This Animator is Collaborating with Dancers to Show that Every Story Has a Common Thread

After sharing her animation work on BeHance, Clara Santos was asked by a dance and film crew to collaborate on a new project. The film would show how movement connects us, and while that story was rooted in dance, Clara used animation to prove that we are all connected by a passion for creating towards progress.

Clara shares in her own words why animation is such a powerful medium, and what she learned from collaborating with unlikely partners:

I had been doing rotoscope work, and the YAK Films crew was looking for people to do rotoscope animation on their collaborative dance series, Exquisite Zombies 3. I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I find dancing amazing, but I honestly can’t dance at all. So I was thrilled to be a part of this in some way.

Clara Santos for Exquisite Zombies 3.

For our first collaboration, I was given final videos, and had no idea where there would be room for me. An artist’s dream is to be given total creative freedom, but that’s also a really scary thought. It’s intimidating having people believe in you, because there is always that thought that your last project was when you peaked. But that fear is what keeps me going.

Clara Santos for Exquisite Zombies 3.

The only direction I was given, was to capture things cameras couldn’t. That meant I had the chance to interpret something — something that was already so powerful — and guide perspectives towards the world I saw.

Clara Santos for Exquisite Zombies 2.

With animation, you can do anything. It’s limitless. You can make a whole new world come alive. Imagination becomes a part of life.

I want to draw people’s eyes to the same places mine go, and collaborating with artists from a totally new medium allowed me to do that.

Clara Santos for Exquisite Zombies 2.

After working on a few projects with the YAK Films crew, I’ve learned that collaboration isn’t a thing you have to consider mediums with. Animation is an open invite to join any conversation in the world. You can show people things and places they have never thought of before. I can change minds just by showing the hidden moments in every scene. That’s why I create.

See Clara’s films:

Did this collab give you ideas of your own? Show how you make moves towards impact — enter the Make Moves Challenge now.