How to commission an NHS animation: What NHS communications teams need to know
NHS animation is one of the most specialist areas of video production, and one of the areas where the gap between what works and what doesn’t is widest. Over twenty years we’ve produced animation series for NHS trusts, public health bodies and national screening programmes, including a series of around ten animations in twelve languages for the NHS National Screening Programme. Here’s what NHS communications teams need to know before commissioning an animation.
Why NHS animation is different
Animation is increasingly the format of choice for NHS communications for good reason. It can communicate complex clinical information clearly and accessibly. It can reach communities in multiple languages without requiring multiple productions. It can handle sensitive subjects, end of life care, sexual health, mental illness, with compassion and dignity. And it can be updated more easily than live action footage when guidelines or services change.
But NHS animation has specific requirements that don’t apply to corporate explainer video or charity animation. The information must be clinically accurate, and reviewed by clinical leads before delivery. The visual language must work across different cultural communities, not just for a generic mainstream audience. The tone must balance authority with accessibility, particularly for health topics where anxiety is common. And for multilingual productions, the translation and cultural review process is as important as the animation itself.
What the NHS animation commissioning process involves
Brief development: the best NHS animation briefs are specific about audience, purpose and key messages, but leave creative latitude for the production team to find the right approach. The brief should describe who the animation is for, what they need to understand or do after watching it, and any specific clinical or brand requirements. What it shouldn’t do is pre-specify the visual style or structure before the creative process has begun.
Clinical and communications sign-off: most NHS productions require sign-off from both a communications lead and a clinical lead. Understanding who those people are, and factoring their availability into the timeline, is essential from the start. Building in formal review stages rather than ad hoc feedback rounds makes the process significantly smoother.
Cultural and linguistic review: for multilingual productions, translation alone is not sufficient. Each language version needs to be reviewed by a native speaker from the relevant community for cultural accuracy as well as linguistic accuracy. The images, visual metaphors and character designs also need to work across all the communities the animation will reach. Our NHS National Screening Animation Series used focus groups at every stage to ensure this.
Accessibility requirements: NHS animations typically need to meet accessibility requirements including subtitles, audio description and, for some productions, British Sign Language interpretation. Planning for these from the brief stage rather than adding them as afterthoughts saves both time and budget.
How to brief an NHS animation
A good NHS animation brief covers:
The audience: who is this for? What is their relationship with the NHS? What level of health literacy can you assume? Are there specific communities or languages to prioritise?
The purpose: what do you need people to understand, feel or do after watching? One clear purpose makes for a much stronger animation than a film trying to communicate five different messages.
The key messages: typically no more than three, clinically reviewed before the brief is issued.
The tone: reassuring? informative? empowering? The tone should reflect both the subject matter and the audience.
The languages: if multilingual versions are needed, specify which languages at the brief stage. This affects the character design, the script structure and the production timeline significantly.
The platforms: where will the animation be shown? NHS intranet, public-facing website, social media, GP waiting rooms? Each platform has different format and length requirements.
What does NHS animation cost?
A single NHS animation typically starts from around £5,000 for a straightforward explainer in one language. An animation series in multiple languages, like our National Screening Series, is scoped individually based on the number of films, languages and accessibility requirements. We’re always happy to discuss what’s achievable at different budget levels and help you structure a brief that gets the most from your resources.
Get in touch → to talk through your NHS animation brief with our team.