Services · Add-on
A study, explained in ninety seconds, in the patient’s words
Most people who land on a study page have never been in a clinical trial. They want to know three things: what this study is, whether it could be for them, and what happens if they raise their hand. A short animated video answers those three questions before the form asks anything of them.
Sixty to ninety seconds. Plain language. Written to go through IRB review, not around it.
When it helps
Not every study needs a video. These usually do.
The study is hard to describe in a paragraph
Multiple visits, a run-in period, a device, a placebo arm. A patient will read two lines and watch ninety seconds.
The person deciding is not the patient
In Alzheimer’s, oncology, pediatric and rare disease studies, the person reading at eleven at night is often a daughter, a partner or a parent. A video is easier to share with the rest of the family than a page.
You are paying for traffic
If you run social or search campaigns for a study, the same video works as the ad and as the first thing on the landing page, so the story does not change between the click and the form.
Your coordinators explain the same thing on every call
The video does the first explanation. The call starts further along.
Process
Approval first, animation second
Recruitment materials are reviewed by your IRB, and usually by the sponsor. Animation is expensive to change and a script is not. So we do the work in the order that respects that.
Brief
A 45-minute call with your coordinator or PI, plus the approved protocol synopsis and any recruitment language already cleared. We do not need, and will not ask for, any patient information.
Script and storyboard
A plain-language script and a frame-by-frame storyboard, delivered as a single PDF formatted for submission. This is the document that goes to your IRB and sponsor.
Review
You submit. We make the changes that come back, at script level, where they are cheap.
Animation and delivery
Once the script is approved we animate, record voiceover, caption and deliver. If the approved script does not change, neither does the video.
Script and storyboard in one week. Animation in two to three weeks after approval. Review time in between is your IRB’s, not ours.
We do not submit to the IRB on your behalf and we do not guarantee approval. We write so that approval is the likely outcome.
One PDF, built for the submission
Every frame beside the words spoken over it, in the format a reviewer expects. Nothing to explain, nothing to convert.
Deliverables
One video, ready for every place it will be used
- –One 60 to 90 second 2D animated video
- –Professional voiceover in English
- –Burned-in and separate caption files
- –Three aspect ratios: 16:9 for the website, 1:1 and 9:16 for social
- –A 15 to 20 second cut for advertising
- –Full transcript on the page, for accessibility and search
- –Privacy-conscious embed: no advertising trackers loaded with the player
- –The approved script and storyboard PDF, yours to keep
- –Source files on request
- –Spanish version, with native voiceover and captions
- –A study landing page built around the video
- –A second study on the same visual system, in less time
In context
A video on its own is a file. On the right page it is the first step of enrollment.
The video sits at the top of the study page, above a short pre-screener. The form is HIPAA-aware, the page carries no advertising pixels, and tracking tells you which channel each enquiry came from. If we built your website, this is an afternoon’s work. If we did not, we can build the single page.
A note on scope
We explain studies to patients. We do not animate molecules.
Mechanism of action films, 3D scientific visualization and investor videos for biotech companies are a different craft, done well by specialist medical animation studios. If that is what you need, we will say so on the first call and point you in a useful direction.
Questions
Does the video need IRB approval?
Patient-facing recruitment material generally does, and many sponsors want to see it too. Your site submits it the same way you submit a flyer or an ad. We deliver the script and storyboard in a format built for that submission.
What if the IRB or sponsor asks for changes?
Changes at script stage are included. That is the reason the script goes first. Changes requested after animation has started are usually small, and we quote them honestly if they are not.
Who pays for it?
Often the site. Sometimes the sponsor, from the study’s recruitment budget. It is worth asking your sponsor contact before assuming.
Can we reuse it when the study closes?
The study-specific video retires with the study. The visual system, characters and the general “what taking part in a study is like” sections can carry into the next one, which is why a second video takes less time.
Do you need anything from our patients?
No. No patient data, no patient footage, no testimonials. The video is animated precisely so that nobody’s face or story has to be used.
Can you make one general video about our site instead of a study?
Yes. A “what to expect when you take part in a study with us” video is often the better first one, because it never expires. Same process, and review is usually simpler.
Next
Tell us which study is hardest to explain
Send us the study page or the flyer you use now. We will tell you whether a video would help, or whether the page needs fixing first. Sometimes it is the page.
Thank you. Your email app should have opened with the details; if it did not, write to us directly and we will reply within two working days.
Or write to info@trialsfocus.com. We take a small number of projects at a time and reply within two working days.