A new video series for the Nuclear Institute brings to life the range of exciting career opportunities in the nuclear sector, says CPL One’s senior animator and videographer Jon Sankey.
When we produce videos and animation for a professional body or membership organisation, it’s important to find the right balance between the creative treatment of the content we create and the practical information that the client wants to convey.
My job, as a senior videographer, is to dissect the client’s brief and goals for the video, and find the best way of getting across that message, while still keeping the video appealing and exciting to watch for the target audience.
Our recent video series for the Nuclear Institute (NI) is aimed at younger audiences. It needed to bring to life, and explain, the range of exciting career opportunities in the nuclear sector. It required hours of painstaking work from our team to devise, illustrate and animate the videos.
One of our biggest creative challenges was making the animations visually engaging and fun, while also maintaining the scientific accuracy and depth needed to clearly explain nuclear concepts – and, ultimately, inspire more young people to consider a career in the industry. We had regular check-ins with the client to make sure accuracy was achieved at all times during the creative process.
Given the brief, budget and time constraints, we proposed a mixed-media animation style. This approach combines live-action footage with 2D and 3D animation, text overlays, still images, and ‘hand-drawn’ effects, offering versatility and a distinctive visual edge. It was especially effective for explaining complex nuclear processes.
We knew that standard 2D stock illustrations were not viable, as they lacked the depth and variety needed for five full-length animations. In particular, accurate visuals of elements such as nuclear reactors or graphite fuel rods would have required expensive custom-made illustrations.
Mixed-media animation offered four key advantages. It is:
Engaging: Layered visuals capture attention and sustain viewer interest.
Memorable: Real-world imagery enhanced with motion graphics has lasting impact, and is easy to understand.
Adaptable: Suitable for use across sectors, from technical explainers to non-profit campaigns.
Cost-effective: Saves on live-action production by animating key scenes or the entire story.
Was it a success? Well, the project has been shortlisted in the 2025 Memcom Excellence Awards in the ‘Best video’ category, while the videos were a key reason the NI has also been shortlisted for ‘Best education initiative’.
Watch all the videos.
If you think animation and video could help your organisation tell a story, get in touch.
