The Two Lives of Sara’, Roche’s brand film on Multiple Sclerosis, tells the story of Sara’s life in two parallel realities – one where she gets a new treatment for MS, and another where she doesn’t.

In Finland as in the most Western countries, MS disease patients usually get their treatment according to Current Care Guidelines. These guidelines don’t often include the newest treatments and they are drafted with strict budget. This means that especially in some forms of MS disease the symptoms are only mildly delayed.

The film gives information to patients, that there are alternatives for the treatment and they can request for better options.

The DOP did not only create stunning visual poetry, but designed the light setups in a smart way they enabled us to execute all the boarded 44 shots (that become 88 shots when shot split-screen) in two long shooting days.

The matching camera moves, matching compositions and matching actions of the performers added a layer of difficulty to the mix. The organic yet highly cinematic style of the camera movements and compositions was dictated by the emotionally charged story, not the technology used.

In addition to linear split-screen versions (cinema, online), the film has also an interactive version, where the viewer has the opportunity to switch between the two parallel narratives. Please watch the demo film included. This added yet another set of challenges as all the compositions needed to work for very different cinematic formats without losing artistically anything.

Despite all the variables mentioned above, the outcome feels effortless.