The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages! Issue 14 • April 2011
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LEGO® Animation:
Behind the Scenes with David Pagano PLUS Instructions Builder Profiles AND MORE!
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Win $1000 and an Annual Pass to LEGOLand Florida! E CHALLENG
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2011
Exhibit during the private builder convention, and your LEGO creations are automatically entered! Winners from ten categories will receive a LEGOrelated prize, and a one-page feature in BrickJournal magazine. The “Best of Show” also wins $1000 and a LEGOLand Florida Annual Pass! Go online for complete details & to register as an exhibitor!
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MAY 5-8, 2011
MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND at the Hilton North Raleigh 3415 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 Private builder convention: Thursday and Friday Public Hours: Saturday 10-5 • Sunday 10-4
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To exhibit, order tickets, or preorder your Tulip Kit, go to:
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SATURDAY ONLY: Special guest, filmmaker DAVID PAGANO (Space Police, LEGO Club Show), demonstrates the making of animated LEGO FILMS, which run continuously in our THEATER ROOM! Shop for rare LEGO parts and sets, and buy our LIMITED EDITION TULIP KIT for your Mom, only available at BrickMagic! (Preorder Tulip Kit online now to avoid a sellout!)
BrickMagic is not part of The LEGO Group, but is sponsored by them. LEGO, the Minifigure, and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks of the LEGO Group of Companies.
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Special guest JARED K. BURKS debuts his new book on minifigure customizing, and holds free minifig workshops!
Attend workshops on MINDSTORMS, LEGO MOSAICS, BUILDING TIPS & TECHNIQUES, and more!
Issue 14 • April 2011
Contents
From the Editor.........................................................................................2
Brick Animation
Behind the Scenes of LEGO® Studios.......................................3 The LEGO Studios MovieMaking Contest: Ten Years Later....................................................................7 How to Animate: An Introduction..........................................10 Brick Filming the Bible......................................................................14 Bricks on Film: An Abridged History......................................19 Putting the Bricks in Motion........................................................22 Inside MindGame Studios: An Interview with Zach Macias...............................................26 Event Report: The Brick Film Booth at LEGO Fanwelt 2010....................................................................29 Playing Nice with Garrett Barati.................................................32 Stop With the Clickety Clacking: Behind the Scenes with Spastik Chuwawa....................36
Building
You Can Build it: Animation Puppet............................................................................39 Building Blade Runner’s Spinner................................................46 You Can Build it: The Lost World Filming Setup....................................................50 Minifig Customization 101: Purist Customization.......56 Harry Potter Set Review: Diagon Alley..................................59 Talking about Minifigures..............................................................62
Community
Touristbot...................................................................................................68 Jesper Jørgen: Train Layout..........................................................70 A Brick for Small Children...............................................................72 From the Designer’s Desk..............................................................74 Not Quite LEGO: Xevoz: The Original HERO Factory!.......................................75 Community Ads...................................................................................78 Last Word...................................................................................................79 AFOLs...........................................................................................................80 This Page: A scene from Shatterpoint Entertainment’s JERICHO: The Promise Fulfilled.
From the Editor: Five years ago, I started BrickJournal with the mission to report on the growing LEGO fan community and also the company. At that time, I had been in the hobby for about five years, and from participating in conventions and online contacts, I had what I thought was a good general understanding of the community.
April 2011 Issue 14 Editor in Chief: Joe Meno Photography Editor: Geoff Gray Business Manager: Carin Proctor Proofreader: Rob Smentek European and LEGO Group Bureau Editor: Megan Rothrock Japanese Bureau Editor: Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors: Todd Kubo and Ashley Glennon Brick Animation Editor: David Pagano Contributors: Steen Sig Andersen, Garrett Barati, Eik Thyrsted Brandsgård, Jared Burks, Jason Burnett, Christopher Deck, Kristian Hauge, Philip Heinrich, Will Jennings, Jesper Jørgen, Caleb Kester, Jon Lazar, Zach Macias, Daniel W. Mathiasen, Joe Meno, James Morr, MT Mulligan, Lars Nyengaard, David Pagano, David Pickett, Jennifer Joy Poole, Torben Damgaard Rasmussen, Anthony Rondina, Jessica Rondina, Mark Rondina, Wendy Rondina, Megan Rothrock, John Sahlertz, Jordan Schwartz, Hans Henrik Sidenius, Mark Stafford, Eric Stirpe, and Greg Hyland.
Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal:
www.LUGNET.com, www.Brickshelf.com, www.peeron.com, www.brickmodder.net www.rustyclank.com
I was wrong. In the time that I have gone to events and reported on people and things, I found that the more I explored I knew less and less. There were some areas that I knew very little of, and I thought, how could I talk about those areas? The solution is what you see here. I have contacted some experts in areas I want spotlighted in the magazine. This issue has a section edited by David Pagano, brick animator! He’s gathered features on the brick animation community, giving us a glimpse at an otherwise low-profile group of people. It’s been exciting to me reading the articles. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Joe Meno Editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at admin@brickjournal.com. I’m open to suggestions and comments and will do my best to reply. P.P.S...Yes, BrickJournal has a website — www.brickjournal.com! Twitter? Yep, there too - http://twitter.com/brickjournal. Facebook? Yup - http://www.facebook.com/ group.php?gid=58728699914&ref=mf. Or you can scan the bottom codes with aQR reader! P.P.P.S. If you want info on a subscription, you can go to: http://twomorrows.com/ index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=616 or scan below! Website
Subscriptions
About the Cover: David Pagano setting up a camera shot. Corrections: In Issue 13, the theater used for BrickFlix was and is the Carolina Theater. BrickCon was also mistakenly listed as Brickcon. Many apologies for the errors.
Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) NLSO (Non-LEGO Significant Other) MOC (My Own Creation) TLG (The LEGO Group) BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece) LURP (Little Ugly Rock Piece)
POOP (Pieces—that can be or should be made—Of Other Pieces) SNOT (Studs Not on Top) LUG (LEGO Users Group) LTC (LEGO Train Club)
LEGO®, TECHNIC, MINDSTORMS, Belville, Scala, BIONICLE, ExoForce, Mars Mission, World City, and other LEGO theme lines are trademarks of the LEGO Group of companies. All articles, photos, and art are copyright BrickJournal Media, LLC 2008, TwoMorrows Publishing and the respective writers, photographers, and artists. All rights reserved. All trademarked items are the property of their respective owners and licensees. Subscriptions are $57USD Media Mail, $75 Canada, $86 International Surface, $128 International Airmail and can be purchased at www.twomorrows.com or payment sent to: TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. The editorial/advertising office address for BrickJournal is: BrickJournal Editor, 5600 Oak Meadow Lane #1108, Raleigh, NC 27612 USA or admin@brickjournal.com. First Printing. Printed in Canada. ISSN 1941-2347. BrickJournal and its staff would like to thank the LDraw community for the software it makes available to the community, which we use to make all of the instructions and renderings in this magazine. We would especially like to thank Kevin Clague for his continued upgrades of the LPub tool that is a part of the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.
The LEGO Group
The cast of the LEGO® Studios Steven Spielberg MovieMaker Set: (top) Director, (bottom, left to right) Res-Q 3, Cameraman, Pilot, Female Assistant, Grip, and Female.
BrickJournal: Hi there! Let’s start with introductions: who are you; how long have you been with TLG; what’s your job title there; and what was your role on LEGO Studios?
