Make Your Graduation Even More Special With A Video –

Graduation Blues –

College graduation announcements indicate that it is that time of the year when you are going to be leaving your college campus for one last time. As a fitting tribute to your college life and all the emotions associated with graduation, it would be appropriate to make a video montage of the graduating batch, or a compilation of all your favourite memories in the last few years you spent there. Luckily, InVideo has a video editing app, free to use by anyone, that’ll serve the purpose.

Tips for Making an Amazing Graduation Video –

While your creativity plays a major role in making a graduation video, here are a few guidelines to help you get the perfect video. This can be for videos of yourself when you graduate, or for seniors or others in your college. There is a separate section on the visual content to discuss some aspects in more detail.

Keep it simple –

While it is difficult to capture four years of college life in a video clip, the video must not be too complicated or too long. A graduation video is a time capsule, so make sure you sift through all the photos and clips that you have and assemble only the most important ones.

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Add Music –

Graduation videos can include mockumentary clips, with students talking directly to the camera. But if the clip just showcases a collection of photos or other clips without sound, it is always effective to add a suitable song to play in the background (for example, Graduation by Vitamin C or Forever Young by Jay-Z). A popular but appropriate song accompaniment is likely to garner a better response than a video that has only visuals.

What clips/photos to include –

It is a good idea to chronologically arrange all the clips and photos you have, to get a sense of how far you have come. You can show memorable moments from academics, extra-curricular activities, birthday celebrations, events you organised… there are really no criteria to what goes in the video and what doesn’t, as long as it covers all the important checkpoints in your college life.

The quintessential hat-throwing moment is mandatory in any graduation montage, as is the moment when you get the certificate, degree or diploma. Candid photos and bloopers that were taken on the day of graduation will also be nice additions.

What to say in the video –

If you are going to add text to the video or a recording of yourself speaking into the camera, tell your journey through college as a story; this will add a personal touch as well. You can use a graduation quote as a punchline, either one of your own or that of someone else’s (for example: “Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead” – Nora Ephron).

Presentation –

This is the big moment: after all the behind-the-scenes work, this is when you present your video to your friends, family or perhaps at a college function. Depending on the size of the audience, decide whether a TV screen would do or if you need projectors and speakers. If you used someone’s help to make the video or if you did it as a team, mention all the names of the team members in the closing credits.

Visual content –

Getting the visual content and presentation right in a graduation video is the most important part, and all the other techniques and effects only enhance this underlying work further. Here are some tips to keep in mind when working with the visuals.

• Choose good-quality photos and clips

Most of the photos or videos you select for the final compilation are likely to have been taken on a good phone or digital camera. Ensure that all of them are clear and load quickly (don’t take up too much space).

However, you may want to use some memorable photos which are unfortunately of poor quality. You can use some photo or video editing software to try and improve the quality, aspect ratio and other parameters before adding them to the video. Also, keep in mind the size of the screen in which the final presentation is going to be displayed, and select the picture sizes accordingly (for reference, the standard TV is 640 x 480 pixels).

If you are planning to shoot videos live, make sure you have good control over the lighting and the ambience. Indoor and outdoor settings will have different requirements for lighting, exposure, white balance, and so on.

• Make the most of the software

Video editing software applications, like InVideo’s software, can help you put together the content you have and also give smooth transitions effects. But it is worth spending time to get techniques like zooms, slow-motion and pans right, which can greatly enhance the viewing experience. You can get creative and add elements like countdown, title cards, and so on.

You can also control the speed in which the video plays. Each image should be displayed long enough for people to understand what’s being shown but not too long that they lose patience. If there’s a song playing in the background, see if you can sync the song with the video such that appropriate lyrics are played with the appropriate visuals. If there is a time limit for the entire video, adjust the lengths of each segment accordingly.

• Text and typography

Not all your viewers are likely to be familiar with your college environment or events. It is generally a good practice to add a text caption for every image or slide to explain what event happened at which point in time. You can also write quotes, facts, lesser-known details etc.

Your video is ready!

By now, your College graduation announcements video should be in good shape, with all the images, text, audio and video in place. Play it a few times before actually presenting it to an audience to check for glitches or goof-ups and whether it fits within the time constraint if any. When everything is set, get ready to present your work!

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