AI in Medical Animation: A Game-Changer or Not Quite There Yet?

Can AI Replace Medical Animation and Scientific Visualization?

The rise of AI-generated content has sparked a major question in biotech and healthcare: Can AI create accurate and reliable medical animation?

AI is already transforming drug discovery and biotech research. Companies like our client Generate Biomedicines are proving how AI-driven computational models are accelerating pharmaceutical breakthroughs. But when it comes to pharmaceutical mechanism of action animation and biotech visualization, AI still has significant limitations.

Where AI Helps in Scientific Visualization

At Microverse Studios, we specialize in medical animation for biotech, pharma, and med tech companies. We’ve seen firsthand how AI can enhance visual production. Here’s where AI is already useful:

✅ Upscaling imagery to improve resolution
✅ Adjusting frame rates for smoother animations
✅ Rapid iteration on aesthetic styles for biotech storytelling

These capabilities streamline workflow and enhance visual clarity, making AI a valuable tool in the process of creating animation for scientific communication.

The Biggest AI Challenges in Medical Animation

Despite AI’s growing role, generative AI struggles with scientific accuracy—a dealbreaker in biotech marketing and pharmaceutical animation.

1. AI Lacks Connection to Molecular Databases

🔹 Unlike human animators, AI doesn’t access the Protein Data Bank (PDB), Alpha Fold, or other scientific molecular viewers.
🔹 This results in incorrect molecular structures and scale issues, undermining credibility in scientific animation.

2. AI Doesn’t Understand Cellular & Histological Structures

🔹 AI-generated biological images often fail to depict cell anatomy correctly.
🔹 This is especially problematic for medical device animation, mode-of-action videos, and pharmaceutical mechanism-of-action (MoA) animation, where scientific accuracy is critical.

3. AI Can’t Yet Replace Scientific Storytelling

🔹 The best medical animations simplify complex science into engaging narratives.
🔹 AI lacks the contextual understanding to craft effective storytelling for biotech startups, pharma investors, and medical professionals. Additionally, it gets details wrong often enough that it still needs an expert minder to make sure no errors are introduced.

Why Scientific Accuracy Matters in Biotech & Pharma Marketing

For biotech and pharma companies, accurate scientific visualization is non-negotiable. Investor pitch decks, regulatory submissions, and healthcare education materials must be precise, engaging, and trustworthy.

If a medical animation misrepresents scientific data, it erodes investor confidence, delays regulatory approval, and weakens brand credibility.

This is why leading biotech startups, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers invest in professionally produced scientific animation—ensuring their message is clear, accurate, and impactful.

The Future of AI in Medical Animation

AI will continue to evolve, and at some point, AI-powered medical animation will become a reality. When AI can:

🔹 Accurately model 3D molecular and cellular structures
🔹 Generate complex biomedical animations with scientific precision
🔹 Incorporate real-time data from scientific sources

… it will revolutionize biotech visualization. Production timelines will shrink from months to weeks, costs will drop, and medical animation will become more accessible to early-stage biotech startups and healthcare educators.

The Takeaway: AI is a Tool, Not a Replacement

At Microverse Studios, we embrace AI where it enhances our work. But scientific storytelling still requires human expertise.

For now, AI is a powerful assistant—but not a replacement—for high-quality medical animation.

Biotech Investment in 2025: Why Investors Are More Cautious Than Ever

The biotech investment landscape has shifted dramatically over the past few years. Startups are feeling the squeeze, with venture capitalists (VCs), CRO leaders, and biotech executives all pointing to increased caution from investors.

I work with biotech startups every day, helping them refine their messaging and investor pitches. By maintaining strong relationships with VC insiders, I keep a close pulse on investor sentiment—because in today’s market, making the right connection between science and funding sources is more critical than ever.

The Bubble Burst & A Tough 2024

The biotech industry has experienced significant turbulence since 2022, when an overheated life sciences market saw a major correction. Generalist investors, who had flooded into biotech during the pandemic boom, pulled out just as quickly.

While 2023 showed signs of recovery, the momentum was short-lived. 2024 has proven even more difficult, with most deals happening early in the year and a steep decline in biotech investment as the months progressed.

JPM 2025 Hinted at a Rebound—But Optimism Was Short-Lived

At JPM 2025, there was an air of cautious optimism. One VC insider told me they had closed more deals in December 2024 than in all other months combined. However, this early confidence is already being tested.

Several new economic and regulatory challenges have dampened investor enthusiasm in biotech.

Regulatory & Economic Uncertainty Are Freezing Biotech Investments

There are three key reasons why biotech investors are taking a step back:

  1. Federal Shakeups & FDA Layoffs – Mass layoffs at the FDA have introduced regulatory uncertainty, leaving investors unsure of how drug approvals and clinical pathways will be affected.
  2. New Pharma-Skeptical Appointees – Recent government appointees have taken a more critical stance toward pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, adding another layer of unpredictability.
  3. Economic Pressures & Tariffs – Rising tariffs and inflation are making it harder for biotech startups to secure funding, as investors wait to see how economic conditions stabilize.

A Strong Shift Toward AI in Life Sciences

One noticeable trend in biotech investment is the increasing focus on AI-driven life sciences. Investors are pouring funds into AI-powered platforms for drug discovery, diagnostics, and personalized medicine.

But there’s a catch: AI in biotech is already an oversaturated market. Simply integrating AI into a biotech startup is no longer enough to attract funding. Clear, compelling value communication is essential—something many startups struggle with. Investors are looking for companies that can clearly articulate how their AI-driven technology differentiates itself in an increasingly competitive space.

What This Means for Biotech Startups

In today’s challenging investment climate, biotech startups must be laser-focused on their messaging and branding.

What To Do About It?

We can’t change the investment environment, but we can optimize our messaging to have the best effect. Drop us a line to talk about how Microverse Studios can augment your pitch.

3 Examples of 3D Medical Animation for Oncology Therapies

By: Olivia Slayden

In recent years, the complexity and precision of oncology therapies have advanced rapidly, from targeted gene therapies to novel surgical aids. Communicating the benefits and mechanisms of these innovations to healthcare professionals and patients is critical to advance standards of care.

This is where 3D medical animation shines. It is the most efficient medium to quickly make audience understand complex or difficult science. Here at Microverse Studios, we specialize in creating impactful oncology animations that bridge this gap. Below, we share three examples of our 3D medical animations for oncology technologies, showcasing the power of this medium in enhancing understanding and education.

1. Bomedemstat by Merck: Visualizing Precision Oncology

Bomedemstat, developed by Merck, represents a breakthrough in precision oncology. This investigational therapy targets specific proteins in the epigenetic landscape of cancer cells, blocking growth factors that fuel cancer proliferation.

With our oncology animation, we highlighted this innovative mechanism by showing how Bomedemstat selectively interrupts specific molecular pathways, giving oncologists a deeper look at its unique action in treating advanced cancers.

The 3D medical animation we created for Bomedemstat illustrates:

Animations like these are invaluable for both educating medical professionals and helping patients grasp complex therapeutic effects, making them ideal for clinical presentations and patient consultations.

2. Gleolan by Medexus Pharma: Enhancing Surgical Precision with 3D Visuals

Medexus Pharma's Gleolan is a groundbreaking fluorescence agent used during fluorescence-guided brain cancer surgeries. This drug helps illuminate cancerous tissue under blue light, allowing surgeons to distinguish between healthy and diseased tissue with greater accuracy.

To convey this unique advantage, our 3D medical animation for Gleolan was crafted to show how the fluorescence technology works in real time, simulating the surgical environment where surgeons rely on the glowing guidance of Gleolan to enhance precision.

This animation serves multiple purposes:

By illustrating Gleolan's innovative use at a molecular level, our animation showcases its unique functionality in an intuitive and memorable way.

3. AU-007 by Aulos: Redefining Immune Therapy for Oncology

Immune therapies are on the cutting edge of cancer treatment, with Aulos’s AU-007 standing as a promising candidate. AU-007 is an antibody-based therapy that harnesses the body's production of immune regulation molecules to overcome cancer's ability to hide from the immune system.

Our 3D medical animation for AU-007 captures the therapeutic mechanism of action of the drug, showing how it binds to the cytokine IL-2, preventing it from activating Tregs and allowing it to exclusively activate and expand aggressive cytotoxic T cells. These cells are often lulled into senescence in the tumor microenvironment, but the resulting buildup of IL-2 returns them to active, cancer-killing status.

The animation highlights:

This oncology animation is particularly valuable for oncologists to quickly understand the utility of this powerful therapy and potentially incorporate it into their care for their patients.

Why Choose 3D Medical Animation to Help Healthcare Providers Understand Your Oncology Therapy?

