Elara Systems, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner and consultant at a small healthcare, MedTech, biopharma consultancy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Elara Systems, Inc.?

One of our clients, who has a new way of treating sciatica pain, wanted a very high-tech, scientifically accurate, mechanism of action animated video.

It was meant primarily for clinicians and secondarily for investors and patients, and we wanted to use it on our website, at conferences, and for other purposes. So, that’s why we hired Elara Systems, Inc.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided CAD and MR images, as well as guidance in terms of what our expectations were for the rough storyline. Elara Systems, Inc. then created one 3-D animated video which shows how the medication works on a cellular level.

What is the team composition?

My primary point of contact was Corey (Project Manager). Additionally, when we had team meetings, there were about 4–5 team members on the calls.

How did you come to work with Elara Systems, Inc.?

I had worked with them on a previous project, and I was happy with how it went.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in November 2019 and we arrived at the final product in March 2020. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to show the video quite yet because of the Coronavirus and everything else that has put my client’s business on hold. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The video was very high-tech and anatomically accurate. Our surgeon advisory panel described the video as “visually stunning.”

How did Elara Systems, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Corey, who was my counterpart, was very clear, timely in terms of feedback, and patient when we needed some extra days to get approval from legal and regulatory. He kept us on track and knew exactly what he was doing when it came to project management.

We followed a timeline. Initially, there’s a lot of touchpoints because you have to provide all of the information and feedback on all of the rough sketches and storyboards. Those meetings occurred once a week and were very long and detailed because we were providing a lot of technical feedback

As Elara Systems, Inc. built wireframes and started the animation, the meetings took place only once every one and a half weeks. So, it was very manageable from a business side. We always knew when we were going to see the next round of animations and they always delivered on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were flexible in terms of requests for the deliverables, ranging from mp4 video files to high-resolution images, and ultra HD images. I appreciated that flexibility when we were working out the statement of work.

It was magical how they took the information we provided, none of which was sketches of the anatomy, and accurately interpreted what we were describing. It was wonderful, especially considering that on their staff, they don’t have a medical specialist such as a Ph.D. They only had animators, illustrators, and project managers who had worked for medical companies in the past.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any criticism. They were truly an excellent partner, especially considering we’re on the East Coast and they’re on the West Coast. The team provided a lot of flexibility in the time of the day they could meet with us that made sense for our business.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anyone who has never done a 3-D animation should know that they need to have all of their information up front. They should have their ideas and technical documents available in the first couple of meetings so that Elara Systems, Inc. can kick off with the maximum information.

Something I’ve experienced before, now during this project, is that management doesn’t really pay attention to the drafts, scripts, and early work because they only want to comment on the final product.

But once the product is final, any changes can cost about $2,000–$5,000. So, it’s important to understand that the initial input is the time to make changes.