Review: The Nightly News at Nine Chapter 1 DVD

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from David M. Pickett, the creator of the Nightly News at Nine, an award-winning Brickfilm series that I hope you've all heard of. David offered me a copy of the NNN Chapter 1 DVD, and there was no way I was saying no!

There's always going to be a problem with selling DVDs of films that have premiered on the internet. In our modern-day world of full access to videos via YouTube, there's little space for DVDs of anything other than feature films. However, there is still a market for this sort of DVDs (albeit a small one), and NNN: Chapter 1 is certainly something to look into buying.

NNN Chapter One cover

Firstly, the design of the DVD. I first expected the NNN DVD to be a rather simple DVD cover, but when it arrived it was much more professional that I imagined. It was even wrapped in a plastic cover like the proper DVDs you can buy at media shops, so +1 professional points for Pickett there.

NNN Chapter One back cover (with a quote from me, yay - thanks David!)

The actual cover design is nothing special, but it works well and reminds you of all the great characters and stylings that make you love NNN. The back cover is full of all the details and descriptions of what's on the disc, and even the paragraph of thin+tall text that gives you all the info on who made the films.

NNN Chapter One disc printing

There's no doubt that the design of the DVD is accurate and impressive, but what's inside? Well, firstly, it's got a printed disc, and they're hard to do. So good for you, David!

The actual DVD contents are quite simple: whilst it's not packed with extras and bits 'n' bobs, there's still a fair amount of other films.

The Nightly News at Nine films themselves have all been squished into one big movie so that you can watch them all from start to finish, seamlessly. The entire first chapter is 25 minutes long, but it's light viewing and fun to watch. You almost forget that you originally saw the Chapter in several parts - instead, it takes the format of Phil and Sherry's News programme, with ad breaks in between segments.

So, undoubtedly, the main NNN Chapter is the best bit of the DVD. It's great just to have that in a place so you can put the DVD into your TV and enjoy it on the big (-ish) screen. It's certainly something that both adults and children will enjoy: children for the fun and silly aspects of it, and adults for the subtle parody of TV and advert formats, plus the social stereotypes in On the street with Steve Deepsea.

Persephone from the SVELT interview segment

But of course, this DVD would be pointless without extra features. As I said, it's all available free online, so what's going to make you pay the $8 for this DVD? Well, David's chucked in two of his other short animations on the DVD as well - most notably Choose Your Own Storyline: The Fight for Paradise Hills, which is a hilarious mock-movie trailer. There's also a non-Brickfilm, Stuck in the Mud, which is short but sweet and quite well-made. I'd love to see more from David in that style.

There's also the NNN trailers, which I don't care much for, but they're on there in case you want them. There's a short deleted scene which shows the NNN studio whilst the SVELT trailer is happening. It's nothing important, but it's funny and a welcome addition to the extra features.

Now onto the most important extra feature: the Director's Commentary! It's obvious that David Pickett is new to the commentary format - he even explains that himself - so it takes a while for him to get warmed up. Don't get put off by the start, it ends up as thoroughly interesting and David gives a lot of hints as to what to expect in NNN: Chapter 2. Pickett shows a lot of humility and sincerity in the commentary, which you don't get in professional commentaries. He seems like a really nice guy; makes me hope he does well with Chapter 2.

So, whilst buying DVDs of Brickfilms is not something that you do very often, perhaps just consider NNN: Chapter 1? It's great simply for Chapter 1 in its entirety, plus some of Pickett's other short films and that interesting commentary. I hope to see a lot more other films from you on the Chapter 2 DVD, David (Metamorphosis, please?)!

~John

Avant-Garde: Crime Stories

It was only a matter of time before I saw David Boddy's (pe668) entry into the Bricks in Motion Avant-Garde competition, and it is with sadness that I must report that it is nothing compared to last year's entry.



Boddy has one clear flaw, that shows up in all his Brickfilms. It's nothing he can prevent; it's simply his personal style that gets in the way. His films are always crazy, fast and assisted by a constant soundtrack of guitar riffs and rock music. That's his way of doing things; I accept that.

But is the way of doing things that will create a good film? It didn't get in the way of CYCLIC, which was a great film (Boddy's entry to last year's STAR competition). Unfortunately, it's jamming up the works in this film, Crime Stories. I really could not stand the relentless guitar blasting away in the background, though I'll admit it was more appropriate here than in CYCLIC.

Oh, how I wish that Boddy's style was the only thing preventing this film from being as good as CYCLIC. But, of course, wishes don't come true. I can only conclude that Boddy made this film in a rush, or didn't think about it for very long before he made it. It is totally unrelated to the avant-garde genre, and could simply be swept away with the hundreds of other action Brickfilms on YouTube. There's no plot to speak of outside of "prisoner breaks out of jail, steals gold, gets caught", and you know how much I've been wanting to find an film that is avant-garde in terms of plot as well as visually.

But Crime Stories makes up for it, kinda. It's got some great animation - the best I've seen from Boddy yet, some awesome sets, and camerawork that should really be analysed more when you watch the film. Notice in several parts where the camera actually passes through walls, which is a very clever (and very hard to achieve) technique that Boddy pulls off well.

So, whilst Crime Stories totally misses the point of avant-garde, it's a lot of fun to watch and it should be enjoyed at least for its action sequence (which is the entirety of the film).

