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NARRATOR: Space.

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Humankind has been gazing
into its infinite vastness for millennia.

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Here we are pushing the boundaries
of our knowledge,

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venturing out into...

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What? What are LEGO minifigures
doing out here?

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What the heck are toys
doing in outer space?

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To answer that,
first we have to start our story

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back on good old planet Earth.

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Here in the U.S.'s Pacific Northwest,

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a boy named Thorin makes last-minute
preparations on his battle scene.

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In the Netherlands, Rosa
is building a car in her living room.

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In Shanghai, China, Yuhang celebrates
his birthday with a new LEGO set.

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And in Denver, Colorado,

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Eben, like so many around the world

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is sprawled on his living room floor
playing with LEGO bricks.

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This is what we expect, right?

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After all, around half a billion people
grew up with LEGO bricks.

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There are over 100 LEGO pieces
for every person on the planet.

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But this story... but...
Can you hear me out there?

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There. That's better.

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What? What's wrong?

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Why are you looking
at me like that? Oh, oh.

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There. How's that?

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Now, I know. I know.

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You recognize me, right?

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Featureless yet functional hands.

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Interchangeable hair.

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Perfect golden, uh, tan, I guess?

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But this story's not about me.
Well, not entirely.

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This story is about
a simple toy that became,

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well, more than a toy.

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And how its unique properties
ushered in a new era of creativity,

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not just for kids,
but for a whole generation.

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This is about more than the brick.

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This is beyond the...
No, hang on a second.

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(CLEARS THROAT)

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Beyond the brick! A LEGO Brickumentary!

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Ooh, look at that. That's awesome.

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At the annual Toy Fair in New York City

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the world's toy manufacturers
gather to show off

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what they hope will be
big products for kids.

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RICHARD: LEGO is, let's face it,

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undoubtedly the greatest
success story of the toy industry.

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LAURIE: They have become
the number two toy company

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with simply one category of toy,
and that's construction.

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And that's up against giants
like Mattel and Hasbro.

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RICHARD: Mattel has Hot Wheels.
They have Barbie.

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Hasbro has GI Joe.
And they've got other lines.

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And LEGO just has LEGO. (CHUCKLES)

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When other toy companies look at LEGO,
they look at them as a powerhouse.

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When you look
at a four billion dollar brand

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and that's going to continue to grow
this year, it's amazing what they've done.

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It's become a monster brand
of the toy business.

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So how did the LEGO company
become so huge?

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I can explain that, but I think I better
park this thing first.

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Recognize this baby?

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Yeah, good old number 497.

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Galaxy Explorer.

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It had these cool yellow-tinted windows,

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all these 2x2 computer bricks,

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and, uh, these things.

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It's just a small part
of the LEGO brand's fascinating history.

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Let's take a moment
for a little primer on how the toy began.

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Oh, no, wait a second.

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There we go. Much better.

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Many people know Denmark as the home
of ready-to-assemble furniture.

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Sadly those people are wrong
because that's Sweden.

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Denmark is home
to Hans Christian Andersen,

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delicious pastries,

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and the birthplace of,
you guessed it, LEGO bricks.

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Back in 1916, a Danish man
by the name of Ole Kirk Christiansen

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lived in the quaint little town
of Billund Denmark.

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A carpenter by trade, he started a small
wood shop which burned to the ground.

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Not a great start but Ole would not
be dissuaded so he built another one.

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In the new factory
he was inspired to build toys.

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By the 1930s, Ole was known
for his pull toys made from birch wood.

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Trucks, trains, and of course ducks.

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It was around this time that Ole
came up with the name LEGO.

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It comes from the Danish phrase
leg godt, meaning "play well."

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Then the factory burned down again.

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But with Ole's perseverance,
it was rebuilt again,

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this time mostly for making wooden toys,

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until a fateful day in 1947
when Ole was visiting a toy fair.

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He came across a new contraption,
a plastic molding machine.

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Ole brought the first one
back to Denmark,

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though not everyone was impressed.

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At first, Ole used
his hand-powered molding machine

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to make simple plastic toys.

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But then his son Godtfred
had a brilliant idea.

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I remember my father, for him,
the system was very, very important,

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to turn the bricks
into a system of play.

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The brick in itself is, of course,
a simple structure.

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But with the number of bricks,
you have endless possibilities.

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The idea stuck,
and the LEGO system of play was born

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and continues to this day.

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In fact, bricks made in 1955
still work with bricks you can buy today.

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The bricks were great for stacking,
but still had room for improvement.

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The Christiansen solution
was clutch power.

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What is clutch power?

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Clutch power is the result
of the patented studs and tubes design

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that holds the bricks together.

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And allows them to...

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...whew...

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come apart.

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Then in 1960,
the factory burned down again.

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Yeesh. What are they building
these factories out of, anyway?

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But Ole went back to work,
and despite those pesky fires,

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his company continued to grow.

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This magic formula
of an ever-expanding system

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with its locking bricks made LEGO toys

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something that appealed
to kids everywhere.

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What started as a Danish endeavor
became a global phenomenon.

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Helping with this expansion
of the company

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was oldest grandson Kjeld
who you met before.

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You might recognize him
from some of the earliest boxes.

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Cute kid.

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Personally I feel Kjeld's
greatest contribution to LEGO history

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was his role in the development
of LEGO minifigures, or minifigs.

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Hey, guys, still no arms, huh?

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They obviously improved
on that design over the years.

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But what really catapulted the company
into greater success

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were the new theme sets,
like Castle and Space.

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And later, licensed themes
like Star Wars.

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Hey! And Harry Potter.

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Whoa, whoa.

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- (THUD)
- Whoa! Yikes!

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Today the LEGO company makes
more than 100,000 pieces a minute,

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and has become one of the biggest
toy companies in the world.

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But not without first experiencing
some serious challenges

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in having to redefine itself
along the way.

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But we'll get into that later.

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And just think, all this from a humble
carpenter in Billund, Denmark.

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- (CRASH)
- Ooh, sorry.

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No clutch power, I guess.

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Billund is still the heart
of the LEGO company

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and LEGO minifigures
are still made here.

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Handsome little devils, aren't they?

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Okay that shot kinda freaks me out.

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Billund is also home
to the LEGO design team.

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Here, inside the design room,
the LEGO sets of tomorrow

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are being dreamed up today by designers.

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Everybody I meet says

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that I have one
of the coolest jobs in the world.

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It's fantastic to be able
to create with these bricks.

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We have our desks full
of LEGO all the time.

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It's like being a child
for the rest of my life.

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For many the only limitation of building
with LEGO bricks is your imagination.

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But for the designers
at the LEGO company

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it's a much more regimented process.

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We're always working within
a system based on

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these LEGO bricks here.

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There's not an infinite
amount of possibility.

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The constraints becomes
the challenge, if you will.

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Then it's those constraints
that are interesting

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to find how do we make it work.

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MARTA: You have to think about
how kids play with LEGO,

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which is something that
we always have in our minds.

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If you're five years old,
it's a lot harder to build

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with smaller bricks than it is
for an eight-year-old.

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At the core of the design process
is one guiding principal.

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The design process really starts
with an idea of a story in a universe.

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We really take a starting point
in who these characters are,

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where they're living,
what they're doing.

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Story provides context
for what you're doing.

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It gives you
and kids especially a meaning.

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It sort of helps to unlock
their imagination in new ways.

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We were just trying to put together
color combinations we haven't done before.

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Jamie Berard is one
of the company's design stars.

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He's the creative lead
for the expert building series.

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Today he's showing his boss
his new Parisian cafe model

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which will be revealed
to the public soon.

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What I really hope to highlight
at BrickCon is the storytelling.

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For example,
the gentleman on the balcony

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has actually got
a little bit of a surprise,

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and he's got this ring in his hand.

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That will help him hopefully
marry his girlfriend.

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JAMIE: The job, it's amazing.

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I don't want to oversell it
that, you know,

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there's rivers of chocolate milk
and massages on Tuesdays.

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You know, it's a job.
But it's an amazing job.

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You almost wonder, like,
how long can this last?

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Is this for real?

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Another coveted job at the LEGO company
is that of master builder.

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Like the designers,
master builders are, well,

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masters at building with LEGO bricks.

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But they get to think outside the box.

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So as a master builder, we get to do
everything it takes to make our models,

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we design models,
we do a pretty good mixture.

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We do everything
from little tiny models,

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all the way up to human beings.

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It's always going to be different.

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Every model poses its own challenge.

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Sometimes it's
the sheer size of the models.

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Ultimately, at the end of the day,

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it's really just pushing the bounds
of what you can do with LEGO,

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being creative and being artistic
and all these amazing things.

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Today the master builders
are working on a huge project

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that'll be seen all over the world:

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the setting for The LEGO Movie.

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The nicest thing about
working for LEGO is that

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we have all of the pieces we need.

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It's something that most
people would just dream of.

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For this particular city,
I got to sit down and

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order whatever I wanted.

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As far as the plot of the movie,

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I really don't know a lot about it.

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Um, there's a lot more than just this
that's going to be in this movie,

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that we're all working on
at the same time.

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And it's a monumental undertaking.

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Weeks later, their LEGO city arrives

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and is reassembled by Paul's team
on a soundstage in Los Angeles.

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It serves as the setting
for the live action sequences

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in Will Ferrell's basement.

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Okay, clearing guys, please.

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Action.

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CHRISTOPHER: Yeah, it's been kind
of crazy, we've had, uh,

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we're shooting for five days
of live action

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and the movie's mostly animated.

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And we've built this ridiculous
LEGO model back there.

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We built it ourselves.

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Personally, with our bare hands.

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Actually, we had a team
of super master builders.

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And it turned out pretty awesome.

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It's pretty ridiculous.

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These guys have been working on it
in Connecticut for, like, three months.

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And then, of course,
the first thing we do is go,

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okay, we're going to smash all of this.

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CHRISTOPHER: So there's a city,
there's sort of a castle world

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that we're calling Middle Zealand.

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There's a pirate ship.

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Some classic space stuff from '79.

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We heard we would get some free LEGOs.

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Yeah! I'm literally doing this
for one classic space ship.

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Hey, Phil, have your
people call my people,

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we'll hook you up.
Maybe we can do lunch?

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So, this movie set is pretty impressive.

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But the master builders
in the Czech Republic

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are working on even bigger things.

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In Kladno, we produce big models

240
00:12:51,937 --> 00:12:55,111
for LEGOLAND parks and for LEGO markets.

241
00:12:55,841 --> 00:12:58,447
There's a lot of different stuff
we can do.

242
00:12:59,512 --> 00:13:03,516
What people don't know
is we have computer programs

243
00:13:03,616 --> 00:13:05,918
where model builders see the layers.

244
00:13:06,018 --> 00:13:08,421
There is not visible every single brick.

245
00:13:08,521 --> 00:13:10,967
There is steel construction inside.

246
00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:17,263
We are looking forward
to the biggest project we've ever built.

247
00:13:17,363 --> 00:13:20,071
It's secret.
Nobody should know about the project.

248
00:13:21,066 --> 00:13:22,768
So there, this is the interface.

249
00:13:22,868 --> 00:13:24,937
Working with Jaromir on the secret build

250
00:13:25,037 --> 00:13:27,573
is American project manager Dale Chasse.

251
00:13:27,673 --> 00:13:31,944
Okay, so we'll convert all this stuff
from millimeters to inches.

252
00:13:32,044 --> 00:13:35,214
I have the most interesting project
on my plate right now,

253
00:13:35,314 --> 00:13:38,584
than I've had in the whole 21 years
that I've been with the LEGO company.

254
00:13:38,684 --> 00:13:43,322
We're secretly designing and building
an X-Wing fighter, life size.

255
00:13:43,422 --> 00:13:45,825
(STAR WARS MUSIC PLAYS)

256
00:13:45,925 --> 00:13:47,560
But what's really cool
about this project is

257
00:13:47,660 --> 00:13:50,396
we're copying one of our sets
that you can actually buy in store.

258
00:13:50,496 --> 00:13:53,733
It's actually the item number, 9493.

259
00:13:53,833 --> 00:13:56,769
And you can build this set at home.

260
00:13:56,869 --> 00:14:00,439
But what we've done is
we've built it 42 times bigger than this.

261
00:14:00,539 --> 00:14:04,351
This is going to be the biggest
LEGO model ever built.

262
00:14:04,844 --> 00:14:07,723
Even we can't believe
this will be a reality.

263
00:14:08,514 --> 00:14:10,015
We have a big team here.

264
00:14:10,115 --> 00:14:12,618
There is a designer,
there is technical developer,

265
00:14:12,718 --> 00:14:16,131
and there is team of model builders
and mechanics.

266
00:14:17,923 --> 00:14:20,359
The beginning of our process is design.

267
00:14:20,459 --> 00:14:22,094
Then in technical development,

268
00:14:22,194 --> 00:14:24,864
it's about designing
internal steel construction.

269
00:14:24,964 --> 00:14:27,600
We have a lot of challenges
in front of us.

270
00:14:27,700 --> 00:14:31,137
We don't have much time
for every single step.

271
00:14:31,237 --> 00:14:33,439
There will be eight tons of bricks used.

272
00:14:33,539 --> 00:14:37,676
So they have to produce the bricks for us
for a couple weeks in Billund.

273
00:14:37,776 --> 00:14:40,120
It's crazy. (LAUGHS)

274
00:15:23,155 --> 00:15:26,992
The X-Wing is 44 feet
from wing tip to wing tip.

275
00:15:27,092 --> 00:15:29,929
It's 45 feet from bow to stern.

276
00:15:30,029 --> 00:15:31,997
It's 11 feet tall.

277
00:15:32,097 --> 00:15:35,034
It weighs 44,000 pounds.

278
00:15:35,134 --> 00:15:37,205
And took 17,000 hours to build.

279
00:15:39,338 --> 00:15:42,608
Finally the X-Wing model is
ready to cross the Atlantic,

280
00:15:42,708 --> 00:15:44,610
where its adventure will continue.

281
00:15:44,710 --> 00:15:46,986
But we'll get back to that later.

282
00:15:51,183 --> 00:15:54,220
♪ I'm gonna pick up the pieces ♪

283
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,223
♪ And build a LEGO house ♪

284
00:15:57,323 --> 00:16:01,360
♪ If things go wrong
we can knock it down ♪

285
00:16:01,460 --> 00:16:04,029
LEGO was definitely part
of my childhood, it was, uh...

286
00:16:04,129 --> 00:16:06,699
Me and my brother had a big box
filled with everything,

287
00:16:06,799 --> 00:16:08,434
um, just passed down from my parents.

288
00:16:08,534 --> 00:16:10,402
But it was more of the blocks
rather than the sets.

289
00:16:10,502 --> 00:16:12,972
And any time we'd get a set,
it would be like one of the small ones.

290
00:16:13,072 --> 00:16:14,640
And you'd always look at the big kits

291
00:16:14,740 --> 00:16:16,542
in the shops and be like,
"Oh, I want that."

292
00:16:16,642 --> 00:16:18,978
And as soon as
I came into money, I was like,

293
00:16:19,078 --> 00:16:22,281
"What should I buy?
House? Nah. Car? Nah. LEGO."

294
00:16:22,381 --> 00:16:26,318
My album went gold in a week,
and I wanted a way to celebrate.

295
00:16:26,418 --> 00:16:29,255
The first thing that I bought
was the Death Star.

296
00:16:29,355 --> 00:16:33,125
The main thing that it does is it,
it brings out a bit of your childhood.

297
00:16:33,225 --> 00:16:35,094
Which is important
not to forget as well.

298
00:16:35,194 --> 00:16:38,397
You know, it's good not
to take life too seriously.

299
00:16:38,497 --> 00:16:41,333
TREY: Growing up, LEGOs
was more like this to me.

300
00:16:41,433 --> 00:16:44,236
It was more, you know, the bin of chaos.

301
00:16:44,336 --> 00:16:46,739
I was like, "Oh, no, who would...
Why would you get LEGOs

302
00:16:46,839 --> 00:16:48,641
to be told how to put them together?"

303
00:16:48,741 --> 00:16:50,880
Like, I always thought
it was a very creative thing.

304
00:16:51,043 --> 00:16:53,746
And then I, I think I rediscovered LEGOs

305
00:16:53,846 --> 00:16:56,053
right around the second
or third season of South Park.

306
00:16:56,949 --> 00:16:59,018
People would walk in while
chaos was going on,

307
00:16:59,118 --> 00:17:01,086
and I'd just be putting
together these things.

308
00:17:01,186 --> 00:17:04,590
And I think that having that
instruction book that said,

309
00:17:04,690 --> 00:17:07,159
this one on top of that one.
And this one on that one.

310
00:17:07,259 --> 00:17:09,595
It was just so therapeutic for me

311
00:17:09,695 --> 00:17:12,698
because the rest of my life was,
think of something, think of something.

312
00:17:12,798 --> 00:17:14,633
You know, be creative,
be creative, be creative.

313
00:17:14,733 --> 00:17:18,579
And I found it so insanely therapeutic.

314
00:17:22,541 --> 00:17:23,611
(WHISTLE BLOWS)

315
00:17:23,742 --> 00:17:25,619
- (CHEERS)
- ANNOUNCER: ...goes to the basket!

316
00:17:26,378 --> 00:17:29,014
I've actually been on the road
to a lot of different games.

317
00:17:29,114 --> 00:17:33,256
And the fans are like,
"Man, I love LEGOs just like you, man."

318
00:17:36,588 --> 00:17:38,557
I have at least 30 boxes

319
00:17:38,657 --> 00:17:41,293
that are waiting at home
for me to start working on.

