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Maggie’s: Chemotherapy & Immunotherapy Animation

Maggie’s, a renowned charity dedicated to supporting people with cancer, commissioned a film-led explainer video to help patients better understand chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. The video, directed and edited by Toby Madden, primarily consisted of live-action footage, with Jarbrain providing animated segments to reinforce key medical concepts visually. These animations were designed to be displayed across Maggie’s centres, ensuring patients had a clear, accessible guide to treatment stages and potential health concerns.

From the early stages of development, Jarbrain collaborated with Toby Madden Studios to shape the visual concepts that would illustrate the experiences of individuals undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. Working alongside illustrator Gabrielle Froden, Jarbrain helped define the visual style and animation approach, ensuring that the characters and their environment aligned with the film’s narrative and tone.

Initially planned as a single animation, the project evolved into two distinct videos—Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy—after discussions with Toby Madden. To optimize production time and costs, Jarbrain strategically adapted animation sequences from the chemotherapy video, ensuring a cohesive visual style across both videos while meeting the project's budget and timeline constraints.

Beyond animation, Jarbrain contributed to the storyboarding stage, developing visual guides that provided a structured flow for the animation. The storyboards helped define scene transitions, pacing, and animation placement, ensuring seamless integration with the live-action footage. Daily or near-daily discussions with Toby Madden kept the production on track, allowing for real-time adjustments and refinements based on project needs.

Working with illustrator Gabrielle Froden, who created the character artwork in Photoshop, Jarbrain prepared the assets for animation by modifying and restructuring layers to ensure they were rig-ready. This included building and rigging multiple characters using Adobe After Effects and the Duik Bassel plugin, along with preparing visual props drawn by the illustration team. These assets were essential for the animation process, allowing Jarbrain to create smooth, expressive character movement while maintaining clarity in communication.

The final animated sequences highlighted different treatments and the potential side effects that patients might experience in chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Once completed, the animations were sent to Toby Madden, who integrated them into the main timeline of the film. The animations were carefully crafted to align with Maggie’s brand identity, enhancing the explainer video’s ability to educate and reassure patients undergoing treatment.

Due to NDA agreements and usage restrictions, the full video cannot be shared online, as these animations were created exclusively for Maggie’s centres. However, the animated segments produced by Jarbrain can be showcased, offering a glimpse into the character animation work completed for this project. The film-led portions of the videos will not appear in this portfolio presentation.

Credits
> Director & Editor: Toby Madden Studios
> Character Animation, Rigging & Storyboarding: Jarbrain
> Illustration & Character Design: Gabrielle Froden
> Client: Maggie’s (aka Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Trust)

Software / Plugins
Software: Adobe After Effects
Plugin: Duik Bassel