The complex nature of oncology treatments demands clear, effective communication. Here’s why 3D medical animation is a game-changer:

  1. Enhancing Patient Understanding: Visual explanations foster greater comprehension, helping patients feel more informed and comfortable with their treatment options.
  2. Improving Provider Understanding and Adoption: Medical professionals benefit from detailed visual aids, which improve understanding and adoption of new therapies, resulting in more informed decision-making and expanded standards of care for patients.
  3. Facilitating Investor and Stakeholder Engagement: Animations can also be powerful in presentations to stakeholders and investors, offering clear insights into the value and mechanics of the therapy.

Next Steps

In a field as intricate as oncology, 3D medical animations have the power to transform complex therapies into accessible, engaging content for all audiences. By visually demonstrating groundbreaking technologies like Merck’s Bomedemstat, Medexus Pharma's Gleolan, and Aulos’s AU-007, Microverse Studios empowers medical professionals, patients, and stakeholders with a deeper understanding of these therapies.

If you’re looking to elevate the impact of your oncology innovations, contact us today to explore the possibilities of 3D medical animation for your brand.

Microverse Studios Wins Platinum at MarCom Awards for MiDROPS® Animation

By: Olivia Slayden

Microverse Studios is proud to announce that we have been awarded the Platinum distinction at the 2024 MarCom Awards for our exceptional work in the category: Video/Audio | Digital Video Creation | 630. Animation. This accolade recognizes our cutting-edge scientific animation project, “MiDROPS® (Microemulsion Drug Ocular Penetration System),” developed in partnership with EyeCRO.

The award-winning Contract Research Organization (CRO) animation was expertly crafted by our talented biomedical animator, Leo Swenson, who meticulously illustrated the innovative drug delivery mechanism of MiDROPS®. This animation brings to life the intricate science behind EyeCRO’s microemulsion technology, showcasing its potential for enhanced ocular drug penetration with clarity and visual impact.

At Microverse Studios, we specialize in translating complex scientific concepts into compelling visual stories. Winning this Platinum award reinforces our commitment to excellence in the field of scientific animation, demonstrating our ability to communicate groundbreaking biomedical advancements in a way that is both educational and engaging.

We extend our gratitude to EyeCRO for trusting us with this important project and to Leo Swenson for his exceptional artistry and dedication. This recognition by the MarCom Awards is a testament to the passion, precision, and creativity that drive our team.

Stay tuned for more groundbreaking projects and insights from Microverse Studios as we continue to push the boundaries of scientific animation. If you would like to see how Microverse can help you use the power of scientific animation for your groundbreaking technology, contact us for a quick, 15-minute call.

Elevate Your Biotech Pitch Deck with Expert Design, Data Visualization, and Animation

By: Cameron Slayden

As scientific communicators, our entire mission at Microverse Studios is to make difficult scientific concepts easy to understand. We leverage cognitive science, vision science, story structure and more to make that happen.

Animation is the most efficient medium to communicate difficult topics, but it's not always the most appropriate. Across scientific industries, live presentations have always been a central communication format. In particular, our clients often have to pitch to investors and potential pharmaceutical partners. That makes the biotech pitch deck a critically important medium, and we’re here to help.

Your pitch is rich with information about you and your company, far beyond the content of your slides. Your audiences get to develop a sense of your polish and your attention to detail. They glimpse your personality and begin to extrapolate your decision making style and company culture.

While it's your job to figure out what information will go into your biotech pitch deck, we can help make sure that it makes the best possible impression. To do this, we provide several components of deck sweetening:

Graphic Design for Biotech Pitch Decks (A.K.A Deck Sweetening)

Our graphic designers can turn ideas as simple as hand-drawn charts on a napkin into gorgeous, graphically-refined slides. Often, clients have a deck that has worked for them in the past, but they want to take it to the next level visually. Our graphic designers take into account the spirit of the scientific message, and any branding elements already available to create a combination of shape, color, and layout to frame the content of each slide.

Balancing the information load for each slide is also important. Audiences can only process one stream of auditory input at a time, and that includes written text. Reading your slides while listening to you is going to be difficult or impossible, so packing a slide full of important information may be counterproductive. Part of our graphic design process is to ensure that slides have just the right amount of information to maximize clarity. Think slick and classy.

A polished biotech pitch deck communicates attention to detail and generates confidence in the message. In addition to applying these graphic improvements to your existing deck, we also provide multiple template slides for you to use as you expand your presentation.

Data Visualization in Your Biotech Pitch Deck

Chances are at some point you'll need to communicate data in your biotech pitch deck, whether it's financial projections or lab results that validate your technologies. Off-the-shelf graphing software does a decent job, but this is another great opportunity to engage and impress the viewer. It can be as simple as creating a 3D version of a graph, or animating it building on. Even refining the design of the graph to match the overall graphical scheme of the deck will better entice viewers to read and understand the data.

Scientific Illustration for Your Biotech Pitch Deck

In addition to the competitive landscape, opportunity for growth and other core parts to your biotech pitch deck, at some point you'll have to explain how your science works. A well-crafted illustration helps to guide audiences through conceptual touch points, without becoming confusing. It creates a second information stream during your presentation that speeds understanding while you speak. Skilled scientific illustrators will be able to lay out your science in a way that maximizes clarity.

Scientific Animation for Biotech Pitch Decks

Animation is like illustration on steroids. Sequencing the information in time reduces the work of orienting and interpreting a still image. Animation is also rich in subtle cues that help to streamline understanding. Dimensionality, movement, and change over time all provide additional nuance that helps the unconscious mind to extract meaning from the imagery.

Much of the animation we produce at Microverse Studios goes into full-length platform explainer videos or drug mechanism of action animations for website visitors. However, when animations go into a biotech pitch deck, they have to serve a different purpose.

When we produce animation to accompany live presentations, we take into account the fact that the audience’s attention will be divided between the presenter and the animation. The audience will need time to take in the events on screen as well as the presenter's body language and words.

We like to deliver each concept as its own short clip, so that it can play out on its own slide. This way, the presenter can control the pace of the story. We provide these clips at multiple smooth playback speeds, so that the presenter can choose one that best matches their own storytelling style.

Story Structure Analysis of Your Biotech Pitch Deck

There is no hard and fast rule about biotech pitch deck order, although there are many recommendations online. Ultimately the presenter needs to tell their story in the way most meaningful to them. With that said, everything we do here at Microverse Studios is based on cognitive science, and we have a preferred order that we like because it’s the structure most proven to sink its hooks into audiences’ brains.

Over the last century, Hollywood and commercial literature have used profitability to naturally select the optimal order and pacing of story elements. This structure can be applied to any story, including platform explainer videos, mechanism of action videos, and biotech pitch decks.

We've provided a deep-dive explanation of how and why this structure works that you can apply to your own biotech pitch deck, but we also offer a story structure analysis of your deck at no charge.

Biotech Pitch Deck Pricing

Our goal is always to make our services as accessible as possible, and to maximize our clients' ROI. We price most biotech pitch deck services based on a day rate of $2,000 per artist, per day. (Don't worry, we're very fast!) Below, I've outlined the typical time commitments and costs for each of the common elements of pitch deck development.

Graphic Design (Biotech Pitch Deck Sweetening)

When our clients provide us with a deck that has all of their major elements in place, the rate we charge for graphic design is as follows: $3,000 for style development, and $500 per slide for implementation. This can be done a-la-carte, so simply building templates for our clients to populate would only be $3,000.

Data Visualization and Scientific Illustration

We estimate costs for each illustration based on our day rate, but typically they end up being $4,000-8,000 depending on complexity.

Scientific Animation Built for Biotech Pitch Decks

Interestingly, the hardest part of animation is the initial build (i.e. creating the illustration). Animating the illustration only takes a couple of days. For that reason, our animated sequences (i.e. one major thing happening on screen) tend to range from $6,000-10,000, decreasing as more animation is added to the scope.

Another benefit of this approach is that extracting stills from the scientific animation is free! For more detailed discussion on our larger production animation pricing, read this article.

We Want to be Your Thought Partners

Our clients love to work with us, because we combine deep understanding of their scientific story with outside-the-box creative thinking. We blend visual metaphor and the science of aesthetics to create a vehicle for your message designed to be unmistakable, unforgettable, and impossible to ignore.

We've worked in the biotech startup world since 2005, and we understand the goals of investors, potential pharmaceutical partners, and growing companies. Let us make your biotech pitch deck stand out!

Contact us for a quick, 15-minute call. This is usually all it takes to determine whether our particular skills are right for your project.

MiDROPS® (Microemulsion Drug Ocular Penetration System)

How to Craft a Biotech Pitch Deck Using Story Structure

By: Cameron Slayden, M.S.

Learn how to leverage the story formula of Hollywood blockbusters and bestselling books in your next biotech pitch deck (or any pitch, for that matter).

