The Monsters - Clap Your Hands!
Posted by Rebekah Cook on
These claymation beat-boxing monsters are a killer combo from German animating team Studio Flox that will inspire you to create your own unique rhythms and characters.
The Monsters - Clap your hands!
Florian, Nica, and Maximilian work together in Stuttgart, Germany, making handcrafted promotional and instructional videos for businesses and organizations. This one, though, was a personal project, using sculpted characters created by friends and guests at one of their summer parties!
When looking for characters to animate, we usually gravitate toward those with a larger range of motion, but here the limited movement is put to good use. You could certainly adapt the concept for a more complex choreography, but it's not really missed, especially since the monsters are so visually interesting on their own.
The clay figures are reminiscent of Pixar's Monsters Inc. films, brimming with personality and ferocious charm. Large, bright sheets of poster paper provide a cheerful backdrop, with clear directional shadows that help clue you in to the lighting set-up. The unexpected layering of "voices" teases our ears, painting a soundscape as tantalizing as it is off-beat.
The musical timing could be improved, as the frog feels slightly ahead of the rhythm established by the rest of the band, but it's possible that was an artistic choice. Or maybe a commentary on the musical ability of frogs? (Just kidding!)
To learn more about the team behind this stop motion short, visit their their website here. You can also follow Studio Flox on Vimeo, Facebook, and Twitter.