Planet Nutshell was founded to help people of all ages understand a complicated world, and since 2008, healthcare marketing and education have been a vital component of our portfolio. Check out some highlights from our 16-year history of creating purpose-driven healthcare media that enlightens and moves viewers to action:

Want to see more of our work, or talk about an impactful healthcare marketing/education project you’re working on? Get in touch.

For the past two years, we’ve been working with the dedicated folks at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) on educational resources and training that magnify the impact of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Distressed Cities Technical Assistance (DCTA) Program.

Phew, that was a lot of acronyms, but this three-way collaboration has yielded some work we’re super proud to share.

Our first project was to create an educational video to support the Community Development Block Grant team at HUD. Our goal was to give them a resource that’s effective at scale in helping communities understand how they can take advantage of the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program.

The concept we presented was to create the fictional “everytown” of Websterville, where Sally, the mayor, and Jorge, the town clerk, explore how they can improve two local properties in need of revitalization.

Discovery and Script

We had a lot to learn about housing policy, local government, and development finance, so research came first. Fortunately, the LISC and HUD teams were incredibly supportive. Our consultations with them resulted in a script that balanced the dense, complex subject matter with some levity and dialog designed to keep viewers engaged.

Storyboard

Once the LISC and HUD teams were happy with the script, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work on shot sequencing. Here’s a look at a small section of the storyboard, which ended up spanning about 70 panels.

Moodboard

To nail down the desired visual language of the project, our art director compiled a moodboard with several potential options. HUD had already produced some animated videos, but we worked with them to raise the production values of previous efforts. Below is the option that was ultimately chosen for production.

Production

Once all of our art assets were produced, we combined motion graphics and character animation to create the world of Websterville and tell an actual human story about the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program. To date, the video has more than 6,000 views on the HUD Exchange, far outstripping the vast majority of videos living there.

It’s not a stretch to say that the team at HUD was super happy with it. One team member exclaimed, “We are all crazy about the video.”

We’re Just Getting Started

Our work with LISC and HUD is ongoing. We just wrapped a forthcoming, 8-episode series on financial management best practices that takes us back to Websterville. The series focuses on helping small towns get their financial houses in order so they can be better positioned to win grants and funding from HUD. Sally and Jorge have a lot of work to do as they continue their journey to building a stronger community for their constituents!

If you haven’t heard, we’re releasing our first episode of The Unexplored in segments, for free, on YouTube. Prepare to be fascinated by this journey through the history of women artists and their work from Prehistory to the Baroque.

Part One looks at who may have created early cave paintings, and why.

Part Two travels to the Middle Ages to meet Hildegard von Bingen, a German abbess with divine artistic talent.

If you want to catch all the segments as they release, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. And if you want to see the full, 11-minute episode without ads or censorship, it’s available on Patreon for the price of a drip coffee in a fancy zip code.