. But I suggest that it be written by more then one person as to get a more wide range of ideas and methods.
We could just print off all of the posts ever made on this site and call it s book. Nobody would know the difference. 
Not a terrible concept. I believe we could turn it into a nice community project. Though I wouldnt suggest attempting to market it.
I am actually writing a brickfilming guide/book atm, its slowly getting done.
I'm going to publish it myself and sell via my website as an Ebook.
Frankly, unless the book was written by someone who has some professional animation experience, I would not buy it. Why? Because everyone on this site seems to think they know how to make good animation; whereas from my point of view, they haven't got a clue. Animation isn't just about arcs and smooth in/smooth out and whatever other technical terms you can come up with; animation is about bringing inanimate objects to life. When I look up life in the dictionary, I see terms like sentience, spirit, and soul, yet when I watch most brickfilms now, I see none of that in the characters on the screen. Sure, I may hear it from the voice actors, but what I am watching is a bunch of robots.
Don't believe me? Go check out the 11 Second Club winners, and if you still don't see the subtle movements and gestures that indicate the existence of an emotional, sentient character, read some of the comments on a clip and then watch it again. Don't think you can get emotion out of such limited objects as LEGO? Go watch some Pixar. As bad a movie as Cars was, the characters still seem alive, and apart from their faces, most of the characters only have four major points of articulation — LEGO mini-figures have seven.
And there's already been a book written on brickfilming. It came with the LEGO Studio sets, and even that covered important stuff that I don't see utilized in brickfilms now. I apologize if I've been a little over the top, but I just wish you guys could see that there's a LOT regarding animation that you're missing.
As a regular enterer to the 11 second club, and an animation student of 2 years, I'd think I'm qualified, but oh well, im doing it anyway 
If you've got information you want to pass on to other brickfilmers, why not put it in the BiM Resources?
Don't believe me? Go check out the 11 Second Club winners, and if you still don't see the subtle movements and gestures that indicate the existence of an emotional, sentient character, read some of the comments on a clip and then watch it again.
Good point. Reading how great something was really showed me how great it was.
Given Rsteen's background, I think I would consider him well suited to writing about animation.
That said, I wouldn't buy a book on brickfilming, so I guess I'm not the target audience. If someone wants to improve past the beginner level, they need to make films. I'm sure a book could be decent for someone just starting out in the field or someone who was interested in the history of brickfilming, though. To the hypothetical writer of such a book, those are areas I would focus on more than anything else; just getting people started and making them think about what they are doing, along with what they could be doing.
Alright, I suppose not ALL the comments on a winning 11 Second Club entry are fairly critical, but some do point out useful tips, and the Mentor Critique that is created for the winner as a prize is usually enlightening. If you must, read the comments for entries that didn't win, and see what people suggest should be improved.
Thanks for all the replies
I'm not thinking of writing it until I've got a bit more experience so maybe in a year after i've done a few more films.
how much would it cost?
I don't know yet. What would you pay?
Here's an animation magazine I think it's supposed to be good.
http://www.animationmagazine.net/
I'd price it for about, maybe twenty bucks or so?
TBH, I wouldn't buy a brickfilming book online as a ebook. I mean, there's already so much information on the internet about brickfilming it's kind of stupid. I probably would buy a book on brickfilming if it were to be a physical book, and covered topics that actually get into depth on character animation. Not just how to animate and edit and all that shiatsu. I wouldn't buy it from someone who is a newer brickfilmer, or even if it were a normal brickfilmer. I would buy it from someone who has actually been paid to make brickfilms, someone like Paganomation. If Paganomation, Spiteyourface, or Garrett made a brickfilming book I'd buy it.
-JK
I was thinking of writing a brickfilming book when I got older. Older as in whenever I become a "professional" brickfilmer. It'll be like what Just Kidden said above, I agree with him on those points.
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