Parrs Wood High School : Promotional Film
Client: Parrs Wood High School
Project: Prospectus Video
Location: Didsbury, Manchester
Deliverables:
1x 90 sec promotional film
25 high resolution 4K screen grabs
20+ Behind the scenes stills
Dead Pixel did:
Pre-production, location scouting & logistics
Shot list planning
Filming
Directing
Editing
Quote of the Shoot:
“You can do how many different sports here?”
Brief
Off the back of a very well-received video project for Parrs Wood Sixth Form College, we were tasked with creating another very different video for the high school. The purpose of the film is to educate families of year 6 primary school students who a looking for their next step. Unlike the college video, the target audience for this project shifts more towards the parents who are a bigger part of the decision when choosing the right school - the pace, shots and setups had to reflect this.
After a meeting with the marketing team and school headteacher, we developed a clear understanding that they sought a modern, ‘non-corporate’ feeling video that would stand the test of time in 3-5 years. They also wanted to show the school’s values, diversity, facilities and scale.
How we did that was up to us…
Production
We were already clear on the site and facilities available at Parrs Wood so could spend more time planning, concepting and developing ways to share the high school story.
We shot this ad over 2 days in July 2021 after some meticulous planning and organising. The school were incredibly accommodating with pulling pupils out of lessons to feature in the video (they couldn’t have been happier) and acquire parental permissions based on the profiles that we requested for each scene. This meant that we had full control over the setups, lighting and direction without the need to interrupt an actual lesson.
We interspersed the various classes and extracurricular activities with a selection of smiling headshots. We felt this very quickly showed the diversity of pupils, teachers and support staff that attend and work at Parrs Wood.
Post-production
After we finished the filming, we spent a few hours interviewing the most passionate staff members. This acted as the voice-over that helped add depth to the brand film and drive the story forward. Editing, grading and sound design then took place in our in-house edit suite.
Due to the intricate planning and storyboards being signed off before turning up to the shoot, every decision-maker knew exactly what to expect and the on-brief first draft was delivered with no surprises. With only one amend to be made (we love it when that happens) the project was signed off and ready to be used in the school’s prospecting and marketing for the coming year, all within a two-week turnaround.
