Clear communication, a defined goal, and a well-thought-out plan is a perfect recipe for a successful project. Before embarking on the work, there are many factors to be considered. It is important to set a solid foundation for the team to build upon, that will help them to avoid any misalignments that plague projects. It was undoubtedly the case on which we worked with Belimed Life Science. Let us now take you behind the scenes of crafting an animation for them.
About the client
Belimed Life Science is a leading supplier of customized process solutions for machine cleaning and sterilization. They build trust and value by precisely identifying and resolving customer challenges and optimizing requirements for improvement.
Introducing new perspective
What needs to be determined before sitting down to write the voice-over is: what point of view is right for this animation? From which perspective, should I tell the story? What would be the best way to give a glimpse into the world we have created?
Fun fact – It is commonly believed that the first voice-over was recorded by Walt Disney, as Mickey Mouse in “Steamboat Willie.”
In general, voiceovers are written in the first, second or third person. Prior to creating Belimed Life Science, we had rarely used first-person narration , so this time we decided to try something new and tell the story using the mouth of the main protagonist. We designed a character whose name is Bela and allowed her to take us on a journey of a pharmeceutical cleaning process. It was an interesting exploration for us to turn the perspective of the story and tell it from a different point of view. It gave immediacy to the animation and the sense of ‘being there’, in the present moment in which the action unfolds.
An extra fun fact! – Did you know that some voice-over artists can perform different roles and act out different voices?
Challenges along the way
Understanding the service
Initially, we had a rough idea of what the services that Belimed Life Science provided were, however, at first it was challenging to fully understand the process of how products in a pharmaceutical environment are cleaned. Ergo, we had to go thorough background research about every product that would be portrayed in the animation. It was fascinating!
Our team produced a lot of animated videos that included pharmaceutical environments, but it turns out that not all of them are the same. Over the course of the past few years, we produced a lot of complex videos which touched upon matters related to life science topics such as e.g. membrane chromatography, oil purification process, or electrical gloves’ safety inspection. This time we also weren’t left alone and thanks to an excellent introduction to the world of 3D-designed washing machine racks we managed to get the gist of what our partner really has to offer.
Combining 2D with 3D
In order to start the animation process in any 3D software, a lot of preparation is necessary and the logistics of all the shots have to be carefully planned. When blending 2D and 3D together, it all comes down to small tricks. The two mediums have to closely resemble each other in the level of detail and how that detail behaves on a moving surface.
Even though both 2D and 3D have their strong and weak points, mixed animation provides a cost-effective opportunity to make visually appealing animation that conveys the natural expressiveness of hand-drawn animation while utilizing the accuracy of software calculated 3D animation.
Technical aspect of the project
The majority of scenes in the animation were done in 3D. For example, in the given scene our animators took a 2D illustration and traced it in 3D, which allowed them to do rotations that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
In order to show the 3D scanner that is used to map the data, we used projection light, which required a lot of detail orientation. We used a raytracing engine, and the result is a really accurate representation of what happens in real life.
The scene shown below is in fact 2.5D, where our illustrators created graphics in 2D which afterwards were animated in 3D. Ultimately, it creates an illusion of a third dimension.
Lessons learned
#1 Come up with new approaches. It is always a good idea to think of new ways of conveying stories, for example narrating them from a different perspective.
#2 Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Even without proper knowledge of the industry of our client, doing background research was just enough to help us craft an explainer video!
#3 Combine 2D with 3D. Keep using the strengths of both media and combining them together – the consistency of animating in 3D and the artistic expressiveness added by 2D animation. Adding hand-drawn details give the animation evocative and rather unique visuals.
Client feedback
“Working with K&C Media Group was the first experience Belimed Life Science ever had with 3D animations. Especially the quality of the animations and the short cycle time of the project are impressive. The good comprehension skills allowed K&C Media Group to quickly understand even complex processes and they were able to illustrate these processes in an attractive way.“
