Cervical screens are a necessary medical practice – but it is rare that you see someone giddy with excitement at the prospect. A lot of the literature surrounding cervical screenings is a testament to the underwhelming enthusiasm they are met with. Indeed, most of the reminders adopt a sympathetic and often cajoling tone – a promise that it will all be over with soon and then you won’t have to think about it for another five years. Even then, it is an appointment that too many skip or delay in order to avoid discomfort.
There is a further challenge relaying the benefits of these screenings to people with learning disabilities – and this was the task Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust hired us to tackle. Our brief was to create a series of films that encouraged people with learning disabilities to attend their cervical screening and understand what to expect from them.
It was decided that animation would be the best way to explain elements of the cervical screening process. This meant we didn’t need to access patients or doctors surgeries during Covid and we could relay our message simply and in a friendly tone. We specifically went for a colour palette which drew heavily on Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’s branded colours.
We reused characters and animated elements across all five films. This meant that there was a cohesion across the series.
We decided to cut the script into five sections, to make the information as digestible as possible for the viewers. This means that each film can standalone or be viewed back to back.
We worked very closely with Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust as well as a group of women with a learning disabilities. It was very important to us that the films were as clear and accessible as possible, so the support from the working group was invaluable.
“Working with Production Attic on this series of films for women with a learning disability was a great experience. The team were enthusiastic and had great vision for how we could co-produce this resource with a group of women from Enable Scotland, and we are really pleased with the films that have been created. We hope they will help women with a learning disability feel more informed about cervical screening.” Suzanne Kelly, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust
On a personal note, we loved working on a project which has the capacity to save lives and raise awareness about an often taboo subject. It is important that we all have access to the same healthcare and the Production Attic were very happy to help bridge that gap.
