Topic: The Genre Games (Bricks in Motion 2023 summer contest)
THE GENRE GAMES – A GENRE FILM BRICKFILMING COMPETITION
CONTEST
Following two experimental brickfilm summer contests, Bricks in Motion has decided to go in the other direction this time with a genre-focused contest. Which genre, you may ask? It's up to you!
The contest will run from JULY 22ND to OCTOBER 8TH. This year, we have a pool of prizes courtesy of our contest sponsors: Dragonframe, and the LEGO Ambassador Network.
THEME
For this year's contest, we are looking for brickfilms that work within the framework of a chosen genre, whether it be science fiction, adventure, western, noir, or even documentary, etc. You are encouraged to watch films in the genre you choose and consider all the elements that go into working within the genre. For example, if you choose to make an action brickfilm, don't just film a fight scene; consider how action films incorporate characters and plot to make them more engaging, as well as the choices made in how best to film action.
Originality is still encouraged; we aren't asking you to intentionally make the most generic example of a genre as possible. You can bring your own ideas and creativity to a genre, or take a genre and intentionally subvert it. The judges will be considering how well entries work as examples of genres in addition to general quality, meaning those that work very strongly within their genre will pull ahead.
Brickfilms based on existing IPs are permitted, though originality is encouraged. For example, if you want to make a superhero brickfilm, why not think up a character and superpowers of your own creation?
Sponsors
Prizes for this year's competition are generously provided by our sponsors: Dragonframe, and the LEGO Ambassador Network!
Prizes
Dragonframe 5 + Bluetooth Controller
Dragonframe is the premium stop motion animation software that captured Laika's ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Disney's Frankenweenie. This software is easy enough for a beginner to learn, but offers a wealth of advanced features sure to meet the needs of any stop motion animator. Software and controller included. For Mac OSX and Windows.
LEGO 10312 Jazz Club
LEGO 60350 Lunar Research Base
Judges
Entries will be judged on their overall creativity, quality, and interpretation of the contest's theme and spirit by the 4 judges. Rather than scoring individual categories like animation or story, the judges will examine each film on how well it comes together, whatever kind of film it is, as a complete artistic work. Films will be discussed and ranked collectively by the judges until a consensus is reached. The top 3 films will be eligible for the prize pool.
Locker 74 Productions
Is the creator of the neo-noir brickfilm series Detective: Ace Brickman, a co-host of the Frame100 Podcast and, of course, the host of this contest.
DudeBrick
is the writer of the Detective: Ace Brickman series and a co-host of the Frame100 Podcast.
Joebor1777
is a brickfilmer with many films in the superhero genre, including multiple community collaborations.
Ant Bandit
is a brickfilmer who has created films such as Lando's Deal and Lego Injustice 2, and now makes animations commissioned by The LEGO Group.
Rules
• Entries should use LEGO or similar building toys as primary elements.
• No mature/explicit content is allowed. This includes, but is not limited to: excessive swearing, excessive violence, overt sexual content, and blatant drug references.
• There is a minimum requirement of 30 seconds of animation. There is no maximum runtime. Remember, it is better to focus on quality and attention to detail than to make a very long and ambitious film, but let the quality suffer. A highly-polished three-minute movie is better than a ten-minute movie that falls apart because the director ran out of time to do it the right way. The judging system won't favour a film for simply being longer, but low production values will hurt a longer film when competing against a shorter film that is better made.
• Submitted films must be new films. Even if you do submit a film you began working on before this competition was announced, that is fine as long as you haven't released it anywhere before this contest, and it fits the theme of this contest.
• Films may not be posted publicly until after the contest deadline has passed.
• The entry you submit to the judges must be the entry made publicly available to everyone else. This means you can't submit a rough version for judging then post a polished version you spent more time on as though it were your entry to the contest publicly. You may post reworked versions of your film once contest judging is completed and results have been announced.
• Use of movie soundtracks is discouraged, as it would take away from your film's originality, but songs, for example, could be used to enhance the experience, so use discretion in your use of copyrighted music. All music must be credited, even if you made it yourself.
• Entries that use characters from trademarked properties as source material are allowed, but it is encouraged to create your own characters or even use old works that are now in the public domain.
Deadline
The deadline for submissions will be Sunday, October 1st 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time.
Films may be submitted as early as the beginning of July 23rd 2023, though they cannot be made public until after the deadline has passed.
To submit your film, send a link to your entry to: [email protected]
Write the subject of your email in this format:
Genre Games entry, [Your Bricks in Motion username], “[Title of your film]”
For example: Genre Games entry, SuitedNinjaNerd, “Scary-ahh Horror Movie”
Our preferred method of submission is unlisted YouTube links. If you do not have a YouTube account, we also accept password-protected Vimeo uploads and Google Drive links (Be sure to change the privacy settings so that anyone with the link can access it.)
Q&A
Q: Are CG brickfilms allowed?
A: Yes; in this contest, CG brickfilms are allowed to be entered, and will be eligible for ranking.
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 in the credits of your film, it can be found here.
Q: May we ask contest judges to voice act for our entries?
A: Yes.
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 on the Discord or in the forums. You can even make a thread devoted to your progress on a film if you like.
Q: Can we use some non-LEGO elements in building our sets and characters?
A: Yes! The intention of the rule is to put the focus of films made for the competition on LEGO filmmaking, but with this particular contest mixing and melding different elements is definitely encouraged! Think about what the contrast and use of different elements can help you accomplish narratively and visually
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, there are no mod elements in The Genre Games. Those are used in THAC to ensure films are created in the 24-hour period. You have over 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 film.
Q: When can we share our films publicly?
A: As soon as the contest deadline passes, October 1st at 11:59 PM CT.
