By Stephanie Ward
Isaacs’ life was shaken apart by a single phone call from someone he barely knew. In an agitated tone, the man on the other end of the phone told Isaac that he had infected him with the deadly HIV/AIDS virus during their brief sexual encounter. Stunned beyond belief, Isaac dropped the phone and fell into a dark haze that leads him on his path of discovery and trying to live with the dreaded disease. Isaac’s story was played out before thousands of viewers who logged on to the livewithit.com website. While his problem is real to millions of Americans, Isaac only exists in cyberspace. He is one of three animated characters created by Incendia Health Studios, the creators of Live With It. A web cast video created to heighten awareness about the AIDS epidemic in America. Fabio Gratton, 34, is the creator and the president of Incendia Health Studios. He said he created the 5-minute cartoons out of his desire to produce an engaging emotional experience to reach adults and teens who were dealing with chronic diseases such as diabetes. Gratton’s background as a Hollywood screenwriter has helped him to create and implement the animated series. “We wanted to create a series for people who wanted to connect emotionally,” Gratton said. Incendia Health Studios is a media company for chronic disease education. They use the latest technologies to develop and distribute health-related programming for the millions living with chronic illnesses, such as AIDS and diabetes. “Story telling is a powerful and easy way to get people to think about things,” said Jeff Rohwer, director of production for Incendia. There are three animated cartoons that present AIDS from different points of views. Gratton said the response to the animation has been overwhelmingly positive. It has been shown in 150 countries and so far, there have been more than 30,000 download of the videos. People who log on to the site spend on average of 10 minutes viewing the dark captivating animations. Gratton says his research has shown that the average person visiting the site watches at least two of the animated mini-movies. So far, there are three movies. There is the story of Bobbie, a 23-year-old model who lived a life of drugs and promiscuity. Then there is the story of Trevor, a married man with a pregnant wife and Isaac a single guy man from California. While all of the animations are different, they all share the same deep, dark tone and are immensely engaging and contemplative. “They go from a moment of darkness to moments of enlighten and realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” All the characters are pensive and very believable. They are hip and force you to sympathize with them in a very short time. Each animation is filled with real life AIDS information. Many nonprofit organizations are now using the animations as teaching tools. Each cartoon has the line “Live With It,” worked into the script. The animation takes about three months and 75 people to produce. Everything is original and done by professionals, from voice over to soundtrack. Gratton uses favors from many of the people he met during his stint in the Hollywood entertainment industry. If he had to pay for his talent, it would cost at least $100,000 for each spot, he said. Pharmaceutical companies sponsor the cartoons, which have no say in the content. Gratton said they make it a point not to mention any specific products or push any particular agenda. Plans are being made for two additional animations. Those interested in viewing the animation can go to Livewithit.com or they can log onto Myspace.com, where all of the characters have their own account.