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Brickfest! Whether you are an aspiring geek, an
established artist nouveau experimenting with a new medium, or just a brickhead
. . . you have probably heard of Brickfest by now. If not, it's a
wonder you are reading this page. But for those who choose to or by
sloth remain ignorant, I will sum.
On July 19-21, around 300 fans of mostly LEGO creations swooped 
down onto the east coast and talked and talked and talked about LEGOs as
a hobby. There was a huge amount of diversity of interest (in the same
way, I suppose, there is a huge amount of diversity at a Star Wars convention)
when it comes to these little plastic bricks. Some preferred to lurk,
D&D style, in the castle room. Some built autonomous robots that
waged war and tried to run amok (incidentally, Webster's definition of that
word is "a murderous frenzy that occurs chiefly among Malays" - go Malaysia!).
Some, like the people who are reading this article, are chiefly interested
in LEGOs and other plastic bricks as a form of expression through film.
Or, they just like to show stuff being blown up to Rammstein. Anyway,
I took a few pics and saw a few things - so I thought I'd tell you about
them. I've also linked to the descriptions of other here.
It is always great to see other animators. It
is also great to see audience's reactions to the films that you see online.
Something about a big screen with big sound makes your film-maker's
heart swell within your chest.
Jared Gilbert of Mystic Studios taped some of the screenings
boot-leg style. This will give you an impression of the audience's
reaction to the films. Keep in mind when watching this what the audio
from the films is very loud. You will have to listen carefully for
the laughs of the audience.
Mystic Studio's bootlegs
There were two animation competitions there. Read
about the entrants and winners from Todd Thuma's writeup.
Brickfest
Animation Results
A lot of people have commented on their views of how
the audience reacted to the films. Rather than rehash read:
The Official Brickfest Topic on the Brickfilms Forum
It was also great to see things not related to animation.
Favorites of mine included a scale model of the
Nebuchadnezzar
, the ship from The Matrix; a huge
Japanese WWII Battleship
, a giant
Battle of Hoth
scene, and a kickin'
Mindstorms
competition.
And there there was lunch! Several Brickfilms.com
forum regulars got together and had lunch at a South American restaurant.
4 animators were there that day:
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Greg Perry
of ABC Showcase
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Thomas Foote
of Bricksinmotion.com
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Doug James
of Shootin' Bricks
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Jason Rowoldt
of Brickfilms.com
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By the way, don't ask me why I look so drunk/sleepy/retarded.
I'm just not very photogenic.
We talked about all things animation, including starting
a LUG, techniques, file compression, animators and films we liked, software,
editing .. you name it! Doug and I also did a little rogue animating
with a Jack Stone minifig he brought.
Overall, I'd say this year was a bit less exciting than
last year. However, this year's animation showcase was much better.
Next year, animation will rule!
Jason,
July 2002
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