The following article will give you a breakdown of literary story structure and how it can be applied to your pitch deck to maximize interest and attention in your audience. You'll see our recommended pitch deck slide order and what slides to include, as well as what percentage of your pitch should be spent on each idea to optimize the story flow. With story structure working for you, you can be sure that your audiences never wonder when you'll get to the point.

What is Story Structure?

Often when I ask people if they know what story structure is, they'll say yes. But when I ask them to define it, they have a hard time.

I discovered story structure when I attended the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, Oregon, about ten years ago, and it blew my mind.

We intuitively know that stories have a certain flow that makes them interesting. We sense it in the books we read and the shows and movies we watch. Stories are made up of far more than an introduction, discussion, and conclusion. Story structure is a precise order of emotional sub-context to information. 

It tells us where we are in a story and how much longer before we get to the point. It triggers reflexive interest and the sense that what we're listening to is important. It's the format our brains use to process our own life events and recall them.

Story structure is a file type for the brain. 

This article explains how to apply story structure to your biotech pitch deck. It's specific to biotech, because biotech is where I live, but these lessons can apply to any pitch. In fact, it applies to any time you want your audience to pay attention.

There are many books available on the topic of precise story formulation, mostly written for prospective authors and screenwriters. They all say the same things in different ways, so I've boiled it all down to a single article in the interest of clarity. 

The structure explored here summarizes commercial fiction's optimum content order and pacing. It's not to be confused with Joseph Campbell's Monomyth/Hero's Journey, which is about heroic character arcs. 

Story Structure Was Refined by Natural Selection

Thanks to Hollywood and the world's massive literary market, consumer interest has made profitability the key metric of a story's success. Movies and books that followed a specific architecture became the most popular. With profit as a driving force, this structure was refined into its most optimal model to maximize human interest. 

My goal here is to give you a precise order for your pitch slides that maximizes attention and impact. I also want you to understand why that order is best, so that as your message evolves, you can adjust your pitch to remain optimized.

Skip to the Recipe: The Best Slide Order for Your Biotech Pitch Deck

Here's the order I recommend for the slides in your pitch deck. I'll explain why in a minute.

You may not have every one of these slides, or some of them might be combined. You might also have a few others, such as deep dives into these concepts or explorations of additional possibilities.

Slide 1: A high level view of your solution.

Slide 2: The Problem. 

Slide 3: The unmet need. 

Slide 4: Market potential/opportunity. 

Slide 5: Current solutions/competitive landscape. 

Slide 6: Their drawbacks. 

Slide 7: Your team. 

Slide 8: The details of your technology.  

Slide 9: De-risking and safety.

Slide 10: Data proving it works (or suggesting that it will)

Slide 11: Pipeline/regulatory pathway/plan to reach market

Slide 12: FDA clearance/current revenue/interest from big partnerships/proof that you are a safe bet.

I've watched many, many pitches over the years, and every story is different in the details. Even among seasoned entrepreneurs, pitch sequencing is all over the place, despite being critical to connecting with your audience. Together we're going to change that!

"Entrepreneurs learn very early that they have to answer three big questions about their business: Does it matter? Does it work? And can we win?"

Abiologics protein made from artificial amino acids

Why Bother With Story Structure in Your Biotech Pitch Deck?

Entrepreneurs learn very early that they have to answer three big questions about their business: Does it matter? Does it work? And can we win?

Biotechnology is different from other areas of investment. Most non-biotech industries have to take into account human nature in their designs. An app must appeal to specific thought patterns in the user base and can fail unexpectedly if user behavior is different from what was expected. Even in the case of a radical new machine or other product that will improve lives, users must be convinced that they need it before it will be widely adopted. 

Biotech's success is different, because it is independent of human nature. A working platform that speeds up the curing of disease doesn’t rely on how people will respond to it. Living longer always sells. If you're the only one with such a platform, and your platform works, then there's a better chance you can win, too.

Therefore, biotech’s biggest unknown is, “does it work?” 

I liken the study of biology to cavemen trying to figure out an ultra-complex alien technology. We tinker with the dials and push buttons to see how it works, and hope that the whole thing doesn’t explode. Every time we puzzle a tiny piece of it out, progress moves fractionally forward. Another great analogy is trying to debug a trillion-line program filled with spaghetti code, while learning the programming language as we go. We might figure out what a single command does, but who knows what critical functions reference it? Tinkering could make the whole program crash in unexpected ways. 

This is unacceptable in living systems. Unpredictable failure modes lurk around every corner, waiting to consign promising technologies to the dustbin of science history. Sadly making it work isn't something that I can help you with. That will depend on the team that you build.

Nor can I help with whether you can win. Will you be first to market? Will your version of your tech be the most cost-efficient or effective? Can you stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly growing space? Again, this depends on your team. You’ll predict what obstacles you can and react swiftly and responsibly to the unexpected, so maybe! I hope so. 

"How are they going to remember your story over everyone else's? It's not because your story will be more important. Instead, it will be because your story sounds more important."

Biotechnology is undergoing its own industrial revolution, like the discovery of fire, of steel, the building of railroads and the internet. It's changing the very nature of life itself.

So investors have to make a different sort of gamble when choosing where to put their money in biotech. And they're not just looking for something that works; they're looking for the Next Big Thing. They'll sit through hundreds of pitches fifteen minutes at a time. The science. The team. The competitive landscape. The potential market. 

How are they going to remember your story over everyone else's? (Some killer graphics can’t hurt...) It's not because your story will be more important, although that may be the case. Instead, it will be because your story sounds more important.

What I’m sharing with you today is how to make your story matter to your audience.

A File Type for the Brain

Here's a neat trick: Take an image from the internet (in this case one generated by ChatGPT). Open it in Notepad. Scroll down to somewhere in the middle, and change a single character. Any character. Then reopen the image.

Before
After

All I did was change an é to an e halfway through the code, and the entire content of the image was lost-- at least from a human perception standpoint. Story structure is similar. It provides meaning and context in such a way that audiences easily understand the importance of the story and what it should mean to them. 

Luckily, our minds are more resilient than image-reading software. Our brains work hard to puzzle out pattern and meaning from the world around us. In particular, we have an instinctive drive to understand other humans and to be understood ourselves. 

Story structure doesn't have to be perfect, but the farther we deviate from it, the less a story makes sense. It's the reason we get frustrated when people don't "get to the point." It's the difference between listening to a TED talk and a seven-year-old describing their favorite Pokémon for twenty minutes.

We evolved language from raw primate vocalization. Delicate formulation of sounds began to carry discrete meaning. Grammatical rules arose for communicating abstract concepts, such as "yesterday" and "maybe." Sentences became frameworks of words that injected greater meaning and expanded their ability to communicate complex ideas. 

At some point we also evolved a kind of meta-grammar, a format beyond the simple order of words in a sentence. This framework of frameworks allowed us to recognize uniquely important information. 

I suspect this began with homo erectus back around 750 million years ago when fire was first tamed. It opened up a world of nutrition and food safety. It kept us safe and gave us light at night. Socialization blossomed as we gathered around it during our newfound free time. Our brain sizes grew, our tools became more complex, and our intelligence soared. I think that this was the birthplace of the story as an art form.

From around those hearths in sub-saharan Africa arose the story arc, a framework far more rich than a list of events in the order they took place. It's woven into our neural wiring, how we process our own life experience and how we interpret the world around us. We instinctively use it when telling our own stories, particularly when the story is important to us.

Thankfully, modern capitalism has created a money-making science out of perfecting story structure. We have Hollywood to thank.

"You want your pitch to be a singular experience. You want them to eagerly anticipate the point, recognize when it's about to land, and to get blown away by it."

The Order and Pacing of Content in Biotech Pitch Decks

Pause a show that you’re enjoying on Netflix, and before looking at the progress bar, predict exactly how far you are through it. If you can’t tell where you are in the story, it probably also feels like it’s meandering or not getting to the point. 

Information with specific emotional sub-context creates a reflexive interest response, and allows us a sense of how far away the "punchline" is. When we deviate from this architecture, we remove cues that would otherwise make details of our story feel relevant to the whole. In this way, poor story structure blurs meaning and importance for our audiences.

In the case of a biotech pitch deck, poor structure makes the audience ask perhaps the worst question: "What's the point?" The first half of the slides I listed set up dominoes to be knocked down by the second half. Shown out of order, they don't have the same contextual value and so they stand as their own separate ideas. 

You want your pitch to be a singular experience. You want them to eagerly anticipate the point, recognize when it's about to land, and to get blown away by it.

As a story unfolds, we intuitively recognize where we are in its overall flow. We semi-consciously calculate how long it's taken to get where we are and use that to predict how much longer until the end. If we spend too long on one part, we will extrapolate that expectation to every other part.

