Behind the scenes of an MoA for a fictitious pharma product
I recently had the opportunity to take a mentorship program on medical animation from the industry veteran and medical animation guru Guillermo Miranda, and wanted to create this blog post to walk you through the process of a piece I created with the knowledge and skills I gained from his program.
It’s interesting to note that, if this were a real-life client project, the final piece and the process behind it would be hidden from sight behind NDA’s. But since this piece was created explicitly for the purpose of a training exercise, it lends itself perfectly to an exploration of the process behind it.
Please note – the brand, product, and actual mechanism of action (MoA) are 100% fabricated. The MoA in particular is not meant to be scientifically accurate, but was crafted for the purposes of the exercise only.
It’s interesting to note that, if this were a real-life client project, the final piece and the process behind it would be hidden from sight behind NDA’s. But since this piece was created explicitly for the purpose of a training exercise, it lends itself perfectly to an exploration of the process behind it.
Please note – the brand, product, and actual mechanism of action (MoA) are 100% fabricated. The MoA in particular is not meant to be scientifically accurate, but was crafted for the purposes of the exercise only.
A frame from the final animation.
Creative Brief
Our fictitious client in this exercise is MSC Pharma, an upstart biotech company in pre-launch of their new cancer treatment drug called Cytovexin.
The client is looking to create a Mechanism of Action (MoA) video to demonstrate how Cytovexin works, in a clear, concise and medically accurate way. They intend to use the animation at their tradeshow booths, so the visuals need to top-notch cinematic 3D.
BioMotion Studios worked directly with MSC Pharma’s Medical and Scientific experts to provide a rough outline of the steps in the MoA they wanted to be depicted in the animation. (In reality, this step was accomplished with the assistance of generative AI by prompting it how a hypothetical oncologic drug like this could work.)
The client is looking to create a Mechanism of Action (MoA) video to demonstrate how Cytovexin works, in a clear, concise and medically accurate way. They intend to use the animation at their tradeshow booths, so the visuals need to top-notch cinematic 3D.
BioMotion Studios worked directly with MSC Pharma’s Medical and Scientific experts to provide a rough outline of the steps in the MoA they wanted to be depicted in the animation. (In reality, this step was accomplished with the assistance of generative AI by prompting it how a hypothetical oncologic drug like this could work.)
Storyboard/Storymatic
The first step in properly creating any good MoA sequence is by hand-drawing the visuals.
I started by digitally hand-drawing the antibodies and receptor in Photoshop. (Watch the time-lapse video of my Photoshop process below). Once the characters were drawn, I arranged and re-used them in the different still frames to illustrate the story I was intending to tell – that of a hero antibody that binds to an FGFR receptor.
The goal of this step is to lock down exactly on what the key actions are in the animation. Hand-drawn sketches are a low-fidelity way to ensure you’re in alignment with the story that the Medical and Scientific Directors are trying to tell.
In a real-life project, it would be vital to get written sign-off from the client at this step. The storyboard is like the blueprint for the house we’re going to be building later (the 3D animation in this analogy). It’s much less expensive to revise a blueprint than it is to alter a house after it’s already being constructed.
I started by digitally hand-drawing the antibodies and receptor in Photoshop. (Watch the time-lapse video of my Photoshop process below). Once the characters were drawn, I arranged and re-used them in the different still frames to illustrate the story I was intending to tell – that of a hero antibody that binds to an FGFR receptor.
The goal of this step is to lock down exactly on what the key actions are in the animation. Hand-drawn sketches are a low-fidelity way to ensure you’re in alignment with the story that the Medical and Scientific Directors are trying to tell.
In a real-life project, it would be vital to get written sign-off from the client at this step. The storyboard is like the blueprint for the house we’re going to be building later (the 3D animation in this analogy). It’s much less expensive to revise a blueprint than it is to alter a house after it’s already being constructed.
Hand-drawn sketches laid out in storyboard format.
Protein Databank
In medical animation, we often need to depict realistic representations of real-world biomolecules and proteins. Luckily there’s an online database called the Protein Databank that is incredibly helpful in this process.
As described on their website, the Protein Databank is “the US data center for the global Protein Data Bank (PDB) archive of 3D structure data for large biological molecules (proteins, DNA, and RNA) essential for research and education in fundamental biology, health, energy, and biotechnology.”
While the PDB is largely utilized by scientists doing advanced research, its ability to visualize complex molecules can be leveraged by medical animators by creating 3D geometry of the molecular surface, which can then be exported, downloaded, and brought into the 3D animation software to be integrated into the rest of the scene.
As described on their website, the Protein Databank is “the US data center for the global Protein Data Bank (PDB) archive of 3D structure data for large biological molecules (proteins, DNA, and RNA) essential for research and education in fundamental biology, health, energy, and biotechnology.”
While the PDB is largely utilized by scientists doing advanced research, its ability to visualize complex molecules can be leveraged by medical animators by creating 3D geometry of the molecular surface, which can then be exported, downloaded, and brought into the 3D animation software to be integrated into the rest of the scene.
Home page of the Protein Databank.
Modeling and Animating
Low fidelity work-in-progress render of the animation.
In the modeling and animating phase, 3D models of molecules, cells, or other biological structures are created and animated to appear and behave realistically. This step requires a good understanding of both the software and the scientific concepts to ensure accuracy and visual appeal.
It’s important to utilize the fundamental principles of animation, as introduced by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, including:
It’s important to utilize the fundamental principles of animation, as introduced by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, including:
- Squash and Stretch: Gives a sense of weight and flexibility to objects.
- Anticipation: Prepares the audience for an action.
- Staging: Presents an idea clearly.
- Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose: Two different approaches to creating movement.
- Follow Through and Overlapping Action: Adds realism by showing that different parts of a body move at different rates.
- Slow In and Slow Out: Makes the movement more natural by varying the speed of the action.
- Arcs: Most natural actions follow an arc or a slightly circular path.
- Secondary Action: Adds to the main action to give a scene more life.
- Timing: Refers to the number of frames for a given action, which translates to the speed of the action.
- Exaggeration: Used to accentuate actions and emotions.
- Solid Drawing: Ensures that forms feel like they are in three-dimensional space.
- Appeal: Characters should be pleasing to look at and have a charismatic design
Low fidelity work-in-progress render of the animation.
The Final Animation.
The texturing and rendering phase requires a good understanding of both the software and the scientific concepts to ensure accuracy and visual appeal. In this example, I created movements and interactions that clearly illustrate antibody to receptor binding action. The final render is brought into a post-production suite where added lighting and effects enhance the cinematic realism that the client was seeking. The animation was then reviewed by Medical and Scientific staff and refined to ensure it meets the MCS Pharma’s needs.