Nothing will stop the MECH.
lego
Why’s it so quiet around here?
Hey all! It’s been really quiet around the blog lately. In fact, it’s been quiet for a while now. I did threaten to bring back this blog once, but I lost interest quickly, unfortunately. The fact is, I’m not finding much time for blogging anymore. Nowadays, I’m far more active on YouTube, Twitter, Vine, Facebook (barely), and forums. Especially with my animation, I find it easier to simply tweet about things than to make a whole blog post. However, maybe I will eventually revive this old blog and do something with it. So, if you’re missing me (which, if you are, you probably need to go see a psychiatrist :P), you can check out my social media pages, and we can chat there:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/rioforce
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_rioforce
Vine: https://vine.co/u/1277152170340667392
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rioforce-Animations-889986401033861/
Thanks!
-rioforce
(un)denial – Brickfilm
Here’s a film I made for Bricks in Motion’s “The Citizen of the Year LIVES” contest. I made the film in September, couldn’t release it until November 1st. I keep forgetting that I have a blog around here, so this post is a bit late, but not too terribly late, I suppose.
I also made this for the secondary TCOTY Lives contest, which was an art contest:
Sola Luna
I made this film for Bricks in Motion’s contest Darkness & Light. I won’t give much away about the plot so that you will watch it, but I can tell you that I had a lot of fun working on this classic space inspired movie. Hear that? Classic space! Yeah, you know you’re a sucker for classic space! Oh, you’re not reading this anymore, you watching it? That’s fine with me! 😉
UPDATE: I came in first place in Darkness & Light! Thank you all for your support and for enjoying the video! 🙂
Balancing Animation with the YouTube System
So, you’re an animator. You know the insides and out of the animation process, and you understand what it is to make good content that is worth both your time and the viewers time. Good for you! But what happens when you want to grow your YouTube audience and attempt to be a “popular” YouTube animator?
The problem is, it’s basically impossible to be a YouTube animation “star” unless you have a team of people that can work quickly and devote tons of hours into animation.
Now, popularity isn’t everything. Getting popular on YouTube shouldn’t be your life’s goal. YouTube stars rise and fall more quickly than the Roman Empire. As a filmmaker, you should strive to make great content and express yourself in the videos you create. However, there is always that “I want to get my content watched by more people” feeling.
So that’s where I will begin. With you, the animator, wanting to grow your YouTube fanbase and gain visibility.
The Surveillance Situation • Behind the Scenes
On July 18th, an annual week-long LEGO animation contest started on BricksInMotion.com. It is called BRAWL 2015 (Brickfilm Rapidly All Week Long), and contestants are to, like it’s name implies, make a brickfilm in one week. I entered said contest, and produced the following video:
The Surveillance Situation
This film is based on a series of films I began in BRAWL 2014. This series follows Captain D. Rom, a very goofy cop with a sidekick named Laura (who seems to end up being the unnoticed real hero). You can watch the other two Captain D. Rom films here:
- The Felony at the Fruit Stand (made in one week)
- New Recruits (made in 24 hours)
New Recruits (THAC XII)
Captain D. Rom is the best cop around. Sometimes he is a little too good. While looking for new police officers, he looses control and launches into interigation mode in the comedic police brickfilm.
Voice Actors:
Harrison Allen: https://www.youtube.comannoyingnoisesinc
Walter Benson: https://www.youtube.com/walterbensonvids
Brick7: http://www.bricksinmotion.com/forums/…
MADE IN (under) 24 HOURS! Yep, that’s right. I started at 7:00 am on January 3, 2015, and am ending when this finished uploading at about 5:00 am on the 4th. Made for a contest on BricksInMotion.com called THAC XII (That’s “Twenty-four Hour Animation Contest 12).
Christmas Puppy Love
The happy tale of two dogs who have fun in the snow.
Behind the Scenes
As you can tell in the video, I used powder for the snow. What kind of powder you ask? Baking Soda. I used Baking Soda instead of sugar or flour, because sugar tends to be sticky (especially when it soaks up the humidity from the air), and flour can be a pain to clean up (because when you mix flour and water, you get dough!).
7 Years of Luke Action Films!
Howdy everybody! Seven years ago, on December 10th 2007, I sat down in my living room floor, grabbed my Dad’s camera and some LEGO bricks, and started making a movie. Little did I know then that I would still me doing that today. Ok, not exactly that. I don’t sit in the floor anymore, I have my own camera now, I actually write scripts and build more elaborate sets, and have proper lighting. As you can see, a lot has changed in seven years. In fact, if you’d like to see just how much has changed, be my guest. My very first stop-motion animation was based on the LEGO Nativity Story from Luke 2.
The Family of Hael Storm (A LEGO Universe Adventure)
You may think that Hael Storm, the Venture League faction leader from LEGO Universe is just a space pirate/overall awesome explorer. You are right at first, but there is much more underneath the surface. Today, I will explain the secrets of Hael Storm’s family:
Princess Storm
In the first Knights Kingdom LEGO theme, there was a king named King Leo. He had a daughter named Princess Storm. She was no ordinary princess, though. She didn’t hide in towers and wear a fluffy dress. She was in the knight’s army. She fought along with the strong men, and ended up defeating Cedric the Bull in the LEGO Adventures! Magazine Issue 15. She obviously had a very adventurous spirit, but also had pride for her kingdom and loved being a knight. She could only be related to Hael Storm if Storm was her last name, instead of her first name. It would only make sense that it was he last name, though, because who would name their daughter Storm?
Rioforce's Secret Lair 