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Welcome to the homepage of BuilderBrothers Studios! We are a stop motion animation video production studio, dedicated to the art of bringing LEGO to life. On this site, you can see all of our LEGO animations, current news on what we are working on, and several other interesting things. Feel free to look around, and if you like our work, please tell us so here! Thanks for visiting!
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Blog March 29th, 2012 Yikes! Just where does the time go? Four MONTHS since our last update?! Well, we have an excuse. A poor one, but an excuse all the same. We have been extremely busy with both school and "The Squire and the Scroll," not to mention the fact that we are also now on Facebook, Blogspot, and Twitter. Another big reason for our procrastination is that this site is VERY hard to edit (because it is all html scripted, not a template). However, we are working on fixing this, and hopefully we will have a newly formated site up soon. Also, to prove that we truly have been working hard on "The Squire and the Scroll," we now have the trailer for it up! You can see it above, or go directly to it here. Hopefully this trailer will be enough to satiate you until our next blog post (which will hopefully be on a newly improved site)! December 4th, 2011 Okey dokey, it's time for a MEGA-UPDATE! As our work on "The Squire and the Scroll" progresses, we have been recording our progress almost weekly. We have been posting them on BricksInMotion.com, but we had neglected to post them here. So, without further ado, here is all that has gone on since our last blog post! Note: The posts go in order from oldest to current. 8/12/11 In the past week, we have animated about another 20 seconds of footage as well as gotten together with a very talented composer that is writing the music for this film. Since we don't want to post another screenshot quite yet, here are some behind-the-scenes pics:   8/20/11 Since our last update, we haven't actually animated much more of the film. School has started, and we have been very busy. However, we did receive our ToY prizes (which included many great weapons, some of which will be used in the film), as well as some special Brickforge orders of specialized swords, reigns, and medieval accessories. We also had been having some trouble with light-flickers (resulting in numerous takes of the same seen and much frusteration), so we purchased a manual Nikon lens as well as an adaptor. Thanks to this new lens, we now have virtually no flicker. It also has a very wide focus range, and the aperture range is also very good. Here is a quick test we did of the lens' depth-of-field:  We have also been working on the trolls for the film, and here are some pictures:      8/28/11 Since our last update, several things have happened. For one, we received another Brickforge order, this time with some reigns, swords, and a bow. We took a quick picture using some of the elements below:  We also got together with our composer again, and got together with one of our voice-actors and began recording some of the first lines of the film. It is also BuilderBrother Daniel's birthday today, and through his birthday we got a dragon (see here). This will be heavily modified and become the core model for the dragon in this film. We also are about to begin working on another one of our village houses. We already have six; two from "Medieval Market Village" and four we designed ourselves based off the designs of the other two. Here is a picture of one of ours compared to the one designed by LEGO:  We also are re-doing a few of our previous shots, due to the fact that we greatly prefer the BrickArms swords over the LEGO ones. We also bought another camera lens that has a really nice wide angle, so now we have one for close ups and one for zoomed-out shots. 9/4/11 Sooooo... In the course of the last week we have been, as usual, quite busy. We not only have finished around another 30 seconds of animation, but we have completed a very important scene and made it so that we are now able to continue onto another segment (meaning new screenshots!). We have also finished the first draft of the dragon. While the dragon is by no means done, this draft will be the core model. We have also been working hard on designing fairly realistic fire in After Effects (using no third-party software like Trapcode Particular). We composited an image of both the dragon and the fire below:  9/11/11 Whew! After one extremely hard week of school (due to the fact that we had to do extra work to make up for the Labor Day holiday), we finally had some time to work on the film this weekend. We managed to not only finish that scene that we mentioned previously, but we also did some work with Adobe Premiere