Pre-Production

Concept & Scripting

This project kicked off as a hybrid visual story—a mix of 3D photorealistic and conceptual animation layered with live-action footage and 2D motion graphics to support the science-heavy narrative. The storyline centered around how the virus impacts the human body, the underlying physiological mechanisms, and the therapeutic effect of nitric oxide delivery. Given the subject matter, every frame needed to balance visual clarity with scientific precision.

We started with a fully recorded narration. That early voice track became the foundation for every phase that followed—anchoring the timing, tone, and visuals. To support the story visually, we highlighted key anatomical systems: the circulatory system, lungs, heart, brain, and alveoli. These sequences took a conceptual approach, making sure the complex anatomy stayed clear, consistent, and easy to follow across scenes.

Rapid Prototyping

With narration locked in, we moved fast into rapid prototyping. This stage was all about building rough scenes—basic animation, placeholder assets, and layout—to establish flow and sync camera moves with the narration’s timing. This early layout helped us define exactly where transitions would land and which parts of each scene needed focus or emphasis.

The scope here was wide: multiple organ systems, virus interactions, and several transition types. This prototype phase was key to figuring out how everything would connect. At this point, we weren’t focused on lighting or textures—just motion, structure, and visual pacing. Simplified shaders and viewport lighting kept things streamlined.

Accurate reference material was a must. We pulled verified PDB data to model the COVID-19 virus accurately and to bring the structure into Cinema 4D. That model became the visual anchor for every infection sequence.

Live footage placeholders were used early to hold space for the screen presenter. Meanwhile, we repurposed anatomical assets from a prior project—full-body circulatory systems, lungs, heart—and brought in a new brain model. We applied a semi-transparent shader across the human figure, offering a clean, conceptual look that revealed internal organs without pushing into hyperreal territory.

Early Visual Styles Explored

The transparent figure became a central motif. The shader system used edge reflections and subtle falloffs to hint at internal structure while keeping the look abstract. This approach helped us show the virus moving through the body in a way that felt informative but clean.

Bloodstream scenes took on a POV style. We built the interior of blood vessels with organic shapes and animated red and white cells along spline-based flows. These early passes were about camera paths and viewer perspective—shaders stayed simple while we dialed in motion.

Alveoli scenes were blocked out early in low-fidelity form to show how viral infection restricted their expansion—and how nitric oxide brought them back. Rough cycles of animation and deformation were laid down here to prep for the heavier visual work ahead.

Heartbeats, blood flow, and virus movement were roughed in using Cinema 4D’s MoGraph tools, spline animations, and deformers.

For vessel interiors, we tested particle and rigid body systems to simulate cell interaction in tight spaces. These early passes used zero lighting or advanced materials—this was about flow, density, and interaction realism.

A major challenge was the clot formation and its breakdown by nitric oxide. We ran multiple setups using field forces and effectors to build a procedural system that created the clot and broke it apart on cue. This groundwork was vital for syncing with the narrative later.

Client Feedback Shaping Direction

The client’s top priority was medical accuracy. We pulled from medical imaging, PDB references, and research to dial in the textures for white blood cells, blood vessels, and nitric oxide interactions. Clot behavior and anatomical accuracy were refined with each feedback round.

They also asked for a new concept to visualize nitric oxide depletion. To deliver on that, we created an isometric 3D scene with large “NO” letters filled with blue and red spheres representing nitric oxide. Over time, these spheres drained out to signal depletion due to conditions like obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. We used rigid body simulation to give the spheres real-world physics.

Once all the prototypes were previewed, the feedback confirmed that the pacing, visuals, and accuracy were on point. Placeholders were locked, and we transitioned to full production.

Production (Full Production / FP)

Look Development

Full production kicked off with deep look development across every asset in the pipeline. The COVID-19 virus model, built from verified PDB data got a full refinement pass. Subsurface scattering gave the structure that soft, translucent quality you’d expect from microscopy. Displacement and bump maps added irregular surface detail—mimicking the real-world topology of a viral particle. The shader stack used a layered approach: diffuse base, procedural masks for color variation, and layered reflections. Displacement was controlled with grayscale height maps using randomized seed offsets to keep the surface varied and lifelike.