Behind the Scenes of
Hans Henrik Sidenius: I work as a Model Designer in PMD. I have been working at LEGO since 1996. I was a part of the DESIGN TEAM that developed the LEGO STUDIOS sets, and I designed the following sets: #1349 Steven Spielberg Movie Maker Set, #1353 Car Stunt Studio, #1382 Scary Laboratory, and #1381 Vampire’s Crypt. Lars Nyengaard: Senior Director, LEGO Education; working with Machines and Mechanisms, LEGO MINDSTORMS and LEGO Education WeDo, among other things. At the time of LEGO Studios, I was Marketing Director: heading up the LEGO Studios project, liaising with development partners such as Steven Spielberg and Universal Studios. John Sahlertz: Director. Working as project manager in Markets and Product with novelty launches. Responsible for people, timing, finance, and quality in the projects where I’m project manager. At the time Studios was developed, I had the same role. Daniel W. Mathiasen: Manager of Creative Software in LEGO Digital: working on products that allow kids to build and share their stories, as well as virtual building toys. On LEGO Studios, I was the technical producer. Steen Sig Andersen: Model Designer. I have been working for the LEGO Company for more than 25 years. Through the years I have been involved in many different projects, both as model
It’s been over a decade since the introduction of LEGO Studios, the play theme that set many kids on the road to filmmaking. BrickJournal caught up with a few of the minds behind the Studios line, and here’s what they had to say! Article by David Pagano 3
How to Animate: An Introduction Article and Photography by David M. Pickett Welcome! You’re about to enter an exciting new world — a world where inanimate objects come to life, where your toys can move and talk, and above all, a world where anything is possible. Welcome to the world of stop-motion animation! In case you’re not familiar, stop-motion animation is an animation technique where physical objects are repeatedly moved and photographed in tiny increments. When these photographs are played back in rapid succession it gives the illusion that the objects move on their own. This technique has a long history in the motion picture industry, with The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) being a prime example. With digital cameras becoming cheaper and more sophisticated every year, the technology required to create these animations is now widely available. You probably have everything you need to make one sitting in your house right now. Just as there are a wide range of LEGO building techniques, from simple studs-up construction to mind-bending SNOT techniques, the art of stop-motion has simple foundations and complex heights. This article will teach you the basic skills needed to make your first animation and give you a quick glimpse at some advanced techniques. I’ll be illustrating the examples with my medium of choice, LEGO bricks, but the techniques here apply to all kinds of stopmotion animation.
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Making Your First Animation The three most important things you need to make a stopmotion animation are a camera, something interesting to animate, and lots of patience. As a LEGO maniac, you probably have the last two covered, so I’ll focus on the camera. Choosing the right camera is one of the most important choices you’ll make while animating. Your camera affects everything from the animating process to the look of the final product. The factors that go into choosing the right camera could fill an article on their own; there are trade-offs between simplicity, flexibility, price, picture quality, and more. For your first animation, just use a camera you are comfortable with. This could be a simple point and shoot camera, a fancy DSLR, a digital camcorder, a webcam, or even a camera phone. If it takes pictures, you can animate with it. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a camera: • Manual settings – The more you can control the better your animation will look. The most important manual controls are focus, exposure, and white balance. • Remote control – Ideally you should take pictures using a remote control or through a computer capture program. This will prevent you from touching the camera and accidentally moving it around during your shot. • Macro focus – Many cameras have a macro mode that lets you focus on objects that are only a few inches away from the lens. This is vital when your subjects are small objects like LEGO minifigs. • Power supply – Make sure your camera has good battery life (or even better, an AC adapter), and if possible disable any power saving auto-shut-off functions. One of the most frustrating things that can happen while animating is your camera shutting off in the middle of your big scene.
Now that you’ve picked out a camera, it’s time to set up your animating studio. Pick a flat, stable surface that you will be comfortable sitting at for long periods. Tables or desks are great, but I have also animated on kitchen counters, dressers, and directly on the floor when circumstances required it. Using a baseplate and some loose LEGO bricks, build a cradle for your camera. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just something that will keep the camera in place while you animate. If you have a couple small desk lamps, those will work perfectly for lighting your scene, but you can also get good results with regular size lamps or overhead light fixtures. Now comes the most important part: building your first scene. You might have grand visions for an epic space battle between robots and cybernetically enhanced monkeys or a dozen cheerleaders doing a complex acrobatic routine, but it’s best to start with one or two characters performing simple actions and work your way up from there. I often build my sets while looking at them through my camera. That way I know I get exactly the look I want and don’t waste timing building something the camera won’t see. Once you’ve got your scene looking exactly the way you want, secure anything that won’t be moving (the camera cradle, the set, etc.) in place with masking tape. You’re ready to animate!
You don’t need complicated equipment or a huge budget to make a great animation. Desk lamps such as these can be purchased at Target for about $10 each. I use daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs because they bring out the colors of LEGO bricks the best. I cover them with scrap paper to diffuse the light. Posterboard makes a great inexpensive backdrop. Masking tape is perfect for securing your set and camera in place.
