Flashing Pants, Inc.


Flashing Pants, Inc. is Tito's Lego stop-motion movie production company. It was originally named Last Minute, Inc. and included Tito's oldest brother. However, after the dark ages of bad filiming had passed, Tito and his brother realized their differences and split up. At the end of "Mi Film de Espanol," Tito produced an ending sequence that showed a pair of pants changing colors on a handle of his dresser. After that, Flashing Pants, Inc. became the new name of the company. Thank you for your time. Below are a list of Flashing Pants, Inc. productions, including the old days before the name change and collaborations with his brother.

NOTE: Names are same as when filming took place. Some names are changed or invented here for clarity.

Last Minute, Inc.


"Original screen test" (collaboration)
Time: 0:08.5
Description: A Lego person with a skeleton head named Dead Man runs awkwardly across the screen while holding the gun.
Points of note: This was the first stop-motion production ever, and was actually better than some later productions.

"Take Two" (collaboration)
Time: 0:29
Description: Dead Man attacks another man, and after Dead Man is struck down by the other, Dead Man shoots him.
Points of note: The shooting technique was the first special effect ever. This is the first sighting of the horrific "motion-talking" attempts.

"Take Two: Part Two"
Time: 0:55
Description: An Imperial stormtrooper finds the murdered man, then beats Dead Man in a duel and arrests him.
Points of note: The dialogue in this part is even lamer than the dialogue in the first.

"Lightsaber Duel and Fading Testing: Take One"
Time: 1:15
Description: Qui-gon and Darth Maul fight in a desert with lightsabers until Qui-gon cuts Darth Maul's hand off. Then Darth Maul runs away.
Points of note: This video included many interesting fighting moves and a "flip" by Qui-gon in which you can see fingers holding him during one frame. This was originally planned to have cassette-tape sound added at a later time. The cassette was made, but never played along with the movie.

"Various Testings and Other Stuff: Take One"
Time: 0:22
Description: A robot moves, then flies straight up. An arctic buggy drives past the camera.
Points of note: These two short motion sequences were due to boredom on a night where Tito couldn't think up anything to do.

"Mi Film de Espanol"
Time: 3:42
Description: This movie, subtitled in Spanish, is split into three parts. In Acto Uno: Saludos!, Pedro and Juan greet each other, then Pedro leaves hurriedly. In Acto Dos: El Mono, Pedro returned with a newly-bought monkey, but he and Juan discover that it only has three paws. It runs away. In Acto Tres: El Pantalones, Pedro returns from chasing the monkey, out of breath. A long awkward silence happens, then Senor Juan's pants disappear from under him. Pedro runs in fear and the movie ends.
Points of note: This was the first movie to use the title function on the camera, allowing the entire movie to be narrated with Spanish subtitles. The film speed on the first act was much too slow. This was also the first movie to feature named actors. At the end, the flashing pants sequence happened, which led to the renaming of the company to Flashing Pants, Inc. All movies from that point on bore the new title.

Flashing Pants, Inc.

"The Fight Show" (collaboration)
Time: 5:24
Description: In this film, Dead Man and a new character named Shadow fight two rounds in a wrestling ring. Shadow is a completely black character, with a black cape, a black hood, a black face, black pants, and a black staff. He has the power of darkness and Dead Man was a chainsaw. In the second round, weapons are outlawed, and Dead Man eventually calls up a clone of himself from the dead to help defeat Shadow. Periods of commentary filled the middle and end of the picture.
Points of note: Lighting during this film was a small desk lamp from Tito's brother's writing desk, but some parts were mistakenly filmed without the special lighting. The lighting was necessary to make Shadow visible on the black ring, and added a special feel to the film. The special effect of the explosion was done using a close-up technique with the light, and a huge flip was performed by Dead Man during the fight by holding the outer part of his body off the screen with the filmer's hands. This was, like "Lightsaber Duel," originally planned to have cassette-tape sound added at a later time. The cassette was never made.

"Stuck Alone"
Time: 6:58
Description: This was basically a spoof of the movie Cast Away set in colonial times. Charles is a worker for the shipping company Colonial Express, or ColEx, and is leaving his fiance on a business trip to Britain. On the way, the ship gets caught in a storm and runs into a rock, killing all of the sailors except for Charles. Charles gets shipwrecked on an island. The film skips most (nearly all, actually) of the movie, and ends with Charles looking down two roads.
Points of note: This was the first full-length movie attempted that had an elaborate start-up sequence. It was the first one to involve construction of props and a set. Some would say that it was a failure. I would, for the most part, have to agree. This film also featured the return of the "motion-talking" disaster.

"Mi Film de Espanol: Numero Dos"
Time: 3:15
Description: Pedro and Juan return for another even worse movie. In Acto Uno: El Tiempo, Pedro and Juan talk about the weather in Houston, Texas. In Acto Dos: Descansado, many angle shots are taken of Pedro and Juan lying down on the ground, resting. In Acto Tres: La Sombra, Shadow appears as the characters are parting and turns Pedro into a monkey. Pedro then jumps onto Shadow to end the film.
Points of note: The film speed in this film was adjusted from the first Spanish film, but it was an overcompensation. Some screens go by too quickly to even read. The second act has no content whatsoever, and the other two acts are even lamer than the first Spanish films's acts.

"Too Much Noise"
Time: approx. 2:00
Description: This movie is about a physics teacher named Mr. Prosser who flips out one day when his students start talking behind his back. A few people disappear at the end.
Points of note: This was the first film to include special effects (flashing lights) and the exposure function on the camera. It was also the first short film to feature a full-set, and an original animated ending sequence.

The dusty old Attic beckons...