SmartWater Global Crime Prevention

Play Video

SmartWater Global Crime Prevention

Explainer Animation for SmartWater's Properties and Applications

Challenge

There is increasing pressure for companies to be able to secure their supply chains from fraud and ensure they are compliant with ethical practise. SmartWater’s patented formula provides a new level of security to companies, stakeholders and consumers, but it’s complicated stuff.

Our task was to create an animation that informed potential customers of the product’s unique strengths and potential applications, in a clear and concise manner. The animation needed to be inspiring and educational to a broad audience.

Solution

We utilised a limited colour palette and clean, striking visuals. This ensured that the animation mirrored the authoritative tone of the content and that the key messages were easily understood.

The animation combined technical product information with broad market use applications. Fluid motion was implemented to emphasise the state of the art science powering SmartWater.

Testimonial

"The animation has been very well received. Thank you!"

You might also enjoy...

Bupa Health: Explainer Animation Series

The Like Minded Bupa Health Procedure Series
Play Video

Bupa Health

Explainer Animation Series

Challenge

To create a series of healthcare explainer animations for the Bupa Health Youtube channel. We created a simple visual style to describe a range of medical procedures through the series of contemporary animation explainers. These are aimed at existing customers and potential customers looking to better understand a specific procedure prior possible surgery.

Art Style & Animation

In order to create this series of animations, we developed a contemporary art style from the brand guides that balances solid fills with understated line illustration work. Using a simple visual approach focused on communicating what’s essential to the medical procedure while removing elements that don’t support the core message.

More in the Series ...

Play Video
Play Video

Testimonial

"The Health Content Team at Bupa UK commissioned The Like Minded to produce some animated explainer videos on a number of medical conditions and procedures. We had a great experience from start to finish. The team were flexible, attentive to our needs, and a pleasure to work with. The videos perfectly reflect our brand expression requirements, are clear and easy to follow, and convey the topics with the requisite clinical accuracy. This isn’t an easy balance to strike! Early customer feedback has been really positive."

You might also enjoy...

Cambridge Consultants: DNA Data Storage

Cambridge DNA
Play Video

Cambridge Consultants & Catalog Technologies

Explainer Animation for DNA Data Storage

Challenge

By 2025 the World will run out of data storage. Catalog Technologies and Cambridge Consultants have created a machine that can transform the speed and cost of storing data in synthetic DNA. This revolutionary technology promises to take the potential of DNA storage out of the laboratory and into the real world.

Our task was to create an animation that informed and inspired commentators around the world to highlight the groundbreaking innovation and to discuss the commercial potential of DNA data storage to new audiences.

Solution

The concept of DNA storage is not widely known or understood. Therefore, we needed to develop a visual language of metaphors to help explain how DNA data storage works and the scale of its potential.  The animation was also created without a voice-over to ensure a visual focus on the key messages. This approach was further enhanced by using flat backgrounds that reduced visual distraction and increased the feeling of a futuristic landscape. The futuristic landscape of adventure was contrasted with the use of domestic imagery such as: a closet and an egg timer to increase audience engagement in the subject matter.

More work for Cambridge Consultants

Find out more about this welcome conference video created for Cambridge Consultants.

View

You might also enjoy...

British Footwear Association – Learning Experience

Play Video

British Footwear Association

Animated learning Content

Animated Videos

We worked with the British Footwear Association to create a complete blended learning experience that is a first in the world of footwear. The project involved animation, graphic design, copywriting, platform design and game based assessment.

We created a stylish character animation style that would engage a fashion conscious audience. The style also needed to clearly explain complex technical elements and the shoe construction process. We worked with leading global “shoe dogs” to ensure that the design and technical elements of each animation were accurate.

In total we created 9 animated videos that feature as anchor content in each module.

You might also enjoy...

St. James’s Place: Wealth Management

St. James's Place Featured Image
Play Video

St. James's Place Wealth Management

The Approach to Investment Management

Challenge

St. James’s Place is the UK’s largest local Wealth Manager offering financial services to individuals and their families.

