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!
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Against the Grain: THAC XII Entry
Didn't come out great, but I think that it still gets the point across.
That was good. I know you were afraid it would be confusing, but it did its job just fine. I think the lack of dialogue really helps the mood here, the muffled talking draws you toward the importance of the imagery. I like this entry, best of luck! 
That pesky Octan is at it again...
It's got a good message, and like several other entries this year, the lack of dialog allowed the video itself to tell the story. The sets are nicely detailed and I love the colors in the shot at 1:01. The animation isn't quite as smooth and polished as it could be, but the story doesn't suffer much from it. Your cinematography is good, and the sign at the end is fantastic.
The story is clear as can be, and contrary to your fears, it came out great.
This film was really good. The quality was great, and I didn't find much wrong with the animation. I really like how the coffee mug slid on the counter. At first, I thought the man that came in was lonely, because he looked at a couple at a booth, then I realized he was looking at the coffee mugs. Then I thought he was being impatient. But that's the beauty of this film you figure it out as you go.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Good to see that you agree with me that the animation wasn't up to par. I guess that means I need to get some more practice! It seems like the story did it's thing though and I'm glad to see people get it!
Nah, I understood it all in one watch. I only re-watched it because I simply wanted to see it again. The plot is hauntingly interesting, the sets are lovely, and the overall atmosphere is rich. Awesome job, Binding.
One question about the mustachio dude: even though he was drinking the Octan coffee, how come he didn't seem to be happy like everyone else? Or was he unhappy because he was starting to figure out the dark truth?
Of all this year's THAC entries, I thought this one had the most effective sense of atmosphere, thanks to the cinematography, color grading, and ambient sound design. I really liked the feel of it and it's always neat to see somebody try wider aspect ratios in brickfilming.
My critique of it would be that I thought the idea / story was simultaneously heavy-handed and not conveyed clearly. I believe that it is almost always better to imply a message via a logical but somewhat veiled parable, instead of making it overtly clear for the viewer like this.
Spoiler (click to read)
One question about the mustachio dude: even though he was drinking the Octan coffee, how come he didn't seem to be happy like everyone else? Or was he unhappy because he was starting to figure out the dark truth?
The original plan was this
The mustachio guy was to be clearly unhappy and trapped in the auora of conformity. He wouldnt have the guts or strength to go against what everyone else was doing. He was supposed to run a much larger role in the story but it didnt work out. So I guess you are right in saying that he wasnt happy like everyone else. I had planned a scene where after the rebel guy gets his non octan coffee the mustachio guy would go up and buy one. Then show a smile on his face. I had to take a shortcut however because 1. I was short on time and because 2. I didnt have to skills to make the film work the way I intended it to.
Hopefully that makes more sense now... It's kind of difficult to explain because this film was all about psychology and stuff..
it's always neat to see somebody try wider aspect ratios in brickfilming.
I've used it before and it worked nicely in films that I feel the cinematography needed to come out in. I just hope that I'm using it in the right instances because I feel that the aspect ratio can change the feeling of a film.
My critique of it would be that I thought the idea / story was simultaneously heavy-handed and not conveyed clearly.
I agree 100%. I feel that the film could of presented the theme in a much stonger and perhaps more veiled way. It might of been easier to depict the story somewhere other than in a coffee shop however the urge to build a coffee shop set was irresistible. The nature of the story lead to even myself being slightly confused as to what the film meant at times during production.
Smeagol said exactly what I was going to say. The first part of this film has fantastic atmosphere, with just the right balance of uneasiness. Everything kinda falls flat after the coffeeshop, unfortunately. Obviously THAC is a very limited factor, but I would have perhaps tried to keep the entire story inside the coffee shop and delivered the visual clues there. I didn't realize at first the significance of the red cup versus the yellow cup until long after the film had ended.
Still, solid effort. Not enough brickfilms nowadays go for slow, thoughtful pacing.
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