Four original short animations created by Irish animators to explore and explain science research have recently been completed. The short films were created through a strand of the highly successful Science on Screen programme, a partnership between CÚRAM Science Foundation Ireland (SFI ) Research Centre for Medical Devices and Ardán. The animations are the product of a new strand of CÚRAM and Ardan’s Science on Screen scheme and were launched in 2022 in association with the National Talent Academy Animation (NTAA ).
The project invited animators to apply to create one minute long, easy to understand, animations that present scientific concepts currently being explored through research projects at CÚRAM. Swansong Films (Niamh Heery and Eric Dolan ) and Studio 9 (Joe Coveney and John O'Connell ) were selected and have each made two animations for the scheme.
The films explore such topics as a new delivery system for the treatment of diabetes; how to effectively deliver pain relief to the site of osteoarthritis; a novel coating for stents used in the gastro system; and a targeted approach to combatting hypertension caused by tumour growth on the adrenal gland.
CÚRAM scientific director Professor Abhay Pandit said: “The product of this collaboration between animators and CÚRAM scientists has been hugely valuable in creating clear ways to inform the public about what we do and its value.”
The resulting animations are highly effective in conveying complex ideas in an easy-to-understand way and have shown the role which both film and animation can have in engaging with the public and meeting the goals of the Science on Screen scheme.
Science on Screen is a partnership project run by CÚRAM (the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices at University of Galway ) AND Ardán (formerly Galway Film Centre ).
CÚRAM and Ardán in association with National Talent Academy Animation hope to do more animations in the future. Animators can keep in touch with future projects by following CÚRAM, Ardán, and National Talent Academy Animation on social media and subscribing to the Ardán newsletter at https://ardan.ie.
