Schools, colleges, universities, training organisations and edtech businesses often need video to support decisions that are closely linked to recruitment, reputation and stakeholder confidence. That may mean helping prospective students understand a school or university, giving parents a clearer sense of the environment or supporting staff and fundraising communications.
A campus film, student testimonial series or department showcase can be one of the first detailed encounters a prospective student has with a school or university. It gives them a more immediate view of the people, setting and opportunities than written information can provide on its own.
Square Daisy brings relevant transferable experience in recruitment video, documentary-style interview production and event coverage. This is particularly useful when an education video needs to feel credible and human, while still supporting a clear communications or marketing objective.
Types of video educational institutions commission
Educational institutions usually need to communicate with several audiences at once. Prospective students, parents, staff, employers, alumni, research partners and supporters will all have different priorities, so the most useful video is planned around the decision each audience needs to make.
Recruitment and student experience content
- Open day and prospectus films
- Student life and campus experience videos
- Student recruitment adverts for digital and social channels
- Virtual campus tours
- Department and course showcase videos
Open day and recruitment video can carry particular weight because it may influence whether prospective students and their families choose to visit, enquire or apply. The content needs to make the setting feel real, helping viewers picture themselves in the environment through the people, spaces and activity they see.
For school marketing video production, a short admissions film can introduce a school’s culture, facilities and day-to-day experience. A university department may need a more focused video that explains the teaching environment, specialist facilities and the reasons a course may suit a particular applicant.
Square Daisy’s experience in recruitment video production centres on helping people understand an organisation before deciding whether to apply. That same approach can help schools and universities give prospective students, parents and staff a clearer sense of the organisation, its people and whether it feels like the right fit.
Staff, community and fundraising communications
- Staff and faculty profiles
- Fundraising and alumni engagement content
- Internal communications for staff
- Training and onboarding videos
Fundraising content has a different purpose from student recruitment. It needs to give prospective supporters enough context to understand what is being funded, why it matters and why now is the right time to get involved. The GLF Schools Foundation fundraising campaign is a useful education sector video supporting that kind of appeal, where the audience needs a clear reason to connect with the cause before deciding whether to support it.
Educational software and learning platforms face a similar challenge in a different setting. Before a school, teacher or parent can assess whether a product is suitable, they need to understand what it does and how it may be used. Our Wordshark Online project reflects the need for content that makes an education-focused offer easier to assess, particularly where a written description alone may not show the product in context.
Whether the aim is to attract staff, strengthen alumni relationships, explain an education-focused product or support an appeal, the content needs to give each audience a clear reason to pay attention. It should make the next step feel understandable and relevant.
Event and explanatory content
- Graduation and event coverage
- Open day and conference highlights
- Award ceremony films
- Explainer and animated education content
Open days and conferences can generate useful material for future recruitment, stakeholder communications or social content. Graduation ceremonies and award evenings have a different role, marking personal achievement and shared milestones. Event videography can help education providers capture the value of each occasion, whether the focus is on informing future audiences or recognising a moment of collective achievement.
Some messages are not best communicated through campus footage or interviews alone. Where an institution needs to explain a learning platform, introduce a new process, support onboarding or break down a complex concept for students, staff or parents, educational animation video production can make the information easier to follow. It works particularly well when the subject cannot be filmed clearly, such as digital tools, step-by-step processes or ideas that need visual explanation.
The safeguarding and consent dimension
Filming in a school environment requires additional care, particularly where pupils under 18 may appear. Schools have specific safeguarding obligations around content featuring students, and any school video production company working on site needs to understand and comply with the institution’s agreed requirements.
This includes written consent from parents or guardians before filming, clear communication about how the footage will be used and the right for any student to decline to appear. No pupil should feel that participation is expected simply because a filming day is taking place.
The school should establish and manage its own safeguarding, consent and data protection arrangements, seeking appropriate professional guidance where needed. The production team can then work to the agreed approach, including approved contributor lists, permitted filming areas and clear information for students, parents and staff.
This level of preparation also helps the filming day run more smoothly. When students and staff understand the purpose of the content and what will happen, they are more likely to feel comfortable on camera. That supports footage that feels natural and representative of the school.
