Building upon the momentum of their initial launch film for the University of British Columbia’s comprehensive Push Forward campaign, animation studio AIM Creative has once again partnered with creative agency ONE23WEST. Together, the creative teams have launched a dynamic new animated piece designed to spotlight the university’s cutting-edge developments and groundbreaking research at the very forefront of biotechnology.
The freshly released campaign aims to capture the essence of UBC’s scientific community, translating complex academic research into a visually striking narrative. The project serves as a follow-up to the earlier collaboration between AIM Creative and Global Mechanic, continuing a visual storytelling tradition that highlights how higher education institutions drive real-world societal progress through innovation.
Bridging Complex Research and Real-World Impact
According to Tiago Ribeiro, producer at AIM Creative, the core challenge of the project lay in the specific demands of the creative brief. The studio was tasked with establishing a sophisticated visual language capable of bridging the substantial gap between intricate laboratory research and tangible, real-world impact. The resulting animation successfully demonstrates how pioneering scientific exploration can directly pave the way for life-saving medical breakthroughs and transformative commercial ventures.
The production was faced with unique constraints and ambitious goals. Operating within a concise 30-second runtime, the project demanded adherence to the clients’ exacting specifications while accommodating a remarkably high level of detail. With dense visual metaphors and multiple layers of information packed into every single second, the creative team noted that there was simply no room for wasted frames. Every individual shot had to communicate its intended message with absolute clarity while maintaining a fluid, visually engaging aesthetic throughout the entire piece.
A Hybrid Animation Pipeline
To successfully navigate these demanding technical and artistic requirements, AIM Creative implemented a specialized hybrid animation pipeline. This custom approach cleverly combined traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation techniques with both 2D and 3D motion elements. By blending these distinct mediums, the studio was able to preserve a rich, handcrafted artistic aesthetic while simultaneously infusing the narrative with necessary depth, seamless spatial transitions, and sleek, modern camera movements.
The visual style of the campaign features vibrant, abstract pastel backdrops populated by imaginative metaphors—ranging from scientists interacting with swirling, cell-like shapes and glowing laboratory apparatuses to stylized depictions of futuristic urban sectors separated by transparent domes. These artistic choices reflect the innovative spirit of UBC’s biotech initiatives, capturing both the meticulous nature of scientific research and the expansive, visionary scope of its future applications.
Collaborative Production Effort
The successful execution of the project was driven by a multidisciplinary team of creative professionals spanning multiple disciplines, from illustration and 3D modeling to complex motion design and compositing.
The production was guided by executive producer César Jonas and producer Tiago Ribeiro, with Christoph Sarow serving as both director and animation director. The artistic vision was shaped by art directors and illustrators Claudio Marinkovic and Felipe Fiori, alongside animation supervisor Daniela Carvalho. The core animation work was executed by a dedicated team including Ana Iutes, Alexandre Sousa, Daniel Roque, and José Teixeira. Additionally, lead motion designer and compositor Nuno Gonçalves, alongside compositor André Cunha and 3D modeler José Teixeira, handled the intricate technical layers that brought the hybrid 2D and 3D elements together.
The campaign is a collaborative production involving the University of British Columbia as the client, agency ONE23WEST, and AIM Creative Studios as the production entity.
