In an ideal world, colleges and universities would be working hard to make graduation for the Class of 2021 a special one – planning in-person commencement ceremonies and class parties. However, we’re still fighting a global pandemic so these are still not ideal times.
Last year, colleges and universities scrambled to find ways to celebrate the graduating class virtually. This year we have a year of experience to know what works and doesn’t work to make virtual graduations meaningful and impactful for the graduates, families and faculty.
We work with schools across the country to host their perfect ceremony, whether that’s virtual (live or pre-recorded), in person, or a combination of all. Video is the best way to bring all the elements of a commencement together and share it with family, friends, and other remote audiences.
A lot of schools are turning to Facebook Live and YouTube Live to host their ceremonies. But even though the event is broadcast live, a virtual commencement doesn’t actually need to be a live event. We can pre-produce a virtual graduation ceremony and then schedule it for people to tune in and watch. With messages from family, interactive speeches and pre-recorded diploma ceremonies, you can still give a personalized graduation to your graduates.
We know you’re probably wondering, what does virtual graduation even look like? Here’s what the virtual ceremony looked like for the 129th Commencement of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine:
So, what can this look like for you? We’ll tell you.
Translate Your In-Person Ceremony to the Screen
Start by sitting down with your team and deciding which elements of your in-person ceremony that you want to translate to video:
- Play the National Anthem Movie-Style. Many school graduations start with the National Anthem. With our help, you can have a recording artist sing the National Anthem by phone and then we can incorporate the performance into your virtual commencement video. We can also find an appropriate recording to use as an alternative.
- Be Inspired by Cell Phone Speeches. We can work with all the people lined up to give speeches at an in-person ceremony and help them record their speeches with their cell phones. Then we can optimize the cell phone video to enhance the quality and even add a music track to help draw out the emotion even more – an added bonus of a virtual graduation video since speeches are not normally accompanied by music during an in-person ceremony.
- Re-imagine the Diploma Ceremony. Each student can still get their moment to shine and be recognized with an on-screen montage that includes their name and picture or other footage. Family members and the students themselves will be able to watch it and celebrate, over and over.
- Family Members Can Even Participate. Graduates can even enjoy recorded congratulatory messages from family, friends, favorite professors, or anyone who wants to give them a virtual high-five.
Create a Virtual Graduation Video Timeline
The time to plan a virtual commencement is now, since most schools have graduation ceremonies in May or June. Use video to bridge the virtual gap and make the moment special for the graduating class of 2021. Talk to us today about your project.
Ready to Plan and Produce Your Virtual Graduation Video?
When you need an experienced, dependable, and creative video partner for your virtual commencement video, count on New Pace Productions. Since 2007, we’ve helped our education clients with higher education video production that educates, engages, and inspires their audiences.
Find out how our simple four-step process for producing high-level virtual commencement video content can work for you – and don’t forget to take a look at our featured work.
