Making of The Dark Anim: Technical and Scientific Notes

Abstract

We present here some technical and biomolecular details of the production of the animation The Dark Anim (https://vimeo.com/131751707), produced by request of Directors of the documentary film The Dark Gene (FilmTank, Munich). The animation describes the events that take place when a serotoninergic synapse is stimulated and the mechanism of action of Fluoxetine, an inhibitor of the reuptake receptor SERT, also known as Prozac®. This publication illustrates the production of the animations along all the steps. Starting form the gathering scientific information of structural, cellular and biochemical nature, and its elaboration. We then describe some of the technical challenges related to the complexity of biology, the multiscale levels of details, and the limitations of the Computer Graphics tools. Finally we offer some considerations on other aspects of the production, such as the choices about the lights and the actions of the molecular characters in the 3D CG environment.