320
00:17:41,393 --> 00:17:43,662
The biggest piece that I have
is actually the piece

321
00:17:43,762 --> 00:17:45,864
that was given to me by Ellen DeGeneres.

322
00:17:45,964 --> 00:17:48,667
We told our friends at LEGOs
that you love LEGOs.

323
00:17:48,767 --> 00:17:50,669
- Mm-hmm.
- So we got you something.

324
00:17:50,769 --> 00:17:53,249
(CHEERING)

325
00:17:58,410 --> 00:17:59,745
Wait a second.

326
00:17:59,845 --> 00:18:03,482
Did any of those guys
look like kids to you?

327
00:18:03,582 --> 00:18:06,652
It seems like LEGO fans
come in many forms.

328
00:18:06,752 --> 00:18:08,654
Let's go meet some of these, um,

329
00:18:08,754 --> 00:18:11,190
well, I'm not sure what you call them.

330
00:18:11,290 --> 00:18:13,192
Let's go find out.

331
00:18:13,292 --> 00:18:16,171
Hey! Can somebody just
throw my hair back up here?

332
00:18:18,163 --> 00:18:20,399
Here at BrickCon in Seattle,
you can see part

333
00:18:20,499 --> 00:18:23,035
of the huge community
that's building with LEGO bricks.

334
00:18:23,135 --> 00:18:25,371
BrickCon is one of North America's
top LEGO conventions,

335
00:18:25,471 --> 00:18:27,610
along with Chicago's BrickWorld
and Virginia's BrickFair.

336
00:18:30,309 --> 00:18:31,777
And there are similar fan events

337
00:18:31,877 --> 00:18:34,289
throughout Europe, Asia,
and around the globe.

338
00:18:35,981 --> 00:18:37,783
Spending a little time
at one of these conventions

339
00:18:37,883 --> 00:18:40,830
gives you an idea of the vastness
of the LEGO universe.

340
00:18:43,856 --> 00:18:45,457
There are those that use LEGO,

341
00:18:45,557 --> 00:18:48,360
and there is an adult fan community.

342
00:18:48,460 --> 00:18:51,764
We all refer to ourselves
as AFOLs, absolutely.

343
00:18:51,864 --> 00:18:53,599
An Adult Fan Of LEGO.

344
00:18:53,699 --> 00:18:55,868
Which is basically,
the reason we're all here.

345
00:18:55,968 --> 00:18:59,471
To me, being one
is just enjoying everything

346
00:18:59,571 --> 00:19:01,209
about what LEGO's about.

347
00:19:02,374 --> 00:19:04,576
You know the Comic Book Guy
from The Simpsons?

348
00:19:04,676 --> 00:19:07,012
That's I think what people
think an AFOL is.

349
00:19:07,112 --> 00:19:09,782
Just a big guy living
in his parents' basement.

350
00:19:09,882 --> 00:19:13,152
Just kinda tapping
at the computer all day long.

351
00:19:13,252 --> 00:19:15,587
Well, if that's not an AFOL, what is?

352
00:19:15,687 --> 00:19:19,792
Blue collar, white collar.
Programmers, construction guys.

353
00:19:19,892 --> 00:19:21,627
Schoolteachers. Executives.

354
00:19:21,727 --> 00:19:23,629
People working in science and industry.

355
00:19:23,729 --> 00:19:27,132
Geeks, strangers, weirdoes.
People like me.

356
00:19:27,232 --> 00:19:29,668
I am totally a geek.

357
00:19:29,768 --> 00:19:31,737
For me, this is the class reunion

358
00:19:31,837 --> 00:19:34,440
with all your best friends, once a year.

359
00:19:34,540 --> 00:19:36,308
AFOLs are definitely a community.
Very much so.

360
00:19:36,408 --> 00:19:38,811
And thank you, Internet,
for making that happen.

361
00:19:38,911 --> 00:19:42,948
It was a kind of a light bulb,
when I go on the Internet, and I'm like,

362
00:19:43,048 --> 00:19:45,551
"Wow, there's other people
that like doing this."

363
00:19:47,853 --> 00:19:50,355
The LEGO community
does have its own language,

364
00:19:50,455 --> 00:19:52,925
and it's defined
by the acronyms that it uses.

365
00:19:53,025 --> 00:19:54,960
An AFOL is an Adult Fan Of LEGO.

366
00:19:55,060 --> 00:19:58,363
As opposed to KFOL,
which is Kid Fan Of LEGO.

367
00:19:58,463 --> 00:20:01,200
TFOL, which is Teen Fans Of LEGOs.

368
00:20:01,300 --> 00:20:03,502
Some people use the term NLSO,

369
00:20:03,602 --> 00:20:06,171
which stands for
Non LEGO Significant Other.

370
00:20:06,271 --> 00:20:08,874
MOC. Which means My Own Creation.

371
00:20:08,974 --> 00:20:10,876
A LUG is a LEGO Users' Group.

372
00:20:10,976 --> 00:20:13,278
LTC. LEGO Train Club.

373
00:20:13,378 --> 00:20:15,314
GBC. Great Ball Contraption.

374
00:20:15,414 --> 00:20:17,716
SNOT would be Studs Not On Top.

375
00:20:17,816 --> 00:20:20,486
There's POOP. Parts Out of Other Parts.

376
00:20:20,586 --> 00:20:22,554
CRAPP is a Crummy Ramp And Pit Plate.

377
00:20:22,654 --> 00:20:25,557
BURP. Big Ugly Rock Piece.

378
00:20:25,657 --> 00:20:27,159
And the infamous LURP.

379
00:20:27,259 --> 00:20:29,239
The Little Ugly Rock Piece.

380
00:20:32,764 --> 00:20:34,533
They even have their own currency.

381
00:20:34,633 --> 00:20:36,235
It's a black, 1x2 brick.

382
00:20:36,335 --> 00:20:38,737
You can buy these
for three, four cents apiece.

383
00:20:38,837 --> 00:20:40,405
But this piece produced in white,

384
00:20:40,505 --> 00:20:43,175
the last time they made it
was the mid '80s.

385
00:20:43,275 --> 00:20:45,644
Just like a stock market would be,
supply and demand.

386
00:20:45,744 --> 00:20:49,314
And you wanna go buy it,
you're gonna spend $4 or $5 for it.

387
00:20:49,414 --> 00:20:52,751
So what does the LEGO company
make of all of this?

388
00:20:52,851 --> 00:20:54,486
We were kind of shocked.

389
00:20:54,586 --> 00:20:57,256
This is all based
on what they want to do.

390
00:20:57,356 --> 00:20:59,391
It's things they want to make.

391
00:20:59,491 --> 00:21:01,860
It's events they want to organize.

392
00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,762
We hadn't planned that.

393
00:21:03,862 --> 00:21:05,671
It's out of our control.

394
00:21:08,333 --> 00:21:10,006
(KIDS CHEERING)

395
00:21:24,182 --> 00:21:25,217
Done!

396
00:21:25,317 --> 00:21:26,351
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

397
00:21:26,451 --> 00:21:28,294
Two, one, start.

398
00:21:34,226 --> 00:21:35,627
There it is. I found it.

399
00:21:35,727 --> 00:21:38,003
- No, no. That's not it.
- No, it's definitely it.

400
00:21:39,231 --> 00:21:43,368
A familiar face at many conventions
is LEGO Designer Jamie Berard.

401
00:21:43,468 --> 00:21:44,937
Remember him?

402
00:21:45,037 --> 00:21:46,983
Jamie's LEGO career started as an AFOL.

403
00:21:47,973 --> 00:21:49,308
I was just at a toy store,

404
00:21:49,408 --> 00:21:51,810
and I see all these adults
in the LEGO aisle.

405
00:21:51,910 --> 00:21:53,579
And I'm thinking, this is a bit odd.

406
00:21:53,679 --> 00:21:56,048
'Cause I'm used to normally
waiting until the kids leave

407
00:21:56,148 --> 00:21:57,883
and then I can come over
and take a quick peek

408
00:21:57,983 --> 00:21:59,585
and pretend I'm shopping for someone.

409
00:21:59,685 --> 00:22:03,222
These guys are hanging out talking,
and they're showing off the sets,

410
00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:05,224
and they're buying five copies of a set.

411
00:22:05,324 --> 00:22:07,259
And I'm like, I do that!

412
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:08,794
What do you... Who are you guys?

413
00:22:08,894 --> 00:22:11,763
And they said, "Yeah, we have a club.
Would you like to join?"

414
00:22:11,863 --> 00:22:13,966
And so it was actually this
really cool moment where I...

415
00:22:14,066 --> 00:22:17,502
I didn't even know it was there
and then it kind of found me.

416
00:22:17,602 --> 00:22:19,838
Jamie's life changed when
Kjeld Kristiansen

417
00:22:19,938 --> 00:22:23,613
and other LEGO executives
visited a convention and saw his work.

418
00:22:25,577 --> 00:22:27,846
All these LEGO people that
I never imagined I'd ever meet

419
00:22:27,946 --> 00:22:31,116
were all in one place at one time,
and saw all the stuff I was building

420
00:22:31,216 --> 00:22:34,253
and started having a conversation
with me, asking curious questions like,

421
00:22:34,353 --> 00:22:36,121
"Have you ever thought
of working overseas?"

422
00:22:36,221 --> 00:22:37,923
And then he hands me his business card

423
00:22:38,023 --> 00:22:41,293
and says, "I'd like to continue this
conversation when I get back to Denmark."

424
00:22:41,393 --> 00:22:45,466
And then... he did, and I got
an internship, and then I got the job.

425
00:22:46,565 --> 00:22:48,600
I think it's awesome
when I go to the LEGO events

426
00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:51,036
because, in many ways,
some things haven't changed at all.

427
00:22:51,136 --> 00:22:52,671
I still have that curiosity.

428
00:22:52,771 --> 00:22:54,539
I just can't wait to see
what everybody's built,

429
00:22:54,639 --> 00:22:56,641
to see the old faces,
people that I've hung out with.

430
00:22:56,742 --> 00:22:59,611
It's just fun. People seem
genuinely happy to see me.

431
00:22:59,711 --> 00:23:02,920
And I love the fact that I still feel
like I'm part of the community.

432
00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:09,955
IAIN: I'm a complete AFOL.
I hate the term, because, like,

433
00:23:10,055 --> 00:23:12,557
Trekkies and Whovians
get these cool handles.

434
00:23:12,657 --> 00:23:14,068
We have to use an acronym.

435
00:23:14,726 --> 00:23:18,630
I build characters
from the big screen and the small screen,

436
00:23:18,730 --> 00:23:22,401
from video games
and from Internet culture and memes.

437
00:23:22,501 --> 00:23:24,536
The first one
was my Stephen Hawking model,

438
00:23:24,636 --> 00:23:27,039
which unexpectedly went viral.

439
00:23:27,139 --> 00:23:30,609
And that's when I realized there was
a larger audience for LEGO creations.

440
00:23:31,610 --> 00:23:35,314
I'm most looking forward to connecting
with all my LEGO buddies again.

441
00:23:35,414 --> 00:23:37,382
Uh, we get to see all the new things

442
00:23:37,482 --> 00:23:40,585
that we've created.
It's putting on a show.

443
00:23:40,685 --> 00:23:43,689
And for a nerd like me,

444
00:23:43,789 --> 00:23:46,725
it's not often you get
a chance to put on a show.

445
00:23:46,825 --> 00:23:49,328
So, did you figure out
what you're bringing to BrickCon?

446
00:23:49,428 --> 00:23:53,332
Yeah, I think I'm going to bring
the Haunted Doll House.

447
00:23:53,432 --> 00:23:55,734
We both were into LEGO as kids.

448
00:23:55,834 --> 00:23:58,236
We didn't realize it
when we started dating.

449
00:23:58,336 --> 00:24:00,338
And when we got married
and moved into the house,

450
00:24:00,439 --> 00:24:02,741
Dave's mom called and said,
"Come get your stuff."

451
00:24:02,841 --> 00:24:05,744
In that stuff,
we found a huge tub of LEGO.

452
00:24:05,844 --> 00:24:07,846
We sat down one evening
and started building.

453
00:24:07,946 --> 00:24:10,782
So, yeah, we did that and found out
it was a lot of fun to build together.

454
00:24:10,882 --> 00:24:12,190
- Yeah.
- And we really enjoyed it.

455
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:15,787
I tend to build a lot
of steampunk creations.

456
00:24:15,887 --> 00:24:18,623
I just like the elegance of steampunk.

457
00:24:18,723 --> 00:24:21,460
I tend to focus more
on the small details and interiors.

458
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,528
You're also really big on minifigs.

459
00:24:23,628 --> 00:24:26,231
Yes. I do like minifigs.

460
00:24:26,331 --> 00:24:28,367
Well, obviously we're gonna have
to take the car down.

461
00:24:28,467 --> 00:24:31,136
The big joke at LEGO
conventions is the 1x5.

462
00:24:31,236 --> 00:24:33,939
And uh, for those of you that
don't know what a 1x5 is...

463
00:24:34,039 --> 00:24:37,876
That is a guy code in the LEGO community
for a hot girl.

464
00:24:37,976 --> 00:24:40,946
And, it's because LEGO
doesn't make a 1x5.

465
00:24:41,046 --> 00:24:44,483
Years ago, hot girls at conventions
were a rarity.

466
00:24:44,583 --> 00:24:48,725
But, you know, luckily I have my 1x5,
so I'm all good.

467
00:24:53,091 --> 00:24:57,938
My definition of adults that play
with LEGOs are just tall kids.

468
00:24:58,497 --> 00:25:02,673
(BOY IMITATING AIRPLANE)

469
00:25:03,168 --> 00:25:04,469
(LAUGHS)

470
00:25:04,569 --> 00:25:07,606
I like to build,
but I'm not the best builder.

471
00:25:07,706 --> 00:25:09,845
Do you wanna know
who the best builder is?

472
00:25:10,842 --> 00:25:12,219
My mom.

473
00:25:14,913 --> 00:25:18,016
I'm finishing up just the last few
of the birch trees

474
00:25:18,116 --> 00:25:20,252
here behind the library.

475
00:25:20,352 --> 00:25:24,923
And, uh,
it's in the middle of Rivendell.

476
00:25:25,023 --> 00:25:28,427
And we're really excited
about finishing it,

477
00:25:28,527 --> 00:25:33,799
but we're also a little bit surprised
at how big it turned out to be.

478
00:25:33,899 --> 00:25:36,768
You never quite know when you're
working on one section at a time,

479
00:25:36,868 --> 00:25:38,745
until you put it all together.

480
00:25:39,804 --> 00:25:42,941
I just started building again
a couple years ago

481
00:25:43,041 --> 00:25:45,277
when my son was getting
interested in building.

482
00:25:45,377 --> 00:25:47,779
Let's make it only two segments long.

483
00:25:47,879 --> 00:25:48,880
Why?

484
00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:51,550
Because we don't want it to be too wide,
'cause it's up next to rocks.

485
00:25:51,650 --> 00:25:54,219
I went from doing laundry one day

486
00:25:54,319 --> 00:25:57,989
to having over two and a half
million hits on my Flickr pages.

487
00:25:58,089 --> 00:26:00,692
And it was pretty overwhelming.

488
00:26:00,792 --> 00:26:03,528
For two years in a row
Alice's work has received

489
00:26:03,628 --> 00:26:06,665
the coveted People's Choice Award
from convention goers.

490
00:26:06,765 --> 00:26:09,901
This year she's built
an enormous model of Rivendell,

491
00:26:10,001 --> 00:26:12,072
the mythic city from
The Lord of the Rings.

492
00:26:13,638 --> 00:26:15,207
I think people are going to like it.

493
00:26:15,307 --> 00:26:18,151
I don't think that there's
anything quite like it.

494
00:26:19,911 --> 00:26:22,314
One of my favorite things
to do in a convention is

495
00:26:22,414 --> 00:26:24,087
to encourage the girls to build.

496
00:26:26,117 --> 00:26:29,087
LEGO has historically
really been focused on boys.

497
00:26:29,187 --> 00:26:34,359
And they have admitted they have only
been addressing half the population.

498
00:26:34,459 --> 00:26:36,328
They're now taking it seriously.

499
00:26:36,428 --> 00:26:40,365
I think there's a tremendous world
of possibilities

500
00:26:40,465 --> 00:26:43,235
that has been untapped so far.

501
00:26:43,335 --> 00:26:45,704
There are lots of girls
who come up and say,

502
00:26:45,804 --> 00:26:47,784
"Thank you for being a role model."

503
00:26:48,607 --> 00:26:51,009
Raise the drawbridge!

504
00:26:51,109 --> 00:26:53,378
Load the "cattle-pults"!

505
00:26:53,478 --> 00:26:55,680
Release the hounds!

506
00:26:55,780 --> 00:26:57,453
Oh! Hi, guys.

507
00:26:58,483 --> 00:27:01,686
As you can see, people build
all sorts of things out of LEGO bricks.

508
00:27:01,786 --> 00:27:05,190
The combinations people come up with,
it's almost infinite.

509
00:27:05,290 --> 00:27:09,227
Wait a minute,
I wonder if it is infinite. Hey!

510
00:27:09,327 --> 00:27:12,740
There's a guy in Denmark
trying to figure that out.

511
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:19,104
I'm going to talk about
things that we know about

512
00:27:19,204 --> 00:27:22,741
the growth of the number
of LEGO configurations.

513
00:27:22,841 --> 00:27:25,981
My name is Soren Eilers.
I'm a professor of mathematics.

