DALLAM SCHOOL - PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

  • Jon King

Dallam School is based in Milnthorpe, on the edge of the Lake District. Their school has a strong reputation in the area, and attracts pupils from all over the world to their international boarding-house.They wanted to show off what makes their school special, and attract new pupils to apply to join them in year 7.

THE BRIEF

The video was to form a prominent part of their online open evening, and it needed to demonstrate the caring nature of the school environment, as well as its high standards of education.
Lots of our education clients want to produce a very formal piece-to-camera video, often presented by the headteacher. Dallam agreed that a more personal, human approach would have a much greater impact.

OUR PROCESS

Prior to filming, we worked with the school’s leadership team to identify the key message that they wanted to communicate. We also selected pupils and staff who might feature in the interviews, and activities and lessons we could film for the b-roll.
We filmed over the course of one day, with a 4-person crew. During the morning, we captured footage of lessons and activities around the school. We filmed with a gimbal and high-frame rate, to give the footage a slick, smooth look.
We also captured drone-footage of the campus, which shows off its beautiful location on the edge of the Lake District.
In the afternoon, we filmed the ‘sit-down’ interviews with pupils and teachers. The interviews were conducted by our director, who asked questions in a way which brought out a natural, conversational response from the participants.
We then edited the footage to form a clear structure, which is engaging and easy for the viewer to follow, and covers all the key messages that the school wanted to get across.

OUTCOMES

The finished video was used to spearhead pupil recruitment for the next academic year and the response was really strong. The school used the video as part of their online open evening, and throughout their digital marketing.
The video touches on the individual stories, experiences and feelings of the people portrayed. The video creates a connection with the audience, using a variety of voices (pupils, sixth-formers, and teachers) to give a real, human feel to the video.
The school’s senior leadership were delighted with the results. After completing this video, we were invited back to produce videos for their Sixth Form and their Teaching Alliance.

“ FANTASTIC . I’M REALLY PLEASED WITH IT! I THINK IT IS A REALLY LOVELY REPRESENTATION OF THE SCHOOL.”

– Rob Surtees, Assistant Headteacher, Dallam School

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