~John

Avant-Garde: The Afterlife Experience

Sean Willets (FilmyGuy1) has got his Avant-Garde competition entry up on YouTube, so I figured I'd get it reviewed.



I must admit that when I first started watching it, and when I saw that he had made more than half of it hurriedly in under 48 hours, I was not impressed. Brickfilmers have had almost a year to get their films done, and the start of the film did not help. It's well shot and well animated, but it falls into two big pitfalls: firstly, the actual image quality is poor; and secondly, Willets had the common symptom of making the film very high-contrast and very dark. Loads of Brickfilmers do it, and it really does not look good.

However, after the unimpressive opening, the rest of the film was enjoyable. Quite what it was trying to say (if anything) was lost on me, but it was fun to watch and some bits were well animated. I did, however, have a sharp intake of breath when I saw the infinite-white-expanse background used. Luckily, it didn't last long.

The Afterlife Experience is a silent film, which is nice and calming but really does not help with the emotions our main character is going through. Another thing that was confusing was this: at the start of the film, it seems that the man has a very cold relationship with his wife. She does not seem to show affection to him. Yet, at the end of the film, they love each other. I understand that I misinterpreted the start of the film, but that is not my fault. Some dialogue would have helped oh so much!

So, is this film a contender for the Avant-Garde prize? Perhaps. More so than The Magician - it's interesting, surrealist and original. But is it the best Brickfilm I've ever seen? Not so much.


~John

Avant-Garde: Zombie Genesis

The future is looking up for the Bricks in Motion Avant-Garde competition. Here's an entry from Nick Durron (director of Picturesque, which I luckily didn't review when it was released because I thought it was awful).



I must admit when I first saw the title of Zombie: Genesis I feared the worst. Another zombie movie. Trying to be realistic. It looked like things were all downhill for the Avant-Garde competition.

However, when I watched it I realised it was in fact a very clever, witty and well made Brickfilm with a clear style and a clear aim. It's a parody of informercial-like programmes you see about the making of movies. It preys on the stereotypes - both obvious (the Swedish bodybuilder, who is the star of the movie) and subtle (the director, who speaks in a Hollywood style that everyone knows all too well). It's well observed, fairly well animated (though some work still needs to be done on the face animations) and I'd say it was a great film overall.

Will it win Avant-Garde? I don't think so. I don't really want it to, either; it's certainly different but it's not something that is truly avant-garde. Either way, Nick Durron has really improved his rep with me after Picturesque.


~John

Avant-Garde: The Magician

The big news in the Brickfilming world is of Bricks In Motion's latest competition, Avant-Garde, which is ending today. Films were available to post online since the 18th, but I haven't seen very many so the Brickfilmers must still be working on them.

But remember - the deadline is almost over! Then it's time to review all the films and, as always, I'll be there for the showing at some stupid hour of the night. Now onto Zach Macias' entry!



Mr. Macias' entry, called The Magician, unfortunately fits with the predictable empty-expanse format. So, I guess that -1 originality points for this film. However, it's not the format of your film that ultimately matters, it what you do with the format. Macias animates the central magician character expertly, with smooth, natural movements. There's not a flaw in there.

However, a part of me feels let down that one of the best Brickfilmers, Zach Macias, didn't attempt a more challenging topic. Animating bricks to music has certainly be done before, and I must admit that Macias could have done a bit more than what we see in The Magician. The film is avant-garde with its concept, but not with its plot, which is what I hoped to see.

So, whilst Macias' entry is a good film in its own right, I'd hope it's not the kind of quality that will win such a challenging competition. I wonder what everyone else has been up to...


~John

Under cover

Remember Atin's mind-blowing The Bombing of LA scene? Well, he's back for more with another scene named First Contact.

First Contact by Atin

Once again, the atmosphere and lighting work brilliantly to create a mood for this scene. The sunset/sunrise in the background in particular makes the windows on the buildings glitter with the 'sun' shining through them; really beautiful stuff. Closer to the front, we sadly start to lose detail, as the buildings are quite plain and flat. So, whilst this isn't as good as The Bombing of LA, it's still another great scene and I hope to see more like this from Atin in the future.

~John

Stranger than Fishin'

Well well, look who's back: it's Zach Macias, with his new comedy sketch Brickfilm, Stranger than Fishin'!

In a way, I feel that Macias' talent is wasted with so many small sketches - much like Spastik Chuwawa - but if it's the way he wants to go, then that's OK with me. Sometimes Brickfilmers just want to provide a bit of comic relief, and not a full-blown masterpiece like The River, Driven or Unrenewable. Macias has found his niche, and I guess that's where he's going to stay.

Nonetheless, this film is full of brilliant animation, and certainly makes up for the long wait when you see how much masking is involved (masking is the process of animating sequences where bricks are in mid-air, and is a very long process). Macias has developed a lot from his early days, and Stranger than Fishin' really shows off his skill in animating smooth, natural movements. 

One last thing to note in this animation is the use of several different faces for the main character, a technique that is becoming used more and more often. I hope to see it used a lot more in the future; it's one step closer to creating a Brickfilm which viewers can connect with.

~John

He does it again!

I don't know if you've seen the earlier creations of Jared Chan but they are all beautiful! Recently he uploaded his latest shop. The detail is marvelous.

When all his creations are put together it's a shopping(and of course a lego) paradise! Well, the picture below speaks for itself.