WATCH: Moth Studio’s “Better Humans”
As one of a seven-part series commissioned by Massive on the lasting impact of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Better Humans from Moth Studio (formerly Moth Collective) is a “kaleidoscopic romp” through a neon world of yetis, scientists and body augmentation.
Animation: Maria Morris, Keziah Philipps, Knifeson Yu and Moth Studio
Compositing: Daniele Baiardini, Keziah Philipps, Ross Plaskow and Moth Studio
Music and Sound Design: Skillbard
Words: Braden Allenby and Conor Walsh
Commissioned by: Massive Science Co-Production of Massive and Plympton
Producer: Harriet Bailey
Senior Producer: Nadja Oertelt
Executive Producers: Ed Finn and Bob Beard
Character turnarounds (Moth Studio)
We were approached by Massive to create one out of a series of seven short films on the lasting impact of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. They wanted a more fantastical visual interpretation to contrast against the factual scientific voice over, so we were given full creative freedom to push that brief wherever our minds would take it. Taking inspiration from 80’s Japanese monster vinyl toys, we mixed monsters, optimism, and scientific facts to create a look into the neon future.
We wanted the film to look loose and fun so we started experimenting with using bright coloured markers on plastic cels. As we fell in love with the texture and the look that they gave us, we decided to embrace the technique and design the whole film on physical cells. These were then scanned and used as our backgrounds to our digital 2D animation, enhancing the film with imperfections that gave it a special charm and unique result.
-Moth Studio
See more of the work of Moth Studio at moth.studio