Turning an illustrated idea into an award winning video series

Bringing Editorial Science to Life Through Motion and Structure

Body Science started as an illustrated print feature in Men's Health. The illustrations were sharp, the science was credible, and the storytelling was clear. We wanted to see what happened if we let it move.

We partnered with video editors who were hungry to do something new and illustration animators who were genuinely excited to bring their work to life in a different format. Nobody had to be convinced. The print content became the script, the illustrations became the animation, and the result was a video series that felt like a natural extension of the original feature rather than a translation of it.

Each video was produced in three formats, web, iPad, and iPhone, so the experience held up wherever someone encountered it. That kind of thinking was built in from the start, not added at the end.

It was one of those projects where finding a new way to tell an existing story turned out to be more fun than anyone expected. The interactive experience added another layer, giving readers a way to explore the science at their own pace. People responded to it. It went on to win best video series at SPD.

Key takeaway Good video direction isn't about complexity. Find the right collaborators, stay true to the source material, and let the story lead. The medium does the rest.