How Pablo took on Motor Neurone Disease

MND is a devastating disease around which there is a lack of understanding, and London agency Pablo aims to educate people with its powerful new campaign for the MND Association.

Called Life Stripped Away, the film is based on the story of Jaki, a real person who lives with MND, and the struggles she faced - and continues to face - because of it. 

Below, Creative Directors Matt Fitch and Mark Lewis, and Merman director Ben Liam Jones talk about the impact the project had on them, how the concept came from a "simple but horrific truth", why they took the creative decisions they did, and what they hope the campaign achieves.

Above: The MND Association's Life Stripped Away.

When the MND Association approached Pablo, what was the brief and what did they want to achieve with their campaign?

ML: In short, they needed to raise awareness and consideration. There's a lot of confusion around the disease. People mistake it for MS, or think it only affects rugby players or, worse still, have never really thought about it at all. Our job was to change that. 

How much did you already know about MND and how much research was needed to feel like you could properly convey the message?

MF: Some of the Pablo team had a personal connection to MND. [Pablo Partner] Ben Kay is very close to the rugby community, and another of the team lost her aunt to the disease. But for most of us, our knowledge was limited to high-profile cases like Stephen Hawking and [former rugby star] Rob Burrow, so the whole project has been a huge and humbling learning curve. 

There's a lot of confusion around the disease. People mistake it for MS, or think it only affects rugby players.

Our planners, Eliza [Millett] and Charlie [Snow], gave us invaluable research, and the Association connected us with people living with MND, bereaved families, carers and doctors. What stood out for us most was that, while MND ravages your body, your mind and the person you are remains intact and trapped. This became the core message of the campaign.

Above [from left]: Tom Hole, DP; Ben Liam Jones, Jaki and second assistant camera operator, Max Gammer on set. 

How quickly did you come up with the final concept, and at what point did you realise that a first person POV would be the most impactful?

ML: The concept came from the very simple but horrific truth that MND traps you in your own body while your mind remains intact. From there, the POV technique was almost a no-brainer. 

It was a question of whose story to tell, and again, with the help of the MND Association, we met Jaki, whose story the film is based on.

If we could make people actually feel, for 60-to-90 seconds, what it's like to have your life and the things you love stripped away by MND, we believed that would be far more powerful than the usual charity approach of simply showing the disease. After that, it was a question of whose story to tell, and again, with the help of the MND Association, we met Jaki, whose story the film is based on.

Why did you think Ben Liam Jones was the right director to take on this campaign and what did he bring to the project?

MF: Everything Ben makes feels genuinely filmic, which mattered to us, because we were secretly terrified that a POV film could end up looking cheap or familiar. But Ben's biggest talent, we believe, is performance. Whether it’s seasoned actors or street-cast kids, he has a natural gift for capturing honest moments that feel unscripted and real, and that was something we felt was vital here, for the story to land and for people to really feel like they were in Jaki’s shoes. 

Above [from left]: Matt Fitch, Ben Liam Jones and Mark Lewis.

The three of you have worked together in the past; how much does a previous working relationship help on any job?

ML: There’s a shorthand between us that was invaluable. With subject matter like this, and knowing we had to get it right, there was no time to beat around the bush. We needed frank, honest discussions about what was right and why, and we had to trust each other. We've known Ben a long time, there's real mutual respect, and we know how each other works. That turned what could have been a very difficult process into a genuinely enjoyable one.

We needed frank, honest discussions about what was right and why, and we had to trust each other.

BLJ: It helps the workflow massively! The guys know I like to explore performance and nick shots in a very spontaneous fashion. They give me enough rope to explore, instead of explaining everything beforehand. Sometimes you can find yourself talking more than shooting.

At the end of the ad, we see the real-life Jaki and her husband Steve; how much of the spot is based on their experiences, and how did you find them?

MF: The story is very much based on Jaki's own experience, and we use real footage and audio of her performing on stage in the film, and many of the scenes are based on real moments in her life. 

After we were introduced to Jaki and her husband through the MND Association, we had a number of calls as well as visiting them in their home to talk about their MND experience, how it felt and how it unfolded. We then did our best to honour that story, while taking some creative licence with the details in order to tell it coherently, in a compressed timescale.

Above: Jaki, on whose experiences the spot is based, on the set of Life Stripped Away.

From a directorial POV how much more impactful - and, potentially, how much more difficult - is shooting from a first-person perspective?

BLJ: First-person can be incredibly impactful because it removes that little bit of distance between the audience and the subject. For this film, that felt really important. Technically, camera technology now should make that kind of shooting relatively straightforward. 

 I really wanted the film to have a tactile, physical quality. I felt [35mm] would give the images a texture and humanity that was important to the story.

The slightly mad decision was then to shoot it on 35mm, which made everything considerably more awkward. But I really wanted the film to have a tactile, physical quality. I felt the format would give the images a texture and humanity that was important to the story, rather than it feeling too clean or overtly technical.

What was the most challenging part of the shoot? 

BLJ: I’m usually very good at leaving my work at the door but, emotionally, this one stayed with me. Seeing first-hand how indiscriminately this disease can rip through people’s lives was incredibly affecting. I definitely held my loved ones a little tighter when I got home. 

And the most rewarding? 

BLJ: Jaki is a performer and, to quote her husband, “this was her last performance”. She loved the day so much, and I’m really glad we could give her a moment where she felt she was doing what she loved while also making a real difference. That was incredibly special.