Length: 00:06:30 (6 minutes, 30 seconds) Format: RealPlayer Size: 16.2 MB

 

Director	Nick Durron
Writers	Nick Durron   Cedrick Salizar
Producer	Nick Durron
Cinematography	Nick Durron
Budget	$200
Music	Joseph Frank
Release Date	September 21st, 2006
Starring	Nick Durron

The Man with the Top Hat is my entry into the Brickfilms.com Fame, Infamy and Glory contest. I started it at the beginning of May 2006 and finished principle photography around the end of May. Then I sent it off to Joseph Frank (the Duke) for the music. He produced a simply amazing score that my film would be nothing without. I submitted it just two days before the deadline. When the results came in, I found that my film had placed sixth overall, which isn't bad since this is technically my first film (I finished it before Capastroid, and my montage clips don't count).

The idea for this film is not a new idea I thought up just for this. About 6 months ago, back when I was still filming at 10 fps (I hadn't yet found Brickfilms.com), I created a minifigure that had the head of the new Man with the Top Hat, a LEGO® Racers' torso, and short Yoda legs. He had a crazy servant (the Skeleton) that served him coffee all the time, and had a voice that didn't fit his looks. I proceeded to make six 2-3 minute episodes with him that were mostly comprised of freeze-frames (I didn't even know that people moved minifigures when they talked). These old films were very bumpy, had little animation, and didn't make much sense. Everyone who watched them couldn't understand any of the voices, and really didn't know what they were about. Not long after I made these, the Brickfilms' Resources page talked me into filming at 15 fps, even though I thought 10 fps looked just fine. However, the only camera I had was a cheap point and shoot digital camera that was useless for stop motion (it had no manual options, meaning that the shutter speed, aperture, focus and white balance were all decided by the camera, producing terrible shots). Realizing this, I started researching more digital cameras, ending up getting a Canon Powershot A520. The Man with the Top Hat is the first film I shot with my new camera. It is, as the title suggests, about the Man with the Top Hat, an infamous villain who has been plaguing Tompa City for years. The opening scene is a bank robbery, and the rest of the film takes place the next day, chronicling how James Marone and Zach Parker discover that Zilph Pilble, a rich businessman, is really the Man with the Top Hat. There are a few small bumps, a pretty bad microphone hiss in the background (I removed most of it, and I have since gotten a new microphone), and a few other slight issues (I am a perfectionist, so a slight issue to me probably won't be an issue to anyone else), but I am still very happy with how this film turned out.
 

The Man with the Top Hat - 6.5 minutes - 16.2 MB- RealMedia File