CRAFT London films The Blood Clock-to shed light on postpartum haemorrhage

Nov. 14, 2017

CRAFT London, McCann WorldGroup’s production arm, has created a poignant, creative film for The WOMAN Trial, shedding light on the fact that blood loss after childbirth is the single leading cause of maternal death worldwide.

Every year, a startling 100,000 women each year die from postpartum haemorrhage. That’s a mother dying at least six minutes. The WOMAN Trial found that if tranexamic acid was readily available it could reduce the number of deaths by one third.

The 2½ minute film that will run online and across social channels, centres around Graham Tydeman, a consultant obstetrician who was commissioned by The WOMAN Trial to build ‘The Blood Clock’, an installation that graphically illustrates the problems of blood loss in childbirth.

The blood clock is based on the simple concept that it has to graphically show the kind of blood loss that women lose before they bleed to death. CRAFT captures how the blood trickles over six minutes into a cylinder, which then tips into a bath that thousands of babies have spent their first hour in, when they were discarded from maternity hospital. The energy of it tipping back, connects through a whole series of gears that move the minute hand on six minutes, or on by one more death.

Head of Integrated Production at CRAFT, Sergio Lopez says:

“This project is all about creativity brought to life by the craft of clock-making and the craft of film-making at the service of a good cause. We enjoy participating in this type of initiative because not only does it help make the world a better place, but it also challenges our team to lend our expertise to new areas of production.”

 

Client Professor from The WOMAN Trial, Ian Roberts, said: 

“It’s crucial that people know about the problem of blood loss after childbirth and the growing body of research and evidence for tranexamic acid as a treatment – not just medical professionals but also policymakers, patients and their families. We hope The Blood Clock will raise awareness of this issue and are delighted that CRAFT London were able to produce this wonderful film to help bring the story to life. It captures the essence of our aims beautifully.”

The Blood Clock, was unveiled on November 9^th at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as part of The WOMAN Trial panel event ‘How can we stop women bleeding to death in childbirth?’ in collaboration with the School's MARCH Centre for Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive & Child Health. The event is free, but registration is required.