BRAWL 2016 has now started! Please continue any discussion in the new thread.

I'm pleased to announce BRAWL 2016!

What is BRAWL?
Brickfilm Rapidly All Week Long or BRAWL, challenges you to make a brickfilm in exactly one week. This includes idea-making, writing, recording, animating, editing and submitting to be done within the time limit. It's a challenge, but you'll enjoy it!

When Does it Start?
The contest will start July 17, 2016 12:00 am (00:00) BST (British Standard Time), and will end July 24, 2016 12:00 am (00:00) BST (British Standard Time). You will have exactly one week to finish and submit a film. Any entries not received by the end of one week time period will be disqualified.

A thread titled "BRAWL 2016 Starts NOW!" will be posted in the Contest & Festivals forum. The thread will contain the theme, MOD elements, submission information, and a summary of the judging process.

Rules & Requirements
• Your film must be entirely made and submitted during the 1-week period. To prove this, films must follow a theme and include MOD elements that must appear in every shot of your animation (more information in "Theme & MOD Elements").
• Films must be animated and must be primarily composed of stop motion animation. Flash, 3D, or other animation techniques may be used to supplement stop-motion but, it may not be the main focus.
• Films must contain LEGO or similar 'brick' construction toys, such as MEGA Bloks.
• There must be at least 30 seconds of animation in the film. There is no maximum length.
• Films may not contain adult language, racist content, excessive graphic violence (blood and/or gore) or sexual themes.
• You may make up the three entries. If more than three films are submitted, the first three films received will be accepted. Any films received after the first three will be disqualified.
• You may NOT make your film public until after the deadline.
• Films must clearly show the linked BRAWL 2016 logo for three uninterrupted seconds. The logo may be inserted digitally.

If any of the above rules are not met, your film will be disqualified.

Guidelines
• Joint entries (collaborations) are allowed, but please specify every person or group involved with the creation of the film when submitting.
• While copyrighted/trademarked properties are allowed, you are discouraged from basing your movie off of pre-existing films or franchises (Star Wars, Marvel, & etc.). Use your imagination! Creativity is encouraged and awarded in BRAWL.
• Copyrighted, royalty-free, and original music pieces may all be used during BRAWL; original music pieces do not have to be made during the one week time limit.

Theme & MOD Elements
To prevent entrants from creating their films ahead of time, a contest theme, that entries must include, will be announced when the contest begins. In addition to the theme there will be two "MOD" elements. The MOD elements are visual elements that must be included in every shot of your film

The contest theme can be interpreted a number of ways, it can be integrated into the story of your film, a character's personality, or in your approach to creating the film. It is encouraged you to take a creative license in your interpretation of the theme. As long as the theme can be identified in your film.

There are two kinds of MOD elements, the first MOD element is a color MOD. This will be a combination of two brick colors connected or touching each other (for example, a blue brick connected to a green brick). The second MOD element is a letter MOD. This could be any of the 26 letters of the modern English alphabet. You may use the uppercase or lowercase version of the letter, but the letter must be recognizable as that letter.

You do not need to use both MOD elements. You can combine these MOD elements in any way that you see fit, so long as at least one is present at all times. You could choose to use just the color MOD or just the letter MOD, you could choose to use both, you could alternate between scenes, or any combination of the above. All that is important is that at least one of the MOD elements be visible in every shot.

• The letter may be upper or lower case, but it still must be clearly that letter. The letter can be rotated but not mirrored. Again, it must be clearly identifiable as that letter. It may be written or printed on a piece of paper or sticker, drawn directly onto a brick, printed on a piece, or built from pieces and even integrated into the set.
• The letter MOD element may exist on a printed LEGO piece, but it must clearly be that letter. An eyebrow or wrinkle on a minifig’s face, or a fold in the shirt on the minifig's torso are not letters.
• The MOD Element may NOT be inserted digitally. It must be physically present in the shot.
• You do not need to include either MOD element in the titles or credits.
• If a shot must be clarified by changing the shot in anyway (i.e. changing brightness, black and white to color, & etc) to be able to identify the mod element, the shot will not count as containing the mod element.

In addition, films must clearly show the linked BRAWL 2016 logo for three uninterrupted seconds. The logo may be inserted digitally.

Submission
A link to your entry must be sent to an email address that will be released in the “BRAWL 2016 Starts NOW!” thread. Entries must be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo. Details on this will be in the “BRAWL 2016 Starts NOW! Thread.

Judging & Prizes   
The judges for BRAWL 2016 are Nathan Wells, Squash, Mindgame, AquaMorph, and FunSucker. How you’ll be judged will be released in the “BRAWL 2016 Starts NOW!” thread.

The top three films determined by the judges will each receive a $25 gift card to Brick Warriors store. Thanks to Brick Warriors for generously providing the prizes!

Changes for 2016
To prevent confusion as to what a color variants are allowed for the color MOD element, the exact color and acceptable variants of official LEGO bricks will be specified. There will also be bricklink links to the exact color variants so you know exactly what they look like.

Instead of the GMT timezone being used, BST will be used. This should NOT change when the contest starts compared to previous years. BST is the proper timezone to use during the summer (you can thank daylight savings the confusion). If you're ever confused as to when the contest starts/ends, refer to the official countdown timers. They are what I'll be using to determine when the contests starts and ends.

Spread The Word!
Spread the word! Use the BRAWL 2016 signature on BricksinMotion. Find it in my sig.

Use the the hastag #BRAWL2016 on social media platforms.

Last edited by Fun Sucker (June 16, 2016 (08:59am))