If the first half dragged, we assume the second half will as well. If the story’s concepts are out of order, we have no clues as to where we are in the story. In these cases, we assume the worst and we get frustrated and want the storyteller to get to the point. 

In pitches, the audience's positive mental state is critical. We don’t want them to be relieved when we’re finished.

Who is the Protagonist in Your Biotech Pitch Deck? (It’s Not Who You Think.)

I'm going to mention a protagonist a lot. In the stories we consume, the protagonist is usually a main character that we watch evolve over the course of the story to eventually face a villain. You might think that the protagonist is you, or maybe your technology, or maybe even your company. Those would make sense on one level. 

Instead, I encourage you to consider your investor as the protagonist. 

Audiences love stories about heroes because they want to identify with them. The adventure is vicarious. This is an access point to our audience's unconscious self-image at the moment when we engage them. If you keep it in mind as you craft your biotech pitch, your connection with your audience can be much deeper.

With all of these perspectives and considerations in mind, now we can talk about the emotional underpinnings that drive each phase of a story, and how they match the concepts in your pitch:

The Breakdown of Story Structure for Biotech Pitch Decks

There is no standardized nomenclature for the story elements in any medium, whether books, screenplays, or biotech pitch decks. Therefore, we have some artistic freedom here. I'm using the words I learned first, but it's the definitions that count. 

Below, I've listed the major beats of a story in the structure that we're exploring. I've included the percentage of the story that will have passed by the time each beat lands. In stories, the time between beats is when characters are developed and the world is built. The beats themselves represent distinct moments where events of significant impact take place.

basic story structure

A visual breakdown of the story structure that permeates Hollywood blockbuster film and television screenwriting as well as bestselling books

The Promise, or, "Did you hear about the prince?" 0%

Every story starts with the audience having some sense of what to expect. Ideally, we'll generate some anticipation with this phase. 

A friend telling you some juicy gossip might start with “Did you hear about what happened to so and so?” For a movie, this would be the trailer or the preview description. For a book, it's the material on the front, back, and inside covers. 

For your biotech pitch deck, it's a high-level, implication-laden one-sentence description of your game-changing technology. It doesn't have to be detailed. It should be a bold statement that makes the audience ask "Wait– How are you doing that?"... the first domino. 

The Everyday World- 0-25%

Every story begins with a brief exploration of what the world is like before the adventure. The protagonist goes about their daily life, usually revealing a yearning for something better. It's Luke Skywalker on the moisture farm, Frodo in the Shire, Indiana Jones stealing cultural relics from indigenous tribes. 

In your biotech pitch deck, this is the problem/unmet need segment. Your audience's world– the real world– is in need of someone to go on an adventure that will solve these problems. 

The First Plot Point: Entering the Magical World- 25%

One way or another, an opportunity arises in which the protagonist gets the chance to go on the adventure. In our favorite stories, there is usually a momentary hesitation, an obstacle, or sometimes outright refusal. 

In the end, the hero faces an offer they can't refuse. They embark on the journey and enter the strange and magical world of the adventure, a world filled with wonder. This is when Harry Potter leaves the Dursleys with Hagrid to go to Hogwarts and Jake Sully enters the bioluminescent world of the Na'vi in his avatar. 

In your biotech pitch deck, this is when the whole world of opportunity opens up before your investors in the form of the market potential and opportunity slide. 

The First Pinch Point: Trouble in the Magical World- 37.5%

Pinch points are moments when the protagonist is surprised by an incarnation of the antagonistic force of a story. As the story progresses, the protagonist experiences challenges and setbacks. They respond with their current skill set, which is found lacking. Along the way, they gain tools and allies (which may not start out as allies) that will later become important. 

Between the first plot point and the midpoint, they will encounter the villain for the first time. Usually, this takes the form of henchmen or dealing with a lesser component of their power. Often, success is narrowly gained.

In The Lego Movie (perhaps the most perfectly structured story in all of history), Emmet is saved from Bad Cop by Wyldstyle. It's the first battle of the story, and the first time the protagonists face any contingent of the villain's empire. 

For the story in your biotech pitch deck, the antagonistic force is failure. Your first pinch point is when you reveal the competitive landscape. How are other companies approaching the problem? What challenges are they facing and how are they failing? You will need to both overcome your competitors' progress and sidestep the challenges they face.

The Midpoint: Taking Control of Fate- 50%

The midpoint may be the most important moment in any story. It's the moment when the protagonist pivots from merely reacting to challenges to proactively chasing success. It usually involves solidifying relationships with allies. 

In The Lego Movie, Emmett embraces his role as the Special and builds the double-decker couch which saves his friends (seriously, if you haven't watched this movie you need to). In Avatar, Jake Sully pair-bonds with Neytiri, rejecting the role given to him by the company and pursuing his own happiness. 

Something I love about the midpoint is that it represents the part of our own personal stories that we actually experience every day. Our lives are perpetually filled with moments when we can proactively choose our destiny, or we can choose to simply let the winds of fate guide us. It's the moment when decisions are made, when we choose to make our fates our own. It's the moment that the dominoes set up in the first half start to fall, and the intensity begins to pick up. 

For your biotech pitch deck, this is when we introduce your team. They are the allies that have joined your cause along the way, whose insights and expertise are exactly what the protagonist needs to win. Now the adventurer (your investor audience) has what they need to be proactive.

The Second Pinch Point- 63.5%

After the midpoint, the protagonist begins to fight with increasing effort to achieve their goals. Halfway between this and the second plot point, comes a major confrontation that results in the protagonist's defeat. Their vulnerabilities are laid bare. This is known as the second pinch point.

In Avatar, the Na'vi's home tree is destroyed, and Jake Sully is rejected by both humans and his new adoptive tribe. 

For your biotech pitch deck, this is where you describe the science behind your technology in detail, as well as de-risking and safety you're bringing to bear. It's outside of your audience's knowledge base, and represents a challenge that they can't overcome on their own. They need a team-- your team-- and all of the skills and insights you bring to bear in order to win. 

Victory can never be achieved until they recognize this vulnerability and overcome it. 

The Second Plot Point- 75%

In popular stories, after the second pinch point wraps up, the protagonists are generally in a pretty dark place. They thought they had a chance of beating the villain, but when they went to face it, they didn't measure up. There's usually a lull, or a down-and-out scene, in which all hope appears lost. 

Then, a new piece of information is introduced. Someone makes a passing comment that gives someone else a brilliant idea. Someone remembers a key detail revealing the villain's critical weakness. It's exactly what the team needs to formulate their plan to defeat the enemy in the final battle. 

In Ghostbusters (1984), the team realizes where they need to go to stop Zuul. In The Martian, details are revealed about what has to be done for Mark Watney to be able to rendezvous with his team. In all cases, the conditions for victory are laid out, and the protagonists race toward the final confrontation. 

In your biotech pitch deck, this is when you reveal any data that validates your technology. With this sword of victory, your protagonist, the investor, has everything they need to make success happen.

The Climax- 90%

It's the best part of the story, where the fully-equipped hero uses all the tools, allies, and wisdom they've gained to achieve ultimate success. It's the culmination of all the tension built up throughout the story. It's the moment of success that the protagonist makes happen.

This is where your story ends: you've led your protagonist to success, they just have to claim it. In your biotech pitch deck, this will be where you place your regulatory pathway/plan to market slides, as well as any existing FDA Clearance, interest from big partners, current revenue, and any other proof that you are an excellent bet. 

Chart of Biotech Pitch Deck Slide Order Using Story Structure

Story structure with biotech pitch deck slide content overlaid

How This Structure Will Adjust in Your Biotech Pitch Deck

The percentages I've listed here average where these beats occur across the most popular stories in film and literature. The shorter the format, the more variation there will be in the timing of the beats. You may find that your pitch has no component that approximates the emotional content of a beat. Don't worry about it. The most important thing is that you find the right place for what you do have.

At some point, you will likely find success in your biotech venture, and you will need to explain in deeper detail how your technologies operate on a cellular and molecular level. I hope you’ll consider Microverse Studios' scientific illustration and animation to help you accomplish this. From the neurology of story structure to vision science, our team can create an unparalleled and frictionless audience experience. Reach out to start the conversation!

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4 Examples of Beautiful Ophthalmology Animation That Showcase the Latest in Ophthalmic Research

By: Olivia Slayden

In recent years, the field of ophthalmology has witnessed significant advancements, driven by cutting-edge research and innovative technologies. We have seen this explosion of new ophthalmic research first-hand at Microverse Studios in just about every industry type we encounter whether it be medical device, pharma or the CROs that support research itself.

In this article, we will explore four examples of beautiful ophthalmology animation that not only illustrate the intricacies of eye-related conditions but also highlight the latest trends in ophthalmic research.

