Daedalus and Icarus

Daedalus and Icarus is a 2004 drama brickfilm by Stefan van Zwam. It is an interpretation of the classic Greek mythology story of the same name and won second place in the High Adventure Theatre Contest on Brickfilms.com.

Plot
Daedalus, a renowned inventor and architect, designs a labyrinth to contain a fearsome minotaur. The minotaur prefers human flesh to survive, and eventually Daedalus decides he cannot have a part in this gruesome situation any longer. He aids in the killing of the minotaur, but is caught, and is thrown in jail with his son, Icarus. Eventually, Daedalus and Icarus escape on pairs of wings made from feathers and wax. Ignoring his father's warnings about flying too high or too low, Icarus flies too close to the sun and his wings melt. Icarus falls to his death, and Daedalus returns home, alone.

Production
Stefan spent many nights producing Daedalus and Icarus. The film turned out to be the most complex Stefan had made up to that point: "The first scene filmed was the one where Icarus hears of the arrival of the ship and runs to meet his father. This scene made me realise the production process would be like: build a set, shoot about 10 seconds on it, and tear it down for the next set."

For the flying scenes, special flexible rigs were made from Technic parts, which were then digitally removed with a program created by Stefan called Blue Screen of Life (BSOL).

The behind the scenes images for the film can be seen here, and the storyboards can be seen here.

Cast

 * Mark Butler - The Narrator