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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Not having the best technical animating skills, I put the focus on story, hoping that people would forgive the technical quality if the story was well-written. When I watch brickfilms, the story is what I care about most.
Greenshirt wrote:A film should be a well balanced fruit salad with story being the strawberries.
That's just simply a beautiful analogy Greenshirt... *sniff* Beautiful...
Does that make light flickers and set bumps the fruit flies?
Yes.
Story is very, very important, but if animation quality is to low, I just can't bring myself to watch a film, no matter how good the story. I know this may sound harsh, but films are a visual medium, and I think visuals are just as important for telling a story as is dialogue or a good script. Animation quality is really important to me, which is why I focused so much more on improving my animation than anything else up until recently.
Yo, what if you hate strawberries? Tell me what, man. Tell me what...
Yo, what if you hate strawberries? Tell me what, man. Tell me what...
Then you are wrong.
Yo, what if you hate strawberries? Tell me what, man. Tell me what...
Strawberry Fields Forever, man. Strawberry Fields Forever...
and cake...
so long as it's not a lie again. 
I don't even want to contemplate what sort of childhood trauma a human being would have to go through in order to spend their life hating strawberries.
In other news, I've got my first exam first thing tomorrow morning. Hoping I've studied enough for it. Wish me luck if you feel thus inclined to do so (I have a feeling I may need it).
How many of you create a storyboard for your films? And if you do, do you think it is a vital part of the filmmaking process?
Storyboards are essential to get a good film made effectively, otherwise production will be messy, unplanned, and take way too long. The more you can plan into a storyboard, the easier it would be to fix mistakes in production and make it exactly what is wanted.
I am put off by having to draw every single action. Could a storyboard just be written, without pictures?
Storyboards are essential to get a good film made effectively, otherwise production will be messy, unplanned, and take way too long. The more you can plan into a storyboard, the easier it would be to fix mistakes in production and make it exactly what is wanted.
I think it depends on the type of person you are. I never bother drawing out storyboards because I have the shots in my head. Drawing them out on paper isn't need since I am the only one who is going to be involved in filming. If you are working with a larger crew then it would be more important.
I am put off by having to draw every single action. Could a storyboard just be written, without pictures?
You could could just type up a shot list, detailing every shot type (personal favorite is the dolly zoom) and explain what actions and dialogue are done by the characters in that shot.
I only draw storyboards for (most) live-action projects, and for complex vfx shots. The rest of the time I either plan in my head or write a shot list.
Actually, a storyboard isn't just for a film with lots of cast and crew. It is also very helpful for a film with just one or two crew. It doesn't have to be a work of art, just something that you understand. It's good to be able to see your film before you start filming, then you can know what will work, and how best to make your movie (most movies/films aren't shot in the order that they appear on screen). It will add a better level of continuity throughout your shots, and can mean you wont move the camera more than necessary.
The biggest part of storyboarding to remember, is that even if it's not a work of art, it is still extremely helpful. It can literally be a quick stick figure drawing, with info on what is happening in the scene, lighting info, camera movement, shot duration, etc. on it as well. A good storyboard will save a lot of time during filming, and will also help you to concentrate on making the film the best you can, rather than trying to remember everything that is supposed to happen.
More info: http://indiemoviemaking.com/9-good-reas … oryboards/
Side note, especially with stop motion animation, it feels awful to throw away a shot you have spent hours working on, only to find out it doesn't work in your film when you edit it all together. Whilst I'm not saying a storyboard will completely remove this, it will cut it back a lot. Also, some animators don't throw away their shots because they are so attached to them, and it makes an otherwise good film average.
I choose to draw storyboards if it's for a complex scene, or series of scenes. I also tend to draw the shots for a film that I know I am going to eventually make, just not for a while, as a way to preserve my thoughts and vision of how the film will play out.
I never storyboard! Strange because I love to draw! And my brickfilms are LOOOONG (20+ minutes). But Somehow I get the job done every time, as I somehow see every shot exactly as I want them to look in my mind.
Question: What do you think is the most important feature in a brickfilm?
A. The storytelling
B. The Quality of the film
C. The Lighting.
D. Other (please describe)
My answer is A, the storytelling. Brickfilms (excluding tests) needs a story to tell otherwise it would end up nonsense. My older Brickfilms lacked storytelling (a reason why I deleted them) and is just full off violence and running and nothing else. Look at Despicable Me 2. While fun, it had no story to tell but just make a movie for laughs only and no story. Although I enjoyed Despicable Me and 2 (Minions was a big letdown due to its bad examples it teaches children), I would prefer Pixar's movies than those two because Pixar would often make stories that teaches people a lesson. Look at Michael Hickox's stop-motions. They are nice to look at since he uses a good camera. His animating and lighting is good, but it often lacks storytelling. His Lego Movie Theatre stop-motion (in my own respective opinion) is the worst because it lacked storytelling and in the end, the main character ends up in 'a bad thing' where he misses the movie as soon as he enters. There's more before that (for example he tries to buy a bubble gum but it was overpriced, etc). AkashLegoProductions' videos has storytelling at least. It's animating and lighting is just like MichaelHickox's except that it has a story to tell. That's some tip in making Brickfilms, make a good story to tell.
Last edited by LEGOpufflecp (October 17, 2015 (08:32am))
I've got two ideas for new videos. It'll be either based on our Christmas Musical or an original story.
How many of you create a storyboard for your films? And if you do, do you think it is a vital part of the filmmaking process?
I never storyboarded my tests. The minifigs usually end up being out-of-the-frame. Storyboarding will somewhat help.
I got that table into my room. So much room for activities! The 8 foot one didn't fit, so I put in a 6'8" x 3' table that will enable me to make some pretty large sets if I want to. Very fun.
Thank God I made some original films. I have stuff to send to universities.
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