514
00:27:27,245 --> 00:27:28,947
It all started in LEGOLAND, actually.

515
00:27:29,047 --> 00:27:31,550
It was one of those rainy days
in Danish summer,

516
00:27:31,650 --> 00:27:33,220
and I was there with my daughter.

517
00:27:34,386 --> 00:27:36,955
Soren saw a display dedicated
to the original patent

518
00:27:37,055 --> 00:27:39,791
filed by Ole's son, Godtfred.

519
00:27:39,891 --> 00:27:42,260
Godtfred was asked
by the patent officer,

520
00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:44,930
"ow many ways can you put
together six of these bricks?"

521
00:27:45,030 --> 00:27:47,432
And he says, something like,
"We're still working on it,

522
00:27:47,532 --> 00:27:52,404
but when I left home,
we had 102,981,000,"

523
00:27:52,504 --> 00:27:53,905
or something like that.

524
00:27:54,005 --> 00:27:56,174
And so I was wondering
how they computed that number

525
00:27:56,274 --> 00:27:59,578
because it seemed to be
a difficult mathematical problem.

526
00:27:59,678 --> 00:28:02,847
What LEGO had done
was to just count the... the towers

527
00:28:02,947 --> 00:28:05,150
where you put the things
on top of each other.

528
00:28:05,250 --> 00:28:08,753
Whereas if I have a building
that is sort of low and wide,

529
00:28:08,853 --> 00:28:11,197
I have a lot of options
for the final one.

530
00:28:12,891 --> 00:28:15,093
Of course I tried to attack
this with theory,

531
00:28:15,193 --> 00:28:16,928
but I didn't get anywhere.

532
00:28:17,028 --> 00:28:20,265
So, essentially, all that I could think
of doing was ask a computer.

533
00:28:20,365 --> 00:28:23,001
In fact my program was very inefficient.

534
00:28:23,101 --> 00:28:25,003
Took me a week to compute this number.

535
00:28:25,103 --> 00:28:27,939
The correct number
is quite a lot higher.

536
00:28:28,039 --> 00:28:34,388
The correct number is 915,103,765.

537
00:28:36,548 --> 00:28:39,451
But once Soren had the number,
the obvious question was,

538
00:28:39,551 --> 00:28:41,519
what happens if you add a seventh brick?

539
00:28:41,619 --> 00:28:43,223
Or an eighth?

540
00:28:44,956 --> 00:28:47,959
So it's pretty easy to count
all the way to five.

541
00:28:48,059 --> 00:28:52,163
Six, I can now recompute this number
maybe in five minutes or so.

542
00:28:52,263 --> 00:28:56,301
And then each time it takes
about a hundred times more.

543
00:28:56,401 --> 00:28:59,337
So, next time it's a couple of hours.

544
00:28:59,437 --> 00:29:03,141
Counting eight it took me
something like 500 hours.

545
00:29:03,241 --> 00:29:05,744
So if I was to count with nine or ten...

546
00:29:05,844 --> 00:29:09,291
This would probably take years,
maybe hundreds of years.

547
00:29:10,248 --> 00:29:13,991
So what does this unsolvable problem
say about the LEGO system?

548
00:29:14,986 --> 00:29:18,590
SOREN: By mathematical definition,
this is a finite system.

549
00:29:18,690 --> 00:29:20,825
We have a finite number of bricks.

550
00:29:20,925 --> 00:29:24,729
They have a finite number
of studs and holes.

551
00:29:24,829 --> 00:29:27,265
But for all practical human purposes,

552
00:29:27,365 --> 00:29:30,235
these bricks are infinitely flexible,

553
00:29:30,335 --> 00:29:32,103
and not only that, they define

554
00:29:32,203 --> 00:29:35,040
a mathematical problem
of infinite complexity.

555
00:29:35,140 --> 00:29:36,675
So I would say that,

556
00:29:36,775 --> 00:29:39,878
"Yes, it is finite,
but in a way it's also infinite."

557
00:29:39,978 --> 00:29:44,783
JAMIE: I think this is the beginning
of what we call systematic creativity.

558
00:29:44,883 --> 00:29:49,788
This basic system of tubes and studs
that locks together,

559
00:29:49,888 --> 00:29:53,425
and it will take a child's idea
or an adult's idea,

560
00:29:53,525 --> 00:29:54,926
and it'll hold it together.

561
00:29:55,026 --> 00:29:58,630
It'll give it form and give them
a new medium of communication.

562
00:29:58,730 --> 00:30:01,933
The interesting thing with
the LEGO brick, as we see here,

563
00:30:02,033 --> 00:30:04,369
is that the instructions
for how it fits with the rest

564
00:30:04,469 --> 00:30:05,870
is actually embedded.

565
00:30:05,970 --> 00:30:09,374
We don't need an instruction.
We don't need a dictionary or grammar.

566
00:30:09,474 --> 00:30:11,078
It's embedded in the system.

567
00:30:12,410 --> 00:30:14,212
It became this platform

568
00:30:14,312 --> 00:30:16,948
where people all over the world
had a shared language,

569
00:30:17,048 --> 00:30:20,985
it's like the letters or notes in music.

570
00:30:21,085 --> 00:30:22,721
It's a creative tool,

571
00:30:22,821 --> 00:30:25,123
it's a creative medium,

572
00:30:25,223 --> 00:30:27,926
but it's also a language.

573
00:30:28,026 --> 00:30:30,228
It's a language that's more global

574
00:30:30,328 --> 00:30:32,865
than English and Windows.

575
00:30:36,367 --> 00:30:37,936
So with such a limitless product,

576
00:30:38,036 --> 00:30:42,307
how did the LEGO company experience
anything but constant success?

577
00:30:42,407 --> 00:30:46,811
Believe it or not, not that long ago,
the company was in pretty dire straits.

578
00:30:46,911 --> 00:30:48,947
On the CBS Worldwide Market Watch,

579
00:30:49,047 --> 00:30:51,015
the Danish toymaker LEGO

580
00:30:51,115 --> 00:30:54,085
today reported
its first ever annual loss.

581
00:30:54,185 --> 00:30:58,190
If the kids love it, why then is
the Danish company in so much trouble?

582
00:30:59,457 --> 00:31:02,360
What happened to LEGO is LEGO
had an unprecedented growth rate

583
00:31:02,460 --> 00:31:05,130
when it really got
the bricks right in '78,

584
00:31:05,230 --> 00:31:07,098
until the mid-1990s.

585
00:31:07,198 --> 00:31:11,436
It was growing fast, everything was good,
and it suddenly collapsed.

586
00:31:11,536 --> 00:31:15,373
Sales of two of their
three big products fall off a cliff.

587
00:31:15,473 --> 00:31:18,510
And they almost went out of
business in 2003.

588
00:31:18,610 --> 00:31:22,814
Ten years ago, our company
was in serious trouble,

589
00:31:22,914 --> 00:31:25,817
and the wonderful thing about it,
we couldn't blame anybody else.

590
00:31:25,917 --> 00:31:28,620
They had lost sight
of their most important asset:

591
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:31,132
the genius of the LEGO system.

592
00:31:32,257 --> 00:31:35,326
Smart people from around the world
had told LEGO in the '90s

593
00:31:35,426 --> 00:31:38,663
that this brick is gonna
become irrelevant.

594
00:31:38,763 --> 00:31:40,231
You need to find new things.

595
00:31:40,331 --> 00:31:43,468
It was seen as...
Actually, this was seen as uncool.

596
00:31:43,568 --> 00:31:47,071
They were making more and more
custom pieces for specific sets.

597
00:31:47,171 --> 00:31:50,742
At one point, they had
over 14,000 unique elements.

598
00:31:50,842 --> 00:31:54,913
Some of the sets had only a few elements
and required almost no construction.

599
00:31:55,013 --> 00:31:58,016
When we made products
which were quicker to build,

600
00:31:58,116 --> 00:32:01,219
those who didn't like to build
still said, "I don't like to build it.

601
00:32:01,319 --> 00:32:04,155
I'd rather buy a die-cast car
or doll or something else."

602
00:32:04,255 --> 00:32:06,758
And those who actually did
like LEGO for what it is,

603
00:32:06,858 --> 00:32:08,927
they said, "What is this now?"

604
00:32:09,027 --> 00:32:10,995
And because we didn't understand that

605
00:32:11,095 --> 00:32:13,665
and also because
we were actually, frankly,

606
00:32:13,765 --> 00:32:16,534
quite arrogant as a company
towards our customers,

607
00:32:16,634 --> 00:32:18,570
we were making the wrong products,

608
00:32:18,670 --> 00:32:20,839
and we were not even
able to deliver the products

609
00:32:20,939 --> 00:32:22,740
that people wanted to the stores.

610
00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:24,509
Their fans knew what was wrong,

611
00:32:24,609 --> 00:32:27,111
but LEGO company executives
weren't paying attention

612
00:32:27,211 --> 00:32:29,614
to the community that had grown
around their product.

613
00:32:29,714 --> 00:32:32,183
The seed of change had been
planted a few years earlier

614
00:32:32,283 --> 00:32:36,120
with the release
of a product called Mindstorms.

615
00:32:36,220 --> 00:32:39,591
This little yellow brick,
developed by LEGO and MIT,

616
00:32:39,691 --> 00:32:43,094
turns LEGO creations
into interactive robots.

617
00:32:43,194 --> 00:32:46,464
For us this was a great opportunity,

618
00:32:46,564 --> 00:32:48,967
'cause we saw a great potential
of combining LEGO and computers.

619
00:32:49,067 --> 00:32:53,204
LEGO had in mind that
they would develop it,

620
00:32:53,304 --> 00:32:57,075
and then kids would play with it
in the prescribed way,

621
00:32:57,175 --> 00:33:00,044
and they had as an audience children,

622
00:33:00,144 --> 00:33:02,313
their standard, traditional audience.

623
00:33:02,413 --> 00:33:06,384
MITCHEL: But it really sort of captured
the imagination of people of all ages,

624
00:33:06,484 --> 00:33:09,921
not just the young people that
Mindstorms was initially intended for.

625
00:33:10,021 --> 00:33:12,724
In fact, in the first year
that Mindstorms came out,

626
00:33:12,824 --> 00:33:15,260
half of the sales
were to adults for adult use.

627
00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:19,464
Then there was someone who liked LEGO
who was at Stanford and was like,

628
00:33:19,564 --> 00:33:23,902
"Hmm, this brick, I could hack
that open and reverse engineer it."

629
00:33:24,002 --> 00:33:27,805
And they were opening up the Mindstorms.
They were writing new software for it.

630
00:33:27,905 --> 00:33:31,943
ERIC VON: Within three months,
a thousand hackers were working on it.

631
00:33:32,043 --> 00:33:34,779
And this was rather a shock for them.

632
00:33:34,879 --> 00:33:38,416
LEGO's response was
pretty much like, "What is this?"

633
00:33:38,516 --> 00:33:40,518
They're taking apart what we created.

634
00:33:40,618 --> 00:33:43,187
I mean, we put this together,
so it shouldn't be taken apart.

635
00:33:43,287 --> 00:33:44,689
That's our secrets.

636
00:33:44,789 --> 00:33:47,592
There was a lot of questions
in our leadership.

637
00:33:47,692 --> 00:33:53,865
We could either take the aggressive
and protective and controlling route,

638
00:33:53,965 --> 00:33:56,434
and the other route
would be to say well,

639
00:33:56,534 --> 00:34:00,271
this is, uh, interesting.

640
00:34:00,371 --> 00:34:02,807
In most companies,
and also in a very traditional way

641
00:34:02,907 --> 00:34:05,009
of innovating
was to have it super-secret.

642
00:34:05,109 --> 00:34:09,147
It's like closed walls, sign on the "X,"
and we couldn't say anything.

643
00:34:09,247 --> 00:34:11,382
We had a lot of internal discussions
with our lawyers,

644
00:34:11,482 --> 00:34:13,117
top management was involved.

645
00:34:13,217 --> 00:34:15,720
Kjeld had to stand up and say,
"But I want this.

646
00:34:15,820 --> 00:34:19,324
We're a company who makes things
that people can create with."

647
00:34:21,659 --> 00:34:25,129
ERIC VON: When a company
starts to deal with users,

648
00:34:25,229 --> 00:34:27,966
and discovers that it
can get ideas from users,

649
00:34:28,066 --> 00:34:30,468
that's Mindstorms.

650
00:34:30,568 --> 00:34:32,136
That's the new way of saying,

651
00:34:32,236 --> 00:34:34,339
you will deal with
your Adult Fans Of LEGO,

652
00:34:34,439 --> 00:34:36,641
and you will get from them useful ideas.

653
00:34:36,741 --> 00:34:39,310
We need to be aware

654
00:34:39,410 --> 00:34:43,348
that 99.99%

655
00:34:43,448 --> 00:34:46,622
of the smartest people in the world
don't work for us.

656
00:34:51,289 --> 00:34:53,825
In the wake of the Mindstorms
product release,

657
00:34:53,925 --> 00:34:56,194
the LEGO company was more open to ideas

658
00:34:56,294 --> 00:34:59,298
that came from outside
the walls of its design room.

659
00:35:01,365 --> 00:35:06,610
Chicago Architect Adam Reed Tucker
builds skyscrapers out of LEGO bricks.

660
00:35:08,372 --> 00:35:11,676
In 2005, when his firm
went belly-up from the economy

661
00:35:11,776 --> 00:35:14,278
Adam decided to return
to the more artistic side

662
00:35:14,378 --> 00:35:17,291
of architecture by creating
architectural models.

663
00:35:19,784 --> 00:35:23,855
One day I ventured out
to a local toy store

664
00:35:23,955 --> 00:35:27,458
and filled about a dozen
shopping carts of LEGO sets

665
00:35:27,558 --> 00:35:29,193
to get reacquainted with the brick.

666
00:35:29,293 --> 00:35:32,797
And when I got home,
I dumped out all these sets,

667
00:35:32,897 --> 00:35:35,299
and my fiancée came home,

668
00:35:35,399 --> 00:35:37,301
and she saw me sitting there

669
00:35:37,401 --> 00:35:38,736
and she made a U-turn.

670
00:35:38,836 --> 00:35:40,772
Then an hour later, called me and said,

671
00:35:40,872 --> 00:35:42,607
"Is there something I need to know?"

672
00:35:42,707 --> 00:35:47,045
Adam's work soon caught the attention
of the LEGO company's Paal Smith-Meyer.

673
00:35:47,145 --> 00:35:49,580
And I had this idea that let's start
new business with people

674
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,251
who have a passionate
feeling about what we do.

675
00:35:53,351 --> 00:35:55,620
And then I meet Adam
and he's standing there

676
00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:59,123
with these super tall structures
built out of LEGO.

677
00:35:59,223 --> 00:36:01,559
And I'm like, "Wow! These are amazing."

678
00:36:01,659 --> 00:36:04,929
We can do a whole line
but me coming from the inside,

679
00:36:05,029 --> 00:36:06,964
I need evidence, you know, I need proof.

680
00:36:07,064 --> 00:36:09,267
So we can prove
to the world that this works.

681
00:36:09,367 --> 00:36:12,303
Two months later, I come
to BrickWorld and Adam says,

682
00:36:12,403 --> 00:36:14,505
"I have a surprise for you."

683
00:36:14,605 --> 00:36:17,675
And then he's created
200 boxes of the first set.

684
00:36:17,775 --> 00:36:20,845
On his own,
Adam had designed the box graphics

685
00:36:20,945 --> 00:36:23,391
and had packaged every single set.

686
00:36:25,249 --> 00:36:28,152
If Adam and Paal could make
the architecture series happen,

687
00:36:28,252 --> 00:36:29,754
it would take some convincing.

688
00:36:29,854 --> 00:36:32,290
After all, what Adam
was proposing to a toy company

689
00:36:32,390 --> 00:36:33,858
wasn't exactly a toy

690
00:36:33,958 --> 00:36:38,373
and up until now LEGO designs
were only made by LEGO designers.

691
00:36:39,630 --> 00:36:43,100
If he hadn't taken and been so pushy,

692
00:36:43,201 --> 00:36:47,038
LEGO architecture as it is today
probably wouldn't happen.

693
00:36:47,138 --> 00:36:48,973
The series was a success,

694
00:36:49,073 --> 00:36:52,143
and the line has been
expanding ever since.

695
00:36:52,243 --> 00:36:57,148
So, it proved that we can work
with individuals on the outside.

696
00:36:57,248 --> 00:36:58,549
It's not going to break LEGO.

697
00:36:58,649 --> 00:37:00,618
It's actually creating energy.

698
00:37:00,718 --> 00:37:05,064
It's creating kind of this hope,
uh, that we can make more things.

699
00:37:10,628 --> 00:37:14,532
Adam is now working on a new venture
to push the LEGO boundaries.

700
00:37:14,632 --> 00:37:17,135
Following up on what I did
with the LEGO architecture,

701
00:37:17,235 --> 00:37:21,205
I wanted to create
a roller coaster for LEGO.

702
00:37:21,305 --> 00:37:23,581
I'm always about pushing the lines.

703
00:37:28,913 --> 00:37:30,314
To make the roller coaster work,

704
00:37:30,414 --> 00:37:33,651
Adam designed
two new elements in his workshop:

705
00:37:33,751 --> 00:37:35,653
a ball joint attached to a rail tie,

706
00:37:35,753 --> 00:37:38,189
and a hitch to mount the ball in.

707
00:37:38,289 --> 00:37:40,825
The fact that they do
create new elements,

708
00:37:40,925 --> 00:37:44,930
um, gives me hope that, you know,
these elements can also be created.

