Award winning Germany based Studio LAVAMACHINE combines the power of two independent short film animators & illustrators creating and teaching VR experiences with a powerful message and brand new style. Eric Giessmann Director/ Animator www.ericgiessmann.com Multiple international award-winning director for animated short film and specialized in VR content. With the founding of Studio LAVAMACHINE, he combined his passion for classical painting with the digitalization of the 21st century. Piers Goffart Director/ Concept Artist www.lavamachine.com Freelance illustrator and animator with a passion for storytelling, comedy and character acting. In 2015 he won the POS Award for best Artwork. Since 2017 he shifted his craft more and more into VR painting and animation.

Monster - Creative Vision What is "Monster" about? The film is about a monster that desperately tries to blend in with humans. It looks like a monster on the outside, but is a normal good guy on the inside. Because his appearance makes him feel like an outsider, he hides behind a human disguise. A visit to an indoor swimming pool and the events therein force him to face his fears and literally come out of his skin, which leads to a dramatic unraveling of his identity. What is the theme of the film? I want to immerse the viewer in a character who has problems that we all go through. I'm sure everyone has been in a situation where they felt like they didn't belong. The film addresses some questions about the issue. How does it happen that one perceives oneself as an outsider? Isn't it sometimes just self-perception that gets in the way? How much does it depend on the people you meet in life? Will people always just see your appearance or where you come from or are there some out there who just want to know WHO you are? What was the genesis of my idea? Before the story was written, there was only the concept that there is a monster that only dares to enter the human world as long as it disguises itself as a human. The idea came very intuitively, but I wanted to create a clear metaphor for an outsider, or someone who sees himself as an outsider, and spin a story around it. Maybe it has something to do with my childhood. I went to a German school and was the only person with Asian roots. Because I myself have sometimes seen or felt as different or as an outsider. I then sometimes wished for such a trait of "not looking different". About the development of the character Wearing a human skin all the time to feel like you belong is of course not a life model that lasts long. The visit to the swimming pool forces him to make up his mind whether he really wants to go on living like before or to free himself from this hiding. A naive child who does not care about his appearance and constantly lures him out of the reserve and jumping from the tower that tears his skin forces him in the course of the story to make this decision. P.G.