to get us used to its interface (since that is the editing software that we are going to use on this project). Sadly, we do not have a picture for this week's update, since we don't want to give too much away. 9/25/11 So, since our last blog post, we have been quite busy on many things. For one, we have been working on converting the dragon to a CG object (which is going to act as his double through most of the film). We have also been working on learning some new techniques in After Effects that are necessary for the film. We just finished (animating) a new scene too. We are not quite done with the effects yet, but here is a screenshot from one of the WIP scenes:  This screenshot also highlights one of the effects that we have been working quite hard to achieve - mist. The mist is 100% generated from fractal noise, since we don't have (and don't plan on using) any 3rd-party plugins such as Trapcode Particular. 10/9/11 Since our last update, we have had very little time to do anything, much less work on "The Squire and the Scroll." We have been very sick, and we have also been preparing for exams for school. However, we did have some time to do research on some 3D programs, as well as do more work on preparing for the forest sequences. However, the REAL reason for this update is to show off this, the largest prop so far in the film:  Not the best image, we know, but please realize that we didn't take that much time to take the picture, and that the picture was taken in a garage with very bad lighting. This castle is featured quite a bit in the film. It is composed of thousands of bricks and is pretty much to minifigure scale. We didn't put any minifigures in this picture because we wanted the castle to be the focus, but next time we show the castle we will probably have minifigures on and around it. Oh, and the fact that it looks like the Disneyland castle is intentional because that is what we based it on. We liked the "fairytale" look of it. Also, please ignore the landscape, since it will be totally different in the film, and some of it will even be CGI. 10/23/11 Since last post we have built some new props and animated about another 20 seconds of footage. We have also been tinkering around with camera rigs and designed one ourselves (with the help of our dad). Here are some pictures of our custom “zoom” rig: (Also, please note that these pictures were taken in the “playroom” of our younger siblings, so there are toys strewn about that we were too lazy to crop out.)    It is capable of "zoom-panning" up to 10 feet in either direction, and you can measure the increments by using a yardstick, large ruler, or tape-measure. 11/5/11 Well, since our last post we have been continuing to work on the forest scene, and have been learning and utilizing many new techniques as well. In fact, while we are writing this post we are actually in the process of setting up another shot in the forest. For today's update, we have decided to do a break-down of a single shot in "The Squire and the Scroll." This summarizes some of the most important effects that we apply to some of our shots. Here it is: (1) Original Shot  (2) Color-Correction and Brightness Turned Down  (3) Darkness Added Through a Feathered-Gradient With a Low Opacity  (4) Moving Top-Mist Added  (5) Moving Bottom-Mist Added  (6) Fake Tree Added (for added depth)  (7) More Moving Top-Mist Added  (8) More Moving Bottom-Mist Added  (9) Final Composite/Letter-Boxing  11/20/11 Since our last post, we have (as usual) been very busy with both school and other engagements. However, work on "The Squire and the Scroll" still goes on. Recently we have been spending a lot of time working with Cinema 4d, the 3d program that we plan on using to create the vast amount of 3d objects that this film requires. It is immensely superior to Carrara (in our opinion), and its interface is just fantastic. The 3d model that we decided to begin working on first is the dragon, since it has more screen-time than any other 3d model by far. It is also necessary that it be rigged and textured with as much attention to detail as possible, since it will be interacting with real-life objects and therefore getting very close to the camera. Right now we are working on its head. Here are some pictures:   11/27/11 Being that it was just Thanksgiving (for those of us in America), we decided to make an extra update this weekend. Since last week's update of the CG dragon's head, we have managed to complete the rest of the dragon, including working on the joints, rigging, and texturing. We have also been working hard on our render settings to try to get the most photo-realistic image we can. Here is what we have right now: The rigging and joints:  The render:  And so that's all for now! Hopefully we will remember to post things here more often in the future, and hopefully our next post won't be quite this long... ;) August 12th, 2011 Things have been very busy here at BuilderBrothers Studios the past few weeks, so we have quite a bit of things to blog. First off, our film “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” placed third place in the “ToY” Brickfilming competition! You can see the complete results below:  We have also been working very hard on our major Brickfilming project “The Squire and the Scroll.” We have animated around 30 seconds of footage, and even have some screenshots! You can see them below (click on the images to see larger versions): 
