Hej all!
After many months of toiling away at our computers over various versions of Flash files, the Brickspace Flash animated banner is finally complete! You can easily find links to the different types of posts (like Creation and Video), to different categories (like space or castle) and to our other features, such as Dictionary and Get Involved. Please let us know if there are any glitches, as we'd love to have it running smoothly as soon as we can.
I'd like to give a HUGE thank-you to Sunil Patel (of Z-Fox.com) for coding the Flash element, and also not rejecting all the re-edits I have emailed him. So thank you Sunil!
Luke and I hope you like the new banner as much as we do - though it may be harder to update it for special occasions as it has been with a static banner, we'll still try our best to keep with holidays and festivals and make custom banners accordingly.
Let's hope it's not contagious. Pretty much every MOC Mr Eylar turns out of his Lego power-house I immediately love, and that's the same whether they contain Spongebob or not. Alex Eylar (aka. Profound Whatever on Flickr) has recently changed three famous 'monster' stories to include Spongebob, along with some great MOCs. There's Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis (my favourite):
"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous yellow sponge. He lay on his soft, squishy back and saw, as he lifted his head up a little, his flat, porous abdomen divided up into a neat shirt and slacks combo. From this height the blanket, just about ready to slide off completely, could hardly stay in place. His two legs, pitifully thin in comparison to the rest of his rectangular form, dangled helplessly before his eyes."
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein:
"It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless, yellow thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the bright blue eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its thin limbs."
And Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven:
"Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Spongebob of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
The live screening of the STAR entrants took place on Sunday, and luckily I was there to cover the event for Brickspace. The films were shown on one page of the BiM website, with a small chat widget embedded below it. The videos were changed as the people chatted below. This is a hard thing to pull off, and as a result it caused mine and many other people's browsers to crash - it was clearly determined that Internet Explorer was certainly not to be used.
So yes, there were a few glitches - and the chat had its problems as well. Apparently my browser 'reconnected too fast' and so it took many page-refreshes to login to the chatroom, which meant also refreshing the video I was watching.
The event had a clear schedule, but it turned out to take twice as long due to people not having finished watching the films and general lag. This is all justified, but Sméagol (Philip Heinrich) did make the mistake of putting his American timings in GMT instead of whatever time zone he was in, meaning I was waiting expectantly for it to start when in fact I was one hour in front of everybody. There were three main sections of films, each started by adverts provided not only by Sméagol but as a result of the STAR trailer competition, and some previews for other films too (they'll be covered below). Heinrich announced the films being shown in the chatroom, amongst the non-stop chit-chat of people asking what film would be on next, and other annoyingly pointless questions.
Unfortunately the time zone difference caught up with me and, having stayed up late to go to see the film Moon in London the night before, I had to stop watching at the first break. However, I did get to see some great stuff in the time I was there.
Whirlwind tour of the first section of BiM Live? Sure!
Well, it started with some trailers, the best of which being that for Picturesque, a film by Nick Durron set in the future where people can use 'picture portals' to transport themselves around the globe. There are some fantastic effects shown in the trailer, and I can't wait for the full film!
Next up was Sméagol Studios with their latest film, Space Opera, to be released in early 2010. The trailer didn't show much, but what we saw, we liked. Great music, too.
Now onto the three best entries into the STAR competition (in my opinion). Unfortunately BiM hasn't put up a full list of films and their YouTube links, so I can't find the ones I don't remember the name of.
Firstly, there's David Boddy's fantastic entry, Cyclic. This is certainly a success for Boddy (a reader of this blog, as it happens), for it includes some great special effects and new animation techniques (most notably in the two robots on LV 426). The plot is quite quick, but you can still keep up with it whilst understanding most of it. However, like many of the STAR entires, Cyclic needs to be watched twice to be fully understood. Nevertheless it's a fantastic film and I hope David makes more like it in the future.
Next is The River, a haunting film made by Winkyburger. Once again, the plot may not be understood completely in the first viewing, but in this film, it's a joy just to sit back and admire the 'feel' of the film. The cinematography is perfectly composed, with beautiful colours and spooky lighting effects... you won't forget this film easily. What made it 'magical' for me was the scene with the native people performing their ritual: maybe it was just tiredness and the darkness around me whilst I watched it for the first time on Sunday night, but this film was really spooky. Second time round, it still maintains some of that atmosphere.
Finally, there's the latest film by Leftfield Studios, Mind Control. Leftfield Studios, who have produced such legendary films as The Great Disturbance and Aladibababad (I was singing that theme tune for days), have returned with a great new film! Sure, it's nothing special, but it has an interesting plot and is a bit more... stable that the other entries. It also contains a Lego atom, so +1 awesomeness.
I hope you enjoyed that! If you have a link to any other good STAR films, please put them in the comments below!
Ever since YouTube released their video notes feature, people have been making series of videos where you can navigate through a story choosing different options (like those old make-your-own-adventure books, only with YouTube videos). Now, for the first time, there's a Brickfilm one, made by SpastikChuwawa ! I strongly suggest you have a go at it, and see if you can find the secret ending!
