Overview

On April 17, 2024, St. John Media worked on location at Abzena’s Bristol, Pennsylvania facility to create a comprehensive collection of video and photography assets for the company’s website and marketing materials.

Abzena works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to support the development and manufacturing of complex biologic medicines. That gave Joey St. John and Kiernan Gallagher an opportunity to bring St. John Media’s corporate storytelling approach into a highly specialized scientific environment.

The goal was to capture both the people behind the organization and the sophisticated facilities, equipment, and processes that support Abzena’s work.

Executive Interviews & Corporate Storytelling

A major component of the production centered around interviews with Abzena executives.

St. John Media created a professional interview environment on location, capturing conversations that could help communicate the company’s expertise, capabilities, and work to clients and partners.

Those interviews were supported by extensive B-roll captured throughout the facility, allowing the finished content to move beyond traditional talking-head interviews and visually bring viewers inside Abzena’s operations.

The footage was ultimately used to create a polished corporate highlight video, while also providing Abzena with additional material that could be incorporated into its website and broader marketing efforts.

Filming Inside a Controlled Biopharmaceutical Environment

One of the most distinctive aspects of the project was gaining access to Abzena’s controlled laboratory and manufacturing environments.

Capturing these spaces required Joey St. John and Kiernan Gallagher to follow the facility’s gowning and safety protocols and work while wearing appropriate cleanroom personal protective equipment (PPE), including protective garments, masks, safety eyewear, and other required coverings.

Working within those restrictions added another layer to the production process. The team still needed to operate cameras, compose shots, manage equipment, and capture cinematic footage while respecting the protocols necessary for working inside a controlled biopharmaceutical facility.

That access allowed St. John Media to capture authentic footage of the laboratories, specialized equipment, employees, and scientific environments behind Abzena’s work rather than relying solely on exterior shots or staged corporate imagery.

Corporate Photography & Professional Headshots

Photography was another major component of the production.

In addition to capturing environmental and facility photography, St. John Media produced professional headshots of Abzena team members and executives, giving the company a consistent collection of portraits for use across its website, marketing materials, professional profiles, and corporate communications.

The combination of headshots, environmental photography, executive interviews, and facility B-roll gave Abzena a much broader library of assets from a single day of production.

Bringing Complex Science to the Screen

The Abzena project demonstrates the importance of understanding how to work within specialized environments.

Rather than simply arriving with cameras and filming what was available, Joey St. John and Kiernan Gallagher had to adapt their production approach to the safety and operational requirements of an active biopharmaceutical facility while still producing polished, engaging imagery.

The finished collection combined corporate filmmaking, executive interviews, professional headshots, facility photography, scientific B-roll, and brand storytelling into a cohesive library of marketing content.

For St. John Media, the project was an opportunity to take highly technical work that typically happens behind controlled laboratory doors and make it visually accessible—giving Abzena professional content that could introduce audiences to both the people and science behind the company.