A Fixed System

A Fixed System is a 2014 brickfilm by Aaron Fisher. It is about a man who discovers the terrible secret behind his repetitive life. It won multiple categories in both the 2015 Bricks in Motion Awards and the 2015 Brickfilmer's Guild Film Festival, including Best Film and Viewers' Choice in each.

Plot
A man lives a seemingly idyllic suburban family life. Each day he follows a routine, working in a factory. Over time, however, he becomes dissatisfied with the repetitiveness of his life, with himself and his family following the same routine each day. Eventually, as he arrives home from work, he looks around the street where he lives. To his horror, he sees each house is occupied by an identical family following the exact same routine. He attempts to break from the routine with his family, shying away from greetings before finally flipping the dinner table. His family are unaware of whatever he does and continue on as normal.

The man walks outside at night and finds his hat and briefcase lying on the ground. In frustration, he throws the briefcase onto the road. He then throws the hat away, only for it to disappear off what looks like a ledge. He goes to investigate and discovers that it is in fact the edge of a large platform on which the town rests, balanced precariously on top of a tall column. The objects which he had been assembling in the factory are used to support this platform, but crumble rapidly and need constant replacement. As day breaks, the other identical men leave for work, but the spilled briefcase leads to a pileup, from which they cannot recover. The man realizes that without them working in the factory, the supply of supports will run out, and the platform will fall. He rushes to the factory and attempts to work the assembly line by himself, but is soon overwhelmed and falls down the delivery chute.

The man is deposited at the base of the platform. An incomplete support is inserted and the platform begins to topple. He desperately attempts to hold it up. A section of the platform collapses and the factory falls down to the base. The rubble proves to be a stable support for the remaining part of the platform. The man climbs back on top of the platform, finding the others surveying the damage. When he sees his wife finally aware of what has happened, he feels happy again.

Crew

 * Aaron Fisher - Writer, Director, Animator
 * Nathan Larsen - Original score
 * John Kosch - Piano
 * Nicholas May - Tenor sax
 * Jake Wheeler - Bass
 * Hunter Lee Young - Trumpet

Awards

 * colspan="1" rowspan="12"|2014
 * colspan="1" rowspan="4"|Bricks in Motion Awards
 * Best Film
 * Won
 * Best Original Score
 * Won
 * Best Animation
 * Nominated
 * Viewers' Choice
 * Won
 * colspan="1" rowspan="7"|Brickfilmer's Guild Film Festival
 * Best Film of Festival
 * Won
 * BFG Member’s Choice
 * Won
 * Best Story and Screen Play
 * Won
 * Best Cinematography
 * Nominated
 * Best Animation
 * Nominated
 * Best Sound Effects
 * Nominated
 * Best Music Score
 * Won
 * colspan="1" rowspan="1"|Ciné Brique 2015
 * Best Original Story
 * Won
 * Nominated
 * Best Sound Effects
 * Nominated
 * Best Music Score
 * Won
 * colspan="1" rowspan="1"|Ciné Brique 2015
 * Best Original Story
 * Won
 * colspan="1" rowspan="1"|Ciné Brique 2015
 * Best Original Story
 * Won