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BricksInMotion.com Presents the STAR Animation Contest

The theme for the 2009 Bricks In Motion animation contest is 'Space, Time, and Reality.'  Thanks to Littlebrick for posting this idea some time ago.

What does the theme mean? This contest is intended to be relatively open ended, so we will allow for free interpretation of the theme. How well films adhere to the theme or themes will be taken into consideration during the judging process.

Despite the name and term 'Space,' this is not a science fiction contest. While 'outer space' is an acceptable interpretation of the theme, it may also be understood in the sense of “the space/time continuum,” spatial relationships in art, or any other logical interpretation.  You may choose to include all three (space, time, and reality) as plot elements or just focus on one or two of them. Entries could range from an action-packed space battle to a mind-bending story reminiscent of The Twilight Zone. Entrants are encouraged to play with perception of space, time, and reality in their films.  Be creative!  Maybe think of some of the obvious concepts you expect other people to use, and avoid those.

Rules & Requirements:

Each entry you submit must:
1.Be primarily composed of stop-motion animation. 3D, Flash, or other animation techniques may be used to in addition to stop-motion as long as the finished product is at least 50% stop-motion animation.
2.Use LEGO or similar building toys as primary elements.
3.Not contain adult language, excessive violence or sexual themes.
4.Contain only images, sounds, music, and story material which you have the rights to distribute.
5.Be longer than 2 minutes.  There is no maximum running time restriction.

Though there is no maximum running time restriction, remember that it is better to focus on quality and attention to detail than to make a very long and ambitious film, but let the quality suffer.  A highly polished 3 minute movie is better than a 10 minute movie that falls apart as it goes because the director ran out of time.  The judging system won't favor a film for simply being longer, but low production values will hurt a longer film when competing against a shorter film that is better made.

Deadline:

The deadline for submissions will be Sunday, July 26th, 2009 at 8:00AM UTC time (Greenwich Mean Time). This will provide most parts of the world with a full Saturday to wrap up any last-minute work. Films may be submitted as early as desired, though they cannot be made public until after the STAR Premiere Film Festival has ended.

Trademarks:

No trademarked properties which might be confused with commercial enterprises may be used. This means you can not use storylines based on characters from Stars Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, or other trademarked series. You cannot base your work on copyrighted material; however, old works that are now in the public domain are acceptable source material.

Copyrights:

All material included in films submitted must be original, or content that you have expressed permission to use. If you use content that is not your own, you must be able to provide proof that you have received permission to include it in your film. All music must be credited, even if you made it yourself.

Submission:

Films must be longer then 2 minutes - running times of exactly 2:00 and greater are acceptable. To submit your film, send a private message in the BiM forums to username “STAR,” including your name and a link to download the entry. We will accept .avi, .mov, and .wmv formats.  Try to keep the file you submit to us to a manageable size, without sacrificing too much image quality, but it must be downloadable.  No HD video, please, as that won't be possible for the premiere this time around.  When you are allowed to post your video publicly (after the deadline) please include a minimum of either a streaming (YouTube style) video, or a download that is less than 30 mb.

Entries may not be made public before the deadline, so YouTube, Vimeo, and other such video websites will not be a good place to upload your film. We recommend uploading your film via a .zip archive to either your own hosting or a file hosting site such as MediaFire. (Here are some other free file hosting sites) Submissions may have been submitted to other contests or premiered for live audiences as long as they have not appeared for a public audience on the Internet.

Judging:

All major aspects of filmmaking will be taken into account in the judging process.  For the purpose of determining rankings and winners, the panel (yet to be determined) will judge films on the basis of storytelling, presentation, and use of the contest theme.

Prizes:

Forum member ManVan has generously agreed to donate the grand prize, a Community Workers LEGO set. Prizes for this contest are as follows:

1) Community Workers

2) Vintage Minifigures 1 & Vintage Minifigures 2

3) The Final Joust & Dwarves' Mine Defender

The exact sets for 2nd and 3rd place are subject to change based on availability.

Final List of Valid Entries:

CYCLIC - Bodville

Time Police - The Frozen Brick

Through the Years - Moo-C-J

Clic-Clac - timfee

At the Touch of a Button - Bastetta

Time and Space - filmyguy

The River - Night Owl

Mind Control - Leftfield Studios

The Year 2139 - Goofyskull

ExTerrestrial - Fatal Extraction

The Illusion of Reality - Mutuceba

Time - Darkman

Unreal Cell - Cheeseybricks

Time Tour - EHMovies

ONE - MPfist0

Time Chasers - cwr89

Desk Time Travel - Timothy R

Fight - Bombshell

The Traveler - Snapfilmproductions

Streets of Legoredo - Gospelnut

Airtight - Bluebrickstudios

Death's Carriage - Nich

Crisis Reverted - AncientBricks & PdoubleyouC