Animating with Lego can be a great introduction to the world of traditional stop-motion animation. It can also be a fun art in and of itself, however, and has even spawned its own name: brickfilms. Making these films can seem tedious at first, but with some patience and helpful tips, you can be well on your way to creating your first brickfilm.
Dialogue
If you want your minifigs to have a conversation during your Lego film, this may seem difficult as the minifigs have static faces, but it is not impossible. It's easier if you record your lines before shooting the scene, and then shoot it to match. Simply animate your minifig gesturing in ways that complement the lines. Calculate gestures using your frame rate. For example, if someone gets angry after two seconds of talking, and you are recording at 15 frames per second, multiply two by 15. So they get angry 30 frames in.
Lighting
If you find that your film's lighting is not quite right, there are several things you can try. First, find out all you can about your camera. If you are using a webcam to make your Lego stop-motion films, use one with a charge coupling device as it captures light better than the alternative which is called CMOS, an abbreviation for complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor, and can still operate even in low lighting conditions. Keep all curtains closed so that the lighting does not change in the shot because of outside lighting conditions.
Audio
Using a good microphone can make a huge difference with your film. It can stop your voice from being hard to understand or muffled. Don't speak too close to the microphone, or certain syllables will be distorted. This is called close-miking. You can also prevent this by covering the microphone with a sock or tilting it slightly away from your mouth. Include sound effects in your films, though it is entirely up to you how detailed you are.
Effects
When filming certain complex scenes it may be difficult to build the models or animate them properly. In this case it may be more effective to use computer-generated imagery like a professional film. There are many ways to do this, such as sculpting the Lego bricks from scratch in a 3D program. You can also programs that provide the models for Lego bricks which you can then import into 3D programs and animate.
