POP Creative Studio Provides the CGI for Hauntingly Beautiful Imagery to Bring Awareness to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

POP Creative Studio joined forces with branding agency WMH&I to launch a powerful awareness campaign for Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS). Titled 'Super Flexible Not Superhuman,' the campaign aims to shed light on the often misunderstood and underdiagnosed disorder, bringing attention to the challenges faced by individuals living with EDS.

The campaign highlights the symptoms common to all 13 tissue connectivity disorders under the EDS umbrella, focusing on joint hypermobility and skin hyperextensibility. Living with EDS means more than just having a flexible body – it comes with chronic pain, joint dislocation, skin scarring, and organ fragility.

The heart of the campaign lies in its visual representation which is where POP’s expertise came into play. Distorted CGI images vividly portray the constant pain experienced by individuals with EDS. Through quotes like 'I feel like I'm held together with chewing gum' and 'My jaw dislocates every time I yawn,' the campaign offers a glimpse into the daily struggles faced by those living with EDS.

Art Imitates Life: Crafting Realism in EDS Campaign's CGI Imagery

In order to translate those words into imagery, POP worked closely with WMH&I agency and Photographer Kristina Varaksina, to develop the visuals and define the best approach to maximise the photography shoot and the additional skin texture images the required, to ensure a smooth transition into their CGI pipeline. The 3D models, resembling clay sculptures, underwent a transformative process where skin textures from the models were meticulously applied to achieve realistic altered visuals. Using additional photography of each person, under flat lighting conditions, POP extracted each model's skin textures and micro surface pore details, to re-create a digital skin replicating each person in CGI. By also replicating the the camera and lighting setups, ensured our CGI ‘body doubles’ could be stretched and twisted just the right amount, before seamlessly blending the elements in post. The images were carefully crafted to strike a balance between realism and artistic expression. The creative iteration process involved considerations of sharpness, softness, and the emotional impact conveyed by each image.

A Song of Strength: Uniting Music and Mission in the Fight Against EDS

To amplify the campaign's impact, music production duo TEM-PLE, comprised of Suzette and Aurora Partridge launched a Christmas charity single. The project began with an email Aurora, who, after a decade of seeking medical advice, received an EDS diagnosis. The single, accompanied by a live choir performance at Piccadilly Circus on November 29th, serves as both a musical tribute and a call to action.

'Super Flexible Not Superhuman' is more than a campaign; it's a testament to the power of creativity in raising awareness for often overlooked disorders like EDS. By combining visual impact, a Christmas charity single, and pro bono support across all campaign partners, Pop Creative Studio helped to create a campaign that amplifies the voices of those affected by Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes.