Avant-Garde results!

I returned home from Denmark today to find that Philip Heinrich and the Bricks in Motion team had announced the winners of their 2010 competition, Avant-Garde!

Below is the results table from the Results forum thread.

Links to the films:

Sdrawkcab (Allekto1323) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqs250FejzE

Ye Giants of Olde (ancientbricks) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWBSqIpTZME
Crime Stories (bodville) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16USvlqgmNE
New Friendly (brenden17) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWm8VH5ulKE
The Lego Movie Montage (BrickAction101) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIwCzDq20Xc
Brick Battle (Builder Brothers) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxLkNuasOXk
Colour (CheeseyBricks) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUudhGJvW0s
Just me and myself (ct45211) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GMkf90LRho
Amnesia (Darkman) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsyicKgWol0
The Recycle Machine! (EddieHasscle) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrwR1qTRhzQ
Metamorphosis (fallentomato) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcmzTC_tltA
The After Life Experience (filmyguy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjFTbiJgNac
Phil and Nick mafia time (Fredrikomovies) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZWDEXhBhJE
no title 17 (HausmacherFilme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVzxg4akAH0
T.I.N. (Jed277.tv) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EN2Jhm5COQ
After Twenty Years (jogopocomedia) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSKM_bY4AwQ
The Missing Piece (juggernuatpictureshw) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocQfuOuV-GI
The Hero (Just Kidden) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qksjk3_19Kk
Home For Supper (KinzCove) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8JRMsV-1C4
The Dark One (kitbricksto) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR_5MuZ5BHo
Radio Death (legostudiosplus) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHYK-yHckiE
The Lego Minifig. Head Corp. (legosword89) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbzqOZSVpjI
Mr. Bad Frame (lgfb1film) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk0NNSYCET0
The Magician (MindGame) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNKkY4vwDvE
It's a Pleasure to meet you (NiceGuy1130) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZtd57CX6Fs
The Quest of the Bricks (nate13545) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LORrqG8_JA4
Zombie: Genesis (Nick Durron) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQW0sGkgqCI
Brick World (PeanutMaster87) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV14IUy79BM
LEGOlogy (tbonesocrul) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs7QEF-Tfuo
Close Call (TheOstudio) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wToz-Z9pKGs
Studless Freedom (Timothy R) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGegmDZzJ-Q
Music (VIMStudios) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5rantTr7v8
Odd Jobs (namchild) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ncqqtfhHY
The Importance of Life and Death (sabertoothedlime) http://img412.imageshack.us/i/movie0002d.mp4/

So congrats to the winners, especially Nick Durron for getting the top prize for his film Zombie: Genesis, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. I hadn't seen the other two winners, but now I have and stay tuned for reviews of both. Zach Macias' The Magician is up at 6, and David Boddy's Crime Stories at 7. Though I didn't love either of their films, I'm happy that they got that high up. They're both great Brickfilmers and I expect a lot from them in the future.

~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