Manometric | Feel free again

Runtime: 2 minutes and 6 seconds



Manometric is redefining what orthopedic hand and leg braces can look like — not just as medical devices, but as tools that return people to the lives they love. Using state-of-the-art scanning technology, they produce custom-fit braces with a precision the industry has rarely seen. When I first approached them, they were dissatisfied with their promotional material. As a stereotype, medical commercials often look stiff, cold, stock-like. I pitched something different — warm, tangible, analogue in feel. Imagery with story and soul.

For their emerging line of leg braces, I traveled to Lake Garda in Italy to film a colleague wing-foiling with her brace on. I shot underwater, tracked her from above with a drone, and used long telephoto lenses to capture her athleticism from the shore. Alongside the action, we recorded a phone call between a mother and daughter — letting their conversation carry what the brace had made possible in her life.

I have also done photography work for Manometric. And I approached it in the same way as my documentary work. I earned the trust of families Manometric has supported over the years: children wearing leg braces as they play their favorite sports, elderly women gardening, sculpting, cooking, knitting, painting — reclaiming the hobbies and passions that arthritis had taken from them.

This body of work now plays a central role in how Manometric presents itself to the world — on their website, at industry conferences, and in attracting the talent that shares their mission.


Credits:
Producer: Pieter Smakman & Vincent Laagland
Writing: Liam McClain & Pieter Smakman
Cinematography: Liam McClain
Editing: Liam McClain
Colour: Liam McClain
BTS Photography: Vincent Laagland