Targeting blood clots with BB-31 – Basking Biosciences

The science

In this video for Basking Biosciences, we explain how von Willebrand factor (vWF) plays a critical role in clot formation, stabilization, and expansion. When blood vessels are damaged, vWF binds to platelets and collagen, forming a lattice that amplifies clot growth. Basking Biosciences is developing BB-31, an RNA aptamer that binds to vWF, disrupting its activity and gradually dissolving clots. By destabilizing the clot’s structure from the outer shell inward, BB-31 restores blood flow, offering a promising approach for treating acute ischemic stroke and other thrombotic conditions.

Currently in Phase 2 trials, BB-31 represents a potential breakthrough in stroke treatment and clot management.

Behind the Scenes: Creating the Hero Animation for Basking Biosciences

Basking Biosciences’s new website needed a visually striking animation to represent its reversible thrombolytic therapy. But creating that hero animation wasn’t as simple as cutting and uploading a clip. Here’s how we helped them bring it to life – and the production challenges we solved along the way.

The Request

Basking wanted to replace a generic stock video on their homepage with a looping sequence from the animation we had created for them. The clip needed to show the clot formation, the drug’s targeted action, and its effect. All in under 20 seconds. But it also had to run smoothly in the background, support overlaid text, and be optimized for web performance.

Key Production Challenges

1. Seamless Looping
Looping animations can look awkward if they jump or fade in/out abruptly. A clean loop required us to creatively cross-fade frames at the end so the final frame matched the start, ensuring a seamless visual cycle.

2. Slow Motion at High Quality
The client wanted to slow down the clip to highlight the drug mechanism. However, the original animation was rendered at 24 frames per second. Slowing it post-render would have caused stuttering. So we re-rendered the scene at a higher frame rate from scratch, doubling the render time, but preserving smoothness.

3. Matching Web Constraints
The web developer gave us tight file size requirements: no more than 12 MB. That meant we had to compress the animation without sacrificing visual quality. We delivered HD and Full HD versions, balancing size and sharpness. We also advised the team that certain layout effects (like adding black fade overlays) were best handled in CSS rather than hardcoded into the video.

4. Visual Clarity Without Distraction
At one point, there was a request to add callouts identifying the drug binding to vWF strands. We assessed the visual impact and recommended against it. We explained that too much detail would distract from the fluid, ambient tone needed for a background animation. The client appreciated the honest feedback and agreed.

Outcome

The final looped clip was embedded on Basking’s homepage and used across internal pages. We also delivered high-res, logo-free stills for banners throughout the site, making the animation a core part of their brand experience.

Feedback was amazing. Even before reading the text, viewers immediately understood what Basking was working on. That’s the power of a well-placed visual.