A student recruitment video should show what it is actually like to study with you: the classrooms, what current students are doing, where graduates go, how approachable the teachers are. A full version of two to three minutes plus short vertical cuts of 30 to 60 seconds covers most uses, and it can often be edited from footage the school already has.
When students and parents choose a school, they look at very concrete things. However complete the prospectus, it can't match thirty seconds of video that shows what studying here feels like. A recruitment video doesn't need to look like a feature film. It needs to be real and clear, so that the right students finish watching and want to visit.
Decide who it's for
- Students themselves care about classmates, clubs, whether the courses are interesting and what they can do afterwards.
- Parents care about the teaching staff, safety, further study and jobs, and where to find information on transport and fees.
- Transfer students, adult learners and international students care about flexible courses, class times, language and accommodation.
Each audience needs a different tone, length and place to show the video. One video that tries to speak to everyone at once usually leaves each viewer feeling it isn't about them.
A common structure
- Opening: one representative image that tells the viewer where this is and what makes it different.
- Learning in action: lessons, practical work, experiments, projects; students actually doing things.
- People: a line or two from a current student or a graduate is more convincing than a narrator describing the school.
- Campus life: clubs, events, halls of residence, the canteen.
- Next step: admission dates, open days, the website or how to apply.
Length and versions
- Full version: two to three minutes, for the website, admissions talks and education fair stands.
- Short social versions: 30 to 60 second vertical videos, each on one point, such as a practical course or one former student's story. See turning one video into ten shorts.
- Stand loop: education fairs are noisy, so this version has to make sense without sound. See looping videos for a trade show stand.
Preparing material
- Start collecting now: lessons, field trips, exhibitions of student work, competition wins. Ask teachers or the student council to record them as they happen and put everything in one cloud folder.
- Interviews: in a quiet classroom, with a phone or camera on a tripod, and the student talking to the person asking the questions rather than to the lens. For sound, see recording clear audio without a microphone.
- Drone and campus footage: if you have any, send the original files as well.
- School details: the correct spelling of the school and department names, the logo, the admissions timetable and the website address.
Before students appear on camera, the school should obtain consent from their parents or from the students themselves. We don't offer filming; we specialise in editing, post-production and AI video. Filming can be done by your own team or a crew you hire, and the original files then come to us.
Frequently asked questions
Does a recruitment video have to be newly filmed?
Not necessarily. Many schools already have recordings of exhibitions, events and lessons. Sorted, with title cards and interviews added, they can become a recruitment video. You can send us your existing material first for an assessment.
Can subtitles be added for international students?
Yes, and a separate English version can also be made. The school can supply the translation, or you can note in the request form that translation is needed.
How far ahead of recruitment season should we start?
Start collecting material two months before the admissions talk or education fair, hand it to the editor a month before, and leave time for internal approval.
Other kinds of school and public sector video are covered under school and government video production.
