Especially for those with a love of Animation and Creative Media
People who follow my personal social media pages may have noticed that I have recently started posting photos of myself with some Lego builds. For those of you who may not know, for some time now I have been making and uploading content to a new page called Quirky Productions. Since most people who know me don't know exactly what this is, I thought what better way to explain it than by writing one of my blogs about it.
How it Began
I have always had a massive interest in creating my own films and stories since playing with my old Thomas the Tank Engine trains and even when I moved on to collecting Lego sets in 2009. The Christmas of 2009 was my first year of collecting Lego sets and I have built up a bit of a collection at this point. This Christmas I also received my first ever camera, it was a basic point-and-zoom model but I was absolutely delighted with myself going around taking pictures of my presents, family, and of course my Lego sets.
At this point in my childhood, I was obsessed with watching Lego YouTubers such as MichaelHickoxFilms and TurboJUK who would create their own short stories primarily using Lego be it by film or stop animation. This camera became my first experience in the world of filmmaking with my own Lego collection and while the quality was nowhere near cinematic I was still happy with them nonetheless.
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Quirky Productions
Years went by and while I dipped in and out of filming over time, however my love for Lego never left me. Throughout my time in Transition Year (4th Year) in 2016, I had ample time to write and develop stories along with building sets, layouts, props, and the like for film projects. However, as time went on, life became a bit complicated so between this along with different things going on in my life I put aside my Lego creations and workings for the time being.
During another Covid Lockdown in 2021, I again found myself with ample time on my hands and not much to do. During the first few Lockdowns, I wasn't too bad as I nearly always had something to keep me occupied, however as 2021 rolled along I found isolation a bit challenging. It was at this time I watched a simple motivational video on YouTube about building confidence and to just go for it. The overall message was that even if what you make turns out to be absolutely rubbish, it's still better than having nothing at all.
The next morning I pulled out my old Lego creations which had been sitting in storage for quite a while and spent the day making a short, simple stop-motion animation. It took a long time to download the programs, relearn how they worked, and how to operate the controls but I finally finished the short animation later that evening.
This officially became the first piece of content I created for my new Instagram page, which would lead to my YouTube and other social media pages down the line. My channel had gone through many names by this point, I was wrestling with the word Productions in the name somehow but it wasn't until a friend of mine called my shorts "Quirky" that I finally got the name "Quirky Productions" and I couldn't of been happier with it.
Content
My channel holds many different forms of content, from film to stop animations to some completely unrelated projects, so let me tell you about some of my main ones.
{Film}
It is no surprise that of course, I would have to use trains in my videos as my love for them has been strong from a very young age. The main basis I based my engines on was the Minimum Gauge Railways inspired heavily by the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in Cumbria, England although some are inspired by other engines or complete freelance designs.
I love the challenge of telling a story with nothing but static Lego figures and miniature trains, their only form of motion being a clear thread under the wheels between the rails. Unlike many I actually do love the editing process, adding the appropriate sound effects and background music, aspects that can really lift a production.
{Stop Motion Animation}
For those who don't know what exactly stop motion animation is, it's basically a series of still photos compiled together with slight movements in each with creates a moving picture. This method is used in classics such as Wallace & Gromit, Fantastic Mr Fox, Shaun the Sheep, Etc. It is a visually pleasing yet time-consuming animation to create and can often be associated with Lego. The flexibility of the Lego Minifigures made it an ideal contender to be adapted into the stop motion animation format.
I have made a series of tests and completed stop motion animation projects which have a valuable place on my channel for without that first animation test, Quirky Productions would not be today.
{Custom Builds}
Of course, a massive part of Lego is the creativity aspect, it is why it is one of the best toy brands for children in my opinion as it gives them the freedom and challenge to build whatever they want, expanding their imaginations which is a good long-lasting trait. I have always loved making my own builds to expand my Lego Cities and since I have a mass collection of Lego bricks to this day, it is safe to say that I never lost the love to do so.
Most of my engines and film sets are custom-made either from reference pictures or from my own design. MOCs (My Own Customs) are a great way to design builds that Lego themselves have never made, or are unlikely to make. I love using this opportunity to build iconic locations and features from Kerry and the rest of Ireland such as the GPO, South Pole Inn, the Guinness Pint, Etc
Dublin BrickCon 2023
Dublin BrickCon is a fairly new event I had the pleasure of experiencing myself for the first time in 2023. Myself and many others were invited as guest creators to cover and experience the event which was held on October 14th & 15th and what a phenomenal event it was. People came from all over the country to display their builds and creations in a massive exhibit held in the National Basketball Arena.
There were competitions, building areas, and stores to keep you busy for the day, this year evening including a meet and greet with a creator who works for Lego. It was a great way to meet new people along with finally meeting other Irish Lego content creators all of whom of course, have the same love for Lego as myself.
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| Myself and Lego Designer Jan Woznica with his set "Tales of The Space Age" |
Conclusion
Through this channel, I have met and spoken to so many amazing people and been open to many great experiences. It's great to see people get so excited about what I build and produce as it relates to the child innocence in us all. I do get the odd look from certain people for doing what I do, but anything different is always gonna get a funny eye from someone, rather be myself any day than hide what I love to do just to try and fit "the norm". What I do makes me happy so it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else!
I would be so grateful to anyone who decides to check out my work as I always appreciate feedback on projects I've worked so hard on, the links to all my pages will be linked below.
At the time of writing, I am just shy of 1000 followers on Instagram and have over 45,000 views on YouTube and I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last few years and I hope you enjoy what's yet to come!
-Trev