Extraordinary Grace- The Change Hypothesis

In 2022 we launched an industry-first, insight-led participation campaign designed to shine a light on the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM.

At the heart of the campaign was an innovative film, both in script and execution, focusing on a keynote speech hosted by a young and inspiring woman called Grace.

However, all was not as it seemed – Extraordinary Grace’s script was created purely from the advice, ideas, and solutions provided by over 1200 scientists, all acting as her mentor, answering gripping questions through an interactive online survey.

Interviews conducted with underrepresented scientists from around the world provided us with characteristics that informed Grace’s backstory, personality, and visual appearance. Then, working with the latest software from Unreal Engine, Metahuman technology, we created photo-realistic renders of Grace in real-time, exploring her features, looks, and movement before adding bespoke modelling to craft her final details, such as her clothing and hair.

With the incredible fidelity of our metahuman render, we needed her movement and performance to match this highly realistic quality. We achieved this through a 2-day motion capture shoot, working with acclaimed actress Adelayo Adedeyo to provide the voice, body, and facial movement for our 15-minute film.

Over the course of a 4-month post-production schedule, we created a film that brought our character to life in an authentic, original, and refreshing way. Grace presented her ‘Hypothesis for change’ keynote speech to a discerning and influential audience of STEM thought leaders, streamed live in the US to a global online audience.

Grace’s story sparked panel discussions at industry events, extensive discussions, and the sharing of emotive stories on social media. She provided a much-needed platform to support the historic and ongoing efforts of some of the industry’s hardest-working voices in the fight for DEI in STEM.