As seen in the latest NNN episode, “Police Show Commercial,” Police Show is a fictional Figurian TV show that’s all about police. In the commercial, we only see a small glimpse of what happens on Police Show. I want you to help fix that. That’s why my next animation contest is for you to create an episode of Police Show. In order to help you create an animation that looks and sounds like “Police Show Commercial,”  I am providing you with some of the assets I used in that animation. For instance, you can download the full size image of the Police Show logo seen above. Below, you can download the animated version of the intro title and various sound files from “Police Show Commercial.” When I wrote the script, I purposefully made the voiceover describing the plot as vague as possible so it could be used for any potential episode of Police Show in which Chuck Malarkey has to team up with a new partner (which I assume he does on a weekly basis).

• Animated version of the Police Show logo: Quicktime file (197 mb) or rip it from YouTube
• Police Show theme song: WAV file (12 mb)
• Police Show theme song (instrumental): WAV file (12 mb)
• Police Show background music: WAV file (6 mb)
• Police Show generic voiceover:  WAV file (6 mb)
• Chuck Malarkey’s catchphrase: WAV file (1 mb)
• Feel free to use any of these still images

If you’re interested in learning more about my vision for Police Show, you may want to check out some of my recent How To Build videos, specifically this one where I talk about the different police officers. But you are free to interpret Police Show however you wish, you don’t need to use any of my characters or any of the files I’ve provided here, they are just there to help inspire you. You may also want to look at some of the videos that have won my previous animation contests to get a sense of what I like: A Spark of Life and Block Ball are two great examples of good animation, creative storytelling, and humor.

Official Rules

• Create a stop-motion animation using LEGO bricks that is longer than 45 seconds and shorter than 6 minutes
• The animation should be about police
• It should be enjoyable by all ages: No graphic violence or language
• No realistic guns: Stun guns, gravity guns, and similar imaginary weapons are acceptable
• You may use any of the Police Show assets provided above, but you aren’t required to
• Entries will be judged on the quality of the animation, creativity, and humor
• To enter, upload your film to YouTube and send a link to admin@nightlynewsatnine.com
• The deadline for entry is June 9, 2013
• Winners will be announced here on or before June 30, 2013
• The grand prize winner will receive one $50 LEGO Gift Card
• Each of up to 5 runners-ups will receive one $10 LEGO Gift Card
• Winners and other honorable mentions will be featured on the Nightly News at Nine YouTube channel

Questions? Ask them in the comments below!

“Police Show” is a show about police. Officer Chuck Malarkey is a bad role model.

Part 6 of 7 of Chapter 2: “Robots!”

Back in July, the NNN Youtube account passed 5,000 subscribers (it is now over 6,000!) and I celebrated by launching an official NNN project on LEGO Cuusoo: the NNN Newsmobile. Please go to the Cuusoo site and click “Support.” Once the Newsmobile gets 10,000 people supporting it, LEGO will consider making it into an actual LEGO set! As I mentioned in the 5,000 subscriber video, the fact that NNN has 5,000 subscribers means that if every NNN fan supports the project and gets one friend or family member to support it, we’ll hit 10,000 easily. So please support and share!

To keep my fans occupied while I was buys packing up and moving this summer, I held an animation contest that got 40 great entries. The direction was to make an animation about a made-up sport. Here’s the grand prize winner, “Block Ball” by MRlegobuilder987

If you’re interested in watching some of the best animations made with LEGO bricks and learning more about how “brick animations” are made you should definitely check out the new blog David Pagano and I started in August, tentatively called BrickAnimation.com. We highlight great brick animation and give a behind-the-scenes perspective on the hobby. We’re currently running a contest to rename the site, so make sure to check that out and get your entry in by October 24th.

Throughout the month of October I have a diorama on display at my local LEGO store. Check out more pictures of “The Pinchbot Invasion” diorama on the NNN Facebook page.

Robert Vylan pontificates on the meaning of sports before declaring them pointless and proposing some new ones. Sherry is not happy about this.

Part 5 of 7 of Chapter 2: “Robots!”

Four robot friends try to figure out what to do with themselves.
Part 4 of 7 of Chapter 2: Robots!

Buy the 4 robots from this episode from my Bricklink store:
Zipbot, Duckbot, Rockin’bot & Skullbot

Fun facts:
- Though this video is only 2 minutes long, it took several months to make and over 110 hours of animating time.
- The “Harried Woman” figure at the beginning is in fact an official LEGO character – she is from the Belville series.
- Duckbot eats 16 things throughout the video Can you spot them all?
2 white plates, 3 fish, 1 radio, 3 gold cups, 2 parts of the table, 1 orange bowl, 1 mushroom, 2 wine glasses & 1 yellow book
- No kittens were harmed in the filming of this video

Part 3 of 7 of “Robots!”

Also available on YouTube

1) Animation on “Chapter 2: Robots!” continues moving steadily forward. ROBOphelia has been getting a workout in the Pinchbot mothership.

I hope to have that segment finished mid-March.

2) I was recently interviewed by the AV Club Chicago in my LEGO studio. If you are interested in finding out more about what goes on behind the scenes of NNN, this video is a must-see!

3) In order to fund the production of “Robots!” I started a fund-raising project on Kickstarter. It’s about halfway to the deadline and we’ve already raised 2/3 of the goal! Please check out the project and support NNN. There are some very cool rewards available (like your very own Pinchbot, DVDs, posters and more!) and all donations are greatly appreciated.

4) LEGO fan convention season is nearly upon us and NNN will be making the rounds again. This year we will be traveling to BrickWorld Indianapolis (in just over a week!) BrickWorld Chicago, and BrickFair. Depending on how things go, we might make it to one or two more, but that’s all for now.

