Science communication videos for UNIL
For the 20th anniversary of its Faculty of Biology and Medicine, UNIL commissioned us to make a series of three short animated films for science communication. The challenge was to explain the gut microbiota, how species share urban space and the overprescription of medicines to a wide audience, without losing it along the way.
The result: accessible and genuinely funny films, which won the Swiss Animation Industry Award at the Fantoche festival in 2024.
Humor and scientific rigor
We relied on offbeat humor and a light touch, without sacrificing scientific rigor. The voice-over by Lucas Thorens, a host at RTS, gives the films their deadpan humor, based on scripts by Benjamin Décosterd. Each film has its own art direction and mixes several animation techniques to turn complex subjects into images.
Three films, three topics
“Les indésirables ?!” looks at how species share urban space, with an ironic eye and lively animation.
“Wild Wild Gut” makes gut bacteria talk as if in a western. The microbiota becomes the hero of a Wild West that is both educational and absurd.
“L’odyssée du médicament” follows a pill on its way through the healthcare system, between paperwork and prescriptions, to talk about overprescription.
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 audiences who don’t usually follow it, and to make them want to learn more. For UNIL, it was also a way to highlight scientific papers.
You first need to understand the subject well, then find the right balance between clarity, rigor and visual creativity. That is what holds attention without oversimplifying.
An accessible tone, often with humor or a twist, like the western in “Wild Wild Gut”. It helps get complex ideas across.
For the curious general public, on the faculty’s YouTube channel; for students, on the university website; and for teachers, on an educational platform.
Science communication works for every field: biology, medicine, physics, astronomy or mathematics. This series covers how species share the city, the gut microbiota and the overprescription of medicines.
Because it shows what cannot be filmed: bacteria, the journey of a medicine, invisible mechanisms. It also plays with the imagination and reaches very different audiences.
The Fantoche jury’s view
“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.”The award, the client and the studio
Swiss Animation Industry Award
The Fantoche animation festival presents the Swiss Animation Industry Award to the best commissioned animated films. This series won it in 2024.
An academic partner
UNIL commissioned this series for the 20th anniversary of its Faculty of Biology and Medicine, to share and highlight research. The videos are available on its YouTube channel.
A committed studio
Since 2007, Imaginastudio has used visual storytelling to serve social topics, with rigor and a lot of freedom. Motion design often plays a part, as in our video on unconscious bias for EPFL.
