Egypt’s Stop Motion Maestro Recreates Movie Scenes Out Of LEGO

It’s hard to imagine a childhood without LEGO. The colourful block-based building toys – and more than occasional foot-stabbers – have been around for children to enjoy (and for parents to step on) since 1958. Recently, we stumbled upon an amazing YouTube channel that recreates some of our favourite movie scenes out of LEGO stop motion; a little digging later and we discover that the man behind the rather entertaining hobby is actually Egyptian.

An IT System Analyst with a master's degree in computer engineering by day, 33-year-old self-professed “movie and video game geek” Hussein Hakem El Sayed is a master LEGO builder and multi-talented videographer by night. To make any one of his intricate videos, El Sayed takes over 2,000 individual photo frames to compose his scenes. And with every video taking around 10 days to film, with an additional 15 of post-production, El Sayed's is truly a labour of love.

“LEGO has been the love of my life since my mom brought me my first set in 1993,” he says. Taking an unorthodox course of action, El Sayed combined his passions for film and LEGO, and began making 'brickfilms' (the community name for LEGO movies) in late 2015, armed only with a cellphone camera and a desk lamp.

Now upgraded to a high-end photography setup, El Sayed continues making his unique videos, and has since garnered over 300,000 views on his YouTube channel. “Never let anyone or anything stop you from doing what you love,” El Sayed preaches, in a message to every inner geek afraid to share their passions. Even though Egyptians may not be the most immediately accepting of geek culture, El Sayed urges people – geeks and otherwise – to “always have time for yourself, to enjoy doing what you like, and leave responsibilities aside, even if just for a short while, because that’s what makes you alive.”

LEGO may have been around for decades but never seem to grow old, and after the colossal success of the first LEGO Movie, that doesn't seem like its going to change any time soon. With creations only constrained by limits of one’s imagination, Hussein El Sayed is part of a new wave of content creators taking their childhood passions in new and interesting directions.

Be sure to follow El Sayed and his amazing work on his YouTube channel and his Instagram.