(Written by Wise Ollie)
My name is Ollie Upton and I am a young filmmaker/animator who works in British Television. I thought to share with you my new episodic drama titled A Shot in the Dark. It is taking on the likes of Breaking Bad and The Wire, the ever popular binge TV box set. However instead of one stand-alone short animation, or one long animated film, A Shot in the Dark is a series of very short episodes that follow on from each other, using LEGO minifigures as the characters. 🙂
I’m sure you are just as excited as I am about The LEGO Movie that is playing in theatres right now. It is worth remembering though the roots of The LEGO Movie; the thousands of LEGO films (also known as brickfilms) created by LEGO fans. Some are short and experimental, some long and epic, but they all help to bring in a new era of LEGO animation. In fact, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creators of The LEGO Movie, shared that their biggest inspiration for making the movie were all the brickfilms they found on YouTube and spent many hours looking through. They wanted The LEGO Movie to feel that it has that kind of grass-roots origin and basically make a bigger version of a fan-created LEGO brickfilm (see interview here).
If you have some time I recommend that you browse YouTube for some of the best LEGO films and stop-motion animations, and there are also several of them featured on this website (see links at the end of this post).
Going back to A Shot in the Dark, it is inspired by classic British horror films, period dramas and epic murder mysteries. It parodies the old cinema style, with well-spoken characters, green-screened chase sequences and painted backgrounds. It is loosely based on the classic board-game Cluedo, and it follows the famous game characters such as Colonel Mustard, Reverend Green and Mrs. Peacock as they attempt to work out who murdered the unfortunate Dr. Black…
Using LEGO stop-motion animation techniques and some computer effects, A Shot in the Dark was in production for just under a year. The series will slowly unveil the details of an epic tale of murder, vengeance, and wildly speculative accusations. At times violent, funny, hilarious, and crazy, hopefully it will get you hooked. You can watch the first episode below, and following episodes will be released as weekly on my YouTube channel.
I also would like to thank Rachel James for the music, which was recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Glenn Pollock for the main voiceover work, and lots of friends and family and others who helped. I have spent many hours making this brickfilm and with a basically zero budget it would not have been possible without the help of others.
So what do you think? How did you like this LEGO stop-motion video? And who do you think murdered Dr. Black? Feel free to share in the comment section below! Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated! Thanks! 😉
- LEGO BrickFilm with Live Action!
- LEGO BrickFilm Donut Squad Teaser…
- LEGO Comics & Videos: The LEGO Dead
- LEGO Music Video by Oblong Pictures
- Fun LEGO Video: Henri & Edmon’s Adventures
- LEGO Video: Legolas Gets Friendzoned…
- LEGO BrickFilms Behind-The-Scenes Tips & Tricks
- More LEGO BrickFilms Behind-The-Scenes
Hm…. Interesting. The stop-motion (if that’s what it is) and the sound effects as well as the outdoor-ish scenes are very good. I don’t particularly like the figures though; the clay makes them realistic but also messy-looking.
These was my thoughts also. The clay made the minifigs look quite messy and it doesn’t seem like it was really necessary; there are plenty of pieces to choose from to get them true to the character. Otherwise the stop-motion is good. It takes a while to get brickfilming right. It is a tedious process a lot of people try then give up on. So good job with following through! 🙂
I agree. It is a tedious process and takes a long time. I’ve done a couple, but never put them on Youtube. Actually I think they got deleted. 🙁
I’m interested in becoming a film director. It can be a very difficult job. The movie industry is very competitive. Sounds like the LEGO Movie was a success. Critics are praising it. I really should see it.
You haven’t seen The LEGO Movie yet? Please do. On Friday we will be discussing the movie with spoilers (I figured by that time everyone who wanted to see it should have seen it at least once), so get ready by then. 😉
I won’t be able to join in on that conversation :(. We haven’t been able to see it yet though we we are planning to eventually. Things have just got in the way, so I hope it’s still in theaters by the time we get too see it. (My Mom and Dad saw the trailer when they went to see a movie before it came out and they decided to take us.) As for the clay and the movie, maybe some of them did look a little messy, but it sort of contributed to the old clichéd classic crime thriller theme. At first I thought the lighting could be better but its really just the setting inside the house and that really contributes to the effect too. I love the series so far and I can’t wait for more! I’m workig on a comedy drama series called The Young Millionaire which is 8 to 10 minute episodes with captions for speaking so I don’t botch the lady voices and there is no way my sisters would feel comfortable doing it, plus the fact that it would be too much to ask. My only problem is camera shakiness, and light flickers, which I can probably fix, but as for shakiness it is due to my camera tripod which has a bit of wiggle in the turning area, and it moves just a little when I press the button on top, so I’m not sure I can fix that anytime soon, but there are some things I can do to help it. Anyway, keep up the good work! Also, great sound track to it, you’re lucky to have music that matches and compliments it so well.
Make sure to include a spoiler warning in the title or I might accidently ruin the movie for myself!
Ike, I put a spoiler warning at the beginning. It will be published on Friday, so just skip that day. BTW, it has no spoiler pictures, only text (which is my review), so it is not like if you open the post by accident it will ruin the experience for you. But do come back later to join the discussion. I’m planning to go see the movie again next weekend. It was too good! 🙂
I have to wait until it is out on DVD to see it in this one theater.. It will still be good though, just a bit cheaper.
You are very fortunate :D.
I was talking to Admin, not being sarcastic.