709
00:37:50,134 --> 00:37:52,870
Ten days later, Adam unveils
his coaster prototype

710
00:37:52,970 --> 00:37:54,438
for Paal at BrickWorld.

711
00:37:54,538 --> 00:37:59,277
It's so smooth. It's amazing. Whee!

712
00:37:59,377 --> 00:38:03,414
So, that's more of like
um, a sci-fi kind of use.

713
00:38:03,514 --> 00:38:05,383
This one is a runaway coal mine.

714
00:38:05,483 --> 00:38:07,051
- Yeah.
- Or silver mine. Yeah.

715
00:38:07,151 --> 00:38:09,587
This would not have
been possible before.

716
00:38:09,687 --> 00:38:12,356
It might look like
a roller coaster part,

717
00:38:12,456 --> 00:38:14,926
but hey, you can use it
for anything you want.

718
00:38:15,026 --> 00:38:16,227
I think it's amazing.

719
00:38:16,327 --> 00:38:17,862
I mean, I definitely
think that, you know,

720
00:38:17,962 --> 00:38:21,098
kids, adults all over the world
will want to play with this.

721
00:38:21,198 --> 00:38:22,802
- Everyone.
- Thanks, buddy.

722
00:38:27,138 --> 00:38:29,607
In Tokyo, Japan, Kohei Nishlyama

723
00:38:29,707 --> 00:38:33,277
has helped open the doors
to creativity from the LEGO community.

724
00:38:33,377 --> 00:38:36,414
He's an expert in crowd creation
and calls his project Cuusoo,

725
00:38:36,514 --> 00:38:38,721
which means "dream" or "wish."

726
00:38:40,251 --> 00:38:42,553
Kohei worked with Paal
to create a platform

727
00:38:42,653 --> 00:38:45,556
that brings LEGO users'
dreams to reality.

728
00:38:45,656 --> 00:38:48,793
PAAL: The idea for LEGO Cuusoo
is that anyone in the world

729
00:38:48,893 --> 00:38:53,598
who has a LEGO idea can "wish"
that LEGO will one day make this.

730
00:38:53,698 --> 00:38:56,000
The only thing you have
to do is actually share it

731
00:38:56,100 --> 00:38:58,269
with the world on the Cuusoo platform,

732
00:38:58,369 --> 00:39:02,573
and through that, create a community
of interest around your wish.

733
00:39:02,673 --> 00:39:06,110
Designs that gain support
from 10,000 or more LEGO users

734
00:39:06,210 --> 00:39:08,679
go up for review with LEGO management.

735
00:39:08,779 --> 00:39:13,017
It's quite an honor for a design
to get released as an official LEGO set.

736
00:39:13,117 --> 00:39:16,787
The first idea that got
10,000 votes was LEGO Minecraft.

737
00:39:16,887 --> 00:39:18,356
Took 48 hours.

738
00:39:18,456 --> 00:39:21,125
It broke our servers several times.

739
00:39:21,225 --> 00:39:22,793
I think it's safe to say that LEGO fans

740
00:39:22,893 --> 00:39:25,529
were waiting for an idea
like Kohei's to come along.

741
00:39:25,629 --> 00:39:27,932
Now the finalists are being reviewed

742
00:39:28,032 --> 00:39:30,137
for Cuusoo set number five.

743
00:39:35,873 --> 00:39:39,443
If this is what it is to be a geek,
I am definitely okay with that

744
00:39:39,543 --> 00:39:42,581
'cause, uh, it's the most fun
I've ever had.

745
00:39:44,215 --> 00:39:47,451
"Cuusoo" loosely translated
means a wish.

746
00:39:47,551 --> 00:39:52,323
And uh, my wish is to see
more space exploration.

747
00:39:52,423 --> 00:39:55,461
I want people to be more
interested in space exploration.

748
00:39:56,827 --> 00:39:59,630
I knew even from elementary school

749
00:39:59,730 --> 00:40:02,800
that I wanted to be
a mechanical engineer when I grew up.

750
00:40:02,900 --> 00:40:04,468
The trouble is, there were no

751
00:40:04,568 --> 00:40:07,838
mechanical engineering classes
in middle school.

752
00:40:07,938 --> 00:40:10,708
So uh, I would design
entire manned missions

753
00:40:10,808 --> 00:40:13,414
to Jupiter using LEGO designs.

754
00:40:14,478 --> 00:40:17,348
After college, Stephen landed
his first engineering job,

755
00:40:17,448 --> 00:40:19,850
working on a space vehicle for NASA,

756
00:40:19,950 --> 00:40:21,588
the Mars Curiosity Rover.

757
00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:24,889
STEPHEN: I spent a lot of time
in clean rooms

758
00:40:24,989 --> 00:40:28,392
working around parts
of the actual rover itself.

759
00:40:28,492 --> 00:40:31,329
It was all I could ever want to do.

760
00:40:31,429 --> 00:40:34,765
It's a huge,
seven-foot-tall, 2,000-pound,

761
00:40:34,865 --> 00:40:36,867
nuclear-powered, rock-drilling,

762
00:40:36,967 --> 00:40:39,709
laser-blasting,
science-performing robot.

763
00:40:43,441 --> 00:40:46,344
Originally I just wanted
to build a rover so I could,

764
00:40:46,444 --> 00:40:48,879
you know, show my friends
and family what I was working on

765
00:40:48,979 --> 00:40:52,717
and how cool it was before
anyone else even knew about it.

766
00:40:52,817 --> 00:40:57,588
This is the off-set differential,
rocker bogey suspension system.

767
00:40:57,688 --> 00:41:01,359
And on top here is the uh,
off-set differential arm

768
00:41:01,459 --> 00:41:03,194
that swings across the top of the rover,

769
00:41:03,294 --> 00:41:07,131
and it connects the left and right sides
of the suspension system

770
00:41:07,231 --> 00:41:10,234
that allows the rover to keep
all six wheels on the ground

771
00:41:10,334 --> 00:41:12,803
as it travels over uneven terrain.

772
00:41:12,903 --> 00:41:15,573
It doesn't have to be, you know,
battling Martians or anything.

773
00:41:15,673 --> 00:41:17,675
It's doing it all for science.

774
00:41:19,143 --> 00:41:21,779
I'm not a very outgoing person,

775
00:41:21,879 --> 00:41:23,881
and I didn't always, uh,

776
00:41:23,981 --> 00:41:26,150
interact with a lot
of LEGO users before.

777
00:41:26,250 --> 00:41:28,219
I just had my own personal collection.

778
00:41:28,319 --> 00:41:31,389
And I like how you can disconnect
the umbilical and take the capsule off...

779
00:41:31,489 --> 00:41:34,291
I went to my very first uh,
LEGO Users Group meeting,

780
00:41:34,391 --> 00:41:35,793
called uh, a LUG.

781
00:41:35,893 --> 00:41:38,996
And uh, the Curiosity Rover
was received very well.

782
00:41:39,096 --> 00:41:40,264
Everyone thought it was awesome.

783
00:41:40,364 --> 00:41:44,068
In fact they said, "Hey, you should
submit this model to Cuusoo."

784
00:41:44,168 --> 00:41:45,569
And of course, the kid in me thought,

785
00:41:45,669 --> 00:41:48,839
"Oh, wow, I could be a LEGO designer.
"That's awesome."

786
00:41:48,939 --> 00:41:50,508
Looking at it and I voted for it,

787
00:41:50,608 --> 00:41:52,309
and there was only,
like, a few hundred votes.

788
00:41:52,409 --> 00:41:53,911
Then within a week I looked at it again.

789
00:41:54,011 --> 00:41:55,613
It started going up
all of a sudden, I went,

790
00:41:55,713 --> 00:41:58,949
"Wait a minute, that's Stephen's.
This is cool!"

791
00:41:59,049 --> 00:42:01,585
I know a little bit
about the other contestants,

792
00:42:01,685 --> 00:42:03,587
and one of them would definitely be

793
00:42:03,687 --> 00:42:06,624
the largest LEGO set
that LEGO has ever produced

794
00:42:06,724 --> 00:42:09,102
if they actually did turn it into a set.

795
00:42:18,636 --> 00:42:20,771
Took me about nine months
to complete it.

796
00:42:20,871 --> 00:42:23,674
It's not just building, of course.
It's research.

797
00:42:23,774 --> 00:42:27,845
I had to find all the pictures
for the model and all the parts.

798
00:42:27,945 --> 00:42:31,715
I wasn't sure until the end
if it's going to work

799
00:42:31,815 --> 00:42:35,285
and drive because of the weight,
but I was lucky with that.

800
00:42:35,386 --> 00:42:36,228
(CHUCKLES)

801
00:42:37,621 --> 00:42:39,390
It's not just about prestige.

802
00:42:39,490 --> 00:42:43,327
If the finalists' designs are chosen,
they'll get 1% of the net sales.

803
00:42:43,427 --> 00:42:47,064
If I win, then I will build it
twice this size

804
00:42:47,164 --> 00:42:49,735
and ride on it through the desert.

805
00:42:50,234 --> 00:42:53,306
(LAUGHS)

806
00:43:02,746 --> 00:43:04,982
It will just keep going round and round.

807
00:43:05,082 --> 00:43:07,485
The third finalist in
this year's Cuusoo project

808
00:43:07,585 --> 00:43:10,088
is a user group led
by New Zealander Nick Vás.

809
00:43:12,323 --> 00:43:14,225
Nick and his team have
created LEGO models

810
00:43:14,325 --> 00:43:15,993
of the video game Portal 2,

811
00:43:16,093 --> 00:43:18,505
which is very popular
with the LEGO crowd.

812
00:43:18,629 --> 00:43:22,166
We had decided on Portal
as the topic for our Cuusoo project,

813
00:43:22,266 --> 00:43:24,735
simply because we had
a common love for LEGO

814
00:43:24,835 --> 00:43:26,270
and Portal as a video game.

815
00:43:26,370 --> 00:43:28,772
The Portal Project was one
of the fastest ever to reach

816
00:43:28,872 --> 00:43:30,774
the necessary 10,000 votes
to be considered

817
00:43:30,874 --> 00:43:33,511
a finalist on the Cuusoo website.

818
00:43:33,611 --> 00:43:36,380
We think that our project
is the most likely.

819
00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:38,949
We're holding high hopes
that it will be us.

820
00:43:39,049 --> 00:43:41,886
I voted for them, 'cause I played
the game, and I really enjoyed it.

821
00:43:41,986 --> 00:43:45,723
And I was... I'm hoping
that one could be chosen, too.

822
00:43:45,823 --> 00:43:48,893
I would definitely buy
multiple copies of that set.

823
00:43:48,993 --> 00:43:51,896
So if the product goes to design, what
are you going to do with all the money?

824
00:43:51,996 --> 00:43:53,797
If I could do whatever I wanted with it,

825
00:43:53,897 --> 00:43:57,735
I think it would probably all go
right back to LEGO.

826
00:43:57,835 --> 00:43:59,403
So basically you're doing it
for the brick.

827
00:43:59,503 --> 00:44:00,914
Yeah, pretty much.

828
00:44:03,741 --> 00:44:05,743
I think the interesting thing,

829
00:44:05,843 --> 00:44:07,811
and then maybe
the scary thing with Cuusoo,

830
00:44:07,911 --> 00:44:10,648
is that it has actually
opened the company,

831
00:44:10,748 --> 00:44:13,384
it has actually almost
turned it inside out.

832
00:44:13,484 --> 00:44:15,986
What happened before
with, you know, this,

833
00:44:16,086 --> 00:44:19,390
everything happened in secret,
behind closed walls,

834
00:44:19,490 --> 00:44:21,392
is now reversed.

835
00:44:21,492 --> 00:44:25,563
It's created an excitement
in the world that we can,

836
00:44:25,663 --> 00:44:29,567
together, shape the future
of LEGO products.

837
00:44:29,667 --> 00:44:33,237
After months of review
LEGO representatives are ready to reveal

838
00:44:33,337 --> 00:44:38,514
which of the three finalists will be
chosen as Cuusoo set number 005.

839
00:44:44,448 --> 00:44:46,018
Are you guys excited?

840
00:44:50,020 --> 00:44:52,261
This is the next Cuusoo model
that you're gonna see.

841
00:44:53,257 --> 00:44:54,592
The winner...

842
00:44:54,692 --> 00:44:56,228
the Mars Curiosity Rover.

843
00:45:02,232 --> 00:45:04,134
No matter how much
I fantasized about it,

844
00:45:04,234 --> 00:45:08,038
it couldn't prepare me
for the reality of the actual news.

845
00:45:08,138 --> 00:45:11,208
I have all sorts of emotions
and feelings running through me.

846
00:45:11,308 --> 00:45:14,278
It's hard to try
and describe how they all feel

847
00:45:14,378 --> 00:45:17,154
when they're mushed together like that.

848
00:45:18,949 --> 00:45:20,618
Innovation from the LEGO community

849
00:45:20,718 --> 00:45:24,822
doesn't necessarily need to have
the LEGO company's involvement.

850
00:45:24,922 --> 00:45:26,890
While the LEGO company
is more and more open

851
00:45:26,990 --> 00:45:28,492
to innovators from the outside,

852
00:45:28,592 --> 00:45:30,902
there are others who are
customizing on their own.

853
00:45:31,762 --> 00:45:34,999
In Seattle, Washington, Will Chapman
has built a successful business

854
00:45:35,099 --> 00:45:37,801
around a hole in the LEGO product line.

855
00:45:37,901 --> 00:45:39,903
This is an M2 machine gun.

856
00:45:40,003 --> 00:45:43,140
This is the MP40 German
machine gun from World War ll.

857
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:44,241
My HCSR.

858
00:45:44,341 --> 00:45:47,678
His business manufactures
minifigure-scaled guns.

859
00:45:47,778 --> 00:45:49,348
Now why would he do that?

860
00:45:50,114 --> 00:45:52,149
LEGO will not produce what I produce.

861
00:45:52,249 --> 00:45:54,218
LEGO won't do any weapons
that are modern.

862
00:45:54,318 --> 00:45:57,321
They'll do Wild West,
which is maybe up to the mid-1800s.

863
00:45:57,421 --> 00:45:59,958
And then we got postmodern,
which is Star Wars.

864
00:46:01,158 --> 00:46:05,095
Weapons don't fit
into the LEGO "play well" philosophy.

865
00:46:05,195 --> 00:46:08,198
I think being a Danish company,
the idea of handgun ownership,

866
00:46:08,298 --> 00:46:10,868
weapon ownership
is not a big part of their culture.

867
00:46:10,968 --> 00:46:12,870
So I said, "Let's try it ourselves."

868
00:46:12,970 --> 00:46:16,774
When I design a weapon, I look online
for some inspirational photos.

869
00:46:16,874 --> 00:46:20,010
The trouble with the minifigure
is they have giant... giant hands,

870
00:46:20,110 --> 00:46:22,579
and they're a squashed-down
representation of a human.

871
00:46:22,679 --> 00:46:25,216
They're really tough
to try to design for.

872
00:46:26,383 --> 00:46:27,518
It's art.

873
00:46:27,618 --> 00:46:29,291
It's truly, I believe it's art.

874
00:46:35,292 --> 00:46:37,861
The folks that are
buying to equip an army

875
00:46:37,961 --> 00:46:40,064
are always adults,
and they'll buy a hundred of one gun,

876
00:46:40,164 --> 00:46:41,765
they'll buy 200 of a helmet.

877
00:46:41,865 --> 00:46:44,702
It's gone from just a couple of figures
armed with a weapon,

878
00:46:44,802 --> 00:46:48,739
to scenes, entire battles,
D-Day landing, Normandy Invasion.

879
00:46:48,839 --> 00:46:50,040
There's invasions of Fallujah,

880
00:46:50,140 --> 00:46:53,310
there's modern military Marines,
there's modern army.

881
00:46:53,410 --> 00:46:55,481
You need an M16. It's an iconic weapon.

882
00:46:59,483 --> 00:47:01,785
This started as a hobby,
and I never thought

883
00:47:01,885 --> 00:47:06,290
that this would turn into something
that could be a worldwide phenomenon.

884
00:47:06,390 --> 00:47:09,059
The LEGO world
is so adaptable, it's so modular,

885
00:47:09,159 --> 00:47:11,995
that LEGO doesn't get to decide.

886
00:47:12,095 --> 00:47:14,405
We get to decide how we want
to build with those elements.

887
00:47:14,598 --> 00:47:16,133
(GUNSHOTS)

888
00:47:16,233 --> 00:47:17,735
(EXPLOSIONS)

889
00:47:17,835 --> 00:47:19,937
Cut!

890
00:47:20,037 --> 00:47:23,849
Come on, guys, put some life into it.
You're so stiff.

891
00:47:26,076 --> 00:47:27,978
Okay, let's just take five then.

892
00:47:28,078 --> 00:47:29,446
Amateurs.

893
00:47:29,546 --> 00:47:31,682
All right, where was I... Oh, right.

894
00:47:31,782 --> 00:47:32,852
Narrator guy!

895
00:47:34,518 --> 00:47:37,821
Okay, the LEGO system has proven
it's a great thing for play,

896
00:47:37,921 --> 00:47:40,591
but can it be used for
more serious endeavors?

897
00:47:40,691 --> 00:47:43,594
There's people around the world
using LEGO as a tool

898
00:47:43,694 --> 00:47:45,829
as much as a toy. Cut to:

899
00:47:45,929 --> 00:47:48,739
Exterior Establishing shot.
Boise, Idaho.