Here are some essential animating supplies you should have on hand: • Masking tape – Holds things in place and doesn’t leave a residue • Putty/ “Sticky Tack” –Lets pieces stay in place without being directly connected. This lets minifigs climb walls, pick up basketballs and has a million other uses. • A toothpick – Perfect for turning minifig hands without moving anything else. • Loose bricks - Especially small plates (1 x 1 rounds and jumpers), hinges, and turntables. These are great for keeping track of the location of your characters and letting them bend and rotate more freely. The idea behind stop-motion animation is very simple. You arrange everything in front of the camera, take a picture, move things a small amount to simulate motion, take another picture, and repeat. Before you take the first picture, it’s a good idea to move your characters around in front of the camera to map out the path of motions in your head. Move everything to the starting position and take the first picture. Now move the character(s) a little bit along their motion path(s) and take another picture. Repeat this process until you’ve reached the end. Congratulations! You’ve just animated your first scene!
It’s important to keep your camera stable while you animate, otherwise your finished animation will be shaky. Using a baseplate and a few basic bricks you can easily build a “cradle” to keep your camera in place.
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Community
Brick Filming the Bible Inspirations Above: The DVD art to “JERICHO: The Promise Fulfilled.” Above Right: The Rondina Family (left to right): Anthony, Mark, Wendy and Jessica.
“JERICHO: The Promise Fulfilled” is a brick film that has an unusual honor: a listing in the Internet Movie Database (www. imdb.org). The film has been shown in film festivals and garnered praise and awards throughout the US. The movie was the effort of the Rondina family, and BrickJournal was able to talk to them about their work and the movie. The interview, much like the movie, has a few surprises, so read on! Article by Joe Meno Photos by the Rondina Family
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BrickJournal: The entire family is the film company, so who does what? Mark Rondina: We all are involved in every aspect of the film. Some of us have stronger talents in certain areas than others. We try to let those who have their strength and talents oversee that area of the project. Jessica’s talents range from writing and web design to animation and coaching actors. Anthony’s strengths are in the area of post-production. Some examples include: editing, green screening, graphic design, etc. Wendy and I are involved with the overall production end of things, like marketing, event planning, and logistics. Oh yeah, Jessica and Anthony graciously allowed us to fund their projects also. When did the idea of animation with LEGO minifigs and bricks start? Anthony Rondina: Well it all started as a high school project. At the end of our ancient history class we had to spend 40 hours on something we learned that year. Seeing as how we had no actors or video cameras, we looked to the next best thing: 16 years worth of collecting LEGO bricks. Making a brick-film was something I’ve always wanted to do and this was the perfect opportunity for it! How did you decide to use brick animation? Why not drawn animation or live action? Jessica Rondina: We’ve always loved exploring creativity through our LEGO bricks and animating them just seemed like the logical next step. As far as hand-drawn animation--we’re still at the stick-figure stage. (As you’ll see with our storyboards.) And live action is a medium we are just now starting to break into. We see ourselves very much as accidental filmmakers.
This all came from just trying to get an “A” in an honors course humanities class. Who were the LEGO builders before filming? Wendy Rondina: Anthony has always been our LEGO nut. When we started to homeschool, we noticed that he could do his classes better if they involved the LEGO blocks. We used them for math, writing, and storytelling, as well as other subjects. That is why it was so natural to complete his high school ancient history assignment using bricks and minifigs. For the ancient history project, the kids chose to tell the story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt!
