'A big part of my childhood': Regina student brings Lego to life through stop-motion animation
Jayson Reddekopp has been a Lego collector since he was a kid. Now in his second year of university, he’s bringing his passion to life using just his Lego pieces and an iPhone.
“I got to a point where I just wanted to give it a go myself,” Reddekopp told CTV News. “I have a lot of Lego and I wanted to do a lot of creative stuff.”
The University of Regina education student has been creating stop-motion videos involving Lego (usually referred to as “brickfilms”) for the last nine years on his YouTube channel.
In that time, he’s amassed almost 700 subscribers.
Most of his content has been focused on the titular DC superhero, Batman.
“I was uploading some Batman videos and some superhero stuff that a lot of people were interested in,” Reddekopp said. “They've been nice enough to reach out and I've been able to get involved in the community.”
Seeing what other brick-filmmakers are doing acts as inspiration and encouragement for his own work, according to Reddekopp.
“It's really great to see sort of the versatility of all these all these people around the world trying to make stories with Lego,” he said. “It's really cool to see.”
With the brickfilm community behind him, Reddekop has been driven to keep creating content.
“It’s been good because it has helped me want to do crazier stuff and kind of one up myself in a sense,” he explained.
Reddekopp’s videos usually run between 20 to 30 minutes and take about nine months to complete from start to finish.
“I want to say 8,000 to 9,000 pictures that I take for those and then I try to make a couple shorter films which take about, like 3,000 to 4,000 pictures,” he explained.
Setting the stage for production is also a long process and can be made more difficult due to the size of the Lego blocks.
“You got to figure out where the character is going to go,” he explained. “What are the props that might be in the facility, and if they're going to move around a table.”
As for the availability of props and characters, Reddekopp said there is no shortage of either, as his dad is a long-time collector of Lego as well.
“We have been able to share and sometimes steal some of our own stuff,” he said. “But it’s been a long time we have been collecting.”
For the future, Reddekopp hopes to not only continue his hobby, but elevate it.
Better sound effects, voicing, music, and masking his characters are all priorities as Reddekopp continually improves his craft.
Once his Batman series is finished, Reddekopp is eager to tackle other genres.
“I have ideas for maybe a film noir or a horror or a medieval stop-motion,” he said.
“I really like to just try new things and see what I can do and kind of go from there.”
Having the ability to create videos with just a phone and some Legos, offers a creative outlet for so many, according to Reddekopp.
“Lego and YouTube have been a big part of my childhood … A lot of kids collect a lot of Lego and if they want to turn it into something creative and cool, they want to do themselves,” he said.
“YouTube's been a good platform to kind of showcase that creativity.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW What Canada is doing about the toxic forever chemicals in drinking water
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Arrest made, manslaughter charge pending in 2022 death of Calgary toddler
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
Prince William returns to public duties after wife Kate's cancer revelation
Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Russia reports downing 5 Ukrainian military balloons in Kyiv's latest apparent war innovation
Russian air defences downed what authorities described as five Ukrainian balloons overnight, the defence ministry in Moscow said Thursday, as the sides kept up long-range strikes that have featured heavily in what has largely become a war of attrition.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson Airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Frustrated farmers are rebelling against EU rules. The far right is stoking the flames
Mainstream political parties failed to act on European farmers' complaints for decades, one farmer says. Now the radical right is stepping in.
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.