An important and integral part of the wider live action production of SAOL was the animated bits. The main task was to create a recurring animated character who could bring moments of humour and emotional grounding to the docuseries. That’s where Colm was born. He's a lovable, slightly clueless orange blob who appears in every episode, acting out whatever is being narrated. From practical breathing exercises to an overconfident attempt to calculate the chemical formula for happiness, Colm became the human leveller; curious, flawed, and deeply relatable.

Beyond Colm, we also created bespoke narrative animations to deepen the storytelling. These ranged from a playful western parody featuring two cowboys arguing over Barry’s vs Lyons tea (a beloved Irish rivalry), to the powerfully inspiring story of Hugh Herr, the world-class climber who lost his limbs to frostbite before going on to pioneer breakthroughs in bionic limbs and prosthetics.

For each piece, we developed the visual style, narrative approach and motion from scratch, always with the same goal: to elevate the series with storytelling that would meet young viewers where they are: through humour, heart and emotional honesty.