Filming What is your studio setup? Jessica: A bedroom, a sturdy table, lights, craft supplies, and Anthony’s entire collection of LEGO sets. We designed our studio to offset some problems we faced in our previous films, specifically: Set Shaking: We wanted to make it look like a real world where gravity has its correct pull keeping the land in its rightful place. This is hard to do when you have a crawlspace under you instead of firm concrete. We attached clamps to the LEGO baseboards and minimized any and all walking around the set — this way the tripod wouldn’t move or accidentally get kicked. Flickering: In our first film, we noticed that we had a large amount of flickering, where the lighting seemed inconsistent in each picture. To eliminate that problem, we turned off the overhead fan, covered all the windows with thick flannel bed sheets, closed the door, wore dark colored clothes, and made sure all computer monitors were kept under the table. Was all that overkill? Not really. Blacking out the windows allowed us to animate any scene at anytime of the day (or over the course of multiple days) and dimming the monitor reduced the chance of extraneous light being reflected off my clothes. What do you use to film? Jessica: The camera we used was a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. It’s a 10.1 megapixel camera that has the capability for interchangeable lenses. The standard 18-55mm lens it came with was used to shoot the wide scenes (like the marching around Jericho) and medium tight scenes (as seen in the King’s palace). The 100mm Macro lens was used for all the close ups on both the characters and props they were interacting with. We did not use any stop-motion software to produce JERICHO. The computer in the studio was only used to play CDs and DVDs to help pass the time. During animation, the only “onion skinning” capability we had was advancing each picture in the 2.5” LCD screen that was imbedded into the XTi. You can imagine how much “fun” that was when shooting the Matrix scene. Explain the filming process and maybe a timeline of how you produce a film: how long it takes to write, then film, then add sound and post production. Anthony: The first thing we did was start in prayer. We wanted to make absolutely sure this was something God wanted us to do and would bless. Then we got into the research and outlining process. Depending on the length and depth of a film this part can either be a very long or very short process. Once we had to script nailed down and all the pre-production out of the way, it was time to begin filming; here’s where our jobs split. We would shoot and edit the film simultaneously.
Editing and building for the movie.
Once Jess would finish a shot, she’d give me her memory card and I would then import the footage, add facial animation, compositing, green-screening etc. Once the shot was finished it would get exported to the final sequence in Final Cut Pro. Apple’s FCP is what I used to add the sound effects, dialogue, and everything else to make the shot come alive. What makes brick animation so enjoyable? What really drives you nuts about it? Jessica: LEGO bricks have always been in our home and were a huge part of our childhood growing up. We were homeschooled and used our bricks in a lot of school projects — which is exactly what led us to where we are today. What is so neat about this type of animation is its accessibility. We get so excited talking with others about their brick films, seeing their productions and brainstorming together on future projects. It’s something pretty much anyone can do; yet it definitely takes a level of commitment and determination. The thing that intrigues us most about stop-motion is its complex simplicity. CGI is fun to watch, but there is no limit to its abilities and thus perfect animation is expected; the wonder of CGI is becoming more and more commonplace. The fascination about stop-motion lies in the limitations of its subject. Whether it’s with clay, bricks, or rocks, our belief is suspended as we watch these inanimate objects come to life. We get excited when a common object does something extraordinary. Then we forward it on to all our friends.
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Community
Putting the
Article by Philip Heinrich
On January 2nd, 2010, animators from around the world logged on to BricksInMotion.com to begin work for the seventh Twenty-four Hour Animation Contest. More than sixty of them completed entries, rising to the challenge to create a brick film in less than 24 hours. This is just one example of the passion this worldwide, online community has for filmmaking.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS The online community for “brick filming,” the art of making stop-motion films with LEGO products, began in 2000, shortly after the release of the LEGO Studios line, which included equipment and software for making stop-motion films. YouTube would not be around for another five years, and for some time, the brick animation community was the largest online community devoted to stop-motion animation of any kind. Internet video was still in its infancy, and without in-browser viewing technology, the community relied on file hosting services or personal websites to host their video files. Nevertheless, the community had an active forum, with new films being posted daily. Contests fueled the fire and motivated members to push the limits of what had 22 previously been done in the
medium. Many animators upgraded to better cameras and software as new webcams continued to surpass their predecessors in affordability and image quality. Directors wrote tutorials and helped each other hone their filmmaking skills by providing each other with feedback. Today, the community continues to grow, and YouTube has allowed for a flood of new, often younger, filmmakers to share their work with the world more easily. We’ve all seen some of the “Star Wars” and “Batman” LEGO videos that have become so popular on YouTube; but for some, the hobby goes far beyond creating short, funny animations.
Opposite page, top: Jack Darter, the hard-boiled detective from Heinrich’s Unrenewable. Middle and bottom: Chanting natives and a tribal chief from The River by Nikolas Jaeger. Above: The cantankerous robot bartender from Marc Beurteaux’s ROBOTA.
