Festival of the Mind
Research exhibit animation
An exhibition animation for the University of Sheffield’s Festival of the Mind, created to help bring together several areas of research around brain signals and how the brain communicates with the body.
The film needed to move between different subjects, including hearing, pain, and the brain’s role in tracking internal states such as hunger and tiredness. The challenge was to shape a lot of scientific information into a clear, engaging sequence that could work in a public-facing exhibition setting.

A key part of the project was finding a visual structure that could connect several research areas without overwhelming the audience. The animation needed to feel informative, but also immediate and accessible for people encountering the work in a busy festival environment.
The early development involved deciding what to include, what to simplify, and how to build a narrative thread through the different topics. I then developed the visual approach, created the assets, rigged and animated the film, and handled the edit and sound design. The project had a tight turnaround, so the focus was on creating a clear, cohesive piece that could communicate complex ideas quickly and visually.
Client
University of Sheffield
Created at
Diva Creative
Role
Concept development
Storyboard
Asset creation
Rigging
Animation
Editing
Sound design
Additional animation
Sam Clark
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