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CASE STUDY | WHOSA
Story, Science, and Spirit:
A Meditation Inspired by the SDGs.
Overview
When we started to create a vision for this piece, We knew this wasn’t going to be an ordinary production. The piece will have to carry the weight of their philosophy, that story, science, and spirit are one, and translate it into a visual language that would resonate across cultures, disciplines, and generations.
From the first line to the final frame, our challenge was to weave ancestral memory, cutting-edge innovation, and human connection into a single, flowing narrative. We drew from over 300 archival and stock clips, searching the world for moments that felt both timeless and urgent; rituals, landscapes, and faces that spoke of where we’ve been and where we’re going.
This case study explores how we turned a philosophy into a visual and emotional experience
The Challenge
Articulate an identity and philosophy through a narrative that is emotionally engaging, globally relevant, and visually sophisticated and using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) as inspiration so the audience feels the urgency, responsibility, and opportunity to act.
SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being
Challenge: Convey healthcare systems that heal not only the body, but the mind, spirit, and community, especially in places where access is unequal and stigma still silences voices.
SDG 4 – Quality Education
Challenge: Make education more than facts and figures, transforming it into living knowledge that connects generations, cultures, and disciplines
SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Challenge: Showcase design innovation that serves people first, embedding ethics, culture, and humanity into the technologies that will shape tomorrow.
SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
Challenge: Dismantle the narrative that the Global South is a recipient of solutions, and instead elevate it as a co-creator of the world’s future
SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
Challenge: Weave cultural memory and ancestral wisdom into the blueprint for future communities, so they are resilient, inclusive, and alive with identity.
SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Challenge: Evoke trust across disciplines, geographies, and cultures to create policies and partnerships that serve the many, not the few.
SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
Challenge: Convene a global table where technologists, artists, healers, and leaders collaborate, not compete, to solve our shared challenges
The Solution
How do you convey a core philosophy that story, science, and spirit are one in a way that covers the SDG's and speaks across cultures, generations, and disciplines, while avoiding cliché, oversimplification? The goal was to create a visual and emotional experience that:
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Introduced a movement rather than just a campaign.
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Reflected global voices without being extractive.
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Centered traditional wisdom as future-building intelligence.
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Repositioned narrative and culture as central to innovation.
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Offered a human and ethical lens for future-forward design.
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Inspire purpose-driven collaboration and identity formation.
Our Approach
We developed a layered concept using poetry, doc-style visuals, spiritual archetypes, and rapid tech sequences, held together by a personal, lyrical narration.
Concept: “A mirror and a map."
Our concept was to thread together spiritual memory, scientific discovery, and cultural expression as one ecosystem of knowing: a mirror and a map. A mirror to see ourselves rooted, wired, storied. A map to where we are going into a world where the future is shaped by ancient wisdom, emergent tech, and shared humanity.
Creative Process:
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Script: A poetic ode that honors science and ancestral wisdom as a bridge between past and future. The central metaphor of a Black woman as the transmitter of knowledge, a focus on hands as the balance of giving and receiving, grounded the story’s emotional arc.
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Narration: A meditative, first-person voiceover was chosen to deliver the script, creating a reflective tone and emotional intimacy.
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Storyboarding: we mapped a global journey through forest paths, temples, laboratories, ritual dances, data centers, and healing ceremonies, visually threading together ancient and emerging ways of knowing.
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Visual Style: Doc-like visual poetry, slow motion, surreal nature shots, archival clips, and quick-cut tech montages blending global footage into a seamless reflection of human evolution and imagination.
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Tone and inspirations: Ethereal symbolism, global anthropology, surreal nature, and high-tech futurism to evoke styles reminiscent of Terrence Malick (poetic nature shots, spiritual introspection), Alfonso Cuarón (slow-tracking, grounded realism meets spectacle), Ryan Coogler's Black Panther / Afrofuturism (visual power of diasporic identity + futurity) with Documentary realism.
Writing
The script is a poetic reflection and bridge; an ode to science and old wisdom. It pauses to reflect on the acceleration of the modern world, invoking the voice of a woman as a vessel of memory, convergence, and vision. The tone is spiritual, elegant, and universal. The writing called for narration as a storytelling form to convey emotion and imagery with depth and grace.
Research & Production
The production process involved intensive research and curating over 300 archival and stock video clips. The team searched for imagery that reflects cultural specificity and global harmony. The aim was to present a documentary-like visual poetry that feels real, sacred, and futuristic all at once. Sourcing authentic footage representing Indigenous, spiritual, and contemporary cultures across continents was essential to the vision.
Post-Production Process:
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Editing: Completed in just 2 days, with rapid iteration and precision timing.
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Sound Design: Carefully crafted to support emotional breath and rhythm, combining ambient textures, natural sounds, and subtle transitions to maintain the script’s contemplative tone.
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Final Cut: The piece needed to move the viewer emotionally, not just inform, but awaken.
Result
Though quantitative metrics are not yet available, It will offer more than visual promotion; it re-maps imagination, placing the Global South, spiritual wisdom, and human-centered futures at the core of innovation and technology. It blends realism, spirituality, and speculative futures to convey a transdisciplinary ethos, infusing the story with dignity, depth, and of global healing traditions, while offering a decolonial visual language for health and science. It creates a sense of reverence, awakening, and, inspiring participation in a shared movement.
It is a cinematic invitation to remember what we already know:
Story, science, and spirit were never separate. They were always one.
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