Chris Kroner takes a look at how to use non linear deformers in Maya on multiple separate surfaces so that it affects them as one surface. In his simple example he explores the possibilities of simply using a Sine Deformer on shapes.
This is a good example of how you are able to create some pretty complex animatable structures with some fairly simple tools in Maya and extending what is possible by adding one system on top of another system.
As an example of this, Chris takes this all a step further by using an Aim Constraints in Maya to additionally affect the multiple shapes with some pretty great potential for animation.
As an Associate Professor Chris creates these video tutorials for his class however he is nice enough to allow for embedding and sharing which we all appreciate. 🙂