900
00:47:51,802 --> 00:47:56,306
We're in my mom's garage,
and we're making my film Melting Point.

901
00:47:56,406 --> 00:47:59,819
It's a stop-motion animated
film made with LEGO bricks.

902
00:48:03,747 --> 00:48:06,183
Jonathan Vaughan and Matt Cohen
met at film school in Los Angeles,

903
00:48:06,283 --> 00:48:08,285
but they both dropped out
because they were frustrated

904
00:48:08,385 --> 00:48:10,592
by the scale of projects they could do.

905
00:48:11,922 --> 00:48:14,191
I used to think that LEGOs were
just for kids

906
00:48:14,291 --> 00:48:15,859
until I met Jonathan

907
00:48:15,959 --> 00:48:19,563
and got a telescope
into the LEGO brick filming community.

908
00:48:19,663 --> 00:48:21,698
With brick films, you're uninhibited.

909
00:48:21,798 --> 00:48:24,968
If he needs a 12-mile highway
to shoot a car chase,

910
00:48:25,068 --> 00:48:26,804
he builds the 12-mile highway.

911
00:48:26,904 --> 00:48:29,540
Whatever he thinks of,
he builds it and he does it.

912
00:48:29,640 --> 00:48:32,075
To get somebody to walk,
like, five feet,

913
00:48:32,175 --> 00:48:35,979
you have to take 15 frames
every second of that walk.

914
00:48:36,079 --> 00:48:38,882
So you have to move them in just
little millimeter increments.

915
00:48:38,982 --> 00:48:40,350
JONATHAN: It's incredibly tedious.

916
00:48:40,450 --> 00:48:43,187
There's nothing else I've ever done
that takes this long.

917
00:48:43,287 --> 00:48:45,255
MATT: But when you're working
with minifigs,

918
00:48:45,355 --> 00:48:47,991
you don't have to deal with
agents or egos, or anything

919
00:48:48,091 --> 00:48:50,994
that befalls working
with regular actors.

920
00:48:51,094 --> 00:48:52,696
They're great.

921
00:48:52,796 --> 00:48:56,233
If I want to do a 16-hour day,
they don't complain.

922
00:48:56,333 --> 00:48:57,641
No overtime.

923
00:48:58,702 --> 00:49:01,772
Jonathan's creating
one of his sets for his movie.

924
00:49:01,872 --> 00:49:04,074
They're doing the work in the garage.

925
00:49:04,174 --> 00:49:07,711
He tells me he's making a movie.
I have to take that on faith.

926
00:49:07,811 --> 00:49:10,013
He's playing with LEGOs,

927
00:49:10,113 --> 00:49:12,783
something that he's done
since he was a toddler.

928
00:49:12,883 --> 00:49:17,354
My family has been
pretty supportive about this.

929
00:49:17,454 --> 00:49:18,689
He's very creative,

930
00:49:18,789 --> 00:49:22,134
but I would really like to be able
to park my car in the garage, yes.

931
00:49:26,463 --> 00:49:29,566
Well, there's been
a long tradition of brick films.

932
00:49:29,666 --> 00:49:32,579
One of my favorite
brick film makers is David Pagano.

933
00:49:33,637 --> 00:49:35,405
New York filmmaker David Pagano

934
00:49:35,505 --> 00:49:37,875
has been making brick films
since he was nine.

935
00:49:37,975 --> 00:49:40,577
David is considered
one of the top LEGO animators,

936
00:49:40,677 --> 00:49:44,081
and is known for creating complex
characters out of bricks.

937
00:49:44,181 --> 00:49:47,985
Most films you're going to see
will have minifigures as the main actor.

938
00:49:48,085 --> 00:49:50,087
They're just articulated enough to be

939
00:49:50,187 --> 00:49:52,155
moveable into a variety of fun poses,

940
00:49:52,255 --> 00:49:55,058
but not so over-articulated
that you need help

941
00:49:55,158 --> 00:49:57,261
getting them to stand up properly,

942
00:49:57,361 --> 00:49:59,062
or look like a normal human being,

943
00:49:59,162 --> 00:50:01,098
or as normal as someone
with no nose looks.

944
00:50:01,198 --> 00:50:02,566
Hey!

945
00:50:02,666 --> 00:50:04,601
I have done a lot of stuff
with minifigures,

946
00:50:04,701 --> 00:50:06,069
both for LEGO and just for myself,

947
00:50:06,169 --> 00:50:10,407
but I also am just endlessly fascinated
with what you can build from bricks.

948
00:50:10,507 --> 00:50:14,678
I just find it an interesting challenge
as opposed to having a readymade actor.

949
00:50:14,778 --> 00:50:18,181
I'd rather figure out ways
to make neat-looking characters,

950
00:50:18,281 --> 00:50:20,183
and then make sure they're animate-able,

951
00:50:20,283 --> 00:50:21,626
then bring them to life.

952
00:50:24,287 --> 00:50:26,757
I am somewhat of a LEGO archivist.

953
00:50:26,857 --> 00:50:28,759
On my better days I consider myself

954
00:50:28,859 --> 00:50:31,628
a LEGO animation historian,
if such a job exists.

955
00:50:31,728 --> 00:50:33,697
I don't think it does,
but I'll pretend to myself,

956
00:50:33,797 --> 00:50:35,766
until someone tells me to stop.

957
00:50:35,866 --> 00:50:38,602
So, the very first LEGO films
were promotional videos

958
00:50:38,702 --> 00:50:41,038
or commercials that were made
in the '60s and '70s.

959
00:50:41,138 --> 00:50:44,141
I think it should have a big middle part

960
00:50:44,241 --> 00:50:46,376
and two little sides that stick out.

961
00:50:46,476 --> 00:50:48,312
But the first fan film didn't come

962
00:50:48,412 --> 00:50:50,280
until the mid-to-late 1980s,

963
00:50:50,380 --> 00:50:52,223
and that was a film
called The Magic Portal.

964
00:50:56,253 --> 00:50:58,322
They used sloped pieces
in a really interesting way

965
00:50:58,422 --> 00:51:00,457
where you could get these
weird little blobby creatures

966
00:51:00,557 --> 00:51:02,025
that crawl along the set.

967
00:51:02,125 --> 00:51:03,794
There's some nice animation

968
00:51:03,894 --> 00:51:05,601
with some of
the old LEGO backhoe pieces.

969
00:51:07,230 --> 00:51:10,000
In the early 2000s, LEGO films
really started to take off.

970
00:51:10,100 --> 00:51:12,169
Everyone had the Internet,
and it was starting to become

971
00:51:12,269 --> 00:51:15,238
this thing that was
not going away, it wasn't a fad.

972
00:51:15,338 --> 00:51:18,342
And it was in everybody's home
as a way to connect with other people.

973
00:51:18,442 --> 00:51:20,310
That's sort of when I would say

974
00:51:20,410 --> 00:51:23,414
"the modern era"
of LEGO animation started.

975
00:51:30,787 --> 00:51:33,890
The LEGO animation content that you
can find online just runs the gamut.

976
00:51:33,990 --> 00:51:36,660
There's cool stuff, there's weird stuff.

977
00:51:36,760 --> 00:51:39,563
There's some stuff
that's really well put together

978
00:51:39,663 --> 00:51:41,498
and just shot gorgeously

979
00:51:41,598 --> 00:51:44,034
and has really interesting parts usage.

980
00:51:44,134 --> 00:51:45,545
There's immensely inappropriate stuff.

981
00:51:46,770 --> 00:51:48,181
You can get all kinds.

982
00:51:50,273 --> 00:51:52,676
(WOMAN SCREAMING)

983
00:51:52,776 --> 00:51:54,411
One thing that's become pretty common

984
00:51:54,511 --> 00:51:59,082
is shot-for-shot remakes of scenes
from famous films or film trailers.

985
00:51:59,182 --> 00:52:01,184
So they'll build each set
that you see in each shot...

986
00:52:01,284 --> 00:52:04,621
Describe what
Marsellus Wallace looks like!

987
00:52:04,721 --> 00:52:06,356
- What?
- Say what again!

988
00:52:06,456 --> 00:52:07,624
I've seen The Dark Knight.

989
00:52:07,724 --> 00:52:12,029
If you devote yourself to an ideal,

990
00:52:12,129 --> 00:52:14,598
then you become something else entirely.

991
00:52:14,698 --> 00:52:17,367
Ed Sheeran has a music video
that someone was commissioned

992
00:52:17,467 --> 00:52:19,236
to make into LEGO.

993
00:52:19,336 --> 00:52:22,706
♪ I'm going to pick up the pieces ♪

994
00:52:22,806 --> 00:52:24,408
♪ And build a LEGO house ♪

995
00:52:24,508 --> 00:52:26,743
Another thing that people
are recreating with LEGO

996
00:52:26,843 --> 00:52:29,046
is just, like, news events.

997
00:52:29,146 --> 00:52:31,782
Some people were
re-creating Olympic scenes,

998
00:52:31,882 --> 00:52:33,784
and when Felix Baumgartner
did that jump from space,

999
00:52:33,884 --> 00:52:37,991
there was, like, a LEGO version
of it, like, 24 hours later.

1000
00:52:41,158 --> 00:52:43,160
If you do a YouTube search for LEGO,

1001
00:52:43,260 --> 00:52:46,730
you're going to find
13 million hits at least.

1002
00:52:46,830 --> 00:52:49,003
(MUSIC PLAYING)

1003
00:52:55,238 --> 00:52:57,107
I think it will only get more prevalent

1004
00:52:57,207 --> 00:52:59,843
and there will only be more
and more people doing it

1005
00:52:59,943 --> 00:53:01,354
because it's super fun.

1006
00:53:03,280 --> 00:53:04,614
Oh, my gosh! I love this song!

1007
00:53:04,714 --> 00:53:07,184
(MUSIC PLAYING)

1008
00:53:07,284 --> 00:53:09,653
The LEGO Movie was
done with computer graphics,

1009
00:53:09,753 --> 00:53:11,755
but made to look like a brick film.

1010
00:53:11,855 --> 00:53:13,356
The director specifically said

1011
00:53:13,456 --> 00:53:16,326
they were inspired by
LEGO stop-motion web videos.

1012
00:53:16,426 --> 00:53:19,162
And it's cool that they were able
to include a few of those.

1013
00:53:19,262 --> 00:53:20,664
In the climax of The LEGO Movie,

1014
00:53:20,764 --> 00:53:22,766
you can see my film Garbage Man.

1015
00:53:22,866 --> 00:53:23,867
Whoa! Awesome!

1016
00:53:23,967 --> 00:53:27,304
JONATHAN: It's technically not a brick
film because it's computer generated.

1017
00:53:27,404 --> 00:53:29,973
Ours is going to be fully stop motion,

1018
00:53:30,073 --> 00:53:33,477
so I'm trying to make
one that's the best quality

1019
00:53:33,577 --> 00:53:35,545
for a really long running time.

1020
00:53:35,645 --> 00:53:37,681
It will be the greatest
LEGO movie ever made.

1021
00:53:37,781 --> 00:53:38,882
Otherwise, I've failed.

1022
00:53:38,982 --> 00:53:40,350
MATT: In the film, there's this cop,

1023
00:53:40,450 --> 00:53:43,353
who all he ever
wanted to do was be a cop,

1024
00:53:43,453 --> 00:53:44,788
this little LEGO guy named Tony.

1025
00:53:44,888 --> 00:53:46,823
And he used to be a skateboarder,

1026
00:53:46,923 --> 00:53:48,725
so he can chase criminals
down on his skateboard.

1027
00:53:48,825 --> 00:53:52,963
And then this guy Duman,
this great classic super villain,

1028
00:53:53,063 --> 00:53:55,799
comes into town
and just starts burning everything down.

1029
00:53:55,899 --> 00:53:58,401
Right now, you're afraid...

1030
00:53:58,501 --> 00:54:00,170
of melting.

1031
00:54:00,270 --> 00:54:02,405
In a few seconds, you'll feel the burn

1032
00:54:02,505 --> 00:54:05,342
in your little, plastic eyeballs.

1033
00:54:05,442 --> 00:54:07,377
Was that the direction you want to go?

1034
00:54:07,477 --> 00:54:10,213
- Yeah. I'm digging that.
- Wow.

1035
00:54:10,313 --> 00:54:12,149
When I was originally
working on the film,

1036
00:54:12,249 --> 00:54:14,551
I wasn't planning to raise any money.

1037
00:54:14,651 --> 00:54:15,919
But then Matt looked at the script.

1038
00:54:16,019 --> 00:54:17,521
I was like, how are you
going to do this?

1039
00:54:17,621 --> 00:54:19,389
Do you have enough bricks?

1040
00:54:19,489 --> 00:54:22,325
This is way bigger than anything
you've done that I've seen.

1041
00:54:22,425 --> 00:54:24,194
And he said, "Uh, well,

1042
00:54:24,294 --> 00:54:26,897
we'll have to fill in the city
probably with some CGI,

1043
00:54:26,997 --> 00:54:28,331
maybe get a little bit more bricks."

1044
00:54:28,431 --> 00:54:30,167
And I was like, "No.

1045
00:54:30,267 --> 00:54:32,169
You have to build a city.

1046
00:54:32,269 --> 00:54:35,605
This has to be the greatest
LEGO movie ever made, Jonathan."

1047
00:54:35,705 --> 00:54:38,408
And so I said, "Okay,
we have to do a Kickstarter."

1048
00:54:38,508 --> 00:54:41,545
Hi, I'm Jonathan Vaughan,
and I'm directing Melting Point,

1049
00:54:41,645 --> 00:54:44,447
which is a stop-motion animated film
made with LEGO bricks.

1050
00:54:44,547 --> 00:54:46,683
I'm Robert Fleet. I'm playing Duman.

1051
00:54:46,783 --> 00:54:49,886
I get to melt things a lot.
It's really fun.

1052
00:54:49,986 --> 00:54:50,787
Action.

1053
00:54:50,887 --> 00:54:54,191
So, guys, here's what I was
thinking up for the establishing shot.

1054
00:54:54,291 --> 00:54:57,194
We're going to need to build
basically everything you see here,

1055
00:54:57,294 --> 00:54:59,296
so pretty much the entire city.

1056
00:54:59,396 --> 00:55:00,897
We're going to have to use CGI then?

1057
00:55:00,997 --> 00:55:02,799
I will not use CGI, okay?

1058
00:55:02,899 --> 00:55:06,636
I want this to be
the best brick film ever made.

1059
00:55:06,736 --> 00:55:10,540
LEGO started as a toy,
but now it's definitely...

1060
00:55:10,640 --> 00:55:13,243
It's a way people are expressing
themselves in this weird hobby,

1061
00:55:13,343 --> 00:55:15,545
so it's definitely also a tool

1062
00:55:15,645 --> 00:55:19,249
and a means to an end,
a means to tell stories

1063
00:55:19,349 --> 00:55:23,729
and express yourself
in a gigantic variety of ways.

1064
00:55:24,921 --> 00:55:27,157
All around the world
people are pushing the limits

1065
00:55:27,257 --> 00:55:29,059
of what they can do
with the LEGO system,

1066
00:55:29,159 --> 00:55:31,127
and what it's capable of
as a building material.

1067
00:55:31,227 --> 00:55:35,398
MAN: Now I can officially say,
that with the height of 112 feet,

1068
00:55:35,498 --> 00:55:38,101
11 and three-quarters inches,

1069
00:55:38,201 --> 00:55:41,905
you are now members
of the Guinness World Records family.

1070
00:55:42,005 --> 00:55:44,507
I'd like to present this certificate
and congratulate all of you.

1071
00:55:44,607 --> 00:55:47,213
- Yes!
- We broke the record.

1072
00:55:50,180 --> 00:55:52,849
In Melbourne,
Steve Sammartino and Raul Oaida

1073
00:55:52,949 --> 00:55:56,686
built a working car
almost entirely out of LEGO bricks.

1074
00:55:56,786 --> 00:55:58,788
STEVE: It's not going to set
any land speed records,

1075
00:55:58,888 --> 00:56:00,523
and it doesn't go all that far,

1076
00:56:00,623 --> 00:56:04,261
but just the mere fact that
it does go is quite something.

1077
00:56:04,361 --> 00:56:06,429
Andrew Carol, an engineer at Apple,

1078
00:56:06,529 --> 00:56:09,833
studied the remnants of a Greek device
used to determine celestial events,

1079
00:56:09,933 --> 00:56:12,469
which was found at the bottom
of the Aegean Sea.

1080
00:56:12,569 --> 00:56:16,210
Then he reconstructed it from,
you guessed it, LEGO bricks.

1081
00:56:18,708 --> 00:56:22,012
At conventions, fans get together
to build great ball contraptions,

1082
00:56:22,112 --> 00:56:26,283
or GBCs, which deliver balls
from one module to another.

1083
00:56:26,383 --> 00:56:28,952
The GBC is a collaborative effort

1084
00:56:29,052 --> 00:56:31,488
to make a kinetic sculpture,
if you will.

1085
00:56:31,588 --> 00:56:35,725
In this case, if you watch,
when this ball hits, two flip off.

1086
00:56:35,825 --> 00:56:38,396
And they're timed
so that this gate double flips.

1087
00:56:39,896 --> 00:56:42,499
Even Google's Larry Page
used LEGO bricks.

1088
00:56:42,599 --> 00:56:47,370
Actually, in college I built
an inkjet printer out of LEGOs.

1089
00:56:47,470 --> 00:56:51,748
Page and Sergey Brin even built
their first server out of LEGO bricks.