But first, let's quickly explore why our clients may have sought out medical animation in the first place. If you would like to skip ahead to the videos, click on the table of contents below.

The Rise of Medical Animation for Ophthalmic Research

Ophthalmology animation has become an indispensable asset in the realm of ophthalmologic research. By leveraging the power of this type of medical animation, researchers can enhance the impact of their work, attract funding, and accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical applications.

The precision and detail offered by this ophthalmology animation make it an invaluable tool for researchers, educators, and clinicians. These medical animations can illustrate everything from the microscopic structures within the eye to the dynamic processes that occur during disease progression or treatment.

For companies involved in ophthalmologic research, investing in high-quality ocular medical animation services can enhance the clarity and impact of their findings, leading to better understanding and collaboration within the scientific community.

Furthermore, ophthalmology animations can transform abstract concepts into tangible visual experiences, facilitating better communication of research outcomes and fostering greater engagement with other stakeholders as well. This comes in handy when explaining the importance of your therapy or product to patients or asking investors to believe in your new technology.

Following are four such ophthalmic animations. You will see that each of these medical videos is unique- not only in subject matter but also in aesthetic style. At Microverse Studios, we pay special attention to ensuring our clients' medical animations both stand out in the crowded communications landscape and cannot be confused with other companies' marketing materials. We are also cognizant of brand recognition and elevation. These factors naturally contribute to highly individualized end products.

1. EyeCRO- MiDROPS

Mechanism of Action Medical Animation for Contract Research Organization
MiDROPS collage dropper bottle, eye diagram and single-phase emulsion surfactant molecule

EyeCRO is a leading contract research organization specializing in ophthalmologic research and drug development.

One of their innovative products is MiDROPS, a novel drug delivery system designed to enhance the treatment of various eye conditions. MiDROPS leverages advanced micro-dispersion technology to ensure precise and efficient delivery of therapeutic agents to targeted areas within the eye.

This cutting-edge system aims to improve the bioavailability and effectiveness of ophthalmic medications while minimizing side effects.

By providing a reliable and patient-friendly method for ocular drug administration, EyeCRO's MiDROPS is poised to significantly impact the field of ophthalmologic therapeutics and improve patient outcomes.

The mechanism of action animation we created for EyeCRO needed to explain their new technology in depth to a scientific audience while underscoring its awesome capabilities for scientific research without sounding too sensational. We also needed to create a unique, eye-catching aesthetic that remained respectful of their brand and the science behind their new technology.

2. Cloudbreak- CBT-001 emulsion

Mechanism of Action Medical Animation for Pharmaceutical Client

Cloudbreak Pharma is an innovative biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing advanced treatments for eye diseases.

One of their promising products is CBT-001, an emulsion designed for the reduction of conjunctival hyperemia and the regression of pterygium lesions. CBT-001 utilizes a unique formulation to deliver therapeutic agents directly to the affected areas, offering a targeted and effective approach to managing these conditions.

This emulsion aims to alleviate the redness and irritation associated with conjunctival hyperemia and reduce the growth of pterygium lesions, ultimately improving patient comfort and eye health.

Microverse Studios created the following mechanism of action animation with a unique look to clearly explain how their innovative therapeutic worked while also highlighting how groundbreaking it would be to have this first non-surgical option for patients suffering with the condition.

3. Avisi Technologies, Inc.- VisiPlate

Medical Device Animation for Biotechnology Company that Specializes in Ophthalmologic Conditions

Next, we have an ophthalmologic medical device animation created for Avisi Technologies' revolutionary VisiPlate.

Avisi Technologies Inc. is a cutting-edge biomedical company focused on developing innovative solutions for ophthalmologic conditions. One of their standout products is VisiPlate, an ultra-thin, biocompatible ocular implant designed to treat glaucoma.

VisiPlate addresses the challenge of managing intraocular pressure (IOP) by providing a minimally invasive method to facilitate aqueous humor outflow. This advanced device is engineered to integrate seamlessly with the eye's natural structures, reducing the risk of complications associated with traditional glaucoma treatments.

Through VisiPlate, Avisi Technologies aims to enhance patient outcomes and improve the quality of life for individuals suffering from glaucoma, a disease that affects approximately 103 million people world-wide.

The following ophthalmology animation exemplifies our approach to medical device animations. We see these devices as life-changing, specialized inventions and strive to highlight their transformative impact and inherent beauty while also clearly explaining their utility.

4. Aerpio Therapeutics- Glaucoma

Mechanism of Disease Animation for Pharmaceutical Client

Prior to their merger with Aadi Biolsciences in 2021, Aerpio Pharmaceuticals contacted Microverse Studios for an ophthalmology animation that explained the science behind glaucoma.

Medical animations such as these are known as mechanism of disease (MoD) animations. Our clients often commission MoD animations to better explain a disease to their customers or in anticipation of future drug or other technology launches. These medical animations make clear the difficulties related to a particular disease and what is at stake when left untreated.

The Importance of High-Quality Ophthalmology Animation

Because the eye is one of the most complex organs in the human body, traditional methods of education and communication often fall short in conveying the nuances of various conditions and treatments, and medical animation is a great way to make them accessible and engaging for both professionals and patients.

Ophthalmology animation bridges this gap by providing a visually compelling and scientifically accurate representation of eye anatomy, diseases, and surgical procedures. These animations can illustrate everything from the microscopic structures within the eye to the dynamic processes that occur during disease progression or treatment.

Is Ophthalmology Animation Right for Your Research?

For many companies involved in ophthalmic research, high-quality ophthalmology animation is not just a luxury but a necessity. That doesn't mean that it is necessarily right for you.

If you would like to find out if medical animation is the right choice for your ophthalmic research, get in touch! We would love to have a quick, 15-30 minute call to discuss whether medical animation or perhaps another science communication tool is the right choice for you.

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What Should 3D Medical Animation Cost?

By: Cameron Slayden

Note: This is a duplicate article for those searching for 3D medical animation rather than scientific animation. For all intents and purposes, both refer to the same type of animation and are therefore priced identically. If you would like to see that article instead, click here.

How Much Does 3D Medical Animation Cost Per Minute?

In the 3D medical animation industry, the cost of a project is typically quoted on a per-minute basis.

TLDR: Microverse Studios charges $35,000-45,000 for a one minute animation, $55,000-65,000 for a two minute animation, and $75,000-$105,000 for a three minute video. A 30-second production would range from $25,000-30,000. The per-minute rate decreases as duration increases. The range represents varying prices due to project complexity. As you can imagine, more complex stories require more work hours to complete.

Our predictable pricing covers all aspects of 3D medical animation production from start to finish. We have highly accurate metrics that allow us to predict and maintain scope. These are outlined later.

Why Do We Charge So Much?

In the 3D medical animation landscape, you'll see a variety of price points, with our rates squarely in the middle (despite our commitment to top-tier production quality).

We are able to provide complex, 3D medical animation at a mid-range price point thanks to our streamlined workflow and minimal overhead. We cannot charge the lowest rates, however,  because high production quality and scientific accuracy requires top talent.

Every member of our creative staff is both an award-winning filmmaker, and has a masters' degree in medical illustration. This means that the animators at our studio have the scientific background to completely understand your science and the creative chops to produce award-winning animation for every project. 

How Do Some 3D Medical Animation Studios Charge Less?

Imagine the process of 3D medical animation production as being like building a house. The experience and dedication of the team you choose determines the quality of the end product. If you're building a shed, cheap out. There is no need to source the finest building materials or the most exclusive architect. If you're building a sleek mansion, that’s a bit different. Choose your team wisely!

To be able to charge a lower price point, other studios need to pay their animators less. This could mean using freelancers, outsourcing overseas, or hiring animators without advanced degrees or scientific knowledge. 

For some less complex stories or stories that have more to do with CAD files and engineering, this isn't an issue. If your story is full of intricate scientific detail, you will need to decide up front how rigorous the science in your animation needs to be.

If you cannot skimp on complexity, then you will need to determine how much time your team has to explain the science behind your new technology and to correct any scientific errors that may pop up.

How Can Early Stage Startups Afford 3D Medical Animation?

Microverse Studios serves early stage biotech startups, larger pharmaceutical clients, and the agencies that cater to them.

We know that, for very early startups, cash flow can be complicated. We always seek to make our work available to everyone that needs it. We have had success deferring payments until after a raise is complete, providing long term payment options, and accepting partial payment in the form of equity (via SAFE note). 

How Do We Determine Project Scope for a 3D Medical Animation?

We've found that the best predictor of the quantity of labor in a given project takes into account three variables: script word count, optimal pacing, and concept count. 

These provide a consistent metric for scoping any animation because they're rooted in how the brain works. Let’s take a look at these variables now.

