Instagram story viewer> @clausstudios> Tagged

Justin Claus Harder

@clausstudios

25.6K

followers

1344

following

Motion, Design, Illustration, Concept #QUILT
Owner/Executive Creative Director of CLAUS
Husband & PaPa

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Images shot and editing by 📸@aprillevins 📍location @rovestudiooc I just love kids personality images. They allow me to have fun with edits 💕 #zarakids #toastuk

59

14

I haven’t really known how to talk about @stagesfilm without it feeling like repetition, promotion, or self-aggrandizement of some kind.

But that’s mostly because I’m much more comfortable making things than talking about the things I make. I have TBs worth of unshared work, projects in process, explorations…

Maybe part of my hangup is because the thing you make, the thing that becomes REAL, inevitably fails to live up to the “perfect” version that lived in your head… [con’t]

The truth is that the thing you actually make is REAL. Tangible. Messy. Imperfect. Less than and more than all at once.

And if you’re lucky, something intangible survives the distance between what you imagined and what you were actually able to create. The emotional core still transmits.

I think it’s time for me to start talking about @stagesfilm —not just the film, but what making it changed in me, and what it taught me about what directing a feature actually is.

I also want to talk about the strange relativity of “feature-film time.” Whole chapters of my life and career have happened while this one movie was still becoming itself.

And as we start figuring out how STAGES will make its way into the world, it feels like the right time to start telling the story behind it—and hopefully begin finding the audience that might see something of themselves in it. [con’t]

So - as a first post, some stills, bts, and screenshots of friends bands shared on IG that @clausstudios quilted together for the final credit sequence of the film.

So much of the way we experience bands is through snapshots.

The van. Backstage. A hotel room. A stage somewhere in the middle of the country. A blurry photograph from 2am.

We consume those fragments on our phones.

But behind every image is something much denser: long drives, late nights, playing to no one, playing to thousands, missing home, wondering if any of it is working—and waking up to do it again.

I knew I wanted that quilted DNA to live in the visual language of this film. It’s been there since I wrote the very first treatment back in 2018. [con’t]

I spent years watching friends live that life up close.

@thelonebellow have been a huge part of

446

11

The world of comics and graphic novels is endlessly vast. How do you find the ones that might be interesting to you?

I have a particular fondness for stories that lean toward social realism, combining the pleasure of reading with an opportunity to learn more about the challenges other people face, while also gaining a better understanding of myself and my own attitudes toward difficult things.

That’s how I was inspired to discover an unusual resource: GraphicMedicine.org.

In the slides, I’ll tell you a little about the project and share six comics that have made their way onto my reading list for a closer look.

And if you’re a Tolkien fan, I recommend swiping all the way to the end 🙃

____
Мир комиксов и графических романов безгранично большой — как найти интересные мне?

Испытывая особенную симпатию к историям, напоминающих по повествованию социальный реализм, позволяющих совместить удовольствие чтения с возможностью узнать больше о жизненных испытаниях других (как следствие, о себе и своем отношении к разным сложным вещам), я был вдохновлен встречей с необычным ресурсом - GraphicMedicine.org.

В слайдах рассказываю о проекте и делюсь шестью комиксами, что отправились в мой список для более углубленного знакомства.

Поклонникам Толкиена рекомендую долистать до конца 🙃

107

10

3

1

Meet Fanbase Press' award-winning creators - plus a guest signing for @streetnoisebooks' @melissakchan - at SDCC 2026 (@comic_con)!

Signings at Small Press O-03:

@daccampo (writer, THE MARGINS)

@melissakchan (writer, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION- @streetnoisebooks)

@jordyjordith (writer, Eisner-nominated RIPPLE EFFECTS)

@shaneportpants (writer, SHRUB)

@desire_yay (co-writer, Latino Book of the Year Award-winning NUCLEAR POWER)

38

2

For the better half of last year and into ‘26 I had the pleasure of crafting and animating this main title sequence for U.S. Against the World, alongside an absolutely killer team. We delved back to basics and busted out the scanners, x-acto knives, and spray paint, fully leaning into a hybrid process that felt raw, imperfect and handmade from start to finish.
-
Excited for this one to be out in the world. Streaming now on HBO Max ⚽️🏟️
.
.
.
.
#creativedirection #animation #artdirection #design #mikerussotv #motiondesign #stopmotion #sports #collage #worldcup #fifa #usmnt

1k

45

Fanbase Press' @barbrajdillon and Drew Siragusa are all set up at @anaheimlibrary's AnaCon today! Be sure to stop by to check out our award-winning comics and graphic novels!

Plus, meet AnaCon's special guests @kitsteinkellner and @emsteinkellner of Fanbase Press' QUINCE!

164

4

Blood. Sweat. Tears. Cramps. Back Pain. Carpal Tunnel. There’s a lot of handmade love here. What a dream project to be able to throw everything you’ve got at and let the world enjoy it.

U.S. Against the World — Tuesdays on HBO

Creative Direction: @prestongibson_ @caselat
Producer: @ryshoe
Design & Animation: @mikerusso.tv @prestongibson_
Design Development: @clausstudios
Music: @h_parrottmusic
Lyrics: @mvstermind

2k

42

U.S. Against the World

Very excited to have been a part of this series that is going to change the way the US thinks about soccer

Premiering May 12 on HBO

171

16

We’ve been agonizing over this show for over a year and can damn not wait to share everything. We worked on a real special title sequence and the graphics package for the new HBO Sports Docuseries “U.S. Against the World”

Premieres May 12 on HBO Max.

Huge thanks to @parkstories and @bssoutpost for putting their trust in us.

Track by @mvstermind

236

4

🇺🇸HAPPY 4TH Birthday recap…

Goodness we had the best weekend!!! There was a moment that I looked out at everyone eating yummy food and talking to one another. Kids were sitting at the kids table talking and playing. There were so many people in my house and I got choked up. It felt like an American dream backyard barbecue that you seen in the movies but this was real life, and it was all for our little boy who turns 4 this weekend. Wow… to feel so loved on & to see our village together. The thing that no one prepares you about going to kids birthday parties is that you see the same people every year and you start to develop a friendship with the families & people who are there. It’s really cool to see and experience. Thank you, Lord!

if you couldn’t make it, we missed you and we’ll see you next year! I already have a theme 😂🫠

Brought to you courtesy of the red white & blue! Basically I’m ready for our country’s 250th bc it’s all staying up til then. 😂

📸: @joannamiriam 4ever ❤️

#krystenskitchen #redwhiteblue #crunchymoms #glutenfreeparty

115

24

i had the immense pleasure of designing and building the website for @ryanbooth’s @stagesfilm featuring @davidramirez @lesliegrace: stages.movie

it’s been wild to see ryan’s journey from beyond the still to serialbox presents to here at SXSW premiering STAGES.

the @sxsw world premiere of STAGES is tonight, and i couldn’t be more thrilled for ryan, @davidramirez, @lesliegrace, @realdansteele, @bradleyhjackson, @_louisprince, @johnnyswim, @amandasudanoramirez, @lucasjharger, @bssoutpost, @livenationstudios, @theranchproductions, @clausstudios, @caselat, @mikerusso.tv, @ryshoe, etc.

63

5