I just spoke with Philip Heinrich, Bricks in Motion admin (I have my connections) and he told me about the screening of the final entries to the STAR competition on BiM (which I had forgotten about). The screening is starting at 8:00 PM (UMT) today, so I suggest you get down there and check them out! There's rumored to be a preview of Heinrich's new film thrown in as well...
I like Nnenn as a builder, I really do, but sometimes I feel that he builds the same thing over and over again: using the same cockpit piece, the same two point wing things. Luckily, he's done something different this time: something like a plane with some cool cockpits, engines and lovely green. I've nnever seen anything like it before (ha ha, ok, ok, nno more Nnenn jokes)...
You'd be amazed what you can find if you just look through Flickr for more than 10 seconds... in this case, full pictures of the Lego Prince of Persia sets at Comic-con. They look promising:
New colours, new torsos, new headpieces, new hairpieces and a truckload of fleshie goodness (oops I almost forgot the camel) snapped by Modelgal and on her 'stream here and here .
Today was the first day of Comic-con '09, and luckily Yupa-Sama was there to get the low-down on the Lego's offerings, which this year comes in the form of the Toy Story sets.
Remember that all that is below is my personal opinion, shared with you to give you a starting point with your opinions. I mean no harm to anybody, and you are free to show your own opinion in the comments section below.
There's one picture of an actual set, that RC-car that Woody and Buzz ride in the first film...
Oh God. I don't care whether those 'figs are prototypes or not, they're awful. Lego has turned to the garish, freaky-looking side and have shoved scary plastic heads onto their usual beautiful ABS minifig parts. Sigh.
There's the evil bad-guy with one of those new flick-fire missile launchers...
There may be a good purple torso in there...
Then there's the 'cute' alien...
Was I the only one expecting a Classic Space logo when I looked at the picture's thumbnail?
What about those little green army men?
Here they are! These are looking the best of the lot, with some amry helmets (!) and some handy minifig baseplates (better than Doc Sinister's recent purchases ? We'll find out at the sets' release...). Shame about the green, though.
Well, that's all the Toy Story previews for today. We also got a little peaksie at the new Prince of Persia theme, which I hadn't heard of before:
Yup. It's an ostrich. But it has studs, so it's looking quite good. For those of you who want some information on why the theme is happening, it's because the Prince of Persia film is also being released. The film stars some big names - like Jake Gyllenhaal (Independence Day, Brokeback Mountain) - and some Gemma Artreton gal. It was originally set to be released last month, but has been delayed to May for extensive post-production. It, like Toy Story 3, was made by Disney.
So what are your opinions? We'd love to hear them - just write a comment below!
Because there's nothing like TWO Dane Cook mini-movies to brighten up your wednesday evening browsing. Heh heh.
The first is from the usual SpastikChuwawa, and is the shortest one I've ever seen. At least it has some Jackson music in it...
And guess who else jumped on the bandwagon? None other than good ol' Zach Macias, of course! I don't no whether this is a sign of a collapsing Brickfilm community, or... well, I guess that's the only option. Farewell, Zach. I'll see you in Dane Cook land, once I get there.
This new lightbox test-turned-proper MOC from Monkfish44 was too cool for me to ignore and not blog. Apart from the lighting, there's a load more to this little vignette. As well as space cargo boxes, there's rockets, a mech and a great description:
You hear these stories that those "Indiana Jones In Space Types" tell, all the adventure and glamour. What the bastards neglect to tell you about is us. The lackeys that have to work on their cobbled-together ships, because we have nowhere else to go. From fixing the engines to fetching their favourite pair of socks from storage. I wouldn't mind if we had decent wages, but we don't!
You know, I happen to like the ground. I like not having to worry about the airlock fucking up and me being shot into space. I like plants. I like people. I only ever wanted to be an electrician and look after my family. But I'm stuck here, in somebody else's tin-can, fixing somebody else's problems.
I've wanted to do Post-Apoc for a while, but I wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing it. I'm hoping I have the right idea for it.
The snow if finally beginning to recede. I still manage to find it odd how we can be buried in the snow one night whilst in the middle of the desert then finally back on warm sand with the sun beating upon us. The idea of the apocalypse is so strange and facing it as a reality is odd too. I'm no sure if I'll ever adjust, but I will as long as my body will allow me to, survive.
The center piece of this creation is the light up flame and it is also the most attractive part when shown in the dark.
Karl Oolhu has depicted a magnificent scene as leaders from throughout an alien empire attend their annual duty of supplication to their Amphibian Emperor Tow~Edd. Full of lovely details, this is a MOC to be savoured.
OK, I'm a bit late on reporting this news, but hey - any news is better than no news. So, on the 10th July (last Friday), the BBC television programme 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross' aired. Ross interviewed car expert and Top Gear presenter James May, who is also known for 'James May's 20th Century' and my favourite, the programme about his favourite childhood toys. It even includes a scene all about Lego, where May says of one of the old Lego City sets 'they might as well have made one whole piece in the shape of a truck'.
