"Sometimes you have hobbies you don't know of.
Some years ago I started to
make some little Lego animation films with the kids / for the kids. Many years later I found out
that animations like these are well-known
as brickfilms or
brickmovies in the
internet and that there are a lot more fans."
(Peter)
So here you will find our contributions from the
HARPO
Film Productions. |
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Welcome
to the
HARPO Studios
The HARPO Studio Area
HARPO Studios were founded in 1989
as a follow-up of
Octavia & Peter
Film Production, after the family was completed with Robin, Helen, and Alex.
In 1990 we made our first genuine Lego movie ('Krieg
der Steine' (Brick Wars), see below). By the way, some years earlier we made another animation film
on our own ('So ein Zirkus' (What a Circus), 1985), which mainly was realized
with Playmobil, but contains also some sequences with DUPLO bricks and figures.
Therefore, this one, too, can be considered as a Brick Film, as to this part.
After
our brickfilm 'Ein Koenig reich' (The King's Kingdom, 1998) was published in the internet the HARPO
Studios got it's international reputation and the film was downloaded many times.
So we were in charge to produce more brickfilms. This is why
we made the movie 'Nicht mein Tag' (Not My Day) in early 2005 and by the end of the same year 'Von
der Rolle' (By The Role).
All
these brick films are generally not produced for the internet, but filmed with a
video camcorder and saved on VHS. Afterwards we digitalized and compressed them and prepared
the films for download. Have fun!
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HARPO Studio boss
Director and cameraman (hidden) |
The Stars
Mary
und Manuela.
In
'Nicht mein Tag' (Not My Day) both could be seen as statists.
Now, since their debut in the brickfilm 'Von der Rolle' (By The Role)
they are
the absolute stars at HARPO's.
Jimmy
und Johnny
They, too, went famous by
'Von der Rolle', they worked hard at the
HARPO Studios.
Manni,
seller of motorcycles,
and his boss in 'Nicht mein Tag' (Not My Day)
Princess
Neleh
("You are not to instruct me!"),
but after all quite acceptable
('Krieg der Steine' (Brick Wars))
Robin
here to be seen in 'Von der Rolle' (By The Role),
nominated for
"best supporting role 2005"
The
King himself
A star, although the crown is wobbly
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The Films |
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"Krieg der Steine"
(Brick Wars, 1990)
Looks like all brickfilmers can't miss this subject.
Well.
Actually we didn't want to show this film in this place, because
it's a rather old film. We didn't have a camcorder with single frame option by that time.
Therefore we filmed this Lego movie in realtime with non-visible strings
etc. But our Sony Handycam was able to insert some graphic elements,
which we made use of. The quality, especially in the compressed version, is rather poor. Sorry.
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KriegDerSteine.avi
19,5 MB 17 minutes
German
(Download at www.archive.org)
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Samples
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"Ein Koenig reich"
(The King's Kingdom, 1998)
This is the most famous HARPO movie.
The story of a man on his way to become a king.
For a while it looks like his dreams will come true...
This film was - same as 'Nicht mein Tag' - recorded with a
digital camcorder (JVC). This camera can make 3 pictures (1/8 second) in one step in the so-called animation mode.
Later on the sound was added and the brickfilm was compressed and made public.
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EinKoenigReich-e.avi
320x240 (DiVX)
38 MB
12 Minutes
Sound: German
with English
subtitles
(Download at archive.org, )
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"Nicht mein Tag"
(Not My Day, 2005)
A little business life movie.
Manni, seller of motorcycles, and his boss try to
improve their business...
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NichtMeinTag.avi
9.6 MB 8 minutes German
(Download at www.archive.org)
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"Von der Rolle"
(By The Role, 2005)
Two girls are dreaming of a movie star career. It doesn't work out this way,
but both will take their chance anyway -- I guess. Looks like great Legowood
cinema.
This film leads you to the HARPO
studios and contains some relations to the earlier films. Therefore you may
have more fun when seeing "Ein Koenig reich" (The King's Kingsdom)
and "Nicht mein Tag" (Not My Day) first.
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VonDerRolle.avi
(DivX)
83 MB 26 minutes German
(Download at www.archive.org) |
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"FELIX!"
(2010)
Felix and his friend stranded on a lonely island. But a
man called Felix will have luck, don't he?!
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Felix.mpg
6 minutes German
(Download at www.youtube.com) |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Where does the name of HARPO come from?
Answer: HARPO in connection with Helen, Alex, Robin, Peter, and Octavia was first used by Tuko from
Hamburg. Now please don't ask where the name of Tuko comes from.
Question: Where are the HARPO Studios?
Answer: In Legowood.
Question: In 'Von der Rolle' some scenes
are strongly suggestive of the movie Casablanca. How old do we have to be to recognize this?
Answer: Depends on how long it takes you to watch the original five times.
Question: In 'Krieg der Steine' many names
sound funny: Princess Neleh, Retep, Nibor, Xela, and Eito.
Answer: Not funny but tricky. Eito is difficult, because
it's a short form and should be Aivatco to be correct.
Question: May I visit the HARPO Studios?
Answer: Watch the movie 'Von der Rolle' and then decide whether you want it or
not.
Question: What about the Brick Film 'Auch nicht mein
Tag' (Also Not My Day)?
Answer: In our last movie we are talking about this new brick film, but in reality
there are no plans yet.
Question: Where else may I watch brickfilms?
Answer: www.brickboard.de
(biggest German brickfilm community)
www.brickfilms.com (biggest
international brickfilm site)
www.archive.org (many movies
and more)
Any more Questions? <Mail>
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