Video and Photo Crews for Universities

Where an outside crew helps

Many universities have a capable in-house media team, and a lot of routine work belongs with it. An outside crew is most useful when the team is already fully booked or when the work happens away from campus. Examples include an alumni reception overseas, a researcher's fieldwork or partner site, a recruitment fair in another city, or a multi-track academic conference needing more cameras than the team has.

Local crew makes these jobs simpler, because you are not sending staff on a trip for a two-hour event. You approve the videographer or photographer's portfolio first, and the brief can include your existing style guide, so the material can sit alongside your own.

Common briefs

University communications teams serve a lot of different departments. Here are some briefs that could fit Fame Crew's existing services:

• Academic conferences: keynotes, panels, breakouts and a highlights film.
• Research stories: academics explaining their work, with footage of the setting.
• Leadership and fundraising: interviews with senior figures, donors or alumni.
• Alumni events: photography and short interviews in cities far from campus.
• Business school and executive education content, including testimonials.
• Campus and staff photography, including headshots for departmental pages.

Filming on a campus

A campus is a mix of public and private spaces with many people in charge of them. Before the shoot, check who approves filming in each location, including laboratories, libraries and halls that may be managed by separate departments. Term dates can help or hinder: an empty campus is easy to film but may feel lifeless, while a busy one looks better but needs more care around people's privacy.

Consent needs particular attention. Students and staff in a lecture may not expect to be filmed, and some may have good reasons not to want to appear. Your institution's data protection and safeguarding teams should tell you what is required, including for any participants under 18. Common approaches include advance notice, a clearly marked area for those who prefer not to appear, and signed release forms for anyone identifiable. Put the agreed approach into the brief, and your crew will work to it.

Making research understandable on camera

Researchers are experts, but not all are used to explaining their work to a general audience in two minutes. Spending ten minutes before the camera rolls to agree the one point they most want viewers to remember can make a big difference. Ask them to explain it as they would to a curious friend. You can always have the full version recorded too, as a longer cut for a specialist audience.

Get the supporting footage planned as well. A researcher talking in an office tells only part of the story. If the work involves equipment, a site or a collaborator, try to film it. Find out what can be shown, particularly when the research is unpublished, commercially sensitive or subject to a funder's rules. Crew and editors can sign an NDA where needed.

Procurement and paperwork

Universities often have formal purchasing rules, and they tend to take time. We are used to working with strict procurement and finance departments, and we can provide documents such as Certificates of Insurance. A fixed quote, usually sent within about 2 hours, Mon-Fri, gives you something to submit. Tell us early if you need multiple quotes, a purchase order or a particular supplier form, since these can affect your timeline. Flexible invoicing such as Net-30 is available for approved corporate partners, so ask about what your institution needs.

Delivering files your team can use

If your in-house editors will finish the work, raw footage can be sent through a secure link or on a hard drive straight after the shoot. If you want edited assets, standard editing packages include two rounds of revisions, and you can add captions and vertical versions for student-facing channels. Subtitles matter for accessibility too, so mention your institution's requirements in the brief.