But James May is back looking at toys - he announced that he has made 'Toy Stories': a programme about different toys of the past and present. He made a whole flower display out of plasticine, and for his Lego episode, he has built a life-sized Lego house, which is supported by metal framework and contains who-knows-how-many bricks. That's certainly something to look forward to!
I'll give you Brickspace guys a heads-up when the programme is aired.
Apparently flickr user delucks largest creation yet and this style on this creation like most of his is so defined and all his own. With every new creation you will see more detail and an even more refined style.
Some of my fellow Brickish Association members are displaying their spacey creations today at Britain's National Space Centre in Leicester. Part of their display is a large Moonbase with lengthy sections of monorail and...this fantastic Biodome by Andy Tymm. It adds a nice splash of colour to a space borne facility.
Here's a post someone made on 'Get involved', unfortunately the forgot to include their name. Make sure to submit your own posts soon, just follow the instructions by clicking here.
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This is my standard truck chasis with a rocket launcher ftted to the rear. It has collapsable sides for protection during transport and boasts an eight capacity ground to ground/air system that is modular. The truck can also be used for general transport duties and for moving troops. The main flatbed part is a road section from the Lego Racers system, so road as truck!. I am constructing many varietys of this truck including Special Operations Units in black, Snow Units in white, General Army Units in dark grey, a Mountain Tundra Unit in browns and creams and soon more variations! Check out my Flickr site for more photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/iainy73 Please consider to blog.
Try saying that mouthful five times fast. Flickr user the Artizan brings us the fantastically detailed and movie accurate Republic Attack Gunship LAAT in a scale that is easy to see all the detail, yet not consume all of his collection. Its great!
Plastic Matt from flickr shows us what he can do with mech and has great prensentation. I think his backstory does plenty of talking thought.
After the War of the Nukes (as it was called by most survivors) the majority of the earths surface was turned into a barren wasteland entirely devoid of life. After that most battles were carried out by automated war machines.
New flickr user .marnicq presents a serious space vehicle with loads of great techniques and the photo shopped background looks to cool and really does something to the presentation of it all.
I guess I'll be one of the first BrickSpace members to blog one of his own creations and dedicate the post solely to his creation. Thanks to John the main admin for letting us do so. Anyway I present the Sprite Racer...
A drag racer that uses its 'flaps' to slow down when under intense speeds in straightaway races. Any pilot using the Sprite class racer has tried other racers before and knows plenty about repairs, and drifting as this racer is common to break down after racers while cooling down and any type of turning on this racer could end disastrously.
Flickr user vinn has decided to rev up his original Cagafuego with a little bit more firepower and other accessories and to a great effect. With all these new concepts on this fighter it also needs a new name known as the Modifided TS-82 'Primal Megan'. It now has some new chains that give it more of a junkyard feel. Now I want my own junk yard ship.
Journal Entry #3: Tuesday, September 20, 2011. Time unknown.
Today, as I was searching through the city, I stumbled upon a construction site. Strangely, I got this horrible feeling in my stomach, and I knew exactly why. Seeing this half-destroyed, unfinished building made me come to realize how the progression of mankind has come to a halt. Our world will no longer keep moving forward, it has been frozen in time. And knowing there is a possibility that it may never move forward again is hard to believe. But that is why I am here, to keep moving forward for our existence.
Fortunately, some good things have happened recently. I haven’t run into anymore of the ‘infected’ since the other day. I have also found a red wagon which has allowed me take more objects with me. Plus, there were plenty of tools at the site, although I could not take all of them.
Sadly, I have yet to find any other survivors, but I haven’t given up, not yet...
This is the story told to us by Flickr user DarthNick who has been off to a great start with all his journal entries recording his version of the apocalypse. You can read all the rest by clicking on the photo.
This great and detailed vignette made by Mdrn-Mrvls features plenty of great details and is part of a military sub-faction that he has created. All the vehicles and vigs look great and feature lots of great techniques.
I saw this video a few months ago, but when I revisited the Flickr page, I couldn't resist blogging it. Yes, this is The Legohaulic (Tyler) showing us through his underground Lego lair.
I'm not all too sure if this is in reply to the recent Ignite presentation called 'The secret underground world of Lego', but it's hilarious nonetheless.
LEGO used as Brail? Yes indeed, the raised studs here read "LEG GODT" - or "Play Well" in Danish. I don't know about you, dear reader, but I've not seen that before. This ignenious idea, is courtesy of SavaTheAggie.
Or so says SlyOwl builder of fine castles and now event crazy microscale pirate ships. Some many great aspects of this tight vignette including and interesting roof technique.
Welcome to Brickspace, the one-stop shop for all your Lego needs!
Brickspace is a regularly updated blog where we give you the latest Lego creations and news along with interviews, Brickfilms and a whole lot more! Check back often for more great stuff!
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