Lego: after hours hobby
Michał Zapała works as a café shift manager in one of Wrocław shopping centres. After hours, he and his friends - brothers Kuba and Miłosz Kosicki - turn into architects, stage designers, casting specialists, operators and director all rolled into one to make films featuring Lego figurines. "They are really good actors. They never complain, and work for free", admits Michał Zapała. These "personal qualities" comer very handy, as shooting just one scene requires taking numerous photos of the figurine: with a raised hand, lowered hand, head shakes, in "walking" or "running" position.
The plastic actors are photographed using a tripod, but first you have to take care of the background and not omit the supporting characters. "Sometimes we focus on the two main characters, and we forget to move a hand of one figurine in the background and all work goes to waste", regrets Michał Zapała. For now, they have their own YouTube channel, Bricks Brothers (you can find their works here) and a growing number of fans. They start making money on the films, but it's still token compensation. "We are happy anyway; 52,000 views are quite a nice number for a garage production" explains the Lego enthusiast.
The filming location of the Bricks Brothers Studio
8 hours of montage, 3 hours on knees
The entire idea to make films started with curiosity how it would work out. "First, we needed to plan the number of movements to give the impression the figurine's movements, and include the back pain. After all, you crouch at the table for more than three hours", laughs Michał Zapała. One film second includes 20-24 frames. Each requires some work, and then there are still eight hours of montage to make a several-minute film. "That's why I genuinely admire the authors of "Shaun the Sheep" and "Wallace and Gromit", because they are the masterpieces of animation", admits one of the Brick Brothers. To make any film you need to build the filming location - choose the set, fit the costumes.
Sometimes it is enough to just dress the figurines up (as was the case in "The History of Fashion"), and at other times things get more complex. Fortunately, the material is not scarce. Michał Zapała has 12,000 bricks himself (you need 1,500 to build a stadium), including many figurines.
Michał Zapała's collection, put in separate boxes
How to buy a woman
The most expensive figurines - the Indians - cost as much as 39 PLN a piece. Also dark-skinned characters are wanted (Michał Zapała owns only two such figurines in a hundred and eighty, from the "Star Wars" series), the Asians (only one in stock) and women. "I try to buy as many women as possible", jokes Zapała, adding that the figurines of ladies have been available for just a few years now. "All thanks to a girl who wrote a letter to Lego, complaining that there were no characters of her gender available", says Zapała. The company responded quickly. Now, each basic set (firefighters, police) includes a female character. "And that's fortunate, because a while ago we made "ladies" by adding longer hair to regular figurines", says the co-founder of Bricks Brothers.
Where to buy a castle brick
The three men buy their bricks in a befriended store at ul. Szewska and on the Internet - by weight from the Czech Republic (Lego runs a factory there). This is the cheapest way to get many identical bricks in specific colours (they are needed to build large objects - the Colosseum, a castle, or a stadium). They also pop to a website of an American company, Brick Arms, to grab the models of helmets from World War II, or guns.
Lego soldiers at Monte Cassino. Michał Zapała added only their white and red armbands
This is how the Bricks Brothers were able to make an installation with Polish soldiers at Monte Cassino for the anniversary. It even included red poppies. "Details are always the most important thing for us, as this is where the devil often is" assures Michał Zapała. His bricks are categorized, as well as his friends' (it's easier to grab things that way). He buys only some minor elements. "But I spend approx. 100 PLN a month anyway", he admits. The effort pays off, however, as creating film sets stimulates the imagination and creativity. "We needed to know exactly how cowboys and their towns looked like to make our latest production, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly look credible. All in all, we are inspired by films such as "Helicopter on Fire", says Michał Zapała. The trio plans to film a happening with Sylwester Wardęga's spider, they only need to get a permission from the author. It's a shame that someone has beaten them to it and shot a trailer for "Fifty Shades of Grey" in Lego version. That would also be a challenge.
