Pre-Covid, parents visited prospective schools to choose the right one for their child. Parents needed to discover what the school looked like and what it offered.
They needed to be there in person to get a ‘feel’ for the school. They needed to get under the skin of the school and understand why it was the perfect school for their child.
Videos make the viewer FEEL something
The ‘feel’ is the most important aspect of your school promotional video – you have to make the viewers ‘feel’ a connection to your school.
There are so many different ways to create your school video. You might want one led by you, or maybe you want the students to be the stars of the show. Do you want a very emotive piece or more of a show-around virtual tour?
While your words are important, it is the collaboration between the script and the visuals that bring your school, its values, ethos and uniqueness to life. Planning your school video carefully with the top tips below
How to plan your school video
- Choose your key message. You should be able to summarise your school in one sentence. This is the core message that will be threaded through your school video. Often the school motto can be a good starting point to spark your creative ideas for the school film.
- Less is best. We know headteachers really like words – they like lots of words. But remember a school video brings your words to life. If a picture paints a thousand words, just think what a school video does! Keep it succinct. We talk at about 130 words per minute, on a video, it should be closer to 110 words per minute. People can re-watch a school video in their own time, repetition wastes valuable word count.
- Prepare. If you are talking to camera, then practice, practice, practice. We know headteachers can happily stand before hundreds of parents and school children to speak, but put a camera in front of them and it is not so easy. The more you practise and the more you come across as natural and warm.
- Filming takes longer than you think. Don’t try and pack in too many different shots into the day. Getting really great footage takes time to craft and remember your school students are not actors so it might take a little while to get it just right.
- Choose the right locations for shooting. Bright, clean classrooms, a busy PE lesson, colourful art lesson or an exciting science lesson. The more visually appealing the lessons, the more impactful your school video.
- Choose the right people. Whether it be student or staff, any making their acting debut need to be confident and willing.
- Listen to the experts. We really are on hand to take your ideas and transform them into a school video that you can be proud of and that doesn’t break the bank.
For more information and top tips about how to have the perfect school video, drop us a line and let’s see what magic we can create!
film@carmeljane.co.uk
Even the BBC is covering this new normal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/education-54726133
See more of our school videos here https://vimeo.com/showcase/7499714
