Herman - Brick flicks: a comprehensive guide to making your own stop-motion LEGO movie

Copyright 2014 by Sarah Herman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Paul Hollingsworth and Brian Peterson

Cover photo credit by Paul Hollingsworth

Print ISBN: 978-1-62914-649-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62914-888-5

Printed in China

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and Knob configurations, and the Minifigure are registered trademarks of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this book.

CONTENTS

AUTHORS NOTE

T he term brick-film or brickfilm is believed to have been coined by Jason Rowoldt, who founded the website Brickfilms.com in 2000the first popular Internet destination for the hobby. This book is not affiliated with or endorsed by Brickfilms.com and the terms brick-film, brick-filmer, and brick-filmmaking are merely used colloquially to refer to LEGO stop-motion animation, as is common in the community.

The advice in this book has been garnered from eighteen filmmakers and animators who make brick-films, some amateurs and some professionals. While it aims to cover all that youll need to know to get started, its by no means a definitive user guide for the dozens of computer programs you may choose to use to make your movies. Please refer to the resources section at the back of the book for useful web links and further reading suggestions.

Paul Hollingsworth produced much of the photography in this book. Paul is a father, film editor, and fan of all things LEGO. Playing with LEGO as a child eventually led Paul to the sunny hills of Hollywood where he now works as one of the animators for the web series LEGO Mixels . He also creates stunning stop-motion animations with Digital Wizardsa creative team of artists who together have produced more than twenty-five stop-motion animations, winning prizes at BrickCon, BrickFest, and a number of other contests. All their animations can be found at www.DigitalWizards.tv.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

B ricks, camera, action! Welcome to the wonderful world of stop-motion animation, with LEGO! This is the hobby that brings the backlot to your basement and puts you in the directors chair. Who needs exotic locations, big-name stars, or million-dollar budgets when you can build and shoot any scene imaginable with a box of bricks and some basic photography equipment? Whether youre filming a space battle in a galaxy far, far away, looking to make your very own music video, or recreating classic cinema in glorious plastic, its all possible with LEGO stop-motion.

Behind the scenes of one of the earliest LEGO stop-motion films, The Magic Portal by Lindsay Fleay.

Lindsay Fleay

Starting at the very beginning is always sensible, so Ive included a brief history of LEGO on film to launch you into the hobby. Its fascinating to see the development of the medium, both with official projects from the LEGO Group and amateur releases. Drawing inspiration from those who have impressed audiences before you is a great way to kick-start any new project, so youll find lots of references to online materials and videos (with details at the back of the book).

There are those who might like to take a risk and experiment without understanding the principles of stop-motion, and the most efficient way to do things, but if youre going to be spending time, and possibly money, on setting yourself up to make your own LEGO films, then it makes good sense to know what youre getting into first. If youre reading this book, chances are you want guidance and advice on essential equipment, cameras, and required software featuresyou will find all of this and more in .

advises you on how to select an appropriate studio space, how to set it up, and prepare to film your first project. While it might seem easier to ignore these early steps, get your camera out, and just start shooting, youll be glad you took the time to prepare properly. Something thats seemingly unimportant, like the type of surface you have chosen to build your set on, could have a dramatic effect on the quality of your finished film, as you will soon discover.

is where youll learn the basics of stop-motion animation and how those underpinning principles can be applied to animating with minifigures, and other LEGO stop-motion projects. What youll soon come to understand is that whether youre making a minifigure fly through the air or turning a sloped brick into a moving blob, the same important rules need to be adhered to for the audience to believe what theyre seeing is actually moving by itself.

As with most things, you will learn best by doing. While looks more closely at filmmaking and storytelling, and the steps you can take to develop a project before you start shooting, that doesnt mean you have to wait until you have a finessed script, storyboard, and shooting schedule to start practicing your stop-motion skills. Throughout the book you will notice small Activity icons that indicate an ideal place to put the book down and have a go yourself. They look like this: . These are suggestions for how you can put what youve just read into practice, but by no means feel restricted by them. If you want to try out something different, go ahead, but be sure to apply as much advice as you have absorbed at each stage.

For some, shooting and simple editing may suffice, but this guide would be incomplete without the offerings of , where we explore some of the myriad options for finishing your film professionally. There are software recommendations, a guide to your postproduction workflow, and suggestions for editing, sound, and visual effects. As with your stop-motion skills, time spent practicing postproduction techniques will soon become apparent both in the efficiency with which you can complete a production and the quality of the finish, so its worth pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone to achieve this.

Finally, there is an entire chapter dedicated to sharing your hobby and films with the world, with ideas on how to upload, present, and promote your movies, as well as a look at the community of LEGO stop-motion films. The Internet has seen an explosion of brick-film hobbyists in recent years, and for those who animate solo, the online community offers a place to share ideas, ask for help, and see what other people are up to.