3D medical animation production for communication agencies

We work as the 3D production team of communication, advertising and event agencies that have a client in healthcare, pharma or medical devices and need to solve the part that graphic design and live-action video cannot solve: a mechanism of action, a device that does not physically exist yet, an anatomy that has to be opened up, a stand that has to work with headsets.

We do not compete with your agency

We do not do strategy, media planning, account management or social media. We do medical 3D visualization: 3D medical animation, augmented reality, virtual reality, interactive applications, holograms and 3D presentations. The client relationship, the strategy and the campaign idea are yours. We are the technical and scientific part of the production.

Which part of the project we cover

The five phases of our working process are the same when we work for an agency:

1 | Script and quote.
A briefing reaches us — sometimes only an idea — and we return an indicative quote. At this stage we are deliberately proactive: we help fit the idea into a realistic time frame and budget before the agency presents it to its client.

2 | Storyboard and prototype.
A drawn storyboard with shots and cinematic framings, so that the agency and its client can see the creative approach before a single render exists. This is where everything that needs correcting gets corrected, which is when correcting is cheap.

3 | Development and preview images.
We send renders from the work in progress so that materials, finishes and anatomy can be validated. On interactive projects we build a functional prototype so the interaction can be tested before programming starts.

4 | Final render, editing and sound.
1,500 images for every minute of contracted animation. Sound effects and voice-over in any language.

5 | Programming, publishing and delivery.
Integration of the content into augmented or virtual reality applications, web hosting where needed, and publication on Google Play and the App Store, where 10 to 15 days of store review have to be accounted for.

Why an agency subcontracts us instead of building the team

A medical visualization project needs 3D modelling, anatomical judgement, someone able to read a scientific paper or a technical data sheet, and programming if there is interaction — all at once. Our team covers those disciplines from concept and design through to final distribution, and it is a team that does nothing else. For an agency, building that in-house for a one-off project does not add up.

And there is a part that gets underestimated: scientific validation. On the projects that require it, the content is validated with the client’s scientific team before any scene is considered final. That technical back and forth is where a medical production gets stuck, and it is the part an agency normally does not want to carry.

Who we have worked with

Hipra, Grifols, Salvat, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Zeiss, Abbott, Medtronic, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Werfen, Hartmann, Fresenius Kabi and Esteve, among others. The published projects include mechanisms of action for pharma, medical devices, augmented reality applications for hospital training, virtual environments for congresses and interactive medical presentations.

What the people who work with us say

The Pixel Dreams team is a guarantee of professionalism, rigour and commitment to the projects. A collaborator you can fully trust.
Quim Sans — Esteve

PixelDreams is one of those partners you enjoy working with: collaboration, a positive attitude and excellent results.
Merce Colome — Hartmann

Working with the Pixeldreams team is a guarantee of excellent, high-quality results. Very professional.
Galenicamed

How we start

Send us the briefing, even if it is half finished, and we will return an indicative quote and a creative proposal with examples that you can take to your client. If there is no briefing yet, a first call is usually enough to establish whether the project is viable in time and budget.

We are based in Barcelona (Via Augusta, 120) and Bilbao (Bilbao Design Hub), and we work with agencies outside Spain in English. Get in touch and we will take a look.

Frequently asked questions from agencies

What do you need in order to prepare a quote?
A short script explaining the most relevant aspects of the project in chronological order. It can be plain text, but it helps a great deal if it comes with reference images and an example of the level of quality you are aiming for. With that we send an indicative quote; the final one comes after the storyboard, once the ideas, the duration and the real workload are clear.

Can you come in when the project has already been sold to the client?
Yes, and that is the most common entry point. What we need then is the script or briefing the agency has already agreed with its client. If that script contains something that does not hold up technically, we say so before starting rather than afterwards.

What happens if the client changes their mind halfway through?
That is what the storyboard phase is for. While the project is still drawn, changing a shot, an order or a scene costs little. Once the final render has been produced, an equivalent change does have a cost, because the images have to be generated again. That is why we insist so much on the client being involved at the storyboard stage.

Can you work from a 3D or CAD model supplied by the client?
Yes, and it is the best starting point when there is a physical product. On the MYTHRA system project we worked from the 3D model supplied by the client and from real product references, to reproduce materials, finishes and proportions. When there is no usable model, it can be built from drawings, dimensions and photographs, and that adds modelling time.

What delivery formats are there?
Animation video, an augmented or virtual reality application, an interactive 3D presentation the speaker controls, a virtual environment navigable from the browser, a hologram, or a still scientific illustration. The choice is not aesthetic: it depends on where the piece will be seen and how much time you have with each person.

Can you publish the application on Google Play and the App Store?
Yes. We can also host the content on web servers. In the case of the stores, a review period of 10 to 15 days has to be accounted for, and it is worth putting it in the calendar from the start if there is a congress date behind the project.

Which languages can you deliver in?
Voice-over can be produced in any language, and on-screen text and interface labels are kept as replaceable layers when it is known from the start that there will be several versions. That avoids re-rendering in order to add a language.

Does the end client need to have a scientific team available?
It depends on the project. For a product piece, not always; for a mechanism of action, yes. On the animation of HIPRA’s Bimervax vaccine, for instance, the content was validated with the client’s scientific team before each stage was considered final. If the project is going to be used in front of healthcare professionals, that technical counterpart is what separates a usable piece from a merely attractive one.

Do you also do the strategy or the media plan?
No. That is the agency’s work and we do not touch it. Our ground ends at the 3D production and its technical publication.

Do you work with agencies outside Spain?
Yes, in English. We keep the site and our materials in both languages, and we have experience with projects aimed at international audiences, from congresses such as CPHI to campaigns for the United States market.

Can we present the project as the agency’s own work?
It is one of the first things worth agreeing on, and we agree it case by case. We work as the agency’s production team, so how the project is presented to the end client — with our credit, without it, or shared — is something we settle with you before starting, not a fixed policy on our side.

Who talks to the end client?
It depends on how the agency wants to work. On some projects all the communication goes through you; on others it helps if we join a technical meeting with the client’s scientific team to close the script. It is defined at the start, along with the validation circuit, and we do not change it on our own halfway through.

What lead times do you work with?
We do not quote a standard lead time, because it depends on the format and on how many phases have to be represented. What we do is set the deadline in the quote and refine it after the storyboard, once the real scope is clear. If there is a congress or launch date behind the project, tell us in the first email: it is the single fact that shapes everything else.

Do you invoice the agency or the end client?
Whichever way you have it set up. It is agreed at the start, with the quote, and it does not change how we work.

Is the first call chargeable?
No. Assessing whether a project is viable in time and budget, and telling you which format makes sense, carries no cost and no commitment.

Do you already work with agencies?
Yes, a share of our projects arrives that way. One we can name, because it is published: the hereditary angioedema exhibition, commissioned by Evidenze Agency and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. We produced the 3D graphics for a travelling awareness exhibition about a rare genetic disease, timed with World Rare Disease Day. About the rest we say neither which nor for whom: the client relationship belongs to whoever holds it, and that applies when the client is an agency too.

Are there projects you turn down?
We have no fixed list, but we do say so early when a project does not look viable as it stands. The two most common cases: a mechanism of action with nobody on the scientific side to validate it, and a date that leaves no room for the storyboard. We would rather say it up front than accept and let you down.

If you have a healthcare, pharma or medical device client and a project that needs 3D, send us the briefing and we will tell you what is feasible, in how long and at what budget.