Butterfly: Evolution Engineered

We were thrilled to collaborate with the creative team at Sound Healthcare Communications on this beautiful campaign. From concept development to final delivery, this project was an exciting opportunity to craft a series of compelling visuals, seamlessly blending detailed CGI design and animation with beautiful portrait photography, and expanding the storytelling into a fully rounded, patient-focused campaign.

Symbolizing the emergence of an advancement in treatment, the campaign is anchored by a striking hybrid butterfly, designed to reflect a transformative approach to treating synovial sarcomas by harnessing the body’s own immune system. Integrated across a series of stills and animations, the butterfly became a powerful and ownable brand icon of transformation for the campaign launch, conveying progress and hope for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers.

DESIGN

The bespoke design of the butterfly seamlessly blends organic beauty with scientific precision, featuring intricate details that reflect both nature and advanced medical technology. Our design process focused on elevating the natural elegance of the butterfly, refining its shape into a sleek, modern interpretation. We took an iterative design approach, refining the overall shape and silhouette of the butterfly while carefully adjusting the proportions of its head and body to achieve a balanced, elegant form. The main framework and sectioning of the wings were heavily inspired by the intricate pattern structures of the Swallowtail butterfly, grounding the design in nature while allowing for a visually striking aesthetic.

All parts of the butterfly were modelled from scratch and in intricate detail.  We ensured a consistent design language to the flow, curvatures, edge contouring, to give a sleek and modern feel throughout. To add depth and complexity, we modelled smaller mechanical details, such as cogs and hinges, which were partially housed within the wing framework. These subtle elements created a sense of layered construction while maintaining the butterfly’s organic beauty. Every component was designed with animation in mind, ensuring that the wings could collapse and fold within the chrysalis yet feel fluid and natural when emerging and unfolding for the first time.

PRE-PRODUCTION

To ensure seamless CGI integration, we created 3D animations and a detailed pre-viz for each shot, testing camera angles, lens choices, lighting setups and compositions in advance. This allowed the agency and client to creatively iterate and lock down shots in advance of the shoot. All the measurements and camera information are then used as a technical blueprint for the shoot day, with the detailed pre-planning allowing us to optimise the production and maximise the content captured for the client.

SHOOT PRODUCTION

The final shot list was ambitious, requiring five talent members across 17 shots to be captured in just a single shoot day.  To achieve this, we brought on board Overseer productions in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Photographer Martin Sigal.  From casting to co-ordinating a remote shoot, accommodating multiple time zones, the POP team were able to work with the agency and client to live direct all the performances remotely, even capturing additional material for future use.

POST PRODUCTION

Bringing the butterfly to life in post-production required a meticulous balance of light, texture, and motion to seamlessly integrate it into the campaign. We refined materials, enhanced engravings and translucency, ensuring the metallic veins, intricate scale reflections, and soft glow effects all responded naturally to light. The retouching process ensured even the finest details held up at 12,000 pixels, maintaining clarity across large-format prints. Compositing was precisely aligned between stills and motion, creating a seamless visual language with consistent lighting, texture balance, and color grading. Every detail was carefully polished and aligned between stills and motion, ensuring the campaign not only felt visually captivating, but cohesive across all deliverables.

FINAL OUTCOME

The result is a series of immersive visuals, spanning diverse scenarios that reflect the patient’s journey, adding depth to the brand’s message and reinforcing the transformative impact of the treatment. We’re proud to have collaborated with Sound Healthcare Communications to bring this vision to life and can’t wait to see our beautiful butterfly take flight in the healthcare world!