RESEARCH & CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Concept Development: Research was conducted to identify essential content and design considerations to ensure the animation’s sensitivity and appeal to the target audience.

The concept development began in the summer of 2021. The primary objective was to create a sensitive and informative animation video that introduces breast reconstruction options for breast cancer patients. 6 key concepts were chosen: flat closure, implants, flaps, timing options (immediate and delayed), and post-recovery information. The target audience consisted of breast cancer patients, particularly those with heightened sensitivity to graphic visuals, and individuals with a low health literacy level.

During stage one, we interview breast cancer survivors to explore their preferences by introducing preexisting animations on breast reconstruction options. During introduction, they described their educational backgrounds to be in engineering, health care and law. The healthcare worker among them, who was a nurse and nuclear medicine technologist, expressed concern about seeing graphic images in the preexisting animations. This feedback was instrumental in shaping the animation’s approach, emphasizing the need for visually sensitive representations.

PRE-PRODUCTION

During the pre-production phase, the script for the animation was based on a patient education presentation, targeting newly diagnosed cancer patients. Emphasizing accessibility for the intended audience, the script was crafted in plain language. Subsequently, two animatic drafts were created using Procreate, reflecting various shots and scenes, which were approved by a breast cancer surgeon.The animatic was then presented to the same group in 2021, and their feedback was collected. They expressed that the animation conveyed a friendly, warm, and comforting tone, aligning well with the intended message. Additionally, based on their input, it was recommended to make the main character more gender and racially ambiguous to better resonate with a broader audience.

In order to achieve a friendly appearance for the characters, small surveys were also conducted. These surveys involved asking participants to provide feedback on various faces, assessing which ones appeared more amiable and inviting to watch. Meanwhile, colour palettes were being developed for the overall theme. But each character has it’s own colour theme to help group their information together subconsciously. Blue for the main character. Purple/pink for the flat closure character. Yellow/orange for implants and tissue expanders, and green for flaps.

POST-PRODUCTION
During post-production, the primary focus of the effort was directed towards creating five distinct characters, each representing a different type of reconstruction. This was achieved using Zbrush for sculpting purposes and Maya for the manual retopologizing, rigging, and animation processes. Images will be included later on.