When prospective students begin their college search, gaining a sense of campus life at their schools of interest is a top priority. Environmental videos serve as windows into the student experience, portraying the essence of a place through captivating audiovisual storytelling.
A successful environmental video for higher ed enables viewers to envision themselves within an academic community, aiding in their decision-making process. For applicants who are unable to visit a campus in person, these videos are often their only immersive glimpse of an institution, emphasizing their critical role as enrollment marketing assets.
When Shave's Boston video production team produced the following two videos for Architectural Resources Cambridge, Inc., the goal was to showcase some newly-redesigned facilities at both UMass Amherst and Johnson & Wales University:
Here are some tips for creating environmental videos:
A mix of shots. In order to display the beauty of a space and render it more lifelike, be sure to incorporate a variety of high-quality b-roll shots into your production plan: i.e. closeups, panning wide shots, aerial drone shots, and medium action shots of people and activities using a gimbal. When paired with well-composed interview footage, this type of varied b-roll paints the picture of your campus and all it has to offer.
Emphasize architecture. Built environments profoundly affect the mood of a place and can serve to amplify a school’s educational mission. It’s important to work with the client to identify key pieces of architecture that they’d want prospectives to be aware of.
Multiple voices. If narration is needed, ideally you will interview at least a handful of people to get your ideas across through carefully selected sound bites. Work with the client to identify diverse voices that will tell the story in an articulate way, and serve the creative aims of the video.
Inspirational tone. Though the exact call-to-action may differ depending on the goals of a video, viewers should above all feel inspired by what they see. This is achieved through thoughtful selection of which activities and programs to feature, as well as a music track that underscores the visuals.
In this example of a looping hero video (no sound) for Mount Holyoke College’s website, we partnered with their internal creative team to identify locations and activities that reflect that school’s dynamic and diverse community:
If there are core facilities or architectural elements that highlight your school’s values or demonstrate your programmatic offerings, why not create some location-specific videos that show this off and have the potential to attract more applicants?
Click here to explore more of Shave’s higher education video work.