Our Work
Our clients range from individual writers and scientists to large universities and corporations. Some of our recent projects include:
Limitless (CBS)
We were back with LIMITLESS for another episode at the end of the season (“Hi, My Name is Rebecca Harris”, S1E20). The idea of giving a character Locked In Syndrome and making an EEG on the fly to read his thoughts? That’s the sort of thing we do (for free).
The Headhunter’s Calling (Zero Gravity Management)
Coming to theaters in 2016. We worked on getting the medical language and story right with screenwriter Bill Dubuque (THE JUDGE, THE ACCOUNTANT) and then provided on set medical advising for this story of a ruthless corporate headhunter whose son gets cancer. That meant working with director Mark Williams on the feel of the medicine, with the cast (Gerard Butler, Gretchen Mol, Anupam Kher, and Maxwell Jenkins) on the portrayal of disease and the doctors who treat it, and the props and set decoration teams to make the hospital environment as real as possible.
Limitless (CBS)
Will RxCreative risk finding itself on a terrorist watch list in service of your show? Sure. For an episode of limitless (“Personality Crisis” S1E5) we helped devise a way to make a dirty bomb out of things you’d find in a hospital. Note: it wouldn’t really work as portrayed. Don’t try it.
The Strain (FX)
Quick and easy questions get quick and free answers. So when an old friend called with questions about how to depict several pathogens on THE STRAIN, we got them good pictures for their animators to use. Sometimes our expertise is just knowing the right words to plug into Google Images.
Revenge (ABC)
REVENGE needed to make a murder look like a suicide for “Damage” S4E6. We created a scenario where the leads inject a corpse with heroin, then do CPR to circulate the blood. Sounds sorta crazy, right? But we grounded it in real data on the distribution of narcotics during a code, and the result is a creepy, fresh, and medically grounded scene.
Being Human (SyFy/Muse)
When the producers of BEING HUMAN created Kenny, a boy in a bubble, for a long arc in Season 3, RxCreative helped design the character and his environment. We provided background on severe combined immunodeficiency, the tests such a patient would need, the environment that he would live in, and complications he could suffer.
University of Washington/Harborview Medical Center Burn Center
Tasked with creating a simple video presentation to train junior residents and referring physicians, we created a multi-chapter script leading the inexperienced burn physician through the essentials of care at the definitive burn treatment center for over 20% of the landmass of the United States. The result is available on YouTube and at iTunes U.
Open Heart (CBS Studios)
Collaborating with writer Ian Biederman (SHARK, BLUE BLOODS) and producer Leonard Goldberg (CHARLIE’S ANGELS, TJ HOOKER, FANTASY ISLAND, and most of the other shows you’ve ever heard of) we helped craft the medicine and medical stories of this surgery pilot for the 2013 season.
Life Unexpected (CBS Studios/CW)
Working with writer Sallie Patrick, we developed a medical storyline for an episode of LIFE UNEXPECTED. We provided a story-appropriate medical diagnosis for the lead character, then helped craft medically accurate scenes and dialogue.
St. Helena (Imagine Television)
Imagine Television hired us to help with development of a pilot script for the medical drama ST.HELENA. Collaborating with creator David Hollander (THE GUARDIAN, HEARTLAND), we developed story-specific medicine and neurosurgical procedures to drive key elements of story and character.
Maggie Hill (20th Century Fox/Imagine)
Working with “Maggie Hill” creator Ian Biederman and director Stephen Hopkins, RxCreative provided script development assistance, on-site and web-based pre-production technical consulting, on-set advising, on-camera surgical and OR personnel, and actor training for this 2009 pilot about a cardiac surgeon with schizophrenia.
Children’s Hospital Boston
Developed a series of videos for the Department of Surgery, using parent testimonials and patient stories to inform and reassure parents about common surgical procedures such as ostomies and central venous catheters.
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Admissions DVD
We were hired to write, direct, and produce a one-hour interactive DVD for the Office of Admissions, to be sent to all applicants invited to interview. Tasked with creating a dynamic message that would make the medical school stand out from its competition, we created a series of short sequences showcasing different aspects of the school, combining interviews with the students and faculty with tours and exposition by a senior medical student acting as host. We are continuing to assist the client in developing web-based video content and in designing assessment tools to measure the effect of the video on applicant decision-making.
Pre-clinical and clinical training videos
Developed narrative videos to introduce first year medical students to the school and third-year medical students to their clinical rotations. Rather than the traditional didactic presentation, we chose to develop characters and tell a story that would inform, taking the viewers on a journey through medical school.
The Senior Spectacular
Each year the fourth-year students at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine write and produce a show lampooning their medical school experience. We were brought in to oversee production of over 20 separate video sequences to act as interludes between live action scenes. Calling on a number of genres, from action film to comedy, gangster film to western, we created over 45 minutes of video to augment and showcase the talent of the class.
University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital
Childhood asthma is endemic in the neighborhoods served by the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. We were brought in to help create a compelling, small-budget education video for kids, letting them know that asthma can be well-controlled and that they can lead normal lives. The result, a short film called “Waiting to Exhale,” is a mock newscast anchored by local drama students, interviewing peers with asthma about their experience. The film provides a kids-eye view of the disease, by and for children, and so uniquely able to reach them on a level they understand. Winner of the Dartmouth Clinical Microsystems Film Festival.
Operating Theatre, Chicago, Illinois
Sensing a need for a new way to teach empathy in end-of-life care to medical students, we created a traveling production of Michael Cristofer’s Pulitzer- and Tony-award winning play, “The Shadow Box.” Dealing with the lives of three terminally ill patients and their families, the play provides an ideal framework on which to base discussions of how to relate to patients with terminal disease. Using a cast composed almost entirely of medical students, the play was presented for medical schools in Illinois and Massachusetts, and was a keynote presentation at the annual conference of the American Society for Bioethics and the Humanities. We also developed a post-show audience participation module to facilitation discussion about end-of-life issues.
Alternative Energy Options White Paper
A resort in Massachusetts is seeking to become fully energy independent. We reviewed the original physics literature on several alternative energy sources and created an objective, referenced, plain-language summary document explaining the risks and benefits of multiple approaches to energy storage.