It feels weird to respond to your own topic with a post about you, JK, but yeah, it needs to be said.

Just Kidden

He is probably the most important animator to be here.  JK really made cartoony animation in brickfilms a thing.  And since starting all of that lovely style has rippled across through other brickfilmers and it has now left almost no one above his influence.  JK doesn't just make good films, but he makes almost everyone else's films better.  This is something few others could do.

Hazzat
His brickfilms inspired me to start brickfilming myself.

Jon, Sean, Nathan, Grant, and all the other guys in the Skype chat regularly.
They're there along with you during the contests, critique your films, etc. They're also funny people.

JK
He's JK. 'Nuff said.

PushOver
He does is own musical work (DUMDUMDUM THIS IS WHAT YOU GET)

Mickey
He gave us the gift of Josh Brolin and onion ring references. He's also very good critic, he puts thought into his posts.

I've been kinda wanting to write An Adventurer's Guide to Riigo-Faloo, which is a book written by Ouskavar and his protégé Aso Kroysterhargen.  It's a book that exists within the story and contains just about everything basic anyone would need to learn about Riigo-Faloo from tips upon negotiating with each of the several specific vampire houses, to old Faloovian history, to hunting flesh-beasts, to finding the best place to grab some black liquorish.  It's all there!

Also, if you or anyone wants some of my plastic-y noises, I give them away to anyone who desires.

No, I record a bunch of sound effects with my Snowball made with LEGO bricks, rather than try to make all of my sound effects sound as if I were trying to make it just sound as if it were something in live action.  I feel the plastic-y noises help with the LEGO feel of the film, as it's the type of sound year hear when you play with LEGO.
All of my footsteps are made with a board and actual minifigure feet.  I also have some rolls and clicks and several other things.

David Pagano
His brick films made me want to start brick filming. I love his "Star Wars in Two Minutes" specials, and I quote, "Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived in the desert, but we don't care about him" very much.

Zach Machias, MindGame
He had some great animations and funny shorts, and the quality of his videos are great. His THACumentary made me want to enter this year. He has some variety in the genres of his films, too.

TwoGuysBrickfilms Youtube Channel

Oh, man, this thread makes me feel good.  Thanks guys.

SONJIRA

The name keeps coming up, but yeah, he's so good.  He makes a lot of good stuff and he's a fabulous narrator and he's in almost all of my films now because I heard his voice and decided I needed to have a film with a narrator so he could narrate it.  I also had the pleasure of meeting Sonjira in the Outernet once.

BRANDON FIELDS

Really good voice actor, doesn't actually film much, though.  I have also met Brandon though pure chance on several occasions after having cast him in my Batman film.  He's also probably the most skilled conversationalist with whom I have ever spoken.  Seriously, guys, he's a master.

WALTER BENSON and SOPPENJIM

Both relatively new, but getting good really fast.  Really fast.

SPIDER

ALL AROUND COOL GUY.

JON

He made this really great film last THAC and he does some funny stuff it's good.  He also has a beautiful voice.

I actually want more people to do this.  Or you can have me send mine to you.
Another great thing about the plastic steps is that they fit with steps on any surface, whereas with life-like sound effects you have to match the steps with what ever thing onto which they are stepping like wood or grass, and some people use a hard floor step with nice shoes sound effect when a minifigure is walking on grass which is really strange.

Let me just say that most of you have inspired me in one way or another and I'm very grateful for that. Here are a couple examples of some people who've inspired me:

Jay Silver

Alright so he's never been too active on Bricks in Motion. He's posted one or two more recent short films here, but he's still a member and that counts.

Back in the mid 2000's I first saw his brickfilm The Gauntlet. I was blown away by it. It was one of the greatest things I'd ever seen. Ever since then I've always wanted to brickfilm. I really was never able to due to finances and other things. Every time I tried to find a way it just never worked out. By around 2010 I had accepted that I'd never be able to brickfilm. However toward the second half of 2012, everything changed. I'd still followed brickfilmers up to that point and I was just getting into the world of Youtube. Like, actually using it to watch things other than brickfilms. Youtubers like Julian Smith, Rhett and Link, and BlimeyCow really inspired me. So did some other, newer brickfilmers as well. Making quality videos and uploading them felt like a possibility. I just didn't know what I could make. I had no equipment or experience. I had only seen other folks' stuff.

Then I remembered brickfilms. The way I felt so passionately about them over the years. The way The Gauntlet inspired me. The way it made my eyes light up like a kid at Christmas! I was still a crazy LEGO builder for a couple years before 2012, and I had always collected sets since my childhood. I thought I could buy a laptop and webcam, and slowly progress into being a brickfilmer. I had the building skills, I had the pieces, I had the lighting setup, I had the table.

So I bought a laptop and webcam, and somehow it all worked out.

I think The Gauntlet isn't the reason I'm a brickfilmer, but it did really inspire me to become one, and I have Jay to thank for that.

