BRIEF
Yarm Prep School wanted a promotional film that articulated its core values, as well as showcasing the diverse range of opportunities on offers . It wanted the film to provide potential parents and pupils with a sense of the spirit of the school, to encourage them to book a visit.
CONCEPT
Choosing a school is a decision that’s increasingly made by children as well as parents. Therefore, setting the right tone and mood for both parties was crucial. A successful film would motivate decision making by helping both audiences feel something positive about the school. We had to create a careful balance between delivering information and inducing real emotion as well as providing plenty of “that could be me” moments. We decided to write a poem, narrated by the voices of many children, that explored their character and aspirations, while demonstrating visually how they could achieve those ambitions at Yarm Prep School.
CREATE
The poem we wrote was well received by the school and we worked together to establish which activities and lessons at school would best illustrate each ambition or characteristic. We planned our shoot carefully, to pack in as many activities as possible and filmed over 2 days on site with many children. We also recorded a number of them reading the poem. In post-production we edited these voices along with the relevant pictures and set them to stirring music. The pictures we shot were slowed down and graded for dramatic effect. The result was an aspirational film that provided a really rounded picture of the Yarm School offer.
CONNECT
The film is now the focus of the main webpage of the prep school where it appears to be doing its job well. Open days have proved more popular since its publication and applications have increased.