 We also got together with a very talented composer who will be writing the music for our film. Because of him, our film will now have an original score! Because we are working so hard on this film, we will be posting (hopefully) weekly updates on our progress on it. Also, if you want to learn more about the storybook that we are basing our film off of, just visit this site. July 20th, 2011 Just wanted to let you guys know that we just posted another tutorial in the HowTo section of the site. It is called The Art of Brickfilming - A Basic Guide to Creating LEGO Animations. It is a very lengthy tutorial, but it should be very useful for all of you out there who want to learn more about Brickfilming and how it works. July 18th, 2011 Our ToY entry is now out! You can see it above or in the videos section. On a side note, we now have more time to work on "The Squire and the Scroll," and we should have some pictures up soon (and when we say "soon," we really just mean sometime within the next month or so). June 5th, 2011 Now that school is over, things have begun to heat up here at BuilderBrothers Studios. Our ToY (Tales of Yore) Brickfilming Competition entry is underway, and we are begining to devote more time to "The Squire and the Scroll" as well. Our ToY entry is not allowed to be made public until the middle of July, but fairly soon we will begin posting images and tests from "The Squire and the Scroll." Hopefully we will not end up making our next blog post as late as this one is... April 29th, 2011 We now have our Easter film up - Cottontail Jones! Also, it was an entry into an Easter Brickfilming competition, and we WON! This is the first Brickfilming competition in which we have placed first, so we are VERY excited! Anyhow, enjoy our winning entry and hope you had a wonderful Easter! April 15th, 2011 Just got Adobe CS5 Production Premium, and we can't wait to do some awesome new effects! Also, today is the birthday of our Public-Relations Executive, so happy birthday David! We'll have another short film out soon too, so don't worry. March 15th, 2011 Since our last blog post, things have been total chaos here. Both of us got sick with a nasty flu, and then we had to go on a trip. However, now that we have finally had a little peace, we have finished our special first-year anniversary short! You will have to watch it above, since it isn't in the Videos section yet. Enjoy, and hopefully our next blog post won't be so delayed. February 24th, 2011 It is a special day for BuilderBrothers Studios - it is the first anniversary of our website! Don't worry, we have a special little animation coming out for the occasion. It should be up within the next few days. However, in the meantime, it will simply be your jobs to be patient and to spread the glorious news about BuilderBrothers Studios to all (and it wouldn't hurt to tell people our web address as well). ;) January 16th, 2011 We were interviewed on a LEGO Brickfilming podcast! You can listen to it below: Builder-Brothers-Interview by brickfilmersinterviewed January 2nd, 2011 Our annual Christmas film is now out! We here at BuilderBrothers Studios wish you a Happy New Year! December 20th, 2010 New film! Our late THAC 8 entry, "Mission: Ambition," is now up! November 25th, 2010 Happy Thanksgiving! There's a new film to celebrate the holiday too! November 7th, 2010 Here it is! Our 500 hits film! Enjoy, and thanks for watching! November 6th, 2010 Well, that was a pleasant surprise! This site has reached 500 hits! Unfortunately, it took us by surprise, so the 500 hits animation will be a bit delayed. Don't worry however, it will be out soon. Thanks so much for the support everyone! We greatly appreciate it. We are also working on modifying our site, so keep an eye out for modifications. October 30th, 2010 Brick or Treat is finally out! Though it is not available for download yet, it can be viewed on Youtube in the video's section. Enjoy, and Happy Halloween! October 14th, 2010 Once again we are late to post a blog entry. However, this time it was for a good reason. We are in the middle of making another film (for a Halloween Brickfilm competition), and that has been absorbing most of