Student-generated content versus professionally produced content
Students and staff routinely capture and share video as part of school and university life. This can provide a natural view of an event or day-to-day activity, but it is not always suited to content that needs to shape an important decision.
Professionally produced video adds value when a school or university needs to make a strong, considered case to its audience and compete with similar providers for attention. This may include recruitment campaigns, major fundraising appeals, flagship prospectus content or video intended for paid media.
In these situations, the message, contributor interviews, visual approach and final edit need to work together. The aim is to give prospective students, parents, donors or staff a clear and credible understanding of what the school or university offers and why it may be relevant to them.
The same applies to internal content. A quick announcement may be appropriate when information is timely and straightforward, whereas material covering induction, procedures or ongoing development needs to be clear enough for staff to return to when required. Training video production can provide a structured resource for explaining that information consistently, without relying on every team or new starter receiving the same message in person.
University and school video require different approaches
Schools target prospective pupils and their parents or carers. Universities target prospective students aged 18 and over, alongside employers and research partners. These audiences have different priorities, so the tone, format and distribution strategy need to reflect the decision each group is being asked to make. This gives a university video production company a broader set of audience needs to consider.
For schools, video needs to give families a clear view of the environment, daily experience and wider community. Prospective pupils are often interested in friendships, activities and what an ordinary day feels like, while parents and carers are considering the setting, support and culture around their child.
Higher education video production benefits from a more targeted approach. Prospective students are assessing the university and what it offers them, while employers and research partners need information that relates to their own relationship with the university.
One broad film rarely answers each group’s questions effectively. Planning a range of content around the full stakeholder map allows the institution to communicate with greater relevance, using the right message in the right setting rather than relying on a single piece of video to do every job. University marketing video production UK projects often need this level of planning because recruitment, employer and research audiences engage with the institution in different ways.
The student voice principle
The most useful school and university video features students and staff speaking in their own words. The aim is not to make contributors sound like presenters or ask them to repeat polished claims that could apply to any organisation.
A pre-shoot briefing helps contributors understand the focus of the video and the themes they may be asked about. It should provide reassurance without turning the interview into a script. During filming, a relaxed environment gives people space to speak naturally about their own experience.
The edit should preserve that authenticity. A student explaining why they chose a course, how they settled into a new environment or what they value about their school can provide the practical context that a prospective applicant is looking for. A staff member can help explain the approach to teaching, support or professional development in a similarly direct way.
This is where documentary-style interview production can be particularly effective. The Technical Resources recruitment videos show how contributor-led video can help viewers understand an organisation through the people within it. The same approach transfers well to education, where prospective students, parents and staff need a more realistic sense of the school or university behind the prospectus.
Where first-hand experience is central to the brief, case study and testimonial video production can help shape content around a clear communication objective while keeping the contributor’s own voice at the centre.
Planning video around the education calendar
Education video projects need to fit around a calendar that is often set well in advance. Term dates, open days, graduation events and other key activity can affect when filming is practical, as well as the availability of students, staff and relevant locations. Planning around these points helps capture the university or school when it is active without adding pressure during already busy periods.
The project also needs to allow for the people involved beyond the day-to-day contact. Admissions and communications teams may review the message and intended use of the video, while safeguarding colleagues may need to consider contributor arrangements. Budget, procurement and internal approval requirements can influence the schedule too.
Starting early gives the institution time to align the brief, filming dates and review process with how it operates. It creates a clearer route from planning through to final approval, helping ensure the video is ready for the recruitment campaign, event or communications activity it is intended to support.
Discuss your education video requirements
Educational institution video production can support recruitment, fundraising, staff communication, events and student engagement when it is planned around a specific audience and decision. The format should be chosen for the job it needs to do, rather than simply because video is expected.
For projects that bring together several messages, stakeholders or audiences, corporate video production can provide a practical starting point. Student and staff interviews, event footage and training content can then be considered as part of a wider communications plan.
Talk to Square Daisy about educational institution video production that gives prospective students, parents and other audiences a clearer reason to take the next step.