1090
00:56:52,742 --> 00:56:54,544
In England TV host James May

1091
00:56:54,644 --> 00:56:58,481
decided to build an entire working house
out of LEGO bricks.

1092
00:56:58,581 --> 00:57:02,652
So, the LEGO system can enable people
to make real, working stuff.

1093
00:57:02,752 --> 00:57:06,825
Sometimes, however,
the goal is more cerebral.

1094
00:57:14,431 --> 00:57:16,099
WOMAN: What do you think that is?

1095
00:57:16,199 --> 00:57:17,500
How great is that?

1096
00:57:17,600 --> 00:57:19,443
You going to take a picture
with your cell phone?

1097
00:57:23,940 --> 00:57:26,943
Well, I didn't see it at first.
My sister pointed it out to me.

1098
00:57:27,043 --> 00:57:30,447
And I'm a preschool teacher,
and I am drawn to LEGOs.

1099
00:57:30,547 --> 00:57:33,583
I'm from Indiana, we don't see
things like that in Indiana.

1100
00:57:33,683 --> 00:57:35,287
So, it's unusual.

1101
00:57:54,971 --> 00:57:57,207
People are so familiar with LEGO bricks.

1102
00:57:57,307 --> 00:57:59,976
Most everyone you know
has snapped a few bricks together,

1103
00:58:00,076 --> 00:58:03,922
and so that makes the art accessible,
it makes it relatable.

1104
00:58:09,652 --> 00:58:11,921
When I first started
going to galleries and saying,

1105
00:58:12,021 --> 00:58:13,423
"Hey, I do LEGO art."

1106
00:58:13,523 --> 00:58:15,458
They kind of looked at me and said,

1107
00:58:15,558 --> 00:58:17,594
"Oh, okay, is that cars
and trucks or castles?"

1108
00:58:17,694 --> 00:58:21,198
You know, they have a set notion
of what LEGO art would be.

1109
00:58:24,334 --> 00:58:26,903
I order tens of thousands
of bricks every month.

1110
00:58:27,003 --> 00:58:29,739
This is how it is.
This is how I get my bricks.

1111
00:58:29,839 --> 00:58:33,977
In fact, I spend over
six figures annually just on LEGO.

1112
00:58:34,077 --> 00:58:36,913
There's probably
3 million bricks in this room.

1113
00:58:37,013 --> 00:58:39,516
I've made a career from a child's toy.

1114
00:58:41,284 --> 00:58:43,686
I've been told at times I'm a sellout

1115
00:58:43,786 --> 00:58:47,290
because I use this
commercial brand to create my art.

1116
00:58:47,390 --> 00:58:50,160
But it's a brand that I chose
because I believe

1117
00:58:50,260 --> 00:58:52,103
there's nothing I can't build out of it.

1118
00:58:55,198 --> 00:58:59,269
Growing up, I had a lot
of LEGO bricks as a toy.

1119
00:58:59,369 --> 00:59:01,604
It was something my parents encouraged.

1120
00:59:01,704 --> 00:59:06,543
They let me have a 36-square-foot
LEGO city in our living room.

1121
00:59:06,643 --> 00:59:10,013
It was when I was about 10 years old,
wanted to get a dog.

1122
00:59:10,113 --> 00:59:11,948
Asked my parents, "Can I get a dog?"

1123
00:59:12,048 --> 00:59:13,383
"No, you're not getting a dog."

1124
00:59:13,483 --> 00:59:15,819
I tore down my LEGO city,

1125
00:59:15,919 --> 00:59:20,323
used those bricks to create
my own life-size LEGO dog.

1126
00:59:20,423 --> 00:59:24,027
It was really my first time in realizing
it's not what's on the front of the box.

1127
00:59:24,127 --> 00:59:27,163
You can actually create whatever
you want out of this toy.

1128
00:59:27,263 --> 00:59:31,568
I got out of college, and I had
societal pressures to get a real job.

1129
00:59:31,668 --> 00:59:34,804
And I ended up going to law school.
I was doing corporate law.

1130
00:59:34,904 --> 00:59:38,174
And I would come home at the end of the
day and I would need a creative outlet.

1131
00:59:38,274 --> 00:59:40,677
And sometimes that was drawing,
sometimes it was painting.

1132
00:59:40,777 --> 00:59:43,646
But once I started
doing sculptures out of LEGO,

1133
00:59:43,746 --> 00:59:46,716
I really had found my passion.

1134
00:59:46,816 --> 00:59:49,586
And it got to the point where I was
working full days at the law firm,

1135
00:59:49,686 --> 00:59:53,656
and I would come home at night and have
a slate of commissions to work on.

1136
00:59:53,756 --> 00:59:55,358
And I decided to make that change,

1137
00:59:55,458 --> 00:59:59,496
to leave the law practice
behind, and go be an artist.

1138
00:59:59,596 --> 01:00:01,269
An artist who plays with toys.

1139
01:00:04,801 --> 01:00:07,003
You know, I don't know if this is...
if I've broken through.

1140
01:00:07,103 --> 01:00:09,572
I don't know if an artist ever can feel
like they've broken through

1141
01:00:09,672 --> 01:00:12,619
because I keep setting
bigger and bigger goals.

1142
01:00:13,876 --> 01:00:16,679
Nathan has been offered
his biggest opportunity yet.

1143
01:00:16,779 --> 01:00:19,782
He's been booked for a one-man show
in New York's Times Square

1144
01:00:19,882 --> 01:00:22,752
and is prepping over
a hundred pieces for it.

1145
01:00:22,852 --> 01:00:27,290
The New York exhibition, I think,
will be the biggest show of my life,

1146
01:00:27,390 --> 01:00:29,792
a culmination of years' worth of work,

1147
01:00:29,892 --> 01:00:33,999
as well as the largest
solo LEGO art exhibition ever.

1148
01:00:35,064 --> 01:00:36,702
And there's a lot of pressure.

1149
01:00:37,967 --> 01:00:40,370
The show will feature
Nathan's original creations

1150
01:00:40,470 --> 01:00:44,008
as well as LEGO replicas
he is making of classical works of art.

1151
01:00:46,976 --> 01:00:49,312
For Nathan, this is the opportunity

1152
01:00:49,412 --> 01:00:52,315
to prove himself as a legitimate artist.

1153
01:00:52,415 --> 01:00:56,219
I'm worried that the venue
that's taking a big risk on me

1154
01:00:56,319 --> 01:00:57,921
feels like this is a failure.

1155
01:00:58,021 --> 01:01:00,990
I'm worried that, you know,
will they actually get it

1156
01:01:01,090 --> 01:01:04,294
when they see it
in the exhibition format?

1157
01:01:04,394 --> 01:01:06,874
And really, what's
the public going to think?

1158
01:01:10,066 --> 01:01:13,570
Thousands of miles away in Germany
another artist, Jan Vormann,

1159
01:01:13,670 --> 01:01:16,014
has taken LEGO arts to the streets.

1160
01:01:22,879 --> 01:01:27,854
I really like to work with objects that
everybody has a preconceived image of.

1161
01:01:29,352 --> 01:01:31,621
The good thing with playful
elements in the work is that

1162
01:01:31,721 --> 01:01:35,758
people get attracted by it
rather than repulsed.

1163
01:01:35,858 --> 01:01:37,794
If I use a material which people like,

1164
01:01:37,894 --> 01:01:43,037
they are more likely to start
interacting with me.

1165
01:01:46,536 --> 01:01:48,771
So now it has different aspects to it.

1166
01:01:48,871 --> 01:01:50,773
On the one side,
the sculpture installation,

1167
01:01:50,873 --> 01:01:53,309
where it's just there
to be visually perceived.

1168
01:01:53,409 --> 01:01:56,879
And on the other side,
a performance kind of action.

1169
01:01:57,947 --> 01:02:01,818
It looks like a lot of fun,
but Jan's work has serious undertones.

1170
01:02:01,918 --> 01:02:04,354
Most of the times
I tried to find locations

1171
01:02:04,454 --> 01:02:07,357
which have a kind
of historical background

1172
01:02:07,457 --> 01:02:09,959
or political meaning.

1173
01:02:10,059 --> 01:02:13,396
Today we are here in the very back
of the Anhalter Bahnhof.

1174
01:02:13,496 --> 01:02:16,899
This used to be the main
train station for Berlin.

1175
01:02:16,999 --> 01:02:20,772
This is also a place where a lot of Jews
were deported before the war ended.

1176
01:02:21,838 --> 01:02:24,407
The Holocaust is an event
that's omnipresent in my mind,

1177
01:02:24,507 --> 01:02:25,908
so I think about it a lot.

1178
01:02:26,008 --> 01:02:27,977
You don't necessarily see it in my work,

1179
01:02:28,077 --> 01:02:29,812
because I don't want to add like,

1180
01:02:29,912 --> 01:02:33,359
visually dark and heavy subjects.

1181
01:02:34,350 --> 01:02:37,153
So my idea to use
the plastic construction bricks

1182
01:02:37,253 --> 01:02:42,258
was to add a kind of colorful
part of contemporary times,

1183
01:02:42,358 --> 01:02:46,135
a material that everybody
worldwide has the same feeling on it.

1184
01:02:47,764 --> 01:02:50,433
Some people call this type of art
"EGO bombing,"

1185
01:02:50,533 --> 01:02:53,102
but Jan prefers to call it "patchwork,"

1186
01:02:53,202 --> 01:02:56,775
and he's bringing the patchwork project
around the world.

1187
01:03:02,879 --> 01:03:05,081
JAN: For me,
it's a kind of hopeful thing

1188
01:03:05,181 --> 01:03:08,390
to see that we actually share
this common culture.

1189
01:03:13,790 --> 01:03:15,692
Whoa...

1190
01:03:15,792 --> 01:03:19,195
Okay. What happens when
the thing you want to build

1191
01:03:19,295 --> 01:03:21,097
isn't the thing that you
want to build but rather

1192
01:03:21,197 --> 01:03:23,866
a representation of the thing
that you want to build?

1193
01:03:23,966 --> 01:03:26,202
Okay, I think I just confused myself.

1194
01:03:26,302 --> 01:03:30,206
What if the thing you
want to build is just an idea?

1195
01:03:30,306 --> 01:03:32,479
Could LEGO bricks be used for that?

1196
01:03:33,709 --> 01:03:37,780
In Denmark, when a rising architect wanted
to submit for a major commission,

1197
01:03:37,880 --> 01:03:39,916
he looked at how modular
building techniques

1198
01:03:40,016 --> 01:03:41,884
had become in his home country

1199
01:03:41,984 --> 01:03:44,387
and thought of his favorite toy
as a child.

1200
01:03:44,487 --> 01:03:46,122
In Denmark, because of the labor wages

1201
01:03:46,222 --> 01:03:48,291
and because of the bad weather,

1202
01:03:48,391 --> 01:03:50,426
you want to minimize the time
at the construction site.

1203
01:03:50,526 --> 01:03:52,929
So everything has to be

1204
01:03:53,029 --> 01:03:55,765
like prefabricated elements,
put together in interesting ways.

1205
01:03:55,865 --> 01:03:59,302
So in a manner of speaking,
Denmark has become

1206
01:03:59,402 --> 01:04:01,109
a country entirely built out of LEGO.

1207
01:04:02,672 --> 01:04:04,807
So, we thought, like,
if that's the truth,

1208
01:04:04,907 --> 01:04:07,343
why don't we make
this project an homage,

1209
01:04:07,443 --> 01:04:09,178
so we nicknamed the project
the LEGO Towers

1210
01:04:09,278 --> 01:04:10,813
and thought the best way
to communicate it

1211
01:04:10,913 --> 01:04:13,018
would be to build it out of LEGO.

1212
01:04:15,384 --> 01:04:18,788
And the idea became almost
like doing manmade mountains

1213
01:04:18,888 --> 01:04:20,490
that are pixilated,

1214
01:04:20,590 --> 01:04:24,827
like a sort of low resolution
alpine architecture.

1215
01:04:24,927 --> 01:04:27,597
To show the developer how easy
it was to build the project,

1216
01:04:27,697 --> 01:04:31,134
when we presented the project, we also
presented this LEGO model and sort of,

1217
01:04:31,234 --> 01:04:34,303
if you can build it out of LEGO,
it can't be that difficult, can it?

1218
01:04:34,403 --> 01:04:36,272
And sort of he...

1219
01:04:36,372 --> 01:04:39,175
He passed the LEGO model on to his son,

1220
01:04:39,275 --> 01:04:41,477
and we got the commission.

1221
01:04:41,577 --> 01:04:44,614
The project earned Bjarke's group
a lot of critical acclaim

1222
01:04:44,714 --> 01:04:47,817
and helped put him
on the international architecture map.

1223
01:04:47,917 --> 01:04:50,553
So, when the LEGO company
was looking for someone to design

1224
01:04:50,653 --> 01:04:52,155
their LEGO house in Billund,

1225
01:04:52,255 --> 01:04:54,223
Bjarke was the perfect choice.

1226
01:04:54,323 --> 01:04:56,859
BJARKE: Of course, we were incredibly
excited to get the job.

1227
01:04:56,959 --> 01:05:01,130
As all Danes know,
LEGO is a Danish product.

1228
01:05:01,230 --> 01:05:05,001
If BIG had been founded
with a single purpose,

1229
01:05:05,101 --> 01:05:08,446
it would be to be
the architects of the LEGO house.

1230
01:05:09,472 --> 01:05:12,842
In Cambridge, at MIT,
they're using LEGO elements

1231
01:05:12,942 --> 01:05:14,977
to visualize more than just buildings.

1232
01:05:15,077 --> 01:05:17,313
They're looking at how
entire cities work.

1233
01:05:17,413 --> 01:05:21,918
So, we're looking at a LEGO model
that has been constructed

1234
01:05:22,018 --> 01:05:25,321
to represent a square kilometer
of Kendall Square.

1235
01:05:25,421 --> 01:05:27,323
We're actually
in this building right here,

1236
01:05:27,423 --> 01:05:30,993
in the MIT Media Lab,
and overlaid on this,

1237
01:05:31,093 --> 01:05:34,030
you're actually seeing
a projection map of Google streets.

1238
01:05:34,130 --> 01:05:36,666
The MIT City Science Initiative

1239
01:05:36,766 --> 01:05:39,435
is using LEGO elements
to visualize wind patterns,

1240
01:05:39,535 --> 01:05:44,006
heat maps,
light studies, and traffic flow.

1241
01:05:44,106 --> 01:05:47,043
Want to see what happens
if this block gets more light?

1242
01:05:47,143 --> 01:05:50,012
Just pick that 10-story
building up and move it.

1243
01:05:50,112 --> 01:05:52,048
It all kind of highlights the complexity

1244
01:05:52,148 --> 01:05:54,083
of the organism that is the city.

1245
01:05:54,183 --> 01:05:55,952
You know, the city isn't just roads.

1246
01:05:56,052 --> 01:05:57,854
It's not just access to sun.

1247
01:05:57,954 --> 01:06:01,424
It's not just people moving,
within the transportation networks.

1248
01:06:01,524 --> 01:06:03,626
It's all of these things,
in the same place,

1249
01:06:03,726 --> 01:06:05,461
and that's incredibly hard to see.

1250
01:06:05,561 --> 01:06:09,031
It allows everyone, let's say,
non-expert and expert alike

1251
01:06:09,131 --> 01:06:12,201
to come together
on a simple platform, you know,

1252
01:06:12,301 --> 01:06:16,516
that's inviting, to be for engagement,
you know, in a meaningful conversation.

1253
01:06:17,974 --> 01:06:18,975
Huh, wow.

1254
01:06:19,075 --> 01:06:22,478
Turns out LEGO bricks might
solve our traffic problems.

1255
01:06:22,578 --> 01:06:24,881
In the favelas of Sao Paulo, Brazil,

1256
01:06:24,981 --> 01:06:27,483
they've taken this visualization tool
to the next level

1257
01:06:27,583 --> 01:06:29,886
by using it to discuss ideas,

1258
01:06:29,986 --> 01:06:33,229
abstract ideas
about community and class.

1259
01:06:34,390 --> 01:06:38,327
We challenged them to build
model cities in LEGOs,

1260
01:06:38,427 --> 01:06:42,164
and these constructions arise out of

1261
01:06:42,264 --> 01:06:48,104
the children's search for solutions
in the community in which they're living.

1262
01:06:48,204 --> 01:06:51,807
This is our community. Our space.

1263
01:06:51,907 --> 01:06:55,177
Every rotten thing that you can imagine
is in these rivers.

1264
01:06:55,277 --> 01:06:59,015
It was our friend who had the idea
to build a bridge

1265
01:06:59,115 --> 01:07:01,584
to show the difference in our society,

1266
01:07:01,684 --> 01:07:03,819
and it made us take
a bigger view of things.

1267
01:07:03,919 --> 01:07:08,090
It's showing them
that the power of change,

1268
01:07:08,190 --> 01:07:13,105
the power of an idea that begins small,
can sometimes have a large effect.

1269
01:07:14,196 --> 01:07:17,600
There's another way the LEGO
system is being used as a tool,

1270
01:07:17,700 --> 01:07:20,408
and perhaps the most profound of all.

1271
01:07:21,437 --> 01:07:23,713
Can a toy be therapeutic?

1272
01:07:27,043 --> 01:07:29,545
At the Yale School
in Cherry Hill New Jersey

1273
01:07:29,645 --> 01:07:32,558
kids are interacting with each other,
playing with LEGO bricks.

1274
01:07:34,050 --> 01:07:37,286
What seems ordinary
is actually quite extraordinary.