Script Word Count

When we write our scripts, we keep in mind that, in English, narration is read at about two words per second. We don't use word count as a rigid metric, because the verbiage needed to communicate each concept can vary widely, but it does provide some guide rails that can keep script edits from driving scope creep.

As a general rule, don’t expect an animation to be shorter than the time it takes to read it aloud, or about 120 words per minute. Pro tip: the brain can only read as fast as it can understand speech, so this includes text on screen!

Optimal Pacing

It takes about 10 seconds to move a piece of information from short term memory into working memory. In working memory, ideas are strung together into a narrative. If presented too quickly, short term memory will dump a piece of information to make room for the next. If presented too slowly, working memory will have a hard time sequencing them.

We always add a second on either side of each concept to account for smooth transitions, so that means that in sixty seconds you can fit about five concepts at the perfect pace for learning.

Concept Count

Your 3D medical animation will have a certain number of discrete ideas that the audience must understand before it ends. Pro tip: Knowing this, you can predict and tailor the duration of your own project before you talk to your first medical animation studio! 

The hard rules of cognition make concept count the central metric for predicting how long an animation must be. 

Because we know how much work goes into making a given concept come to life on screen, this also gives us a very accurate predictor for establishing project scope.

How Can I Minimize the Cost of My 3D Medical Animation Project?

Be concise. Certain elements will be critical to your story, but know the difference between what needs to be demonstrated in animation versus what can be a text box displayed alongside it. Always remember that animation is best served by stories that “show” rather than “tell.” 

Expository elements such as long lists of features or applications might even have better impact elsewhere on the webpage, remaining in view longer than if they are included in the animation.

Cost Breakdown in 3D Medical Animation

As we see it at Microverse Studios, every 3D medical animation has two cost components: pre-production/overhead and animation production. 

3D Medical Animation Pre-production/Overhead

Every project takes a certain amount of overhead, regardless of final video duration. This includes time spent working on things like research, meetings, internal review, creative direction, and production management. It also includes script writing, our unique style development protocol, concept art, and storyboarding. 

Because this workload is very consistent, we have a standard line item of $15,000 for most 3D medical animation projects. 

3D Medical Animation Production Costs

Animation production refers to creating the actual 3D animation. This includes geometry, programming, rigging, keyframing, camera work and so forth. It also includes using supercomputing resources, rendering, compositing, video editing, and professional voice. 

This second component represents the bulk of costs associated with production, and scales with video duration. The cost is dependent on the anticipated work to create the imagery up to Microverse Studios' standards for production value. 

For example, if an animation takes place in multiple microenvironments (i.e. kidney, lung, liver, etc.), each of these environments must be built from scratch. Part of our value is that we reuse very few materials from one animation to another, ensuring that every project is unique. This added research and work drives the cost difference for more complex projects. 

This production line item ranges from $20,000 to $30,000 per minute of finished animation. The range reflects variations in project complexity. 

examples of VR, 360, medical illustration and plain language medical writing

Other Medical Communication Services

We produce more than 3D medical animation! We also provide scientific and medical illustration for print and web, plain language medical writing for investor outreach, immersive experiences for your next conference booth, VR and 360 video and more. We even sweeten Powerpoint presentations.

Because the production process for each of these services can vary significantly, they are typically priced differently from 3D medical animation. Medical illustrations, medical writing and Powerpoint presentations, for example, would not require per minute pricing. Often, in these cases, we use our day rate of $2,000.

Frequently, one kind of project dovetails into another. For example, illustrations in one year might be expanded into animations the next.  We take into account work already done on a project when building expanded scopes in order to optimize our clients' bang for their buck.

If you'd like to find out more about our 3D medical animation or the other services we provide, reach out! A quick, 15-30 minute call is usually all we need to discuss the best possible means of scientific communication for your technology (or whether your project even requires our services in the first place). 

Our philosophy is to be transparent about our pricing structure, and to always keep our clients’ best interests at heart while serving their unique needs. We always counsel toward brevity and act as thought partners to make their stories as successful as possible. We have found this to be the best business strategy because it keeps our clients coming back again and again. 

About Microverse Studios
Microverse Studios is a full-service scientific and medical animation studio. Our 3D medical animation services include every aspect of animation production from research and scriptwriting to sound design and final delivery. Our clients come to us with an idea, and we turn it into a deployment-ready video.

We have had the honor of delivering game-changing innovators in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device fields with best-in-class, award-winning scientific filmmaking since 2005. Microverse Studios’ medical animators all have advanced degrees and the experience and expertise to quickly and completely understand the science behind our clients’ technologies, whether it’s AI-driven drug discovery, next-gen PCR technologies, or drug mechanism of action/MOA and mechanism of disease/MOD.

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Medical Animation Production—What to Expect From Start to Finish

By: Cameron Slayden

Medical animation is an industry-standard method of scientific communication. In the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology industries, it's used to explain the hard science and features behind their technologies or therapies in the most efficient format possible. 

An entire industry has grown around providing for these needs at multiple price points. Commissioning this kind of work can be a considerable investment. This article will walk you through what to expect when embarking on this journey.

The Elements of Medical Animation Production

Microverse Studio’s production page lays out our specific protocol, but the phases outlined in this article go more in-depth, and should apply to just about any studio out there. These milestones were established organically over decades of experimentation. They represent the key touch points necessary for successful medical animation production. At Microverse Studios, we have found that this project flow optimizes production efficiency, without wasting client or animator time. Anything less runs the risk of an end product that doesn't meet (or exceed!) client expectations.

Briefly, here are the major production steps you should anticipate from your vendor when commissioning a medical animation:

Scope/Discovery for Medical Animation

Every medical animation studio has their own method to identify how much work will go into a project, and thus cost. This tends to center around the duration of the end product. Sometimes, studios will use the word count of the script as a metric (120 words per minute), because that's a hard determiner of absolute duration. 

However, we've found that there's a better way: we tie cost to the number of events taking place on screen. After all, everything that happens in a medical animation takes work to create. Sometimes an event may be easy to build and animate, but require an unusual number of words in the narration. 

The human brain takes about 10 seconds to absorb a piece of information and move it from short term memory to long term memory, where it can be incorporated into a narrative. If information is presented too quickly, the brain dumps whatever it’s thinking about to make room for the next idea, and the message doesn’t get absorbed. If ideas are presented too slowly, the brain can’t easily sequence them into a coherent narrative. 

If we add a second to each side of each idea for transitions, that makes the optimal pace of storytelling about 5 ideas per minute. This precisely ties the amount of labor to the end duration of the animation, making for a predictable production experience and minimizing scope creep.

Pricing based on number and complexity of onscreen events guarantees the most accurate rate. This way, scope is easily maintained by writing the narration around the important events and planning them visually in the storyboard.

Medical Animation Script

The script is the conceptual backbone of any animation, and that includes medical animation. It's important to keep spoken content grounded in verbiage that enhances onscreen events. It's also a good idea to avoid exposition. Verbiage that describes concepts that can't be directly animated risk confusing or boring viewers.

The narration is also an opportunity to inject principles of story structure into the production. With the right application, story structure can deeply enrich viewer interest.

Developing the Style for a Medical Animation

Most studios explore look and feel before starting medical animation production. If done well, look development can inject a strong aesthetic into the final product. It’s important to have key stakeholders involved in this conversation to make sure that everyone is happy with the visual approach. Often, the style developed at this stage becomes central to a product or company’s brand, so the stakes are high.

At Microverse Studios, we also create concept art to further explore how the style will apply to the scientific imagery. This way, the project begins with design documents that give a good sense of how the scientific imagery will look. This starts every project in alignment with client expectations.

Medical Animation Storyboards

A storyboard is usually created as a hand-drawn “sketch phase” for the animation. It establishes exactly what happens on screen during narration. Medical animation often includes very complicated scientific concepts. The storyboard is central to aligning client expectations with the animators' approach. 

Sometimes storyboards are series of detailed digital paintings depicting every event taking place. Sometimes they are simple black-and-white sketches of those events. In either case, they serve a critical early alignment on the visual plan for the story.

Medical Animation Asset Assembly

Medical animation production begins with assembly of the geometries and images that will go into creating the final video. Sometimes these elements are sourced externally. Examples might be protein structures or gross anatomy or CAD files. In medical animation, the visual subjects tend to be complicated. Often they need to be created from scratch. At Microverse Studios, every project we produce is bespoke, and so we create all elements new for each project.

Lights are set into the scenes, the appearances of the materials designed, and the look and feel of the imagery is established. At Microverse Studios, we provide stills at this phase to give clients an early look at final imagery.

One of the assets produced during this phase is the initial narration track. Stand-in voice in the first version gives the script a final gut-check before recording with the professional voice talent.

