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Topic: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

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This featured brickfilmer post is the second in a series of articles highlighting animators who supported the Bricks in Motion Documentary project on Kickstarter.

Walter Benson, 22, is an animator based in Florida. He loves cinema and LEGO, and sees brickfilming as a combination of these passions.

Benson's latest project, That's The Way It Goes!, is a 20 minute short film with an episodic structure, and has been well received in the BiM community. Benson says he draws inspiration from LEGO vignettes, small scenes built from bricks that work to tell a small story.

"I like to think of my brickfilms as being very much like vignettes. They're short and contained and can be watched independently of each other. They're also great practice for working your way toward longer and more complex projects."

Benson himself has built some vignettes, which you can see here. He encourages brickfilmers to seek out inspiration from the thousands of great LEGO creations available to see online.

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

Walter Benson is a very talented animator, from writing to editing! That's the way it goes is in my opinion the best brickfilm of the year. Cheers Walter!

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

I can't wait to see more from you, Walter! I like how you compare brickfilms to vignettes. I have noticed that your films are like small vignettes, story-wise, and set wise.

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

It couldn't have been better deserved, after your "That's the Way It Goes" film.

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

Yes, I too would put That's the Way It Goes! at the top of my "Top 3 Favourite Films by Walter Benson" list, with Love in Black and White in 2nd. It takes a lot of work to make a twenty-minute long brickfilm, and keep the viewer's attention for the whole entire thing. I hope to see more great stuff in the future.

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

I'm really liking these new news topics. Great addition to the community.

I really like WalterBenson's stuff. Thanks for highlighting his movie That's the Way It Goes! I had completely missed that somehow. Great movie.

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

I want to take the time to publically thank Sméagol for doing these animator of the week segments! They've been interesting so far and I am looking forward to seeing more of them.

I would also like to add that there are a ton of LEGO creations out there that can give you inspiration. I didn't originally give Smeagol any specific links because there is SO MUCH out there, but I recently remembered that Flickr has some great groups. I figured I'd post them here:

LEGO
LEGO City
LEGO Vignettes
LEGO Minifigures
Eurobricks
Classic Castle
Classic Space
Classic Pirate
ApocaLego
Fantasy LEGO
Disney LEGO

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

Walter Benson wrote:

I would also like to add that there are a ton of LEGO creations out there that can give you inspiration. I didn't originally give Smeagol any specific links because there is SO MUCH out there, but I recently remembered that Flickr has some great groups.

Not to steal Walter's thunder or anything, but LEGO ReBrick is also a great place to look for inspiration. mini/wink

I just looked at a few more of Walter's creations, and I've got to tell you, they're awesome. mini/bigsmile

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

Sméagol wrote:

He loves cinema and LEGO, and sees brickfilming as a combination of these passions.

I think a lot of us see it this way (I certainly do, for one).  I especially find that looking at MOCs, or sometimes even just artwork or photography in general, is highly inspirational, and an almost crucial part of the creative process.  I believe set design is a highly important part of Brickfilming, and a well-designed set and lighting setup can set the tone of the film very well even before a cut occurs or a line of dialogue is spoken, and bring it to a whole new level.

The part about vignettes is very insightful as well.  I can see how That's the Way it Goes! was influenced by the idea of vignettes.

Walter is a great Brickfilmer and member of this community, and I feel that That's the Way it Goes! is a strong contender for the best Brickfilm of the year.  I can't wait to see what he'll do next!

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

I'm very happy that I saw Walter's stuff on Flickr and randomly decided to recommend he get into brickfilming since he had a certain eye for lighting and MOC design that I felt were sometimes somewhat lacking in general brickfilms.  Of course, unbeknownst to me at the time, Walter already had an interest at that point, but had never yet posted a finished film.

(Note to self: do that more often)

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

I have to say, I love your sense of humor, and your ability and dedication to brickfilming is certainly worth this appraisal at a minimum. I hope to see you grow more!

On a side note, though I haven't been much involved with brickfilming in the past few years, I'm really happy to start seeing the community liven up some more and I love that these animators of the week are happening, so hats off to you too thou classic admins

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

Well done Walter.

You have well earned this accreditation.

The film was well presented and very enjoyable. It's always nice to see a longer brickfilm!

I look forward to seeing more from you, be proud for you have shined on many members of the brick filming community mini/smile

Also thank you for the links, I am familiar with quite a few of them but its always nice to be reminded and go through them now and then!

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Re: Animator of the Week: Walter Benson (Jan 12, 2015)

"That's the Way It Goes"

One of the best brickfilms to be made in 2014.

Great job Walter!

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