1275
01:07:37,386 --> 01:07:39,956
This school is for kids with autism,

1276
01:07:40,056 --> 01:07:45,394
and all of these kids have significant
neurodevelopmental disabilities.

1277
01:07:45,494 --> 01:07:50,232
They're part of a therapy developed
two decades ago by Dr. Dan Legoff.

1278
01:07:50,332 --> 01:07:52,334
And yeah, that's his real name.

1279
01:07:52,435 --> 01:07:54,203
I was looking for something else.

1280
01:07:54,303 --> 01:07:57,573
I wasn't happy with the outcomes
I was getting using standard methods.

1281
01:07:57,673 --> 01:08:01,377
And so I had, you know,
different stations in my playroom.

1282
01:08:01,477 --> 01:08:03,813
One of them, um, was LEGO.

1283
01:08:03,913 --> 01:08:06,582
And a lot of the kids, especially,

1284
01:08:06,682 --> 01:08:08,584
socially anxious, inhibited,

1285
01:08:08,684 --> 01:08:12,254
quiet, mildly autistic kind of kids,

1286
01:08:12,354 --> 01:08:14,256
gravitated to the LEGO area.

1287
01:08:14,356 --> 01:08:18,694
And it seemed like an anxiety-free zone.

1288
01:08:18,794 --> 01:08:22,331
The "a-ha" moment came one day
when I came out to the waiting room

1289
01:08:22,431 --> 01:08:24,333
and two kids that I had been seeing,

1290
01:08:24,433 --> 01:08:26,602
very similar personalities...

1291
01:08:26,702 --> 01:08:29,572
they were both bringing
LEGOs from home to show me.

1292
01:08:29,672 --> 01:08:33,175
And they had met in the waiting room,
and they were showing each other.

1293
01:08:33,275 --> 01:08:36,345
And their parents were excited.

1294
01:08:36,445 --> 01:08:38,914
You could tell, they were like,
"Whoa. Look at that.

1295
01:08:39,014 --> 01:08:41,250
They're communicating.
They're interacting. This is cool."

1296
01:08:41,350 --> 01:08:43,953
Dr. Legoff allowed the kids
to play with LEGO toys,

1297
01:08:44,053 --> 01:08:46,856
but only if they built together.

1298
01:08:46,956 --> 01:08:49,458
Working in groups of three,
one is the engineer,

1299
01:08:49,558 --> 01:08:52,862
one is the parts supplier,
and one is the builder.

1300
01:08:52,962 --> 01:08:56,739
Only by communicating
can they get to a finished product.

1301
01:08:58,300 --> 01:08:59,101
Good.

1302
01:08:59,201 --> 01:09:00,302
This is a good time to switch.

1303
01:09:00,402 --> 01:09:04,179
Anybody who hasn't done building yet
should take a turn now.

1304
01:09:04,306 --> 01:09:05,775
It's coming along real nice.

1305
01:09:05,875 --> 01:09:10,780
Making them do a systematic thing
in a social context is the trick.

1306
01:09:10,880 --> 01:09:12,815
Building LEGOs is cool,
but you know what's even better

1307
01:09:12,915 --> 01:09:14,550
is to do it with my friends.

1308
01:09:14,650 --> 01:09:16,385
It is so exciting
to see this thing working.

1309
01:09:16,485 --> 01:09:19,388
So I have one student
who interacts with other kids

1310
01:09:19,488 --> 01:09:22,825
in the LEGO club
much more just in that one day,

1311
01:09:22,925 --> 01:09:26,228
than he has interacted with kids outside
of LEGO club for the whole summer.

1312
01:09:26,328 --> 01:09:27,997
- Right.
- So that's a pretty big deal.

1313
01:09:28,097 --> 01:09:30,666
Parents were saying,
"Oh, my kid loves going to see Dr. Dan.

1314
01:09:30,766 --> 01:09:33,402
Isn't that great?
He finally has a therapy that he enjoys.

1315
01:09:33,502 --> 01:09:35,438
He seems to be getting better socially."

1316
01:09:35,538 --> 01:09:37,606
But there was no data on it.

1317
01:09:37,706 --> 01:09:42,244
Dr. Legoff conducted a scientific study
comparing the behavioral improvements

1318
01:09:42,344 --> 01:09:44,947
from his therapy
versus traditional therapy.

1319
01:09:45,047 --> 01:09:47,083
Now those kids did get better.

1320
01:09:47,183 --> 01:09:51,188
But the LEGO kids got
significantly better than they did.

1321
01:09:55,257 --> 01:09:57,193
One of the many kids who has benefitted

1322
01:09:57,293 --> 01:10:00,536
from this kind of therapy
is Adrian Pitt, of New York City.

1323
01:10:14,777 --> 01:10:17,179
LEGOs are usually
all about concentration.

1324
01:10:17,279 --> 01:10:20,483
And I need to concentrate
on something a bit more.

1325
01:10:20,583 --> 01:10:23,052
It helps me, like, focus.

1326
01:10:23,152 --> 01:10:24,520
Why don't you take off...

1327
01:10:24,620 --> 01:10:28,557
Adrian is... He's just a real nice kid

1328
01:10:28,657 --> 01:10:30,659
who wants to make friends
and wants to play.

1329
01:10:30,759 --> 01:10:33,696
He has speech and language delays,

1330
01:10:33,796 --> 01:10:36,465
and he has been in speech
and language therapy

1331
01:10:36,565 --> 01:10:39,235
since he was about three years old.

1332
01:10:39,335 --> 01:10:41,704
The great thing about LEGO,
and the reason

1333
01:10:41,804 --> 01:10:46,308
that I love it for him so much
is there's no words.

1334
01:10:46,408 --> 01:10:47,977
The instructions are the pictures.

1335
01:10:48,077 --> 01:10:51,213
So if you can see,

1336
01:10:51,313 --> 01:10:54,550
you know, you can follow directions
and you can complete LEGOs.

1337
01:10:54,650 --> 01:10:56,819
Some of these pieces
need to have measurements,

1338
01:10:56,919 --> 01:11:00,823
so this one needs to be
exactly seven millimeters.

1339
01:11:00,923 --> 01:11:02,892
This is how we measure.

1340
01:11:02,992 --> 01:11:06,162
Adrian's very proud of what he built.

1341
01:11:06,262 --> 01:11:07,997
There's a real sense of accomplishment

1342
01:11:08,097 --> 01:11:12,671
once he's finished something,
and that's a big deal for him.

1343
01:11:15,337 --> 01:11:18,207
I'm having a bit of trouble
attaching this part.

1344
01:11:18,307 --> 01:11:20,844
If I don't get it right,
then it's not going to work.

1345
01:11:22,378 --> 01:11:24,747
(WHIRRING)

1346
01:11:24,847 --> 01:11:26,882
In a secret location in Long Island

1347
01:11:26,982 --> 01:11:29,585
the components
of the life-size X-Wing model

1348
01:11:29,685 --> 01:11:32,421
have arrived via freighter
from the Czech Republic.

1349
01:11:32,521 --> 01:11:33,889
The X-Wing must be fully assembled

1350
01:11:33,989 --> 01:11:36,425
then broken up
into five transportable pieces

1351
01:11:36,525 --> 01:11:40,262
to be brought to New York City
for its unveiling in Times Square.

1352
01:11:40,362 --> 01:11:41,597
There isn't much time.

1353
01:11:41,697 --> 01:11:43,799
JAROMIR: We are finally in New York.

1354
01:11:43,899 --> 01:11:46,135
We are really near to final stage.

1355
01:11:46,235 --> 01:11:49,705
And it's just a couple of weeks more,
and that's it.

1356
01:11:49,805 --> 01:11:52,708
DALE: You can imagine this being
a giant kid's bedroom,

1357
01:11:52,808 --> 01:11:55,377
and we've just opened up
the box of bricks,

1358
01:11:55,477 --> 01:11:58,080
and we've organized our parts
and now we're assembling it,

1359
01:11:58,180 --> 01:11:59,715
a lot like you would at home.

1360
01:11:59,815 --> 01:12:02,261
Except we're just doing it
on a massive scale here.

1361
01:12:08,324 --> 01:12:09,758
DALE: How is this project different

1362
01:12:09,858 --> 01:12:12,127
from maybe the one that
you build in your bedroom?

1363
01:12:12,227 --> 01:12:14,263
Here we have heavy equipment for lifting

1364
01:12:14,363 --> 01:12:17,666
5,000-pound pieces
and 8,000-pound pieces.

1365
01:12:17,766 --> 01:12:21,077
And you probably don't have steel
inside your models at home.

1366
01:12:27,176 --> 01:12:30,946
JAROMIR: We are on schedule, but it's...
Even just unpacking the pieces,

1367
01:12:31,046 --> 01:12:34,960
it's not like in five minutes.
It takes like half a day.

1368
01:12:35,851 --> 01:12:39,128
It takes time.
We need a couple of days for everything.

1369
01:12:48,364 --> 01:12:50,605
All right, I think we got it now.

1370
01:12:53,369 --> 01:12:55,437
This first, it stays where it is.

1371
01:12:55,537 --> 01:12:59,075
Second, the engine.
And then the rest of the wing.

1372
01:13:02,077 --> 01:13:03,112
It's cool.

1373
01:13:04,213 --> 01:13:06,716
Behold, the X-Wing star fighter.

1374
01:13:07,716 --> 01:13:09,885
With the assembly complete,

1375
01:13:09,985 --> 01:13:12,321
now comes the biggest challenge of all,

1376
01:13:12,421 --> 01:13:14,023
bringing a life-size X-Wing

1377
01:13:14,123 --> 01:13:17,070
into the busiest block in America
without detection.

1378
01:13:18,761 --> 01:13:22,464
Today is Wednesday.
It might not be that bad.

1379
01:13:22,564 --> 01:13:25,101
But we're going to the heart
of New York, so...

1380
01:13:47,022 --> 01:13:49,491
There are still challenges
in front of us

1381
01:13:49,591 --> 01:13:52,333
because we have
only night until morning.

1382
01:13:56,865 --> 01:13:59,401
Well, our plan
is to spend the whole night

1383
01:13:59,501 --> 01:14:01,503
assembling it, putting it together,

1384
01:14:01,603 --> 01:14:03,981
and at 6 A.M., roll it back
and hide it inside the box.

1385
01:14:40,843 --> 01:14:45,690
It's seven in the morning,
and it's done.

1386
01:14:50,686 --> 01:14:53,956
Adrian's father is bringing him
into Midtown Manhattan

1387
01:14:54,056 --> 01:14:55,763
for a special surprise.

1388
01:14:59,528 --> 01:15:01,230
What does it say?

1389
01:15:01,330 --> 01:15:03,941
Secret model. Indestructible box.

1390
01:15:04,833 --> 01:15:05,834
(CHEERING)

1391
01:15:05,934 --> 01:15:09,938
Do we have any LEGO fans here?

1392
01:15:10,038 --> 01:15:11,173
(CHEERING)

1393
01:15:11,273 --> 01:15:13,342
Does anyone here want to know
what's inside that box?

1394
01:15:13,442 --> 01:15:15,778
- Yes!
- I can't hear you!

1395
01:15:15,878 --> 01:15:18,580
I said, "Do you want to know
what's inside that box?"

1396
01:15:18,680 --> 01:15:20,916
- ALL: Yes!
- (KIDS CHEERING)

1397
01:15:21,016 --> 01:15:23,819
I want you guys to stretch
your arms out all the way

1398
01:15:23,919 --> 01:15:27,523
to harness the power of the Force
along with Yoda to open up this box.

1399
01:15:27,623 --> 01:15:30,627
Ready? One... two... three!

1400
01:15:41,904 --> 01:15:43,747
X-Wing!

1401
01:15:52,147 --> 01:15:56,051
This X-Wing Starfighter
is the largest LEGO model

1402
01:15:56,151 --> 01:15:57,553
that has ever been built.

1403
01:15:57,653 --> 01:16:01,156
I'm talking
over five million LEGO bricks.

1404
01:16:01,256 --> 01:16:03,492
Five million, three hundred,
thirty-five thousand,

1405
01:16:03,592 --> 01:16:05,227
two hundred pieces,

1406
01:16:05,327 --> 01:16:08,130
and 45,000 pounds.

1407
01:16:08,230 --> 01:16:11,074
This is the coolest thing
I've ever seen.

1408
01:16:20,909 --> 01:16:23,321
Three, two, one.

1409
01:16:32,187 --> 01:16:35,991
Also in New York, Nathan Sawaya
is making last-minute preparations

1410
01:16:36,091 --> 01:16:39,561
on his one-man show
The Art of the Brick.

1411
01:16:39,661 --> 01:16:41,197
It finally opens tonight.

1412
01:16:42,097 --> 01:16:44,066
I am very nervous,

1413
01:16:44,166 --> 01:16:46,201
but also very excited to see those folks

1414
01:16:46,301 --> 01:16:48,781
walk through the door
for the first time tonight.

1415
01:16:50,305 --> 01:16:52,274
This is The Art of the Brick.

1416
01:16:52,374 --> 01:16:54,543
This is my largest exhibition
I've ever done,

1417
01:16:54,643 --> 01:16:58,785
and it just happens to be the largest
solo LEGO art exhibition ever.

1418
01:17:04,653 --> 01:17:08,223
I had a goal of taking LEGO
into the contemporary art world,

1419
01:17:08,323 --> 01:17:11,059
and to do so, it had to be done in a way

1420
01:17:11,159 --> 01:17:15,539
where I was really putting myself
and my soul into the work.

1421
01:17:29,144 --> 01:17:31,380
You know, part of me wants
to just be a fly on the wall

1422
01:17:31,480 --> 01:17:33,382
and listen to people's reaction.

1423
01:17:33,482 --> 01:17:35,484
And I'm going to try and do that
as much as possible.

1424
01:17:35,584 --> 01:17:39,327
So, um, we'll see what happens.

1425
01:17:42,357 --> 01:17:44,927
There it is, thank you.

1426
01:17:45,027 --> 01:17:47,829
First impression, I just got blown away.

1427
01:17:47,929 --> 01:17:51,800
I didn't expect to feel
this much inspiration.

1428
01:17:51,900 --> 01:17:54,403
Amazing. I worked
with LEGO when I was a kid,

1429
01:17:54,503 --> 01:17:56,438
but I always built things
off the back of the packet,

1430
01:17:56,538 --> 01:17:58,640
and I can't believe that
someone's actually turned around

1431
01:17:58,740 --> 01:18:01,677
and turned it into something
from their imagination.

1432
01:18:01,777 --> 01:18:04,680
This is something
that is delightful and playful,

1433
01:18:04,780 --> 01:18:06,615
and it's something that can really

1434
01:18:06,715 --> 01:18:09,423
spark the imagination
in children and adults.

1435
01:18:10,786 --> 01:18:13,021
NATHAN: We have had a few art critics
walk through already,

1436
01:18:13,121 --> 01:18:15,857
and of course I'm nervous
to see what they say,

1437
01:18:15,957 --> 01:18:18,327
but I think it's almost a compliment

1438
01:18:18,427 --> 01:18:20,662
just to have a serious
art critic from some

1439
01:18:20,762 --> 01:18:23,432
major newspapers
in this country walking through.

1440
01:18:23,532 --> 01:18:26,134
They were not dismissing it
as just a toy display.

1441
01:18:26,234 --> 01:18:28,937
It's not just a gimmick. This was art.

1442
01:18:29,037 --> 01:18:30,772
What do you guys think?

1443
01:18:30,872 --> 01:18:32,708
- I think it's good.
- Yeah?

1444
01:18:32,808 --> 01:18:35,377
- Did you make that?
- I did, I made all of these.

1445
01:18:35,477 --> 01:18:37,779
This type of exhibition
is going to draw in folks

1446
01:18:37,879 --> 01:18:40,882
who have never been
to an art museum before in their life.

1447
01:18:40,982 --> 01:18:44,119
And they're coming because
they have a familiarity with the toy.

1448
01:18:44,219 --> 01:18:45,621
And if that opens them up

1449
01:18:45,721 --> 01:18:48,895
to the art world for the first time,
then I've done my job.

1450
01:18:53,829 --> 01:18:57,199
LEGO Designer Jamie Berard
is headed to BrickCon in Seattle

1451
01:18:57,299 --> 01:19:00,068
to unveil his new Parisian Cafe set.

1452
01:19:00,168 --> 01:19:02,137
But while he's there,
he's got another mission.

1453
01:19:02,237 --> 01:19:05,007
These are our happy boxes.
Now, we don't know what's in this.

1454
01:19:05,107 --> 01:19:06,808
He's convinced his fellow designers

1455
01:19:06,908 --> 01:19:10,679
to compete against the public
in the master build contest.

1456
01:19:10,779 --> 01:19:11,813
Okay, teams.

1457
01:19:11,913 --> 01:19:14,483
These are the same products
that will be given to LEGO fans

1458
01:19:14,583 --> 01:19:16,685
at BrickCon in Seattle, Washington.

1459
01:19:16,785 --> 01:19:19,888
And what we want to do
is actually participate more in the event

1460
01:19:19,988 --> 01:19:23,435
by doing the challenge they will be
doing there, we'll be doing it here.

1461
01:19:25,594 --> 01:19:26,595
Welcome!

1462
01:19:27,796 --> 01:19:31,500
Okay, you notice
there are only 25 stations.

1463
01:19:31,600 --> 01:19:33,502
Pick a teammate and go sit down.

