Top 5 School Videography Production Companies
Updated for 2023!
Are you searching for the best video production company or agency for school videos? One that will understand your message and help you communicate it to prospective students in an engaging and professional manner? We’ve made a top 5 to help you make the right choice for your needs.
When trying to find the right video production company for your school, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Global reach
First is of course; will they be able to reach your school with their camera equipment and deliver the product? Because if not, then there is no point in hiring them. You’d need to look for either a local production company, or a company that has a good international network and a global team. For international schools, the very best solution for this would be to find a production company with a centralised back office that oversees the quality of the productions, but with a big network and local teams all over the world, to obtain maximum flexibility. This way, you’ll get more for your money and you’ll rest assured that the company of your choice will always be available wherever you need them to go.
High Quality Storytelling
Secondly; do they deliver good, personalised stories that really capture your school's ethos, and the attention of your audience? The main reason for producing a school video is bringing information about your school to life, and reaching your target audience in a more engaging way. The basis for a good video is the way the story is told. It needs to get prospective families emotionally hooked, give them an idea of what it would feel like to attend your school - while also convincing them of your strong academic resources and curriculum. It needs to show them how students can flourish at your school; what their journey looks like while they develop into well rounded individuals and international citizens.
High Quality Visuals
Thirdly; what is the production quality like? When trying to convince prospective families of your high quality education, the production quality needs to match that as much as possible. High resolution, strong imagery and compelling video formats are key. This is where many schools fail when choosing for the cheaper options or producing videos in house - and it will truly show in the results for your admissions. Things like appropriate video lengths for different social media platforms, good colour grading, graphical animations and branding are all elements that contribute to the level of quality - and thus were all taken into consideration when writing this top five.
Deep Understanding of USP’s in Educational Market
And lastly; does a production company understand the educational market? A wider range of experience and portfolio can be great, but in the case of school videography we prefer production companies that are truly specialised in education. It is a niche market, and it can be difficult to work with children on set or within the boundaries of a school environment when you’re not used to it. It also just makes the whole process easier when you work with people that, right off the bat, understand you when talking about your usp’s within the context of the educational market. Taking it a step further; when a production company truly understands what prospective parents and students are looking for, they can even help identify missing or under-exploited USP’s. This can help bring your whole marketing plan to the next level, whereas a company with less experience in this particular market will most likely be limited to working with the input you give them.
So, based on these four criteria, we have compiled the following list:
1. Pupil Productions
https://www.pupilproductions.com/
The best production agency for (international) school videography we could find has to be Pupil Productions. They tick all of the boxes we’ve established with our criteria; they have a good, global network and have produced video’s for international schools all over the world. They have strong storytelling skills and a wide range of video formats to choose from, so you’ll always find the right fit for your personal story, no matter what you’re trying to convey. Their production quality is very consistent and professional. And last but not least, their team is specialized in the educational sector; they specifically work with people who’ve had previous experience with education or marketing schools, which makes it much easier to work with them. As a bonus, this company also offers virtual tours, photography, app development and marketing services. All you’d need as a school, really.
2. World Schools
https://schools.world-schools.com/video-production/
In a good second place we’ve put World Schools productions. As the name tells you, they too specialize in media and marketing services for schools around the world. They not only produce videos for schools; their website is also a platform that helps parents choose the best school for their child. They clearly have a good understanding of the market and the different schools in it, and how they differentiate themselves. But we found that the production quality of their videos is not as good as some of the other production agencies, and that is really important for getting a high return on investment. The storytelling is a bit more formal than we would recommend, because it is harder to get viewers emotionally hooked.
3. Eyefilm
https://www.eyefilm.co.uk/
On the third place comes Eyefilm; a company that produces high quality videos with nice animations - but with a heavy focus on the visuals instead of communicating usp’s and other information. Their videos are more of a mood image than documentary style stories like ours. This is good to hook viewers into wanting to know more, but we have found that a much more effective way of using videography is to optimally use it for what it does best; tell stories in an engaging way. You will get the most value out of your videography when it gives the viewers interesting insights into academic life at your school on top of giving them a feeling for the ambience. We’d recommend using visual-driven videos, like these great ones from Eyefilm, as a second layer to gain extra attention to the more story-driven ones.
4. Jolt-media
https://www.jolt-media.co.uk/promotionalschoolvideo
In fourth place, we’ve selected Jolt-media. They are a jack of all trades company, focussed purely on education. You can trust them with your entire marketing plan, from websites and videos to the production of flyers and signs. That is really great if you want a partnership with a company, who get to know you well and can help you figure out what you need. But the downside of this company is that they only produce in the UK. The production quality could also be better in our opinion, especially with regards to image quality.
5. Tailored media
https://tailoredmedia.co.uk/category/charity-video-production/
And last on this list we’ve chosen Tailored media. The most important thing for producing a school video is knowing the industry and being able to work well with children. While the production quality of tailored media is pretty good, probably better than number 4 on this list, they don’t seem to be as experienced in the field of education and instead are focused on a wider field of clients. They only have 1 school video and that one is 20 minutes long - which is not really suitable for this market. But if you are really clear on what you want with your video and are able to communicate this clearly with the producers, you’d still have a great experience with this production company, because they do make great videos, with good looking visuals and strong storytelling.
Bonus - Small Films
https://schools.smallfilms.com/
A production agency based in the UK, Small Films has a service dedicated school video production for independent schools in the UK. A relatively new entry into the school videography market, Small Films nevertheless uses leverages their film and creative experience to produce some attractive traditional videos for the British school market. If you’re in the UK and want a solid video, these guys are worth talking to!
There you have it; our picks for the top 5 best production companies for school videography, plus a bonus sixth contender! We hope this was helpful in choosing the right company for you, so that you can get the videos you’ve been looking for. Feel free to contact us any time if you have any questions, or take a look through our website for more inspiration on school videography and other marketing tools.