Rendering the Medical Animation Components

The 3D build files are then converted into a series of frames in a process called rendering. This can be computationally intensive, depending on the software features the animators use. If a medical animation renders on an artist's workstation, it can often take hours or days to complete. A production bottleneck forms, even when rendering on a local computer "farm." 

Artists working this way have to cut corners to speed the render process, which can impact quality. This is especially true when under deadline or rendering many projects in parallel.

Recently, other options have become available. Cost-effective supercomputing resources, such as Conductor by Coreweave, provide hollywood-level render capacity. This processing power allows animators to create their best work on every project.

Compositing for Medical Animation

Lens flare, on screen text, color correction, and other image “sweetening” is often added after rendering is complete. This requires video processing software such as Nuke, Fusion, or Adobe After Effects. Footage elements are layered over one another and effects are applied to create the final look. The final footage sequences render once again from this software to create footage sequences ready for the final edit. 

Editing Medical Animation Footage

Editing is an art form unto itself. It’s said that perfect editing is invisible. When done right, it creates a precisely paced story and a seamless viewing experience. No uncomfortable pauses, no jumpy transitions. The story flow just… feels right. Stand-in narration and music are carefully mixed and laid in. The entire production is output as a whole to become the first version of the video, ready to watch. 

Reviewing the Completed Medical Animation

Modern technology has made delivery and deployment of animation easy. Every studio will have their own toolset for delivery and review. We use Vimeo because it can deliver a link that can be viewed and commented on from any device. This is also important because the vast majority of medical animation is consumed on mobile devices.  

At Microverse Studios, animations undergo internal review before we deliver each version to clients. After receiving feedback, our creatives meet with the client to ensure we understand the feedback fully, and to align on the plan to address it. Microverse Studios’ standard contract allows 3 rounds of refinement, although usually our projects are accepted as final after just one.

Professional Voice, Sound, and Music for Medical Animation

The client selects final voice talent from a collection of auditions. Microverse Studios has a stable of voice talent that we present to clients, but occasionally clients ask us to put out an additional casting call or contract with celebrity talent (one client wanted Edward James Olmos, and another wanted JK Simmons!). Once the edit is approved, sound effects and final music are mixed and laid in along with the final voice. 

Derivative Deliverables from Medical Animation 

High quality  medical animation is an investment. Most studios want/expect their work to be a centerpiece for their clients’ communications strategies. Microverse Studios makes this easy by including unlimited alternate edits (such as sequence extractions or shorter versions) and still images from the video at no extra cost. 

A Thought About Weekly Status Update Meetings:

Between milestones, everything is in-progress and incomplete. Often, in-progress tasks are complex and technical, and hard to communicate to non-animators. The actual reviewable material isn't ready to view until the next milestone. When clients ask for weekly meetings, they often consist of the animators saying, "We're on target for the next milestone." In other words, a meeting that could have been an email.

Medical Animation Production Studios

When it comes to highly specialized and complex fields found in biotechnology, it's important to choose teams with optimal backgrounds. Specially trained scientific or medical animators will be able to fully understand the story they are animating. This will ensure scientific accuracy, which is critical in medical animation. It will also breathe scientific detail, nuance, and richness into the imagery. 

Strong filmmaking skills will also enhance the production quality of the end product. During the production phase, our medical animators use a variety of tools to animate each event outlined in the storyboard. This task calls upon a blend of programming, simulation design, and puppeteering skills. It also requires understanding of molecular and cellular biology, as well as tissue and fluid dynamics.  

Finally, a medical animation studio's internal review process will be critical to achieving the best possible outcomes. Motion elements are refined and iterated upon using unfinished renders. These “animatics” are rarely shared with clients, because they don’t look like the finished product. The animators work in a specialized 3D interface that can be difficult to interpret.  

Commissioning Your Next Medical Animation

The first step, of course, will be to find out if medical animation is the right choice for you. While animation is an effective communications tool, it’s not not appropriate for every situation. The studio you work with should have input on what the best applications for animation are. They will be able to review your message and either propose an approach to animation for you, or recommend an alternative that would be more cost-effective or efficient if animation isn’t the best choice.

If you'd like to learn more about how Microverse Studios' medical animation can tell your story, get in touch! We can set up a brief 15-30 minute conversation to discuss your new technology and whether it could benefit from what we have to offer.

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The Power of Scientific Communication in Contract Research Organizations: Why Medical Animation Matters

By: Olivia Slayden

In the world of science, discoveries and innovations are continuously unfolding. These advancements can improve lives, cure diseases, and solve complex problems. However, these benefits can only be fully realized if the findings are effectively communicated. This is where the importance of scientific communication, particularly medical animation, becomes evident.

Contract Research Organizations (CROs) stand at the forefront of medical innovation, developing new drugs, treatments, and medical devices. An effective scientific communication strategy can significantly enhance their impact by ensuring that complex research findings are conveyed clearly and accurately to diverse audiences. This not only fosters better understanding and collaboration among scientists, regulators, healthcare professionals, and the public but also accelerates the approval and adoption of new medical advancements. 

By investing in robust scientific communication methods such as medical animation specifically for Contract Research Organizations, these companies can streamline their operations, build trust with stakeholders, and ultimately drive greater success in their research endeavors.

What are Contract Research Organizations?

Contract Research Organizations are companies that provide research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. They play a crucial role in developing new drugs, treatments, and medical devices, handling everything from initial research stages to clinical trials and regulatory approval.

The Role of Scientific Communication in Contract Research

Effective scientific communication is essential for CROs. It involves sharing research results and innovations in a way that is clear and easy to understand, reaching a variety of audiences with unique needs and expertise, including scientists, regulators, healthcare professionals, and the general public. Strong communication ensures that research findings are applied in real-world scenarios and enhances public understanding.

Benefits of Effective Scientific Communication for Different Audiences

1. Scientists:

When communicating with other scientists, the information needs to be detailed and precise. Scientists look for data and evidence that support research conclusions. Clear communication ensures that findings are accurately shared and can be built upon in future research.

2. Regulators:

Regulators require comprehensive information that follows specific guidelines to ensure compliance. They assess the safety and efficacy of new drugs and treatments based on the data provided. Effective communication of your science with regulators helps streamline the approval processes for new medical products.

3. Healthcare Professionals:

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers need information that translates complex research into practical applications. Simplifying your complex research into practical applications will help these healthcare providers understand new treatments and make more informed clinical decisions for their patients.

4. General Public:

For the general public, scientific communication should simplify complex concepts without losing the essential facts. This audience benefits from explanations that relate directly to their experiences and concerns, such as how a new treatment could improve health outcomes. Effective scientific communication fosters better understanding and trust in scientific advancements.

This targeted approach in scientific communication is particularly important when CROs collaborate with pharmaceutical companies, regulatory bodies, and healthcare providers. It ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page, leading to more efficient and successful outcomes in medical research and development.

Scientific Communication Methods Used by Contract Research Organizations

CROs use several scientific communication methods to ensure their research is clear and actionable. Here is a brief overview of some of those methods.

1. Medical Animation:

This tool visualizes complex scientific processes in an engaging and straightforward way. It is particularly useful for explaining drug mechanisms and biological interactions. Medical animation is also particularly useful when complex scientific information must be absorbed in a short amount of time.

2. Scientific Publications:

More commonly, the clients of CROs, like pharmaceutical companies, are the primary publishers of research findings. There are some instances, however, when Contract Research Organizations publish findings in scientific journals. 

3. Conference Presentations:

CRO scientists may present their findings at conferences. These events allow for direct communication with peers and provide opportunities for feedback.

4. Regulatory Documents:

CROs prepare detailed documents for regulatory bodies. These documents must clearly explain the research, findings, and product safety to ensure compliance and approval.

5. Patient Education Materials:

CROs create materials to help patients understand their treatment options. These materials explain drug actions, side effects, and clinical trial details in understandable language so that patients can give informed consent for their participation in any clinical study.

6. Infographics and Brochures:

For quick and broad information dissemination, CROs may use infographics and brochures. These tools simplify complex information for easy understanding by a non-specialist audience.

These diverse communication methods ensure that scientific information reaches various audiences efficiently. Through these efforts, CROs significantly contribute to medical science and public health advancement.

The Impact of Medical Animation in Scientific Communication

Medical animation is an especially effective way to communicate complex scientific data. These animations turn complex concepts and processes into understandable and engaging visual content like no other form of media to date. They are particularly beneficial in several ways:

1. Enhancing Understanding:

Medical animation simplifies complex biological processes or drug mechanisms into animated sequences. These sequences are easier to understand than static images or text-heavy documents.

2. Increasing Engagement:

People generally engage more with visual content than text. Medical animation captures attention and makes learning about scientific topics more interesting.

3. Improving Retention:

Visual content is not just engaging; it’s also memorable. People remember information better when it's presented visually.

