Background

Newcastle University is a highly-ranked Russell Group institution with a global reputation for academic excellence, research power and graduate employability. With students from more than 140 nationalities and campuses in Singapore and Malaysia.

The Brief

We were invited to film and live stream the University's graduation ceremonies in Winter 2022. The ceremonies were to be held over 5 days at the University's impressive Kings Hall, where around 1,500 students would be graduating. Each ceremony takes a similar format including; the procession, opening address by the presiding officer, the students graduating , a closing speech by a student orator and closing processions. The ceremonies are filmed and live streamed not only to allow students to connect with their friends and family not able to attend the ceremonies in person, but also as a live video relay to a nearby lecture hall to provide overspill capacity for the event.

Our Approach

To sufficiently cover this event we made use of 3 cameras. This included; an operated camera, to capture speeches, audience reactions and the students graduating. A robotic camera, to provide both wide and detail shots of the platform and platform party. And finally a static camera to provide a majestic view of the impressive Kings Hall. For sound, we took an audio feed from the in-house PA system along with making use of our own ambient microphones to provide a sense of presence in the auditorium. We were keen to increase the production value of their ceremonies and opted to provide on-screen graphics, this included opening and closing slides, which made use of social media tags to increase engagement, along with lower third name straps for the speeches.

The Result

20 ceremonies successfully streamed across the internet and live relay flawlessly provided. The client was extremely happy with the service we provided, including some innovations on their previous supplier including the use of graphics and improved camera angles.  The streams on YouTube generated a high level of engagement too.