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Emulent has partnered with CRISPR start‑ups, antibody platform scale‑ups, and late‑stage cell‑therapy developers to translate pipettes and PCR curves into stories that move investors, regulators, and patients. We have shot B‑roll inside GMP suites next to nitrogen clouds, coaxed principal investigators to explain in plain English why a 0.2 log viral‑load drop matters, and stitched those scenes into launch films that raised nine‑figure rounds. Video works because biology is visual—fluorescent colonies, organoid contractions, and time‑lapse cell division enthrall in ways white papers never can. Yet biotech videography is also fraught with GMP access rules, IP secrecy, and FDA advertising constraints.
Across the next four sections we will break down the process from strategy to compliance. Every section runs deep—about the length of a journal discussion—to give you granular guidance rather than slide‑deck platitudes. You will see where to position camera cranes without breaching biosafety cabinets, how to frame MoA (mechanism‑of‑action) animations that pass legal muster, and which KPIs link view counts to term‑sheet velocity. By the end you will understand not just how to push record but how to build a repeatable video engine that scales with your pipeline.
Strategic Foundation: From Scientific Narrative to Audience Resonance
Every great biotech film starts with a positioning statement, not a camera. You must decide which part of your science the audience should remember after scrolling past thousands of lab‑coat thumbnails. Investors care about addressable market and de‑risking milestones. Clinicians zero in on clinical endpoints and safety profiles. Patient advocates look for hope, compassion, and trial‑site availability. Your narrative must satisfy all three without drowning in acronyms.
Begin with a “science-to-emotion map.” In a workshop, list your key differentiators—enzyme‑speed advantage, delivery‑vector precision, manufacturing scalability. Next, draw parallel emotional outcomes—longer remissions, fewer hospital visits, lower global‐health barriers. Tie each differentiator to one emotional outcome with a simple because‑statement: “Our hydrophobic patch increases drug half‑life because it prevents renal clearance, meaning children need half as many injections.” These pairings become the backbone of your script.
After mapping, write a two‑minute spoken script that includes three parts. Part one is the problem: a 12 percent five‑year survival rate for metastatic pancreatic cancer. Part two is the journey: how your synthetic lethal approach exploits KRAS dependency. Part three is the human resolution: a patient walking her daughter to kindergarten. Keep jargon in part two; the bookended problem and resolution stay human. Scripts exceeding 280 words in those two minutes lose comprehension among lay audiences, according to NIH communication studies.
- Hold a “jargon wash‑out” session where regulatory, legal, and brand teams strike or define every term above ninth‑grade reading level.
- Create a storyboard that alternates between emotional frames (patient, family, community) and credibility frames (lab work, data‑visualization, expert interviews).
- Lock a visual mood board—color palette, lighting temperature, font overlays—before touching a camera to maintain continuity across future episodes.
| Audience | Top Question | Visual Cue that Answers | Ideal Call‑to‑Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investors | “Is it de‑risked?” | Gantt overlay of milestone progress | Download data room deck |
| Clinicians | “Is it safe?” | Adverse‑event waterfall chart | Register for investigator meeting |
| Patients | “Will it help me?” | Animated MoA simplifying cell targeting | Join trial‑site waitlist |
End the strategy phase with KPI targets. For a Series C raise, you may track qualified investor meetings booked from video landing pages. For trial recruitment, measure consents started. Link each KPI to one scene in the script so you can A/B test edits later.
Pre‑Production Logistics: Permits, Protocols, and Storyboards
Biotech filming demands more SOPs than a Hollywood backlot. Your first hurdle is facility access. GMP suites require gowning, so decide whether crew will film through glass, with sterile covers, or on a mock set. Emulent usually combines all three to balance safety and cinematography. We capture hero shots through containment glass while lighting with daylight‑balanced LEDs outside the suite. For close‑ups of pipette tips, we stage a sterile‑looking bench in a non‑GMP lab using actual consumables but non‑clinical samples.
Next, align the film schedule with your lab calendar. Avoid major run days to prevent cross‑contamination risk and staff fatigue. We block 90‑minute chunks in the middle of maintenance windows. A detailed call sheet lists scene order, required instruments, backup props, and contact emails for every department head. Send it to quality assurance two weeks in advance; most QAs take ten business days to approve external camera gear and crew rosters.
Storyboards must integrate regulatory reviews. Every on‑screen claim needs backup in cleared IND paragraphs or peer‑reviewed data. We color‑code frames: green for generally accepted facts (“T‑cells patrol the bloodstream”), amber for company data requiring citation (“Our vector transduces 97 % of cells”), and red for prohibited forecasts (“This therapy will cure X”). Legal and clinical teams sign off on amber frames; red frames are rewritten or cut.
- Create location diagrams marking traffic flow, gowning zones, power outlets, and emergency‑shower sightlines.
- Check Lux levels. GMP lighting often casts green hue; bring adjustable Kelvin LEDs to match daylight and avoid post‑production color‑shift on white lab coats.
- Use dual‑system audio. Lab hoods and HVAC rumble over 60 dB. A lav mic plus boom isolation captures dialogue without contamination risk.
| Task | Owner | Days Before Shoot |
|---|---|---|
| Storyboard draft | Creative Director | 30 |
| Regulatory claim review | General Counsel | 24 |
| GMP access clearance | Quality Assurance | 20 |
| Equipment sterilization list | DP / QA liaison | 14 |
| Final call sheet | Producer | 5 |
If you plan to animate MoA sequences, lock 3D assets early. Molecular‑surface models take days to render at 4K resolution. Provide animators with PDB files and brand color guides at least four weeks out. Ensure an export‑test clip passes color‑blind accessibility and matches your approved data exactly.
Production & Post: Capturing and Crafting the Biotech Story
Shoot days move fast; every minute costs gowning materials, overtime, and potential process disruptions. Call the crew 90 minutes early for safety briefings and contamination protocols. Use a stripped‑down footprint: a Canon C70 or Sony FX6 on a gimbal, LED panels with battery packs, and sanitized lav mics. DPs should wear scrub suits color‑coded to distinguish them from staff—a QA favorite because it avoids cross‑role confusion.
We shoot in sequence to minimize gear moves. Start with B‑roll: centrifuge spins, cell flasks shaking, QC assays beeping. B‑roll sets the context and can run under voice‑over, so missing a shot later hurts pacing. Then film hero interviews. Stand principals in soft, wraparound light and maintain shallow depth of field to blur background clutter. Keep takes under 90 seconds for each answer, because memory cards are cheap but scientists’ time is not.
Data‑visualization overlays often rescue talking‑head monotony. Film a scientist pointing at a ghosted chart, then mask in the chart during editing. Ensure footnotes appear for two seconds longer than legal requires for promo slides; we standardize at 7 seconds for readability. Use Adobe After Effects with the Extendscript Toolkit to auto‑generate citation callouts based on a JSON file, reducing manual typo risk.
- Record room tone for 30 seconds in each location to smooth audio edits.
- Capture 10 seconds of 120 fps slow‑motion for pipette depression; audiences love tactile science.
- Use a BRAW or S‑Log3 profile to retain dynamic range for sterile white labs and contrasting dark equipment.
| Scene # | Description | Framing | Key Data Overlay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03A | Cell bank thaw | Macro, 60 fps | “Master cell bank – ISO 9001” |
| 07C | Scientist interview | Medium, 24 fps | Waterfall chart of AE profile |
| 12B | Vector purification | Wide gimbal roll | Yield: 99 % purity |
Post‑production begins with a radio edit—just audio tracks arranged by narrative order. Screen this to legal and investor‑relations before color grading to avoid expensive visual alterations later. Once approved, move to picture lock, sound design, and color grading. Grade to match brand palette: cool blues for oncology, warm neutrals for regenerative medicine. Mix audio to –14 LUFS for web compliance, adding a low‑shelf cut to kill HVAC hum.
Finally, generate multiple cuts: a two‑minute hero film, a 30‑second social teaser, and 10‑second motion snippets. Embed burned‑in captions because 80 percent of LinkedIn videos play muted. Export SRT files in English plus any trial‑country languages to meet IRB localization requirements.
Distribution, Measurement, and Compliance: Ensuring Reach Without Regulatory Blowback
Distribution starts with a gated landing page. Host the hero film above the fold, followed by separate CTAs for investors, clinicians, and patients. Integrate HubSpot forms so each viewer path triggers a tailored nurture sequence. We A/B test thumbnails—microscope close‑up vs. smiling patient—and usually see a 12‑percent lift in click‑through with human imagery.
For social, prioritize LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) for B2B reach. Upload natively instead of sharing YouTube links; native videos grab autoplay and algorithm juice. Schedule three posts per week for the first month: hero film Monday, behind‑the‑scenes Wednesday, data‑clip Friday. Tag KOLs, conference hashtags, and disease communities. On average our biotech clients reach 8.7× baseline impressions during launch month with that cadence.
Quantify success through a metrics funnel. Top: 3‑second views. Mid: 50‑percent completion. Bottom: CTA clicks and form submissions. Pull numbers into a Tableau dashboard nightly. Map conversions to pipeline stages—viewers who watched 75 percent and downloaded a deck become MQLs. Pass them to business development for follow‑up within 24 hours. Our data show hot‑hand effect: deals sourced within one day of high engagement close 18 days faster.
- Set content‑expiration policy. Phase III companies must archive every video and edit log for two years for potential FDA advertising reviews.
- Add disclaimers: forward‑looking statements, trial status, and IRB numbers. Format in high‑contrast sans‑serif for ADA compliance.
- Caption patient segments with alias if HIPAA authorization limits identifying details.
| Metric | Target Week 1 | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Landing‑page views | 5,000 | 5,420 |
| 50 % video completion | 35 % | 38 % |
| Investor deck downloads | 120 | 138 |
| Trial interest forms | 60 | 54 |
Iterate after 30 days. Trim slow scenes, swap thumbnails, and test vertical formats for mobile. Keep a change log; FDA scrutinizes version history for promotional materials. When repurposing clips for conference booths, strip forward‑looking claims and replace with peer‑review citations.
Conclusion: Lights, Camera, Breakthrough
Bringing biotech to life on screen requires more than lens choices and editing chops; it demands narrative discipline, SOP‑level planning, and a distribution plan bonded to business goals. When you map science to emotion, choreograph GMP‑safe shoots, embed compliance at every frame, and link view metrics to the deal pipeline, video stops being sizzle and starts driving tangible outcomes—funding rounds, trial enrollment, and talent recruitment. Follow this playbook and your next film will speak to hearts and regulatory audits alike.
Need help scripting, shooting, and launching a brand‑video strategy that meets FDA guidelines yet moves investors to sign term sheets? contact the Emulent team, and together we’ll turn your breakthroughs into blockbuster stories.
