(Disclaimer: The video is produced in German.)
In early 2013 I was contacted by the coordinator of the school union of eastern Aachen to produce a corporate movie. These three individual schools are threatened to be closed due to lack of pupils. To counteract the closure, the headmasters decided to try out a concept of cooperating to grant their pupils better learning possibilities.
The main goal of the video was to catch the interest of possible pupils and their parents. Thus, getting them to attend one of the three schools: GHS Aretzstraße, Hugo-Junkers-Realschule or Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium. With the idea of showing the product during open house days, we decided on creating a short video of a maximum of four minutes with a bright and fun atmosphere. Further, we had to make sure that viewers understand the difference with the three individual schools, though them working together closely.
For potential pupils, we integrated short statements by one pupil of each school. They were the best missionary for the school union we could imagine. It was a lot of fun working with them and hearing what keeps them going and I think viewers will share that feeling.
Lessons learned
It was quite the challenge to work in a school environment. We underestimated the noise generated by hundreds of pupils, even in class. Additionally, trained teachers are not necessarily the best on-camera speakers. Also, working in a creative area it seems natural to respond to requests in a matter of hours or a day. When teachers are on school vacation, we could not expect to get a response until they were available again.
Team
- Julian Peters (Concept, Steady Cam, Audio)
- Christian Schuhmann (Concept, Camera, Editing)
- Christoph Bresler (Concept, Editing, Post Production)