To ensure the virus held up next to live-action footage, we locked in a three-point lighting setup. HDRI reflections gave realism without overblowing the contrast. Key light shaped the structure, a cool blue fill provided contrast, and a warm rim separated it from the background. 

The blood vessel interiors were just as meticulously crafted. We sculpted irregular vessel walls using displacement driven by organic texture maps. These were built from layered noise types—fbm, turbulence, and cellular—combined inside Cinema 4D’s node-based material system. Subsurface scattering brought light diffusion to the walls, and lighting direction was fine-tuned to enhance specular breakup across the surfaces.

Red and white blood cells each got their own custom shader setups. Red blood cells used a soft, elastic material with subtle transmission and redshift falloff to simulate light penetrating through the cell body. White cells got a non-literal hair simulation—short randomized strands—to add micro-surface bumpiness, replicating their immunological look. Procedural masks ensured every cell had unique detail without pattern repetition.

We used animated procedural noise in bump and diffuse channels to show inflammation dynamically. These noise maps were tied directly to animation curves, so irritation spread across vessel walls in sync with the narrative.

Design & Animation

Every anatomical system used during prototyping was rebuilt and upgraded. The circulatory system was unwrapped and retextured using organic shaders. Lungs and heart models were cleaned up for geometry integrity, and animated breathing and beating cycles were added using deformers and keyframes. 

The alveoli sequence was a technical centerpiece. We modeled alveolar clusters and connected them with bronchioles, wrapping the structures in capillary meshes. Viral damage and recovery were visualized through layered materials—one desaturated with noise textures for infection, the other vibrant and smooth for health. A shader switch controlled by animated masks handled the visual transition. Expansion and contraction cycles were animated using displacers and volumetric deformers tied to a breathing rhythm.

MoGraph cloners instanced blood cells along animated splines, with flow controlled via spline wrap deformers and null-driven pathing. Red blood cells got soft body tags for natural movement, while white blood cells kept rigid body physics with bounce modifiers for realism. We used collision detection and priority tagging to prevent visual artifacts, and randomized seed values across cloners to avoid repetition.

Vessel interiors were long, distorted tubular meshes. A nonlinear distortion modifier added peristaltic undulation. Lighting included volumetric shafts and practical endoscope-style lights. Textures layered bump, displacement, and animated noise to create a sense of biological depth.

The clot formation sequence was rebuilt with MoGraph and field forces. Blood cells clumped via proximity fields and noise falloffs. Nulls moving through the scene controlled these fields, allowing procedural buildup and disintegration of the clot. Nitric oxide particles triggered the disintegration by reversing the field’s effect direction. Surrounding soft-tissue planes were layered with bumping to create depth and realism in the scene.

The nitric oxide depletion sequence used large 3D “NO” typography filled with red and blue spheres. Rigid body simulations controlled sphere behavior as depletion occurred—each loss tied to conditions like obesity and hypertension. Particle emission rates were linked to real-world data inputs. Gravity and collision tags were adjusted for natural movement inside the letterforms. Lighting stayed neutral and clean to preserve the scene’s isometric, conceptual feel.

The lozenge scene leaned on macro simulation. A high-detail mouth model was built, with alpha-mapped shaders for semi-transparency showing inner structures. The lozenge itself had a dual-layer shader—red gloss outside, blue translucency inside—with reflection mapping for realism. Rigid body tags and emitters drove a bubbling nitric oxide release effect. The bubbles were small spheres with glow effects added in post. DOF was handled in-render to keep the lozenge in crisp focus.

Style Choices and Reasoning

Semi-transparent shaders were used throughout to offer anatomical visibility without overloading detail. Internal organs remained readable and clean. This balance kept the visuals aligned with medical storytelling while remaining digestible for viewers. In nitric oxide scenes, we leaned into stylized, high-concept design—saturated colors, simplified shapes—making complex science easy to interpret at a glance.