5) The April issue of Brickjournal is going to be all about making animations with LEGO bricks. I was asked to write a brief article for the issue explaining the basics of animating. I hope it will be useful for all of you out there who are interested in animating but don’t know where to start.

Phew! I feel busy just reading all of that. Stay tuned!

P.S. Did you see this bonus video last month?

I don’t how many of you have heard about Beckett Build magazine, the first issue was just released. It has interviews with famous LEGO builders, cool fan creations, a price guide, and other similar articles. It also has a 2 page spread about LEGO related animations on YouTube and the Nightly News at Nine is one of the six videos featured! My favorite parts of the review are “It has comedy, drama action and adventure all rolled into each chapter” and “after watching for a minutes you’ll be hooked in by their mesmerizing life-like movements and mannerisms.” I’m honored that the series was included and hope it leads to more fans discovering the series. If you recently discovered NNN (at KidsFest, through Beckett Build or otherwise) welcome to the site! We’re glad you’re here.

Here’s what my animating desk currently looks like. You can see some of the creations for the next episode and some of my animating supplies. It’s great to have so much space to keep works in progress and not have to worry about clearing them away so I can make dinner (in my previous apartment my animating space was also my kitchen counter).

About a month ago I attended BrickCon for the first time. It had a different vibe from BrickWorld, but it was still fantastic. I entered a few animations in the film festival and won “Best Animation”! My display here was not as large as BrickWorld since I was limited by what I could fit in a suitcase, but it was still a success. On Friday I set up my camera and lights and animated the last few scenes of The Pinchbot Invasion while other attendees watched and asked questions. It was great to be able show people a little glimpse of my process.

We sold another 50-some DVDs which felt really good. I also brought along some of my extra minifigs and sold those off to help defray some of the costs of traveling to Seattle. It was so successful that I now have a whole BrickLink store devoted to selling off extra pieces from my collection (mostly minifigs and accessories). Check it out and remember that all proceeds go to supporting production of NNN.

Which brings me to some not so great news. Unfortunately, my main animation camera was stolen a couple weeks ago. I am getting a temporary replacement webcam and looking into which camera I am going to purchase as a permanent replacement. I will be doing tests with the webcam in the next few days. If it is good enough, I will use it for animating the next episode so that can actually be finished in November. I will keep you up to date.

I will be exhibiting at LEGO KidsFest Chicago this weekend and if all goes according to plan I will be animating parts of the next episode so people can again come and see me at work. If you’re in the area stop by and say hello!

Until next time, keep building!

This summer has been unexpectedly busy for me and I have not had much time to animate. However, I am moving to a new apartment soon, where I will have a dedicated animation studio! I am also preparing to attend BrickCon at the end of September. In addition to selling Chapter 1 DVDs there, I am going have the first segment of Chapter 2 ready to show there, and hopefully will get back to a normal release schedule after that. Thanks for your patience!

P.S. I am sending out the very first NNN Newsletter today. Sign-up if you want to receive e-mail updates about the series.

There was always a good crowd of people around the iMac watching Chapter 1 and many people knew the words so well they were mouthing along with the video. At one point a boy came up to the table and when I introduced myself he said, “You’re the David Pickett?!” and started jumping up and down. Many people commented on their favorite characters (ROBOphelia, Leggsly, and Cornelius Crocogator all rated high) or scenes (the Anti-Green Commercial still takes the cake). During the closing ceremony we were sitting next to a mother who told us, “my kids found your series on iTunes and have it on their ipods. I went to check it out and I said ‘hey, this is actually good!’” It’s moments like this that make me feel like all the hard work I’ve put into the series has been absolutely worth it.

You can see more photos from the event on our FaceBook and flickr pages. We will be traveling to BrickCon in September, so hopefully I’ll get to meet even more of you there. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to animating Chapter 2!

The printing is really great, I just got my proof copy and absolutely love it. These pictures were taken on my iphone so they doesn’t really do it justice, but the packaging is really fantastic. I tested the DVD on several DVD players and computers and didn’t encounter any problems. It’s set for all regions so you should be able to watch it anywhere in the world.

If you aren’t sure whether you want to purchase this DVD, let me remind you of all the great content it includes:

Chapter 1: New Beginnings
+Director’s Commentary
+English subtitles
Deleted Scene
Chapter 2 Trailer
Original NNN Teaser
Choose Your Own Storyline: The Fight for Paradise Hills
Stuck in the Mud
And even though you can view all of this content for free online (except for the commentary and subtitles) buying the DVD will let you watch everything on the big screen in the comfort of your living room. And you can feel good about yourself for helping to support an independent production. What are you waiting for? Go order your copy now! Tell your friends!

Also, there’s now an NNN newsletter you can subscribe to.

In this, the pilot episode of The Nightly News at Nine, there is a massive prison break out caused by a soccer game gone horribly awry. One of the escaped convicts is Malifios, a villain intent on destroying New Block City. The NNN team learns more about Malifios’s previous attempts to destroy the city as well as the New Block Citizens reaction to his threat to destroy their city. Meanwhile a war is mounting between the colors Green and Orange.

The initial concept for this series first came to me in Summer 2006. Script development began in Spring 2007. I started filming in February 2009. I put in about 102 hours of animating and countless hours of building, recording, editing and so forth. Used a bunch of new techniques (for me) – masking, blue screening and lip syncing.

1.1 – Out Of Bonds
1.2 – SVELT Commercial
1.3 – SVELT Interview
1.4 – Pro-Green Commercial
1.5 – On the Street with Steve Deepsea
1.6 – Anti-Green Commercial
1.7 – The Orange-Green War Begins
1.X – Deleted Scene – Sherry & Robert

On Vimeo On YouTube

Part 7 of 7 of “New Beginnings”

Also available via youtube