The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
CRASH-3
Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a drug discovered in 1962 by Japanese researchers Utako and Shosuke Okamoto. TXA inhibits blood clot breakdown and has been found to cut bleeding deaths by a third. Despite this, it took half a century for the world to recognise TXA’s full potential. We worked with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, creating this whiteboard animation raise to awareness about TXA and the success of the CRASH trials.
The Scrapbook
The challenge
Our challenge when creating this animation was to create an explainer video which told the story of TXA’s discovery and the success of the CRASH trials - highlighting their international nature and the important implications for the treatment of trauma patients globally. It was important that we emphasized the human and emotional element of this narrative alongside statistics, and did so in a respectful, authoritative and approachable way. It was also important that the animation appealed to an audience of medical professionals that included neurosurgeons and emergency medical clinicians.
The film
The foundation of our film was a sensitive, informed and heartening tone - delivered visually and through the voiceover. This laid the ground for the story of TXA’s discovery, the success of the CRASH trials and the present-day implications to be told. A script rooted in the emotional and human aspects of this story revealed itself not only through the voiceover, but also through the visual thinking and visual storytelling. Characters and settings were drawn with charm, while supporting stats where presented in engaging and memorable ways. This can be seen in the use of an alarm clock to depict the three-hour window and the use of a grid of gravestones to present the percentage of lives saved by TXA. Throughout the animation, rich visuals increased the explainer animation’s impact. Visuals like a syringe launching as a rocket would and an egg timer based on blood rather sand emphasized key points in the voiceover.
Augmented by sound effects and gradually building music, the whiteboard animation delivered the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s message in a way which was informative, approachable, engaging and memorable - ending on a final take away message and the LSHTM’s logo.
About the client
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) was founded in 1899 and has 3000 staff and more than 4000 students conducting research in over 100 countries. Underpinned by an ethos of collaboration, the LSHTM plays an important role in shaping health policy and translating research into tangible applications.
The context
Visit the LSHTM website for more information on the life saving potential of TXA.