4. Facilitating Communication:

Medical animation can act as a universal language. This scientific communication tool bridges gaps between scientists with different specializations or between technical experts and non-experts.

Challenges in Scientific Communication

Scientific communication faces several unique challenges not typically found in other forms of communication.

Complexity of Information:

Scientific research often involves complex data that can be difficult to explain in simple terms. Contract Research Organizations must convey complex data in an accessible way without oversimplifying or misrepresenting the facts, balancing clarity with scientific integrity.

Audience Diversity:

Communicators in scientific fields must address the needs of a highly diverse audience. This includes experts who need detailed information and the general public who may need basic explanations devoid of jargon.

Misinformation:

Clear scientific communication in today's fast-paced digital world is more crucial now than ever. Information spreads quickly, and not all of it is accurate.

We've all seen the destructive power of this misinformation, especially in our post-pandemic world. It not only causes public confusion, but also undermines trust in scientific findings. 

Contract Research Organizations, like other scientists and researchers, can work to correct misconceptions by providing reliable information through reputable channels. Addressing these challenges head-on is essential for the successful application of scientific discoveries and for maintaining public trust in science.

Last Thoughts

For a Contract Research Organization, effective scientific communication is essential. Tools like medical animation are not just nice-to-have; they're necessary. They ensure that scientific breakthroughs are accurately understood and properly utilized, building trust with stakeholders and helping new treatments and innovations reach the market efficiently and safely.

Investing in a strong scientific communications strategy allows CROs to enhance their research impact. As science advances, the role of effective scientific communication and innovative tools like medical animation will only grow in importance, turning complex scientific ideas into actionable medical solutions.

If you operate a Contract Research Organization and have had difficulty communicating your complex science to stakeholders, medical animation may be your next step. 
Microverse Studios is an award winning scientific communications company that has been telling complex scientific stories, including those specifically for Contract Research Organizations, since 2005. Reach out for a quick 15-minute call to find out if medical animation fits your scientific communications strategy.

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What Should Scientific Animation Cost?

By: Cameron Slayden

Note: This is a duplicate article for those searching for scientific animation rather than 3D medical animation. For all intents and purposes, both refer to the same type of animation and are therefore priced identically. If you would like to see that article instead, click here.

How Much Does Scientific Animation Cost Per Minute?

In the scientific animation industry, the cost of a project is typically quoted on a per-minute basis.

TLDR: Microverse Studios charges $35,000-45,000 for a one minute animation, $55,000-65,000 for a two minute animation, and $75,000-$105,000 for a three minute video. A 30-second production would range from $25,000-30,000. The per-minute rate decreases as duration increases. The range represents varying prices due to project complexity. As you can imagine, more complex stories require more work hours to complete.

Our predictable pricing covers all aspects of scientific animation production from start to finish. We have highly accurate metrics that allow us to predict and maintain scope. These are outlined later.

Why Do We Charge So Much?

In the scientific animation landscape, you'll see a variety of price points, with our rates squarely in the middle (despite our commitment to top-tier production quality).

We are able to provide complex, scientific animation at a mid-range price point thanks to our streamlined workflow and minimal overhead. We cannot charge the lowest rates, however,  because high production quality and scientific accuracy requires top talent.

Every member of our creative staff is both an award-winning filmmaker, and has a masters' degree in medical illustration. This means that the animators at our studio have the scientific background to completely understand your science and the creative chops to produce award-winning animation for every project. 

How Do Some Scientific Animation Studios Charge Less?

Imagine the process of scientific animation production as being like building a house. The experience and dedication of the team you choose determines the quality of the end product. If you're building a shed, cheap out. There is no need to source the finest building materials or the most exclusive architect. If you're building a sleek mansion, that’s a bit different. Choose your team wisely!

To be able to charge a lower price point, other studios need to pay their animators less. This could mean using freelancers, outsourcing overseas, or hiring animators without advanced degrees or scientific knowledge. 

For some less complex stories or stories that have more to do with CAD files and engineering, this isn't an issue. If your story is full of intricate scientific detail, you will need to decide up front how rigorous the science in your animation needs to be.

If you cannot skimp on complexity, then you will need to determine how much time your team has to explain the science behind your new technology and to correct any scientific errors that may pop up.

How Can Early Stage Startups Afford Scientific Animation?

Microverse Studios serves early stage biotech startups, larger pharmaceutical clients, and the agencies that cater to them.

We know that, for very early startups, cash flow can be complicated. We always seek to make our work available to everyone that needs it. We have had success deferring payments until after a raise is complete, providing long term payment options, and accepting partial payment in the form of equity (via SAFE note). 

How Do We Determine Project Scope for a Scientific Animation?

We've found that the best predictor of the quantity of labor in a given project takes into account three variables: script word count, optimal pacing, and concept count. 

These provide a consistent metric for scoping any animation because they're rooted in how the brain works. Let’s take a look at these variables now.

Script Word Count

When we write our scripts, we keep in mind that, in English, narration is read at about two words per second. We don't use word count as a rigid metric, because the verbiage needed to communicate each concept can vary widely, but it does provide some guide rails that can keep script edits from driving scope creep.

As a general rule, don’t expect an animation to be shorter than the time it takes to read it aloud, or about 120 words per minute. Pro tip: the brain can only read as fast as it can understand speech, so this includes text on screen!

Optimal Pacing

It takes about 10 seconds to move a piece of information from short term memory into working memory. In working memory, ideas are strung together into a narrative. If presented too quickly, short term memory will dump a piece of information to make room for the next. If presented too slowly, working memory will have a hard time sequencing them.

We always add a second on either side of each concept to account for smooth transitions, so that means that in sixty seconds you can fit about five concepts at the perfect pace for learning.

Concept Count

Your scientific animation will have a certain number of discrete ideas that the audience must understand before it ends. Pro tip: Knowing this, you can predict and tailor the duration of your own project before you talk to your first scientific animation studio! 

The hard rules of cognition make concept count the central metric for predicting how long an animation must be. 

Because we know how much work goes into making a given concept come to life on screen, this also gives us a very accurate predictor for establishing project scope.

How Can I Minimize the Cost of My Project?

Be concise. Certain elements will be critical to your story, but know the difference between what needs to be demonstrated in animation versus what can be a text box displayed alongside it. Always remember that animation is best served by stories that “show” rather than “tell.” 

Expository elements such as long lists of features or applications might even have better impact elsewhere on the webpage, remaining in view longer than if they are included in the animation.

Cost Breakdown in Scientific Animation

As we see it at Microverse Studios, every scientific animation has two cost components: pre-production/overhead and animation production. 

Scientific Animation Pre-production/Overhead

Every project takes a certain amount of overhead, regardless of final video duration. This includes time spent working on things like research, meetings, internal review, creative direction, and production management. It also includes script writing, our unique style development protocol, concept art, and storyboarding. 

Because this workload is very consistent, we have a standard line item of $15,000 for most scientific animation projects. 

Scientific Animation Production Costs

Here, scientific animation production refers to creating the actual 3D animation. This includes geometry, programming, rigging, keyframing, camera work and so forth. It also includes using supercomputing resources, rendering, compositing, video editing, and professional voice. 

This second component represents the bulk of costs associated with production, and scales with video duration. The cost is dependent on the anticipated work to create the imagery up to Microverse Studios' standards for production value. 

For example, if an animation takes place in multiple microenvironments (i.e. kidney, lung, liver, etc.), each of these environments must be built from scratch. Part of our value is that we reuse very few materials from one animation to another, ensuring that every project is unique. This added research and work drives the cost difference for more complex projects. 

This production line item ranges from $20,000 to $30,000 per minute of finished animation. The range reflects variations in project complexity. 

examples of VR, 360, medical illustration and plain language medical writing

Other Scientific Communication Services

We produce more than animation! We also provide scientific and medical illustration for print and web, plain language medical writing for investor outreach, immersive experiences for your next conference booth, VR and 360 video and more. We even sweeten Powerpoint presentations.

Because the production process for each of these services can vary significantly, they are typically priced differently from scientific animation. Medical illustrations, medical writing and Powerpoint presentations, for example, would not require per minute pricing. Often, in these cases, we use our day rate of $2,000.

Frequently, one kind of project dovetails into another. For example, illustrations in one year might be expanded into animations the next.  We take into account work already done on a project when building expanded scopes in order to optimize our clients bang for their buck.

If you'd like to find out more about our scientific animation or the other services we provide, reach out! A quick, 15-30 minute call is usually all we need to discuss the best possible means of scientific communication for your technology (or whether your project even requires our services in the first place). 

Our philosophy is to be transparent about our pricing structure, and to always keep our clients’ best interests at heart while serving their unique needs. We always counsel toward brevity and act as thought partners to make their stories as successful as possible. We have found this to be the best business strategy because it keeps our clients coming back again and again. 

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