1464
01:19:33,602 --> 01:19:36,605
BAS: I think it's going to be a lot
of fun at the BrickCon convention,

1465
01:19:36,705 --> 01:19:39,174
because when you have
a head-to-head with designers,

1466
01:19:39,274 --> 01:19:41,443
of course you want to beat them.

1467
01:19:41,543 --> 01:19:43,245
All right, so what do we got here?

1468
01:19:43,345 --> 01:19:45,447
- Okay, that's cool.
- What is our angle going to be?

1469
01:19:45,547 --> 01:19:48,216
The reason that you can see
we have pig and cow heads,

1470
01:19:48,316 --> 01:19:51,320
is because the theme for this year's
BrickCon is Pigs Versus Cows.

1471
01:19:52,821 --> 01:19:56,124
Does everyone have two pig heads
and two cow heads?

1472
01:19:56,224 --> 01:19:57,259
(SNORTING)

1473
01:19:57,359 --> 01:19:58,794
Are there any questions?

1474
01:19:58,894 --> 01:20:00,529
- Yes.
- It's one MOC?

1475
01:20:00,629 --> 01:20:02,698
It's one MOC, but it can be
how many buildings you want.

1476
01:20:02,798 --> 01:20:04,533
Make up the story as much as you want,

1477
01:20:04,633 --> 01:20:06,268
and then have a lot of fun with it.

1478
01:20:06,368 --> 01:20:09,571
Use all the pieces,
use all the set, as much as you like.

1479
01:20:09,671 --> 01:20:13,608
You'll have one and one half hours
to build. Are we ready?

1480
01:20:13,708 --> 01:20:15,210
ALL: Yeah!

1481
01:20:15,310 --> 01:20:16,550
Go!

1482
01:20:31,860 --> 01:20:34,963
So, the idea behind this is that
they should be fighting for something.

1483
01:20:35,063 --> 01:20:37,933
It's a battle or some type
of pigs versus cows.

1484
01:20:38,033 --> 01:20:41,937
See, this is always like, you know,
why does it always have to be battles?

1485
01:20:42,037 --> 01:20:44,239
Maybe whoever wins stays alive.

1486
01:20:44,339 --> 01:20:45,374
- Stays alive.
- Yeah.

1487
01:20:45,674 --> 01:20:50,178
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

1488
01:20:50,278 --> 01:20:52,414
Contestants, you now have

1489
01:20:52,514 --> 01:20:55,751
fifty-nine minutes
and fifty-one seconds left!

1490
01:20:55,851 --> 01:20:57,252
Pressure!

1491
01:20:57,352 --> 01:20:59,525
Oh, stress!
I hate building under stress.

1492
01:21:03,625 --> 01:21:05,494
How are things going,
what's your process here?

1493
01:21:05,594 --> 01:21:07,095
You can build anything with anything.

1494
01:21:07,195 --> 01:21:08,196
Right, right.

1495
01:21:08,296 --> 01:21:09,765
So, come up with a good story first,

1496
01:21:09,865 --> 01:21:11,800
and then make the pieces do
what you need them to do.

1497
01:21:11,900 --> 01:21:13,668
- Interesting.
- Build a story.

1498
01:21:13,768 --> 01:21:16,138
This is the first time we've heard
someone talking about story,

1499
01:21:16,238 --> 01:21:18,373
which I know was very important
in this contest.

1500
01:21:18,473 --> 01:21:20,642
He's like a cyborg.
So he's half-cow, half-robot.

1501
01:21:20,742 --> 01:21:21,877
- Yeah.
- Yes.

1502
01:21:21,977 --> 01:21:24,479
- It's a "cowborg."
- Oh, that's a good idea.

1503
01:21:24,579 --> 01:21:27,949
- Do I need bigger horns?
- Yeah, much more horny.

1504
01:21:28,049 --> 01:21:29,221
You pig.

1505
01:21:30,285 --> 01:21:33,555
Some of the stories at some point
just got really ridiculous and crazy.

1506
01:21:33,655 --> 01:21:35,957
And yet, because we were
going to a fan event,

1507
01:21:36,057 --> 01:21:37,893
it was kinda fun to let it
almost progress

1508
01:21:37,993 --> 01:21:40,195
a little bit further
than we normally would.

1509
01:21:40,295 --> 01:21:42,164
It's a "cow-tapult."

1510
01:21:42,264 --> 01:21:44,866
(MEN LAUGHING)

1511
01:21:44,966 --> 01:21:47,903
Dave, Stacy,
how's the competition going so far?

1512
01:21:48,003 --> 01:21:50,372
We have a lot of pieces,
but I think we're on the right track.

1513
01:21:50,472 --> 01:21:52,574
Josh, why don't you tell us
what you guys are working on?

1514
01:21:52,674 --> 01:21:55,243
JOSH: We have a little house
of ill repute going on here.

1515
01:21:55,343 --> 01:21:57,813
It's a cow club,
but the pigs have come in.

1516
01:21:57,913 --> 01:21:59,790
He's relieving himself
in the bush right here.

1517
01:22:01,116 --> 01:22:02,551
Yeah, he's super-fast.

1518
01:22:02,651 --> 01:22:04,986
He's turning round, round this guy.

1519
01:22:05,086 --> 01:22:07,189
I'm expecting some people
to look at them and go...

1520
01:22:07,289 --> 01:22:10,091
Really? Is this the best you got?

1521
01:22:10,191 --> 01:22:13,562
The LEGO fans don't know they'll be
competing against LEGO designers

1522
01:22:13,662 --> 01:22:15,497
until Jamie shows up.

1523
01:22:15,597 --> 01:22:17,065
I just have to look at your animal

1524
01:22:17,165 --> 01:22:20,535
because we were trying
to see how you did it.

1525
01:22:20,635 --> 01:22:23,138
He's making us look bad.

1526
01:22:24,139 --> 01:22:25,907
Time's up!

1527
01:22:26,007 --> 01:22:27,042
We finished.

1528
01:22:28,977 --> 01:22:33,081
Make sure your MOC is arranged
the way you want it to be seen.

1529
01:22:33,181 --> 01:22:35,991
Step outside and come back
in ten minutes.

1530
01:22:57,172 --> 01:22:58,440
Congratulations!

1531
01:22:58,540 --> 01:23:00,417
Let's bring them in,
let them know what's going on.

1532
01:23:01,977 --> 01:23:03,478
You guys did such a great job,

1533
01:23:03,578 --> 01:23:07,549
it was really hard to tell
who was our champion.

1534
01:23:07,649 --> 01:23:11,597
So, Number 8, won't you
stand by your MOC, please?

1535
01:23:12,587 --> 01:23:14,157
Winner is Number 8!

1536
01:23:15,223 --> 01:23:17,225
We basically split off.
We each built a mech.

1537
01:23:17,325 --> 01:23:20,128
So I built the pig mech,
and Chris built the cow mech.

1538
01:23:20,228 --> 01:23:22,130
So they're kind of like
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots?

1539
01:23:22,230 --> 01:23:24,266
Yeah, I think what
we really liked about the MOC,

1540
01:23:24,366 --> 01:23:26,434
and what made it really win,
was the fact that

1541
01:23:26,534 --> 01:23:29,504
not only did you use
the small pig and cow heads here,

1542
01:23:29,604 --> 01:23:32,307
but you also constructed
robotic ones from scratch

1543
01:23:32,407 --> 01:23:33,975
with the bricks you were provided.

1544
01:23:34,075 --> 01:23:37,078
The winner was, I definitely agree...
Was really a standout.

1545
01:23:37,178 --> 01:23:40,415
I knew we'd have tough competition.
These are some really amazing builders.

1546
01:23:40,515 --> 01:23:44,361
I mean, I'd like to think that we came
in the top 28, which was pretty good.

1547
01:23:45,854 --> 01:23:46,988
(CHEERING)

1548
01:23:47,088 --> 01:23:48,990
Shortly after the master build

1549
01:23:49,090 --> 01:23:52,697
Jamie introduces the new
Parisian Cafe set to much fanfare.

1550
01:23:55,363 --> 01:23:59,134
Then participants gather in the main hall
for the annual award ceremony.

1551
01:23:59,234 --> 01:24:02,203
Alice Finch's Rivendell build
is being considered

1552
01:24:02,303 --> 01:24:04,374
for the coveted People's Choice Award.

1553
01:24:06,741 --> 01:24:09,945
The People's Choice Awards
are those voted upon by the public.

1554
01:24:10,045 --> 01:24:12,314
We counted all those up,
and we came up with

1555
01:24:12,414 --> 01:24:13,882
Winners of People's Choice.

1556
01:24:13,982 --> 01:24:15,052
And the winner is...

1557
01:24:16,718 --> 01:24:18,153
Rivendell!

1558
01:24:18,253 --> 01:24:22,759
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

1559
01:24:24,392 --> 01:24:27,128
It's a pretty amazing feeling to have

1560
01:24:27,228 --> 01:24:29,464
10,000 people say
that they like what you build.

1561
01:24:29,564 --> 01:24:32,634
To have a woman win is pretty unusual.

1562
01:24:32,734 --> 01:24:36,682
To have the same person win
three years in a row is unheard of.

1563
01:24:44,512 --> 01:24:47,649
One of the fundamental ways
we know about humans

1564
01:24:47,749 --> 01:24:49,918
and our history
is by the things that they build.

1565
01:24:50,018 --> 01:24:54,022
Maybe little plastic bricks
are a modern adaptation of that,

1566
01:24:54,122 --> 01:24:57,559
but really it's about
creating something.

1567
01:24:57,659 --> 01:25:02,597
We are definitely at the core
of what is human,

1568
01:25:02,697 --> 01:25:04,472
is the capacity to build.

1569
01:25:05,166 --> 01:25:09,204
In the big picture, life on Earth
has evolved through millennia

1570
01:25:09,304 --> 01:25:11,773
by adapting to the surroundings,

1571
01:25:11,873 --> 01:25:15,877
until the point where
we invent tools, technology.

1572
01:25:15,977 --> 01:25:21,850
We suddenly get the capacity
to adapt our surroundings to life.

1573
01:25:21,950 --> 01:25:23,918
So we now no longer have to suffice

1574
01:25:24,018 --> 01:25:27,222
with a cave we can find
or a tree we can climb into.

1575
01:25:27,322 --> 01:25:29,090
We can actually build our own cave,

1576
01:25:29,190 --> 01:25:31,192
and we can build our own tree house.

1577
01:25:31,659 --> 01:25:33,795
The moment where we really became human

1578
01:25:33,895 --> 01:25:35,964
was the moment where we got this power.

1579
01:25:36,064 --> 01:25:37,465
It's also a mindset somehow.

1580
01:25:37,565 --> 01:25:39,367
It's believing that anything is possible

1581
01:25:39,467 --> 01:25:41,236
if you have the right tools
in front of you.

1582
01:25:41,336 --> 01:25:44,439
Sometimes we don't have
an opportunity to just be free,

1583
01:25:44,539 --> 01:25:47,208
and everything
that we have inside of us,

1584
01:25:47,308 --> 01:25:49,477
we never have
an opportunity to let it out.

1585
01:25:49,577 --> 01:25:53,248
And we're always looking
for something to inspire us

1586
01:25:53,348 --> 01:25:55,650
or to just give us some joy.

1587
01:25:55,750 --> 01:25:59,287
Being able to take your dreams
and take your thoughts

1588
01:25:59,387 --> 01:26:01,256
and materialize into something,

1589
01:26:01,356 --> 01:26:02,891
it's just a wonderful gift,

1590
01:26:02,991 --> 01:26:05,494
and I think the LEGO brick
has given that to the world.

1591
01:26:06,561 --> 01:26:10,265
(TIRE SCREECHING)

1592
01:26:10,365 --> 01:26:13,268
In Idaho, Jonathan and Matt
are nearly finished editing

1593
01:26:13,368 --> 01:26:15,837
their masterpiece, Melting Point.

1594
01:26:15,937 --> 01:26:19,908
The X-Wing has landed permanently
in Frankfurt Germany.

1595
01:26:20,008 --> 01:26:22,677
In Copenhagen,
Soren is still trying to figure out

1596
01:26:22,777 --> 01:26:25,613
just how infinite the possibilities are.

1597
01:26:25,713 --> 01:26:29,417
And in the Czech Republic,
Stephen's Curiosity Rover

1598
01:26:29,517 --> 01:26:31,394
is finally rolling off
the assembly line.

1599
01:26:33,354 --> 01:26:35,256
Oh wow, that's a lot of rovers. Awesome.

1600
01:26:35,356 --> 01:26:37,125
That's really nice-looking box art.

1601
01:26:37,225 --> 01:26:39,761
Oh, yeah, that's the great thing
about Cuusoo sets,

1602
01:26:39,861 --> 01:26:41,196
they have the best boxes.

1603
01:26:41,296 --> 01:26:43,531
- Oh, there I am. It's me.
- There you are.

1604
01:26:43,631 --> 01:26:45,100
"It's my hope that this model

1605
01:26:45,200 --> 01:26:46,668
encourages the public support

1606
01:26:46,768 --> 01:26:48,703
that is integral
to the continued development

1607
01:26:48,803 --> 01:26:51,147
and exploration of outer space." Yeah.

1608
01:26:52,974 --> 01:26:55,477
I'm glad Stephen mentioned space.

1609
01:26:55,577 --> 01:26:57,812
Didn't we start this film out there?

1610
01:26:57,912 --> 01:27:02,150
I promised we'd explain that, and seeing
how this is the end of the movie,

1611
01:27:02,250 --> 01:27:04,219
now is the time. For that story,

1612
01:27:04,319 --> 01:27:06,321
we go to Pasadena, California,

1613
01:27:06,421 --> 01:27:10,301
and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories,
or JPL for short.

1614
01:27:11,659 --> 01:27:16,397
SCOTT: As engineers and scientists are
developing space craft ideas and missions

1615
01:27:16,497 --> 01:27:19,334
to go out and explore
and learn about the universe,

1616
01:27:19,434 --> 01:27:22,403
we sometimes use LEGOs
to kinda put together a concept

1617
01:27:22,503 --> 01:27:24,139
and see if it makes sense.

1618
01:27:24,239 --> 01:27:26,875
So there's a room here
at JPL called the Left Field,

1619
01:27:26,975 --> 01:27:29,711
and it actually has these toys,
sort of a kid's dream.

1620
01:27:29,811 --> 01:27:32,480
Has big boxes of LEGOs,
and scientists and engineers

1621
01:27:32,580 --> 01:27:34,582
get together and actually
construct something

1622
01:27:34,682 --> 01:27:37,424
that looks a little bit
like the spacecraft they want.

1623
01:27:40,622 --> 01:27:46,227
Lift off of the Atlas 5 with Juno
on a trek to Jupiter.

1624
01:27:46,327 --> 01:27:49,030
The Juno project is a NASA mission

1625
01:27:49,130 --> 01:27:51,866
that was launched in August of 2011
to go to Jupiter,

1626
01:27:51,966 --> 01:27:56,271
and we will use our instruments
to learn about Jupiter's formation

1627
01:27:56,371 --> 01:27:58,874
and other solar systems
around other stars.

1628
01:28:00,608 --> 01:28:04,179
But the LEGO system was not just
a part of the design process.

1629
01:28:04,279 --> 01:28:05,914
We're onboard!

1630
01:28:06,014 --> 01:28:09,017
NASA engineers have mounted
three aluminum friends of mine

1631
01:28:09,117 --> 01:28:11,252
to the hull of the Juno spacecraft.

1632
01:28:11,352 --> 01:28:14,689
The three minifigures are modeled
after Galileo the scientist,

1633
01:28:14,789 --> 01:28:17,926
Jupiter the god and the goddess Juno.

1634
01:28:18,026 --> 01:28:20,628
They're attached
to the main deck of the spacecraft.

1635
01:28:20,728 --> 01:28:24,532
They were made by the LEGO company,
to NASA specifications,

1636
01:28:24,632 --> 01:28:27,738
of a special spacecraft-grade aluminum.

1637
01:28:28,836 --> 01:28:30,872
Sometimes I imagine,

1638
01:28:30,972 --> 01:28:33,543
what are they seeing in their voyage?

1639
01:28:35,810 --> 01:28:37,979
They're able to see
this incredible view.

1640
01:28:38,079 --> 01:28:40,821
In fact, they're seeing the view
that we all want to see.

1641
01:28:42,483 --> 01:28:45,220
We're living vicariously
through these LEGO minifigures.

1642
01:28:45,320 --> 01:28:47,857
They represent humanity in many ways.

1643
01:28:53,428 --> 01:28:56,331
Almost everything in the universe
is built from something else,

1644
01:28:56,431 --> 01:29:00,301
some fundamental building block
like an atom or a molecule,

1645
01:29:00,401 --> 01:29:04,105
and for me, LEGO represents one
of those fundamental building blocks.

1646
01:29:04,205 --> 01:29:07,345
And look how many things
we've built from this simple toy.

1647
01:29:25,093 --> 01:29:26,436
- Action.
- Action.

1648
01:29:30,231 --> 01:29:31,266
Cut!

1649
01:29:36,237 --> 01:29:40,743
(TELEPHONE RINGING)

1650
01:29:47,315 --> 01:29:50,353
- (TELEPHONE RINGS)
- (GASPS)

1651
01:29:51,152 --> 01:29:53,087
Release the hounds!

1652
01:29:53,187 --> 01:29:55,023
Now, was that... was this a joke?

1653
01:29:55,123 --> 01:29:57,292
Was this supposed to be funny?
'Cause I don't know if I...

1654
01:29:57,392 --> 01:29:59,303
I certainly don't get this.
Who wrote this?