Hello one and all, and welcome to THAC 2025. This is a very special THAC, as 2025 marks the 20TH ANNIVERSARY of the very first THAC. I am honoured to once again be hosting, and as always, I can't wait to see what you all make  

Check out the announcement video:

Especially for the 20th Anniversary edition of THAC, we will be providing high quality variations of not one but two incredible designs;

The above design is by James Morr of Tiny Angry Dog Studios, who was part of the judging team of the very first THAC and is a two-time first place winner.

This design is by Bredan Henry, also known as Ladon. He designed the very first THAC logo and is making his return, 20 years later, with this brand new design.

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 4th at 7:00 am EST. It will end exactly 24 hours later, on Sunday, January the 5th 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=5919219

Anyone who is not banned from Bricks in Motion is eligible to enter THAC. The email address to submit entries to will be listed in the "THAC 2025 STARTS NOW!" thread and the THAC 2025 launch video that will be posted on January 4th, 2025. You do not need to have an account on Bricks in Motion, but it is encouraged that you join the site or Discord and get involved with the community. 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 “The Journey Ahead”.

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 2025 logo will be available on the day and will be accessed from the "THAC 2025 Starts Now!" thread.

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. Check out Chris W.’s video about mod elements: https://youtu.be/YKO2McX25jY

• 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.

• 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).

• While flashing lights imagery is not directly forbidden, you are required to include an epilepsy warning, both at the start of the video and in your submission email. If strobe lighting is deemed too excessive by the judges, you might be asked to alter your submission or face disqualification.

• 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.

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:

AeroNomad
AeroNomad came 1st place, both in THAC 2023 with his entry Unwavering Dedication, and most recently in BRAWL 2024 with Heck of a Day. He also won Best Cinematography at the 2023 Bricks in Motion Awards with Danju and is a moderator of the BiM Discord.

Andreas and Alexander (Brickfilm Atelier)
With their newly merged studio name Brickfilm Atelier, Andreas Bitzan (formally of A&M Studios) and Alexander Leitner (formally of Legostudio01) are joining together as joint-judges of THAC 2025. As well as being admins for Brickboard, Andreas and Alexander have impressive filmographies, both going back to the early 2010s. As well as collaborating on many award-winning Steinerei entries, including Time for $ale, (K)night Times, Endangered, and Mord in der Manege, they have hosted 2 Steinerei contests; first in 2015 and 2024.

Maosl
Masol is best known for their Among Us brickfilms and hosting the highly successful Continue the Story collaborative series, which is just wrapping up its second year of running.

BertL
BertL is a long-standing member of the Brickfilming community, and took part in the very first THAC in 2005 with his entry Onorno. It is largely thanks to his major contributions to the Brickfilm Archival Project, that many Brickfilms from the early to late 2000s remain seen.

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 and so LAN may be delayed in sending them, but the prizes we are offering are:

Zelda Deku Tree 2 in 1| Tim Burton's Disney Nightmare Before Christmas| Black and White Cat

In addition, this year there is a separate prize category: Promising Director. This will be awarded to a film that while not necessarily in the top ten, the judges feel displays the creator's passion for their work and their potential to become a great brickfilm director in the future.

Promising Director Prize; Gru and the Minions

But that's not all! This year we will be doing an additional prize draw. Anyone outside of the top 10 or the promising director, will have the chance of winning Tails’ Adventure Boat set.

Special Surprise Draw; Tails' Adventure Boat

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 (December 7, 2024 (02:16pm))