Science Popularization Video
Talking about gut microbiota, urban cohabitation or drug overprescription without putting the audience to sleep?
Challenge accepted—and successfully met by Imaginastudio. To mark the 20th anniversary of UNIL’s Faculties of Medicine and Biology, we created three short animated films.
The goal: turning complex scientific topics into content that’s accessible, vibrant, and downright funny.
The result? A series that won the Swiss Animation Industry Award at the Fantoche Festival.
Science communication has never been this sparkling.
When Popular Science Meets Imagination
To create these videos, Imaginastudio embraced a light-hearted and offbeat tone—without ever compromising scientific accuracy. The voice of RTS host Lucas Thorens brings a perfectly balanced deadpan humour to each film.
The visual choices combine mixed techniques and contrasting artistic directions to reflect the complexity of the topics. A masterclass in visual storytelling, all in service of a clear mission: to democratize science without dumbing it down.
Une série, trois films, mille découvertes
“Les indésirables ?!” explore avec brio la complexité du partage des espaces urbains entre espèces. Un regard ironique, une animation enlevée, et l’urbanisme devient un jeu d’enfant.
“Wild Wild Gut” fait parler les bactéries intestinales comme dans un western. Le microbiote devient héros d’un Far West trépidant, pédagogique et délicieusement absurde.
“L’odyssée du médicament” met en scène la course d’un comprimé au travers du système de santé. Une fuite rocambolesque, entre paperasse et prescriptions.
Science made simple on video
tainment
Why popularize?
A scientific video?
What tone to use?
For whom?
What topics?
Why animation?
To make research understandable to as many people as possible, including new audiences, and to encourage curiosity around scientific topics.
A solid understanding of the field is necessary before presenting it with the right balance of clarity, rigor, and visual creativity. This is essential to capture the audience’s attention without oversimplifying.
An accessible and popularizing tone is often laced with humor or playful twists. It helps convey complex concepts successfully.
For the curious general public through a YouTube channel, for young students on the school’s website, for teachers on an educational platform, and for all those who want to understand the world differently and are looking for answers and a source of knowledge.
Popularization can apply to all scientific fields, from biology to physics, including astronomy, mathematics, and science in general.
Because it allows us to make the invisible visible, play with imagination, and spark interest across diverse audiences. Animated images are fun and help explain complex topics, such as experiments, for example.
A perspective inspired by the Jury
“The originality of the concept and the innovative approach to the subject make this work truly exceptional.”
“The originality of the concept and the innovative approach to the subject make this work truly exceptional.”Une production qui marque les esprits
Un prix reconnu
As part of the Fantoche animation film festival, the Swiss Animation Industry Award competition honors the best commissioned animation productions. This series won it hands down.
An academic partner
UNIL commissioned this series to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Faculties of Medicine and Life Sciences. An initiative of dissemination, but above all a way to highlight scientific publications. The videos are also available on their YouTube channel.
A committed studio
Since 2007, Imaginastudio has been building bridges between visual storytelling and societal topics, with artisanal precision and boundless imagination. We often use motion design in such cases, notably for a video produced for EPFL.