Strider, I used to have a problem with shakiness when I began filming stuff, but if you are using a tripod, use a rubber band, loop it over the turning handle, and pull with it, it seems a bit odd, I know, but it works very well.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, there should be a video on youtube about it by a guy named Brusspup.
Ive read the lego movie spolers already 👿 it was very unexpected but awsome
Unfortunately I have read some accidentally too before seeing it. It really spoiled the movie for me. Of course I still really loved it, but I wish I did’t see the spoilers. Sad when people post spoilers without warning. 🙁
I googled the lego movie spolers
IM GOING CRAZY STRIDER LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL sorry some times i just need to let it out
admin if it spoiled the movie then WHY THE CRAP are you just going to poste it here?????
i think that’s the second time some body said crap on tbb hey that was the third lol
no offence LEGO trooper but maybe you shouldn’t be saying that word on here since its a family website, but that’s just my opinion.
I agree. There is no need to push the limits. I don’t mind occasional outbursts that would need some more dramatic words, but it is best to stay away from expressions that you wouldn’t say in front of children, or the president, or a priest, or whenever you are at your best behaviour. This is also probably a good exercise to expand one’s vocabulary instead of saying OMG! and such at everything. 🙄
I haven’t posted any spoilers. At least not to my knowledge. However many readers who have seen the movie asked me that we have one place where we can discuss the movie freely and share our thoughts and opinions, and those people have waited long enough. The post clearly has a spoiler alert at the beginning. If you haven’t seen the movie and you don’t want to read about it, then just skip it and come back when you have seen it. What the problem is when people post reviews and don’t notify others that it has spoilers. That’s what I ran into. But we also can’t wait forever to discuss the movie just because a few people still haven’t seen it. You still have a couple of days if you want to participate in the discussion on Friday. And if not, see you on Saturday. 😉
Yeah, I had already seen most of the “Official Clips” by the time I went to see it. Not sure if it really spoiled the Movie for me, I just knew some of the scenes. I was surprised quite a few times during the movie.
And Admin, why these comments in blue box?
Yeah, I have also seen the clips, and also inedvertedly read some spoilers that were not marked as such. Anyway, we can talk about all of that on Friday.
My own comments are always blue. If I just respond to somebody else it is just a blue line, but when I write a new comment it shows up as completely blue. I usually reserve those for updates and alers as they are more visible, but in this case I was commenting on the previous thread, and when a thread goes 10 comments deep it starts a new thread. Thus it became blue. Confusing enough? 😉
I watched the official clips after the movie. then again, I didn’t even know about them till after I saw the movie. 😐
yeah, it is kind of annoying, they should do something like, SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!! AAH!!!!!!!!!!! you know, really try to get your attention, like the words in different color, (if you know how to do that of course.) maybe a different font. because I accidentally run into those all the time, you know, there talking about something really interesting then you cant stop then you read the spoiler without knowing until you read the hole thing because you get so interested in what the person said, blah, blah, blah, stuff like that. it’s…awful. : (
Sometimes people just remble on the Internet (actually, probably most of the time), without really thinking about the consequences. The spoilers I read were all on social sites where this is especially true. 🙁
Oh, that’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Okay thanks so much fo the tip! :). I think I got it…but just in case tell me the whole thing over again I wasn’t listening. (Just kidding it is a LEGO Movie quote.)
LOL! We should start using quotes from The LEGO Movie more often! They are really fun! 😛
Lol! Good for you! It looks very clever. You should record it when it comes out on DVD and post it on here! Then I could watch it for free!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆
I have not seen it either but I want to see it
Nice music and story, but the characters hair made out of clay looks really bad. There are a lot of LEGO hair pieces and they can be bought very cheaply from http://www.bricklink.com.
The animation is very good, though.. I’ll look at the next episode if I get the time.
I actually tried to make hair out of clay a long time ago when I had very few LEGO minifigs… it did not end well. this is a great stop-motion! and yes, I don’t think I could stick with doing something like this, very tedious work. and I also agree on the clay, it looks a bit messy but hey, its still awesome. so is all the videos going to be like the game clue?
I just re watched it and one thing I would say is to make the voice a bit louder or the rain a little quieter in the beginning so you can hear it better, just a suggestion for future films. Also I watched the credits and they’re hilarious! Helena Buildit, (Bonham) Carter, Judy Wrench, (Dench,) Audrey Brickburn, (Hepburn.) Those were the only real actors I caught.
The second episode is out on his channel!!! It’s really good, better then the first, and deeper and darker :D. The next time has me in torturous waiting for next week :).
Nice! Ollie did mention that by the time I was going to post his article the second episode should be out. I’m going to watch it later. 🙂
I think you’ll really like it.
lol you stinker 😈
Naw, be nice… 😐
brother 👿
I think were on at the same time i just comemented a couple minutes ago
sorry aboute doing so many coments i dont really have much to do rith now
This isn’t directly related to the article, but I found some news on Brickset. Good news for the fanbase.
http://brickset.com/article/10310/doctor-who-projects-now-ok-for-cuusoo
Hm… that’s interesting. Mark Stafford however said in the article I posted the other day that it is very unlikely that there will be a Dr. Who set. Most people outside of the UK and maybe parts of Europe have no idea who Dr. Who is, so there is just not enough appeal. However if there is a project that gets 10,000 votes, LEGO may still consider it at least for a regional release.
The DAAARRRKKKTARR MUUUST BE LEEEEGO! THE DARKTORR MUST BEEE LEEGOO! (Doctor Who fans will get the Dalek reprensntation.)