Forget eggs in frying pans. A new generation calls for a new kind of public service video — one that can pull off a tricky blend of science and humor in today’s rapid-fire editing style. That’s why “Bad Medicine,” an award-winning video from students in UAB Digital Media, kicks off with a group of syringes gyrating like backup dancers in a Beyonce video. It’s packed with witty visual references to the video game classics "Oregon Trail" and "Pac Man." And the unforgettable image of a kindly woman being swarmed by cats.


 


“I am slightly biased, but I think the cat attack clip is golden,” said Samantha Richardson, a rising senior Art Studio major in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences who was one of the creative forces behind the video. Richardson, a Digital Media Fellow and member of the University Honors Program in the UAB Honors College, knows from cats, which are always sure to draw a crowd online. “Personally, when it comes to cats, there is never too much of a good thing,” she said. Especially if they can draw attention to a timely but uncomfortable topic.

“Bad Medicine” is a 79-second crash course on the connection between prescription drug abuse and heroin. It’s part of a campaign called KNOW DOPE (knowdope.org), created by UAB Digital Media students and their faculty mentors and funded by a grant from the office of Joyce Vance, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.


Shibli Raman and Samantha Richardson
 

Alabama, like the rest of the country, has seen a surge in heroin overdoses. As “Bad Medicine” points out, heroin deaths in Alabama outnumber those from suicide, accidents and homicide. And many of those victims were sucked into heroin addiction by way of prescription drugs.


 


It’s no laughing matter. But it isn’t easy to reach teens and preteens with this message. Heroin “is a drug that can destroy your life,” said Richardson. Other videos in the KNOW DOPE series, including interviews with victims and their families, and an undercover police officer, “really make you feel the crippling impact of heroin,” Richardson said.


 The KNOW DOPE site features six student-produced films.


She and a Digital Media Intern, Shibli Rahman — now a full-time member of the Digital Media staff — had a different assignment. Working with Digital Media’s Scott Thigpen, they had to make a complex mix of chemistry, statistics and public health messages digestible to an easily distracted audience. “The objective of the video was to produce something that a middle school or high school student would watch on social media before getting bored and clicking away,” Richardson said.





That meant lots of humor, bright colors and a relentless pace. “From animated collage to flat design, the video keeps the viewer interested by combining a variety of stylistic treatments,” Richardson said. “And the illustrations and animations are all original to our team.”

The KNOW DOPE campaign earned the Best in Show prize at the 2016 American Advertising Federation Birmingham Awards (ADDYs). “Bad Medicine” took home Gold ADDYs for Animation/Special Effects and Sound Design. ("KNOW DOPE: The Documentary" will be screening at Birmingham's Sidewalk Film Festival on Sunday, Aug. 28 as part of a documentary shorts segment that begins at 5:15 p.m.)


 Digital Media's ADDY-winning team



 Visual references to touchstones such as the classic computer game "Oregon Trail" abound in "Bad Medicine."


Richardson created her designs using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and animated them using Adobe’s After Effects software. “UAB Digital Media has been a huge resource for me as a designer and animator,” she said. “When I started working here as an intern almost two years ago, I barely knew how to use Illustrator or Photoshop. Now I am proficient in those programs and much more.” She has taught two animation workshops for fellow students.


Richardson credits Digital Media with teaching her invaluable skills in industry-standard graphics software. 


In her free time, Richardson uses her Canon 70D camera and animation stand — purchased with the $1,000 stipend awarded to all Digital Media Fellows — to make stop-motion videos. When she graduates next year, Richardson aims to work at a design agency, “where I can use my web and animation skills.”

Learn more about UAB Digital Media in this feature from UAB Magazine.