They wanted to create unique visual communications around the value they add to clients’ lives across:

• Financial advice offered
• Investments & funds they provide access to
• Helping clients meet their financial objectives

This animation describes their approach to investment management. They offer multiple funds run by investment experts from all over the world and we were tasked to explain how & why St. James’s Place works with Partners for this expertise. We also had to demonstrate how they select, monitor and change fund managers as required; while sharing the work of their investment committee and the role of their consultants to help inform decisions.

Solution

We decided to develop a hybrid style of animation. By filming our client (the subject matter expert) first and using rotoscoping techniques (frame by frame tracing of the film footage) we gave the character movement a natural film quality.

This created a relaxed documentary style interview piece using hard cut camera framing techniques. This provides a human approach to the narrative while presenting the topic in a unique way.

The second component features shapes and graphics that aid the audience understanding by visualising more complex points using an infographic visual language we’ve developed for the St. James’s Place brand.

Play Video

Audio Production & Lip Syncing

As mentioned previously, the decision to film our subject matter expert (Andy) on location at our studio was a fantastic way to gain quality reference footage, however, it meant there would be the potential for inferior audio quality due to the acoustics and other background noise interference.

To avoid this and ensure flawless audio quality, we decided to record Andy’s voiceover in a studio sound booth. We then used this audio during filming to attain similar timings while Andy talked through his lines.

Knowing that we would only be using the film footage as a guide for the animation, minor timing discrepancies between the audio and the lip-sync in the footage were ironed out during the animation process.

Filming

We built a lounge area in our studio to carry out the filming element of the piece. By not requiring pin-drop silence for the filming, it helped provide a more laid-back atmosphere which carried through into Andy’s performance to camera.

We ran through the script a few times and referenced it against the pacing of the studio-recorded audio to ensure it didn’t differ too greatly. Using two DSLR cameras allowed us to reference and pick different head to camera shots for use in the final animation.

Play Video
Play Video

Interview Animation

The interview segments of the animation were created with a blend of techniques. Sometimes straightforward rotoscoping (drawing over the top of footage) can lead to an aesthetic that is hollow and appears machine-made rather than feeling organically animated and natural. In order to produce something that felt closer to natural movement, the footage was used more as a guide and the team added creative license to tweak the human gestures.

2D & 3D Animation

The graphical elements of the animation were created using both 2D & 3D animation. The principle was to compare the innovative processes of St. James’s Place (realised in 3D), with the rigid and dated systems of their competitors (realised in 2D). It was important that, although different, both facets fit well within the same animation, whilst also blending seamlessly with the interview elements. The colour palette, grain texture and angled lines utilised across all components helped to achieve this unique visual language for the brand.

You might also enjoy...

CLOSER UCL: Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal Studies
Play Video

UCL CLOSER - Longitudinal Studies

Cheerfully Explaining the Benefits of Longitudinal Studies

Challenge

Longitudinal studies are studies that are carried out over long periods of time, spanning lifetimes. For this reason, they provide a host of benefits over shorter studies. UCL’s CLOSER research department wanted to show potential researchers  the value of using this approach. The main task was doing so in an interesting way to engage viewers and encourage them to find out more.

Solution

We created a series of animations, packed with character, charm and a dash of humour. Each animation was packed with distinctive scenes, each with its own concept, helping illustrate points in a unique way.

The videos acted as a lure to draw people into the website where more detailed information was situated. For this reason, we were particular with the amount of information we shared, in order to peak their interest and will them to find out more.

Designing a Cast

The animation consists of a large collection of characters, illustrating the scope of the research data collected. We wanted to imbue personality in each individual we created, which we achieved through their appearance and clothing, but more importantly through their movement.

It was important to strike a balance between moments of larger, more over-the-top motion, such as a gentleman carrying a giant birthday cake, with moments of more subtle motion, such as the lady gently peeking out from behind the birthday cake. This creates a world which is both believable and entertaining. Subtle secondary motion such as hair and clothing moving in the wind as a bus races past, further helps the animation to come alive.

Creating Interest Through Variety

For each scene, we implemented a completely new concept. From a bus picking up and dropping off passengers, to a giant game of snakes and ladders, each scene is designed to add interest to the animation.

