FINDING LIGHT

Short List
TitleFINDING LIGHT
BrandNOVARTIS
Product/ServiceLUXTURNA
Category E02. Direct to Healthcare Professional
Entrant WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production FABIAN&FRED GMBH Hamburg, GERMANY
Production 2 CLEARCUT London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Steve Back Weber Shandwick Executive Creative Director
Khalid Latif Weber Shandwick Creative Director and Copywriter
Claire Proudfoot Weber Shandwick Executive Producer
Jo Crouch Weber Shandwick Planner
Danae Melirrytou Weber Shandwick Client Services
Arti Maru Weber Shandwick Client Services
Paris O'Donnell Weber Shandwick Client Services
Frédéric Schuld Fabian & Fred Animation Director
Fabian Driehorst Fabian & Fred Executive Producer
Ed de Lacey Clearcut Sound Sound Designer
Chris Wrigglesworth Clearcut Sound Audio Post Producer
Jason Mead Novartis Client
Chiara Fiorani Novartis Client

Describe any restrictions or regulations regarding Healthcare/RX/Pharma communications in your country/region including:

LUXTURNA is a prescription-only treatment for adults and children suffering vision loss due to a rare form of inherited retinal dystrophy. This film is branded and for ex-US healthcare professional audiences only. All relevant, local regulatory laws were followed during its creation.

Describe the target audience and why your work is relevant to them.

LUXTURNA can only be administered by an exclusive number of highly specialised healthcare professionals. Many are unaware that carrying out a genetic test to confirm RPE65 mutation can provide access to LUXTURNA and its life-changing effects. We needed to demonstrate the value of a genetic test and treatment with LUXTURNA.

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

This is a true story about a little girl looking for light. Every scene is based on a real patient’s experience. We follow the journey of Lucy, born with an IRD, as she tries to live with her condition. In the beginning, Lucy moves through darkness and uncertainty. Her world is abstract and strange. The light is out of reach. We feel Lucy’s emotions as she deals with low vision. She prepares for the inevitable. But as her parents battle for a solution, the light tries to return to her. The genetic test confirms everything they’d hoped. As Lucy progresses, following the light, the colours become optimistic. Finally, after treatment with LUXTURNA, Lucy’s world sharpens and is flooded with brightness. Her light is revealed to be a beautiful firefly. In the end, Lucy sees nature’s beauty for the first time, a rainbow, and wonders what her future holds.

Tell the jury about type(s) of animation or visual effects and summarise any relevant challenges or techniques.

Inspired by the real drawings of our patient, we developed a unique, 2D-animation style for Finding Light. Every frame was hand-crafted to create a completely original, textured world for Lucy to move through. We undertook detailed character development, making sure to mark key points of Lucy’s progression through the film. It was important to represent, as best we could, how Lucy’s condition affected how she saw the world and how her family coped with it. To translate this visually, we considered the evolution of form, starting with abstract shapes and ending with distinct objects. To signpost the emotional journey, we employed a progressive colour-script based on a rainbow palette. Lighting was pivotal to the story. We move from the indefinable and intangible, to a crisp, clean effect. We originally envisioned Lucy simply moving from darkness to light. In the end, the journey from her perspective became so much richer.