Great Social Media Idea: Graduation Recap Video

Going to be a quick post today... got home late from seeing the Phantom of the Opera, which - I must admit - was pretty darn strange and not quite my cop of tea. I do love Jesus Christ Superstar though, especially the hippie 70s movie version. (What's the buzz, tell me what's-a-happenin', what's the buzz, tell me what's-a-happenin'!)

ANYWAY... here's a quick graduation recap video we made and released in the days following the ceremony. We definitely went for a bit sappy on this one, but hey - it's not that often you have an opportunity to make people cry, and dammit... tears are a sign of success. My over-arching theme for this video was less "important" people on stage and a lot more actually important human moments. 

The good shots in this and the editing were done by my uber-talented coworker Adam Guggenheim. The bad shots in this are courtesy of me.

Lots of colleges do graduation recap videos, and they often look beautiful but lack some of the raw emotion of the day. My goal for this one was to try and capture as many "raw" moments as possible, like proud parents beaming and clapping, students waiving to their families, the joy and pride of the graduates, and lots and lots of hugs. Both Adam and I shot *a lot* of footage that day and had a lot to go through over the next couple of days, but I think in the end it was worth it... this video definitely does pack more of an emotional punch than a lot of other similar examples.

When we finally released it on social media, it went gangbusters... it's close to 4,500 view on YouTube and Facebook combined, more than 1,000 likes/shares, and lots of really great comments, particularly from parents. We also e-mailed this out, along with photos and other pertinent links relating to graduation, to the graduates and their parents on the Friday following commencement, which helped spread it further.

It made for a busy week after graduation just when I was ready to take a break after a frenzied month leading up to the big day, but in the end it was worth it... I'm quite happy with how this one turned out, and I think it's something that any college could make and be proud of, since it's the type of content that really makes people feel something, which at the end of the day is what will stick with people long afterward.