“Unbreakable” is a CG film we created with agency AREA 23 for biopharmaceutical company Insmed. The 2 ½+ minute piece aims to bring awareness about Nontuberculous Mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease, a condition which can be difficult to identify due to its similar symptoms with other lung conditions. The film was crafted to create a sense of urgency for doctors and specialists to recognize and diagnose NTM and to direct healthcare providers and patients to a dedicated site for more info: NTMfacts.com.
“Unbreakable” is a visual metaphor of the NTM experience. Based on actual NTM patient experiences, the film opens on Barbara the Bunny, a plush toy fabricated in a magical factory. When she comes alive, she realizes something is not quite right as she begins to cough, splitting a piece of her fabric in the process. Barbara is expelled from the factory by “Quality Control” and from there, we follow in her journey across the city desperately seeking a specialist for her situation. To her relief, a sweet toy repair shop owner knows just exactly what to do.
There were many challenges with this project; scale being the most complicated one. Normally, when we have a main subject in the story, we like to stay with him/her throughout the film. This proximity helps to connect the audience to our character and better facilitate the comprehension of emotions -- something that was extremely crucial to convey in this film.
This story is completely centered on Barbara. The camera is close to her the whole journey. The issue with scale happens because Barbara is a toy that’s only 24 inches in height, so everything around her is in close-up view the entire time. All of the elements she comes into direct or close contact with needed to receive an enormous amount of detail to convey the realism we wanted. From the conveyor belt to the streets to the tables, everything was produced to support these close-ups. This meant increased texturing work, so all of our creative decisions were made to consider the sheer volume of texturing we had to produce.