PLASTIC CINEMA The limitations of the medium have not prevented some animators from attempting dramatic films with layers of meaning. From Robinson Wood’s adaptation of Frankenstein to Nick Maniatis’s Good Company, a loose retelling of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, LEGO movies are crafted on a serious, artistic level by many members of the community. In 2009, the winner of BricksInMotion.com’s annual animation contest was Nikolas Jaeger, whose film The River was inspired by the styles of directors such as Werner Herzog and Terrence Malick. “I’d love to see more brick films that are non-narrative, or at least aren’t bound to a plot in the traditional sense,” Jaeger said. “I think brick filmers should be more aware of the medium they work in. I don’t mean making allegorical or self-aware films, but simply thinking a lot about the constraints and possibilities of filming bricks and not people.”
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Playing Nice with Garrett Barati Article by Garrett Barati Photography by Garrett Barati and MT Mulligan Known best for shorts like Play Nice and The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars Story Ever Told, Garrett Barati is quickly becoming a name synonymous with fun, dynamic (yet professional) LEGO animation. BrickJournal checked in with Garrett to get the story on how he got into brick filmmaking, and where he’d like to go with it.
Well first off, thanks to BrickJournal, Joe Meno and David Pagano for inviting me to tell my story. It’s an honor to be involved with such an active community of LEGO fans and such a special issue of the magazine! To most of you who have no idea who I am, let me tell you a little about myself... I am a 36-year-old video professional and visual artist with a degree in Computer Animation. I was raised all over the country as an army brat, but now reside in Los Angeles. I have been dreaming of working with LEGO for most of my life, but focused most of my efforts on traditional employment. My first real gig out of school was with Will Vinton Studios as a Storyboard Artist on “The PJs” and “Gary & Mike.” It was an amazing studio with fantastic talent that really got me more interested in stop-motion in general. However, when the dotcoms went bust and reality TV took over, I found myself employed in desktop publishing. I was hating it, and knew I really wanted to work with LEGO somehow! My love of the brick started literally before memory! My family visited the theme park in Denmark when I was about 4, where I received my first kit. Until I was about 12, all I ever got for birthday or Christmas were LEGO kits (even when I wanted something else!) Then I discovered girls and got rid of all my toys around 13. At 19, I realized what a huge mistake I had made and started building a new collection.
Preliminary stills from two of Garrett’s commissioned LEGO shorts: (top) “Let’s GO LEGO” music video for the LEGO Club Show episode 5.2, (bottom) Promotional animation for the LEGO Space Police “Catch the Crooks!” Contest.
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So there I was, in my late 20s, trying to figure out a way to “play with LEGOs” for a living! I started honing my skills, working on larger environments and sculptural techniques such as blended spheres. I had also had personal breakthroughs on humanoid armatures that I always felt would be great for animation. Out of nowhere, this preparation paid off when I heard about the first LEGOLAND California Master Builder Search in 2004.
I was in Georgia at the time, so I made the drive and was selected as a regional finalist out of Charlotte. The final competition took place in Carlsbad, where I ultimately choked! But I got to meet some great people, especially Nathan Sawaya, who has gone on to some fantastic accomplishments! At the same time, there was a wonderful journalist from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Christine Van Dusen, who was traveling with me working on a story that eventually got front page coverage! I was down but not out, and the newspaper exposure led to an amazing experience with the Tifton Museum of Arts & Heritage in Tifton, Georgia. They had me come out and present a one man display, conduct workshops with kids as part of an Artist-in-Residence and execute a 4ʻ x 6ʼ community mosaic project (thanks to Eric Harshbarger, LEGO mosaic software genius for translating my art!) However, this still wasn’t a career, so my video experience led me back out to the west coast, where I worked in live-event video production. Because I was touring and freelancing, I also had days or weeks off where my LEGO hobby could bloom. I began to get interested in LEGO stop-motion, and completed a few tests. Feeling confident I could bring something to the table, I finally started an experimental short, Mad Creation, in 2007. I was only able to get raw animation for the first act completed before I saw, completely by chance, that LEGO was sponsoring a stop-motion competition as part of the 2008 Nicktoons Network Animation Festival. I couldn’t believe my luck, again with preparation and opportunity!
