Medical animation

While it's a few years old now, I keep hearing about this film* still being admired and shown around as an example of how a medical animation doesn't have to be boring formulaic molecules floating around.

It's also one of my favourites of course for the Healthcare Clio awards it brought my way, a nice reward for persistent attention to every detail.

*Due to UK medical marketing regulations I can't specify the name of the product or what condition it is for

Medical animation

This little project was a pleasure to make and has turned into one of my best pieces of work. The convenor of judges of the IPA Best of Health Awards whispering to me “I fucking love this” as I accepted award certificates on stage last year.

A common brief in pharma circles is the ‘mode of action’ animation, which usually results in glossy but dull clinical films.  This unique medication had the challenge of not only selling to doctors the innovative science behind the drug, but also overcoming their disinterest in the condition. Plus, the brief was to create a piece that could also be used to educate patients and parents.

The solution was to have some fun. In reality, the protaganists in this story mostly exist on the molecular or cellular, level so have no actual tangible shapes, so they were based on a combination of their function and simple visual appeal. Brought to life by Sheffield-based Finger Industries, with a bespoke soundtrack and narration by Brian Perkins, the former ‘voice of Radio4’ , this was a low-budget project that has become a high-profile success among the client’s international network. This was definitely a labour of love for me – giving feedback to the animators while on holiday in Spain, and convincing an amateur composer friend to do a bespoke soundtrack after a budget meltdown meant I was told ‘there’s no money for music’. As well as the Gold, Silver and Best in show: illustration awards in the 2011 IPA Best of Health, it scooped two bronze healthcare Clio awards in New York which although bronze, is definitely a high point for me. Clios, even the healthcare variety, are hard to get.

Source – https://vimeo.com/24770323

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