This shot captures ribosomes that have been emitted from the nucleus, cascading down and attaching to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they will later begin the process of synthesizing proteins.
I tried a number of techniques to achieve this animation, from using C4D’s dynamics system with effectors, and its newly rebuilt particle system with forces, but in this case I found the best result by sticking to the most basic: using the good old-fashioned Mograph cloner.
Using the cloner object, I was able to clone the ribosomes onto the ER and specify the area I’d like them to land on using a selection tag. I used a plain effector to raise them up off of the ER in the Y direction, and a random effector as well. To both effectors I added a radial falloff which I animated over the length of the shot to show the ribosomes cascading down in a radial fashion as I envisioned.
Sometimes the best techniques are the simplest!