Importantly, the concepts for each scene were designed with their content in mind. So a ‘Guess Who’ game became a great way to show how a sample of people was reduced, while a video camera fast forward motif helped illustrate clearly how characters changed over time.

Mixing up these concepts frequently ensures that the scenes remain fresh throughout.

Stimulating Sound Design

For this series we proposed series of charming, lighthearted soundtracks, rather than reusing one across all of the videos. Selecting a series of soundtracks gave each animation it’s own distinct personality. With a total of 6 minutes of animation, this furthered the feeling of novelty across each video.

Finding soundtracks that were different but still harmonious was key; the tracks needed their own personality but were still required to feel like a set.

Testimonial

"The response from the research community has been very positive. Lecturers and policymakers have remarked that these animations made longitudinal studies easier to understand. They were full of creative solutions and were great to work with."

You might also enjoy...

Xylem: Let’s Solve Water

Xylem
Play Video

Xylem - Let's Solve Water

Animated Explainers of Xylem's Products & Services

Challenge

Xylem is a leading water technology company committed to “solving water” by creating innovative and smart technology solutions to meet the world’s water, wastewater and energy needs.

They approached The Like Minded to ask for our help in creating animated explainers of their service and product offering that could be used: online, in presentations, at conferences and on social media

Solution

We created one overall animation that explains the complete Xylem solution using a modern and scientific approach to the illustration style to accurately represent this highly innovative global company.

The animation was designed so that can easily be divided into smaller individual product and service areas.

The animations were designed to work in mute play without voiceover.

Xylem Let's Solve Water: Solution Illustration
Xylem Let's Solve Water: Modern and Scientific Illustration

You might also enjoy...

International Criminal Court: Explainer Series

Play Video

International Criminal Court

Animated Explainer Series

The ICC is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole: the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Background

The primary mission of the ICC is to help put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of such crimes and contribute to their prevention. Working with partners and the ICC we created a visual language to articulate the role of the ICC for the international community. We had to factor the complexity of responsibilities of an independent body such as the international criminal court faces. 

Challenge

We developed a series of animated explainers to clearly walk through the role of the ICC, the process by which people are brought to trial in a courtroom, the victims of crime and a specific case around membership of the ICC. The series aims to drive continued awareness of the vital role that the ICC plays on the world stage.

More in the Series

Play Video
Play Video
Play Video

Comments from the team...

"Finding a design that suited a somber series like for the International Criminal Court required a few trial runs. We knew from the start that it was going to be fairly graphic heavy and needed to convey a lot of individual facts. The Information itself can be quite hard to hear, as a result,  this had to be represented appropriately in the style."
Tom - Illustrator & Animator at the Like Minded

You might also enjoy...

RCGP & Marie Curie: Improving End of Life Care

Play Video

RCGP & Marie Curie

Learning Content to Improve End of Life Care

Challenge

To create learning content for GP’s and healthcare practitioners across the UK so that they can improve their end of life care for patients.

The main video needed to be engaging for an interested but very busy audience. It also needed to help embed key ideas and practises.

This was further enhanced with additional materials to help extend and scaffold learning.

Solution

We developed an illustration style that drew attention to the foreground characters and objects by contrasting a bright colour palette with clean white space and limited backgrounds.

We used characters to interact with charts and processed to ensure that the learning remained anchored with people.

We believe that the learning content will have a lasting impact and we were delighted to receive positive feedback from our client.

“Fantastic working with you – always friendly, quick to respond and nothing was ever too much trouble”.

You might also enjoy...

NHS: Maternity Options

NHS
Play Video

NHS North West London CCG

Maternity Options

maternity options

Challenge

Working with the North West London CCG, we were tasked with creating an inclusive animation to explain the maternity options for new and existing mothers. The animation needed to work in multiple languages so subtitled versions were created for languages including Gujarati, Punjabi, Arabic and Polish.

Solution

We developed a simple illustration style that focuses on the three key options for birth and uses limited backgrounds so the focus of attention is on the expectant mother and their choice of birth setting.

We used a mix of characters and developed an uncluttered approachable style for each character.

We have had positive feedback on the animations and hope they continue to be useful across outpatient clinics across the NHS to further raise awareness of the maternity options available for our communities.

Maternity Options

You might also enjoy...