University College London Case Study

Making research about caffeine and sugar usable outside the lecture theatre

This piece of work began with a frustration rather than a brief.

University College London had research showing clear links between high-caffeine, high-sugar drinks and a range of difficulties in children and young people. The evidence was careful and well established. Outside academic settings, it was not being absorbed.

I was asked to produce an animated film that could sit alongside that research and help it travel. The first setting was a keynote presentation, where attention is limited and complexity quickly becomes noise. The job was not to persuade or warn, but to stop people getting lost.

Once the film was in use, it became obvious it could do more than support a single talk. It began to be adapted for schools, public education settings, and advocacy work.

What the research was pointing to

Consumption of highly caffeinated and high-sugar drinks among children has increased steadily over time. Research links this pattern with disrupted sleep, fatigue, and difficulties with attention and behaviour.

There is also consistent evidence of physical effects, particularly higher rates of dental decay and broader oral health problems. Longer-term risks are harder to measure with certainty, but the direction of travel in the data raised enough concern to justify clearer communication.

UCL was not looking for alarm. The intention was explanation. What is known, what is suspected, and where the limits of certainty sit.

Where it got complicated

The film needed to work in more than one place.

In a live keynote, visuals had to support spoken material without competing with it. Too much animation would distract. Too little would add nothing.

Outside that setting, the same material needed to stand on its own. Once the film moved into schools, campaign groups, and public platforms, tone became critical. Accuracy mattered, but so did restraint.

Whatever form the film took, the underlying message had to stay steady.

How the film was built

Animation and motion graphics were used because they allow ideas to be broken down without oversimplifying them.

Simple visual devices were used to show how caffeine interferes with sleep and how high sugar intake affects energy levels and oral health. These patterns were then connected back to learning, behaviour, and everyday functioning.

AI-supported tools were used during production to assist with visual development and adaptation. They did not generate research claims, health interpretations, or narrative structure. All content was written, reviewed, and approved by humans, with academic oversight in place.

Letting the work move

After the keynote presentation, the film began to be reshaped for other uses.

Shorter versions were created for social media. Longer versions were used in classrooms and advocacy settings. Campaign groups drew on the animation when discussing children’s health in policy contexts.

Because the production workflow allowed changes to length, format, and aspect ratio without starting again, the film could be reused without full re-production.

Working with a hybrid animation approach

The animation was built using a hybrid setup, including tools such as Blender.

This made it possible to adapt the film for different languages, where pacing and timing change. Versions were prepared for classrooms, presentations, and online platforms. Across these shifts, the visual tone and narrative shape remained stable.

Boundaries and responsibility

Throughout the process, AI tools were used only as technical support.

They did not generate medical content, statistics, or conclusions. Decisions about meaning, emphasis, and framing remained human-led. Safeguards were explicit, and the workflow remained transparent, with responsibility shared between the production lead and academic partners.

What happened once it circulated

After completion, approval was given to share the film across professional, educational, and public-interest channels.

Over the first six months, views ranged between 180,000 and 230,000 across web, social, and embedded platforms. Average completion rates were around 62 percent, which is high for educational material.

More than 40 schools, youth organisations, and advocacy groups went on to use the film as a teaching or presentation resource.

A final note

This project did not try to change behaviour directly.

It aimed to make research easier to hold in mind. In that sense, the animation functioned as a bridge between academic findings and everyday understanding, without demanding agreement, alarm, or action.