iGEM | Creative Video Production
At iGEM, I worked as a Video Producer producing large-scale visuals for live events and scientific explainer videos for one of the world’s largest synthetic biology organizations, screened during the annual Grand Jamboree in Paris, attended by more than 4,500 participants from around the world.
Splitting my time between Paris and Budapest, my work focused on translating complex scientific ideas into emotionally engaging narratives for both live audiences and online platforms through concept development, scriptwriting, and end-to-end post-production.
Each year, the production team delivers approximately 30-40 videos for the event. There are 4-5 flagship videos, 7-9 longer form videos and up to 20 transition videos.
Story & Brand Videos
These projects focused on communicating the vision, values, and cultural identity of iGEM and the broader field of synthetic biology.
The challenge was balancing scientific accuracy with cinematic storytelling accessible to broader audiences.
iGEM | The Heart of Synthetic Biology
Role: Scriptwriting, Editing
This video introduced the broader vision of synthetic biology: a field that applies engineering principles to biology and has the potential to transform manufacturing, medicine, agriculture, and sustainability.
I developed the script and edited the piece to communicate complex ideas through concise narration and emotionally driven visuals.
Process
I wrote the first draft of the script which was then extended by our creative team. Once finalized, I edited the video, added sound effects, commissioned the voice over and it premiered at the Grand Jamboree 2024. After the event I adapted the video into a 16x9 online version.
2025 update
The video received an update in 2025 that added a middle section that didn’t exist before. The updated video featured a different voice artist due to scheduling constraints.
Outcome
The video was praised by stakeholders and the board. With the rewrite in 2025, the video became a core piece of storytelling of iGEM and the field.
iGEMers - The Heart of Synthetic Biology
Role: Concept Development, Writing, Editing
A manifesto-style brand video centered around the people participating in iGEM.
The goal of the piece was to define the mindset, optimism, and ambition of the community through a more emotional and identity-driven format inspired by classic brand storytelling campaigns.
The video aimed to articulate the values and identity of iGEM through the format of a manifesto.
Process
- created a pre-visualizer that helped the scriptwriting and storyboarding.
- refined performance with voice over artists
- adapted the video to event screen and online formats
Outcome
The video premiered at the first day of the Grand Jamboree as the opening video of the event. The video talked to all iGEMers present, students, professors, researchers, entrepreneurs. The audience responded enthusiastically during the screening, establishing the tone for the Opening Show.
Live Show & Stage Production
2024–2025
Each year, the iGEM Grand Jamboree transforms part of the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles into a large-scale scientific expo on synthetic biology.
The show videos were created specifically for ultra-wide LED stage installations and designed to support keynote moments, award ceremonies, and thematic transitions throughout the program.
These projects required balancing cinematic pacing with the practical constraints of live event timing, stage production, and unconventional screen formats.
The Biobrick Trophy | 2025
Role: Concept, Editor, Cinematographer, Sound Designer, Color Grading, VFX
I collaborated closely with the President and CEO of iGEM, Nemanja Stiepovic and the Director of Production, Orsolya Szantho. I also collaborated with Glitch Studio and Causa Studio during the production process as well as the on-site production crew.
This video was designed to transform the award ceremony into a show that is memorable and cinematic. The video tells the story of the Biobrick Trophy (The Grand Prize of the Jamboree), and how it arrives to Paris each year. In the video, it is accompanied by metaphorical representations of the values that are carried with it, pictured as glowing bricks.
An additional comedic sequence featured the iGEM mascot, Gemy, arriving to Paris by boat, and then appearing live at the venue.
The Value Bricks
Large glowing Lego bricks were made for the shoot that represented each value. These were 3D printed and were rigged with LED lights. The story is simple: these bricks / values are brought to Paris each year and unite at the Grand Jamboree.
The live elements
As the video was playing at the live show, the bricks lit up at a specific time and the video feed went live. This created an on-site spectacle. (visible at 04:54 in the embedded video)
In a surprise video that was played after a staged dramatic intermission, the mascot of iGEM, a giant microbe called Gemy brings the Biobrick Trophy to the Porte de Versailles venue. (visible at 06:15 in the embedded video)
Challenges
- Filming the bricks and locations
3D printed and rigged with LED lights, the bricks were custom-built for the video and the live show.
The filming took place in Paris and the shots were set in different parts of the world. Through extensive location scouting our team was able to identify locations through Paris that convincingly represent different parts of the world. This was no easy task given how characteristic of a city Paris is.
Combining these locations with aerial stock footage of different cities created the effect of the bricks being all around the world.
- The lights and color correction
The lights that were emitted from the bricks had to be compensated for in post-production. Some of the colors didn’t show up on camera or they were not color accurate and these issues had to be fixed in post.
- VFX
The titles of the values were added to the bricks in post. Stabilization was need on many shots without using tracking points.
Outcome
This video was by far the most successful video at the event. It turned the show into a spectacle and resulted in standing ovation from the audience.
Explainer Videos
2024 | Co-Writing, Editing
These videos introduced thematic “villages” within the iGEM competition, highlighting developments in healthcare, sustainability, environmental science, and biotechnology.
The editorial challenge was synthesizing large amounts of team-submitted scientific material into concise narrative segments. Each video followed a consistent structure to be more understandable for mixed audiences:
Structure
- visual intro with sound effects
- short spoken intro
- team information
- closing narration
- cinematic closing sequence before handing over awards
The projects combined archival footage, team-submitted media, stock material, and motion graphics into unified visual narratives. I searched for fresh-looking stock footage and royalty-free music that wasn’t yet overused. I went through hundreds, if not thousands, of videos of projects that were made by teams to find the best cutaways. The footage also varied significantly in frame rates, color quality, and editing, requiring extensive normalization in post-production.
2022 | Direction, Writing, Editing
Role: Concept, Script, Editing, Storyboarding, Sound Design
This year, I was the only person on the video team. I worked closely with the CEO on writing the script and with another editor for editing the final delivery.
We set out to create 9 + 3 videos that talked about the main challenges that iGEM competitors were tackling using synthetic biology: Climate Crisis, Environment, Bioremediation, Food and Nutrition, Diagnostics, Therapeutics, Biomanufacturing, Foundational Advance and Software and AI.
Three videos were transitions between the 3 acts of the final day award show: Planet, People, Technology.
The goal was to incorporate three elements:
- what each challenge represents
- how is synthetic biology involved
- efforts that iGEM teams make to tackle these challenges
Challenges
Synthetic biology is a relatively niche scientific field. There are only a few examples for its mainstream adoption. For the people working with synthetic biology the concepts are obvious, yet they are complicated enough that they can deter the casual observer to learn more.
Translating highly scientific language into a script that could carry the runtime was an obvious challenge. Sometimes this required the tone to be more cinematic so that the narration didn’t turn into definitions.
Choosing visuals was another challenge. I wanted to feature as many teams as possible, however many teams submitted videos that were simply not usable. For cinematic visuals, I turned to stock video. I selected clips that looked great and were rare or new uploads.
Sound design played a core role in making the videos as cinematic as possible.
I developed the visual style by incorporating influences from Ron Fricke films Samsara and Baraka, especially the famous food sequence.
Outcomes
These videos were widely celebrated. The leadership and the board loved it, as it was a new form of communication for the company. It was a whole new experience for the audience - it was not another science presentation but a cinematic video. I received a personal commendation from the CEO in the form of a trophy.