Stop The Infection
Time Square Advert
TITLE: Stop The Infection
ROLES: Design and Animation
AGENCY: GorillaGorilla
CLIENT: Fleming Initiative
Description:
GorillaGorilla approached me to animate an advert for the world-famous screen in New York City, commissioned by the Fleming Institute. The challenge was to create a powerful visual statement about the future threat of antibiotic-resistant illnesses and the urgency of taking action.
The concept was simple yet striking: animated balls filling the screen to symbolize the overwhelming scale of the issue if left unaddressed. I used automated physical particles that dynamically interacted with the core message to bring this to life. With a tight turnaround and the complexity of particle animations, nailing the concept upfront was essential before moving into production. The result was a compelling visual story delivered on one of the most iconic stages in the world.
PROCESS
The project began with a pass on the script’s timing. Before any animation work started, we broke down the caption timing to map when each line of text would appear on screen, providing enough time to read but also to fit within the advertising allowance. This allowed us to align the animation cues with the pacing of the animated balls.
Once the text timing was locked, we animated the falling balls using a physics-based simulation. A key consideration was managing the complexity of the interactions, too many collisions, and it became visually chaotic. To avoid this, we limited the number of interactions and carefully controlled when and where collisions occurred.
The most technically demanding part was ensuring that the balls filled the frame in sync with the script’s punchline, hitting just the right visual density before triggering the drop. At that point, a trigger released the balls out of the frame, clearing the space in perfect time for the final message to appear, clean and uninterrupted.
