Many years ago, Hero Factory founder, Akiyama Makuro, realized that with so much evil at large in the universe, an inexhaustible force for good was needed to combat it. To answer the call for this great mission, he created HERO FACTORY. Today, his dream continues to thrive, dedicated to the preservation of peace and the dynamic enforcement of galactic law.

The Factory designs, builds, and dispatches robot-heroes to fight villains, solve crises, and restore peace across the universe, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Factory operates in the amazing Makuhero City, a modern, sprawling technopolis with a multitude of diverse and lively neighborhoods:  home to millions of living robots.

BUT, all is not well---there's been a BREAKOUT!  The Hero Factory, the beacon of hope, the fortress for justice  in the centre of Makuhero City, seemed impenetrable and incorruptible – until now…

The vast collection of ignoble villains and hideous monsters, once held secure inside Hero Factory’s Lockdown Facility, has somehow broken their bonds -- and they’re fleeing from Makuhero City to all corners of the galaxy!!  

Nooooooo!!!

But as the robot-heroes begin battle to capture the villains, it becomes apparent that the breakout is merely a feint – a nigh-disastrous distraction from the malefactions of the evil Black Phantom, who has remained behind, intent on destroying the Factory’s Assembly Tower.  

With the mission-managers immobilized by Black Phantom, Hero Factory locked down, and all contact with the heroes cut off, Rocka – the only hero remaining – must use all of his training and expertise to foil Black Phantom’s diabolical plans!

Can Rocka hold out until the team returns???

…Are you hooked yet? 

Of course you are! 

Be sure to check out the official Hero Factory website and LEGO's YouTube Channel before getting started.

The wikipedia and brikipedia pages are a also great source for the history of Hero Factory and a list of characters and bios.

With LEGO Hero Factory, kids can build the bravest, most advanced heroes in the galaxy...and now you can create the most engaging, fresh, memorable and viral video content on the Internet. 

Explore LEGO Hero Factory and the BREAKOUT storyline through your own unique perspective, and create a 30-90 second animated or animation/live action blend video that will create viral buzz and excitement for the LEGO Hero Factory.  Feel free to push the envelope – after all, only THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE is at stake.  Be bold, and explore any idea or style (humor, viral, action/epic) but keep in mind that LEGO is: 

1) Looking for tone, feel, and sensibility that is different from the existing Hero Factory videos which you can see here. 

2) The ultimate purpose of these videos is to drive awareness across the web to LEGO Hero Factory and to draw in new users.

--Target Audience:  Videos should appeal to kids 6-10 but also should also appeal to LEGO loving web-audiences and adults.  We fully expect that this will be as exciting and fun for you as the product is for the kids who use it. So remember: first and foremost we're looking for FUN, new, and must-see / must-forward / “like” isn’t enough executions.

--Exposure: The winning videos will be used this spring by LEGO in multiple capacities including a major search campaign.

This project will be worth a total of $20,000 and consist of three phases. Also, this tournament style process will progress differently from previous projects, so be sure to read the following information carefully.

PHASE 1: CONCEPT – Tell us your Concept for a 30-90 animated or animation/live action video designed to create viral buzz and excitement around LEGO Hero Factory in 250 characters or less. The best Concepts will not only serve as input for an amazing video, but also thematically convey the fun and dynamism of the Hero Factory world. Remember, a Concept is not a detailed script; it is a moment of inspiration, or a distillation of what will happen in the Video. As always, Concepts should be clever, engaging, and f-u-n. Winning Concepts creators will each receive $100, a $50 LEGO Gift Card, the much anticipated LEGO Moleskine, and a 5% residual payment for every winning video their Concept is used to generate.

PHASE 2: PITCH – Using text (500 characters or less), images (storyboards), video, and external links (to other supporting assets, i.e., your reel, etc.), give us your Pitch for how YOU would go about producing this Video based on one of the FIVE winning Concepts. The SEVEN most compelling Pitches will be selected and will receive a $500 production budget and a LEGO Hero Factory Production Kit containing four heroes (Evo, Rocka, Surge, and Furno) and four villains (Toxic Reapa, Black Phantom, Jawblade, and Splitface) to help create their Video. Those winners (upon submitting their Winner's Affidavit and IP Assignment) will also be GUARANTEED to place in the subsequent Video Phase and receive the much anticipated LEGO Moleskine. So, if your Pitch is selected, you will earn a minimum of $1,000 with a 1-in-8 shot at the $8,000 first place video prize. Remember your Pitch can include any, and all, of the assets mentioned above, but you MUST include a link to some of your previous video work on Tongal or elsewhere to be considered for this phase. For an example of an effective pitch, check out Cuyler Bryant's winning Ace Hardware “Build To The Beat” Pitch. To avoid information cascades, all Pitches will remain private until after the video winners of the subsequent phase are announced. Alternatively, even if you don’t win the Pitch Phase or choose not to create a pitch, you will still have the opportunity to create a “Wild Card” Video completely of your own creative devices in the subsequent Phase. 

PHASE 3: VIDEO – Winning Pitch creators from the previous phase will utilize their $500 advance to create a 30-90 second video based upon their winning materials and all other creators are invited to enter a “Wild Card” submission that’s not based on any winning material from the previous phases. Remember, the SEVEN Pitch winners are GUARANTEED prizes, as is ONE of the non-pitch video creators. All wildcard winners will also receive a LEGO Moleskine.

--Music: Tongal has partnered with Audiosocket, a boutique music licensing agency representing more than 1,400 emerging bands, composers and record labels. Audiosocket tracks will be available to Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into Tongal members' submissions to the Hero Factory project. Tongal members are encouraged to browse the Audiosocket catalog, available at http://audiosocket.com. If you are interested in using a track from the Audiosocket catalog, as described above, please email music@tongal.com for account and password info, which will allow for the download of up to three tracks.

–-Samples: Hero Factory Production Kits (with the exception of Black Phantom) will be made available upon request to registered Tongal members who are interested in creating a wildcard video for this project. Just email samples@tongal.com with the words “Hero Factory Production Kit” in the subject line and your name, address and link to Tongal profile in the email body.

1. Videos MUST not exceed 90 seconds in length. Preferred format is HD 720p 16x9.  Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX.

2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.

3. Videos must feature LEGO Hero Factory products.

4. In the event you utilize any third party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.

5. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of LEGO.

6. Submissions must not portray LEGO in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with LEGO.

7. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.

8. Limit 5 submission(s) per member, per phase.

9. Minimum 50 Pitches, or the contest may repost for fourteen (14) days at the sponsor's discretion.

10. Sponsor will be entitled to one reasonable round of revisions on the finished videos without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.

11. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, winning video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, and Music Releases for all assets appearing in the video as well as the project files, editing sequence and an uncompressed quicktime .mov file in either Animation or ProRes 422 codecs at either 1920x1080 or 1280x720 to claim their prize.

12. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.