The brain continues to be of special interest to us and What if We Could Look Inside Human Brains? was a natural fit as our fourth short film for TED’s educational initiative, TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing, an open platform dedicated to providing high school and college teachers a new way to use video content on the web: a way of “flipping” web video into a basis for their own lessons along with context, follow-up questions and further resources.
When TED-Ed offered What if We Could Look Inside Human Brains? as our fourth film for them, it felt like a natural fit. I continue to be fascinated by the workings of the brain after learning about aphasia with my mother’s major stroke and I made “It’s Still Me! A Guide for People with Aphasia and their Loved Ones”. This script captivated me with its new discoveries in neuroscience.
And I looked towards Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks as inspiration for the design.
I got to spend some time with the educator Moran Cerf because he was then working in New York. The work they were doing mapping the parts of the brain and allowing paralyzed people to move again is a miracle.
Client: TED-Ed
Producers: Stephanie Lo and Jessica Ruby
Writer: Moran Cerf
Narrator: Bedirhan Cinar
Director/Designer: Candy Kugel
Animation: Rick Broas, Candy Kugel
Animation Producer: Marilyn Kraemer
Animation software: ToonBoom Storyboard and AnimatePro