our time. Here is a poster for it:  August 31st, 2010 Well, we're back, and boy do we have a lot of news! First of all, the results for BIM 2010 were announced. We came in 13th place! You can see the scoreboard here:  August 8th, 2010 We have a new short film up: The Art of the LEGO! July 26th, 2010 IT'S HERE!!! Our "BIM 2010: Avant-Garde" entry Brick Battle is up! Enjoy! July 23rd, 2010 Only one and a half days until our "BIM 2010:Avant-Garde" entry will be out! Begin preparing yourselves! July 14th, 2010 Finally it's out! Well, actually, only partially. We just now have finished the teaser trailer for our Avant-Garde entry! The actual film will be out (as the trailer says) on July 26th, so save the date! Also, thanks for all the support from fans like you! July 1st, 2010 We just uploaded a new (well, actually old) movie to this site! We found it on our computer, and we thought it would be cool to post. We made it a couple of years ago, so it is in the Older part of the films section. If you want to see it though, it is faster just to look at it directly on our homepage. Oh, and we are almost finished with our Avant-Garde entry! We are VERY excited! There are also five more creations in the Creations section. We have been busy building as well as filming! June 24th, 2010 Our site just reached 250 server hits! That's halfway to 500, and once we reach 500 we will do something special for the occasion. Keep up the hits! June 23rd, 2010 Yet another update: We have three more creations in the Creations section and a whole new format for it as well. Also, several more scenes of our Avant-Garde entry have been made. Almost all the animating is done! June 20th, 2010 Yep, you saw right. There is now a brand-new section of this site! The Creations section! There you can view some of our many creations and props that we have made! Enjoy! June 4th, 2010 Just a quick note: We now have a poll so that you can let us know which of our Brickfilms you have enjoyed most! The poll is located in the About section of this site. Also, we are going to be on a vacation for about two weeks, so we will not be working on our Avant-Garde entry for a little while. We will let you know when we get back, and we may even post some images! In the meantime though, have a great summer! May 31th, 2010 Now that exams are over for us, BuilderBrothers Studios is officially back in action! Work on our Avant-Garde entry can now go much faster, and in fact, we have a screenshot from it to show you! Here it is: 
May 24th, 2010 Once again, we are late in posting a blog entry... Anyway, things have been VERY busy at BuilderBrothers Studios. Our Avant-Garde entry is almost complete (only about two more scenes are left). It is quite exciting! Sorry that we haven't posted a film in so long! With school and exams, not to mention our LIFE (which often seems to get in the way of things), we haven't had much time to film anymore except briefly on weekends. Hope all you fans out there can hold your patience just a bit longer for our entry! It should be (hopefully) posted in either late June or July. We may post a trailer for it beforehand though. This summer we hope to turn out LOTS of films (to make up for all the time when we didn't make movies during the school year). April 23rd, 2010 We sure havn't updated this blog in a while... Since our last entry, we have finished about 6 more scenes for our Avant-Garde entry (though some we may need to redo), we have been testing out some new special effects, and have built some props that we are going to use in another one of our animations. Also, there is already 144 server hits on this site! Keep them coming, and soon we will have to make that 500 hits film! March 27th, 2010 We are almost ready to film some more of our Avant-Garde entry. Things have been very busy, but we are still making progress. We already have 90 server hits on this site, so we are pretty excited! If we get 500 server hits, we may make a movie for the occasion! March 14th, 2010 We are presently working on our Avant-Garde entry. We finished the two first scenes, and are continuing to work on both the storyboard and the effects as time goes on. March 8th, 2010 This weekend we performed some CGI test, as well as figured out some more parts for our Avant-Garde animation. We can begin animating this weekend if we are able to finish the storyboarding in time. February 27th, 2010 Today we did more panning tests and designed some LEGO tripods for our camera. These tripods will help to make it easier for us when we are making the camera pan. February 26th, 2010 We just finished a series of animation tests. We tested using a white-expanse, a new run-cycle, panning, and more! Practice makes perfect... Copyright 2010 - 2011 BuilderBrothers Studios | Not authorized or endorsed by the LEGO company. |