From Petri Dishes to Data-Wizardry: How Ben Miethke’s Film for Scandinavian Biolabs Fuses Nature and Science

Scandinavian Biolabs is renowned for its organic ‘bio-harmonic hair care,’ combining naturally effective, vegan-friendly ingredients with advanced biotechnology. Their recent rebranding led them to collaborate with Berlin-based production company LE BERG and director Ben Miethke.

The core idea: bring nature in synthesis with science.

Inspired by Scandinavian Biolabs’ pixelated logo, the film visualises the synthesis of raw nature and digital alteration. "We aimed to depict a feeling that science can’t express with words and data." said Ben. This approach resulted in a profoundly human yet technological aesthetic that adds a poetic dimension to the film. For the nature elements, the team experimented with the actual organic botanicals used in SBL products — The set of petri dishes became a visual laboratory.

The film’s technological graphics involved an innovative blend of analogue and digital techniques. LE BERG commissioned grotesk.group, a creative studio known for their obsession with data-driven image generation. "They are amazing when it comes to these kinds of weird data generated images. Their use of real-time object detection and to create the data-squares and digitally altered textures was like wizardry to me." Ben enthused.

Scandinavian Biolabs’ involvement in the project was crucial. Their brand language and push for abstraction and stylisation guided the creative direction. "What made the process so special was that we were in direct communication with the art director and CEO at SBL. Lots of trust. It just shows - there’s an incredible strength in close collaborations." Ben explained. The whole process was a deep learning experience for Ben too. His greatest takeaway from the project is that there is so much to be discovered creatively when given the liberty to deconstruct a product and the ideas behind it.

Ben added, "Maybe next time we could push it further to be even more micro. I just read something about tractography, a neuro scientific imaging process to reconstruct nerve tracts in human brains. Doesn’t that sound intriguing?"