Technical Details

Cinema 4D handled all modeling, simulation, and animation work. Field forces managed clot dynamics. MoGraph drove bloodstream cell flow, with rigid and soft body tags adding collision realism. Vessel movement was controlled by spline-based animation and procedural deformations. The texturing pipeline was built with layered noises, masks, and shader switching. Lighting used a combo of HDRI and volumetric scattering via area lights to simulate real-world internal lighting.

All geometry was UV-mapped and optimized to eliminate shading issues. Camera paths followed spline rails, with Look At constraints keeping focus locked on key action. Each shot was built with separated camera passes to simplify compositing. Scene structure remained modular to allow updates or asset swaps without disrupting shot progress.

Clot assembly and disintegration were controlled via null-driven field forces. Hair systems added realistic surface variation to white blood cell shaders. Alveoli healing used animated texture blending and custom masks. Nitric oxide spheres in the depletion scene were synced with audio pacing, ensuring tight alignment with narration beats.

Post-Production & Delivery

Final Compositing & Color Grading

After live-action was delivered, we matched tone and grade across all assets. Lighting and tone were balanced throughout for a seamless finish.

Bloodstream scenes used depth of field, directional blur, and light diffusion to guide viewer's focus. Inflamed areas glowed with flicker layers mapped to bump passes, simulating tissue response.

Macro shots received chromatic aberration for lens realism. Motion blur and lens flares added cinematic polish. Inflammation was layered with animated glows and masks. Subsurface effects were enhanced using pass-based compositing workflows.

Infographics, UI Overlays

Throughout, we added motion-tracked overlays—labels, callouts, and bullet points. Animated in After Effects with ease curves, these reinforced narration visually. In the NO depletion scene, animated overlays were added to the 3D typography for extra clarity.

Typography, color palettes, and UI matched the brand guide across the board. UI elements followed established design language, and overlays matched brand-approved sizes and timing.

Delivery

Final renders went out in 1080p format. We provided social cuts and stills. Captioned and non-captioned versions were encoded. Trimmed clips were packaged for events and short-form digital use.

Transcript:

Cardiovascular complications are rapidly emerging as a major threat with Covid-19. And here's why. SARS-CoV-2, otherwise known as Covid-19, infects people by attaching to the Ace2 receptor, which is expressed in the lungs but most importantly also in the lining of the blood vessels called the endothelium. Scientists have discovered evidence of direct infection of the endothelial cells, which traverse all major organ systems in the body through close to 100,000 miles of blood vessels in an adult. Recruitment of immune cells then results in widespread endothelial dysfunction, causing inflammation in the endothelial cells.

Many patients, especially African-Americans, may have preexisting endothelial dysfunction, putting them at extraordinary risk of a poor outcome from Covid infection, and they also have low nitric oxide levels. This provides a strong rationale for therapies to stabilize the endothelium, especially in those vulnerable patients with endothelial cell dysfunction, which includes high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and smoking, who are prone to poor outcome.

Many of these risk factors are associated with low nitric oxide levels. Nitric Oxide has a wide range of important functions, which include vasodilation, regulation of local cell growth, protection of the vessels from injury from circulating platelets and white blood cells, and so playing a crucial role in normal endothelial function. NOviricid is a novel nitric oxide-releasing drug in an FDA-approved clinical trial in African Americans to restore and replete nitric oxide in patients, and also correct endothelial cell dysfunction, and improve outcomes.

NOviricid is fast-acting with proven vasodilation and antiviral properties. NOviricid works immediately by boosting the amount of usable nitric oxide in the body as well as restoring the body's ability to make nitric oxide on its own. After half an hour of a single dose, there's a significant improvement in vascular compliance as measured by augmentation index, and after four hours, a statistically significant improvement in endothelial function.

Covid also increases platelet activity, increasing the risk of blood clots, causing strokes, heart attacks, and pulmonary embolism. An increase in nitric oxide by NOviricid may help prevent the risk of blood clots. Studies indicate that nitric oxide may also help reduce respiratory tract infection by inactivating viruses, inhibiting the replication in epithelial cells. NOviricid is a nitric oxide-releasing drug designed to be started early in the disease process right at the onset of symptoms in order to prevent the rapid progression of disease and need for hospitalization.

Ask a provider about an investigative study in African Americans recently diagnosed with Covid utilizing NOviricid today.