Top of previous and current page: stills from “The Fastest Funniest LEGO Star Wars Story Ever Told.” Above: Garrett’s studio workspace in a ‘transitory’ state during the making of the short.
You’ve got to understand: when I say “bring something to the table,” that is a huge compliment to the fantastic art out there in the community! Websites Brickshelf and MOCpages for building, and Brickfilms and BricksInMotion for animation, have really raised the bar as people share ideas and techniques. There is a wealth of talent out there! I knew the competition would be good, especially since there was a huge $25k purse! I really wanted to bring all the elements of good LEGO stop-
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Building
Building Blade Runner’s Spinner Article and Photography by Jordan Schwartz 46
Los Angeles, 2019. Four rogue replicants are loose. Through the miserable, neon-lit streets and alleys goes Rick Deckard to hunt them down. This is, of course, is the premise of what is arguably one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time — Blade Runner. What makes Blade Runner a cult classic? The concept? The acting? The music? Or perhaps the design? I think most critics would agree all of these components molded together are responsible. I know for a fact, though, that the reason the film is one of my personal favorites is because of the work of conceptual designer and visual futurist Syd Mead. Mead’s design career spans an impressive 50 years, and his concepts can be seen in such films as Aliens, Short Circuit and TRON. But perhaps his most recognizable creation is the Spinner, from Blade Runner.
Mead describes the Spinner as an “aerodyne” — a vehicle that pushes air downward to lift itself. And although we do not have such extraordinary cars hovering down the interstate now, watching the Spinner slowly spin as it lifts up, exhaust discharging from its undercarriage with the sparkling music of Vangelis beeping in the background, gives us hope for the future. The Spinner is one of those rare, realistic concepts that makes you think “what if?” Naturally, this vehicle has been built many times with LEGO elements — and trust me, there are some very impressive versions out there. I like to build subjects not usually built in LEGO, so to make my version different, I included official LEGO lights and a sound brick! I have not seen this done before, so it made sense to try. It was the most important factor in keeping myself enthused during the building process — especially because this model was constructed over the course of a month: a rather long time for a rather small creation, I’d say. This was a challenging build for three main reasons. First off, I was dead-set on making it as accurate as possible, and so that urge introduced me to a couple of elements I had never worked with before… elements that are darn-near impossible to incorporate into a system creation. Secondly, I wanted to include lights and sound, which opened up a whole slew of design issues, some of which I was not able to solve in the end. And the third and last issue was the windscreen — yes, the windscreen was a whole problem in and of itself. The two unfamiliar elements I eluded to above is the smooth, short TECHNIC panel fairing [left and right; parts #87080 and #87086 on BrickLink] and the TECHNIC figure helmet [#2715 on BrickLink.] The panels were slightly easier to work with than the helmet, considering they have pin holes in them; these were worked into the back of the vehicle, just behind the “POLICE” decals. Luckily, these elements are not only the perfect shape, but also quite thin — this allowed for me to snugly stick the rear wheels behind them. The TECHNIC figure helmets are used in the forward wheel housing prongs [no, there are no wheels in them, unfortunately!] The construction of these two sections actually fascinates me as I look back on them; in retrospect, sometimes I will think to myself “that’s the best I could come up with?” because the designs seem messy, but I still cannot think of a more efficient way to include the helmets — after all, there are no pin holes or studs on them! Please refer to the photograph of the section exploded. You will notice, from top to bottom, there is a 1 x 2 finger hinge plate, a 1 x 1 round plate w/ hole with a cut piece of hose in it. Attached to that hose is a 1 x 1 clip — this is critical, because it is upside down: this clip changes the direction of the studs to allow the bottom 1 x 4 curved slope to be upside down as well. Next, the helmet is wedged in there — it is a nice, tight “connection.” And lastly, I used a 3 x 3 dish [minifig utensil], with a 2 x 2 trapezoid flag attached. Please note how this entire section attaches to the main body of the vehicle from the photographs. A rear view of the Spinner.
Another look at the Spinner.
A closer look at the construction of the front wheel assembly.
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