Oct 25 2005
… I’d create a state-of-the-art Lego animation studio
Recently, I was asked, “hey D, are you working on anymore Lego movies?” This question is in reference to a Lego stop-motion animation movie called “The Luckiest Man Alive” (warning: the small version posted here is 5.2 Megs!) I made a few years ago as part of an inner-office film competition (in which I finished 2nd - by only one vote).
The short answer is, “Yes”… and “No”.
You see, it’s a bit like the “wolf, the cabbage, and the goat” dilemma. You see, I’ve had a growing list of ideas for films before i finished TLMA: (a heartwarming tale of a wheelchair-bound girl and her robotic dog; an adventure/ morality tale about an African boy who has to battle 4 ghost-tigers; a series of reproductions of Spider-man stories blatantly ripped-off from the story albums I listened to as a kid; and recreations of humorous events that happened to me and friends at college) i just have a list of things that have to happen before I can resume filming.
Obviously, I need some free time. However, everyone makes that excuse when they rationalize, so I refuse to use that one much.
There are a few technical problems I’ve got to solve before I can begin as well. This film actually has animated Lego faces on the minfigs, which the creators drew frame-by-frame, by hand. I’m working on a way to automate Lego facial expressions. (After all, I want to be on the cutting edge of Lego animation film-making.) I’ve thought of a solution, but I need some time to implement it
Primarily, the biggest hurdle is location. I’ve had to move my Legos into the attic to get our house more livable. There’s room in the attic for filming, but the attic has no floor, so I first have to install a plywood floor up there. But, before i do that, I want to reinforce the ceiling beams. The house is about 70 years old and the ceiling will sag if I put too much weight on it. Before I can work on the attic, I have to work on my windows. About 5 years ago, we started repairing our windows. We kinda quit working on them and never really finished. In some windows, all we have are the exterior storm windows. Needless to say, our house is starting to get cold these days. We’ve suffered through this in past winters by just jacking up the heat. But, since gas prices are going to be so high this winter, I’d rather finish repairing the windows instead.
The good news is that my Dad is coming up to help at the end of this week. We hope to repair the windows either this weekend or by next. After that, I’ll be in a warmer house, and one step closer to realizing my dreams in film.
Damon,
Hey, I’m going to take a look at these movies on my home computer and will let you know my take on it.
Chris
Damon,
I haven’t viewed the movies yet but, wanted to tell you one idea that just occurred to me. I actually did this when I was a kid. You take some kite string and tie it with one end up high and one end down low. Then, you can build your legos upside down around the string and place them so that the string fits into the grooves. You also have to balance it too. Then, you can let the contraption slide down the string, hopefully with a bumper of some sort at the end.
Anyway, for the purposes of filming, you can build your set and have it sitting sideways to match the angle of the line. Then, you could simulate movement by having stuff slide down the line. This is just an idea…
Chris