Harrison Allen (Squid)

So of the more recent brickfilmers I mentioned earlier, Squid was one of those who inspired me to get into brickfilming. Sharks and Clowns was one of those newer brickfilms that helped reignite my passion for brickfilms. I felt like I was watching The Gauntlet again. It was something new that I had never seen before. Like any art, there's an endless amount of stories you can tell. However by around 2010 I felt like every new brickfilm was either about Star Wars or two guys sitting on a couch talking to each other. That film helped remind me that it didn't always have to be that way. You could make whatever you want.

Oddly enough Squid had been following me on my Flickr account before I even became a brickfilmer! I think I added him as a contact first and that's why he noticed me, but I don't know exactly how it started. I remember him commenting on one or two of my vignette photos and I was so surprised. I had never really had any contact with a brickfilmer before until that point. I had been lurking on the two brickfilming sites for years, so for some reason it felt really unreal.

Eventually I got to know him better through Twitter and BiM, and I'm happy to say that he's a really nice guy and good friend. He's really helped me become a better brickfilmer and inspired me to make fun films.

That guy who made The Letter (That old brickfilm from around 2003)

I also really like that film - almost as much as The Gauntlet. Sadly the guy only made two brickfilms and I don't think he was ever really a member here. He was back on Brickfilms.com

RepellingSpider

I remember during THAC X I got to talk to Jackson for a couple minutes in the chatroom. He was a really nice guy, and I was surprised how much I could relate to him. We were both homeschooled, both in college, both Christian - And he brought up the Andy Griffith show. I love that show! He seemed so down to earth. I was inspired by that. He reminded me that you could be a brickfilmer and still not be totally consumed by it.

Anyway once I got Twitter I got to know him a little better, follow him on his blog, and even ask for his help on a brickfilm! He was very helpful, just like Harrison. I'm happy I got to know him!

Christian Colglazier (AquaMorph)

Christian has always been there for tech stuff - because he's such a tech genius. Although he hates Macs. Don't bring up Macs in front of him.

Also, he has a wicked sense of humor that I enjoy.

Just Kidden

I will be completely honest. I used to hate his films. I used to despise them because of the choppy animation, set bumps, and light flicker. I think my biggest confession was that I never really gave them the chance. By around the time I started to brickfilm, I realized what a gem of a talent he really was and how I had to lighten up when it came to brickfilms. It wasn't about the technical specs, it was the stories he told and the unique way he told them! Heck I eventually realized that his animation style was actually pretty good, even great at times! He had invented his own style.

JK, you've inspired me! (And I'm so sorry I used to hate your films)

Smeagol

I went nuts over Philip's films because of his Star Wars stuff. I was just so amazed with the way he made them. He showed me you could actually make polished and original Star Wars brickfilms. That's something very few people can do. I mean, it's Star Wars. It's already an IP that is unoriginal.

Of course his other brickfilms were great as well, and Unrenewable blew me away. However after that I noticed Sméagol became progressively less active with brickfilms. I mean, I can totally understand what happened. Becoming an admin of the site, working on two feature length films, and all that love drama.

Dude, I tell you, this guy could write a book about his love life. The first couple of times I met him in the BiM chat, I was surprised by how often he talked about this. ("This girl liked my facebook photo. What does this mean, guys?")

I think Philip taught me not to place your idols too high on a pedestal. I realized he was just a normal guy, that went through everyday normal things. That spoke volumes to me.

Everybody Else

There are a lot of you I didn't mention. I really am inspired by a lot of you guys (and girls!). Brickfilmers are such a diverse and interesting crowd of people.

Smeagol-
Well, for being amazing enough to take care of BiM. And his "Unrenewable" was one of the first real brickfilms that I saw. The effects and animation impressed me a lot, and inspired me to get better. Overall Smeagol seems to really think through his plots, and make films that are a bit deeper than most. It was through his channel that I found BiM.

Nick Durron-
I saw "Zombie Genesis" shortly after "Unrenewable" and it instantly became one of my favorites.
His effects and animation are great, and his continuing a series over THACs and BRAWLs inspired me to do the same.

Fancypants-
I think the Force Unleashed was the first proper brickfilm I ever saw. The animation was so good it blew my mind.
I had no idea that people could get it so smooth, and from then on I tried to echo that quality.

Of course, these all helped me get started, but aren't that active on the site or making videos, so that inspiration has worn off a bit over the years.

A Repelling Spider-
He came out of nowhere, made great videos, is a Christian brickfilmer, was really active for a bit...And then vanished. He felt like a kindred spirit to me and it was great to have him while he was here.

The membership in general-
Wow, you guys are great. I've had so many helpful comments on my videos, and then being able to see the comments on others, and just being able to discuss film making in general is great. I've learned a ton, and even been able to help others a bit.

That's all for now at least.

Oh I forgot to mention that all of you guys inspired me to become a brony.

Yes I'm laying that blame on ALL OF YOU.