10 September 2019 Fundraising
An exclusive virtual reality tour of a laboratory is being used to demonstrate the impact that gifts in wills have on funding research into motor neurone disease.
The 360 degree film gives the public a fully immersive experience as it follows a donated skin sample from arrival at the lab to drug screening for potential new treatments.
We collaborated with creative agency Flix Films to produce the eight minute video which was unveiled to invited guests at an MND Association legacy event. Filming took place at the Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), one of the world’s leading centres for research into MND and home to seven MND Association funded research projects.
Previously the Association has hosted events at the Institute giving donors a behind the scenes glimpse into MND research. The film, introduced by Professor Dame Pam Shaw, director of SITraN, and narrated by researchers, scientists and MND Association staff, will replicate the experience for others further afield.
When watched through a virtual reality headset the film gives viewers a full guided tour of the lab, including ‘through the microscope’ images and close ups of the researchers at work.
The Association’s legacy marketing manager Emma Fellows said: “We are delighted that we can bring more people closer to our work with this virtual lab tour. Our legacy events help demonstrate the importance of gifts in wills to MND research but with only a few labs we can visit we are limited on the number of supporters we can invite. Now we can take MND research to more of our supporters around the country and raise awareness of legacies and how they could give future generations hope of a world free from MND.”
A behind the scenes film including interviews with the team and researchers involved in the project can be viewed below…