When we first came to the USA from Israel, SAR was one of our first clients in the private Jewish high school space. SAR is unofficially known as the Harvard of Jewish day schools; one of their hallmarks is that they do many things differently than everyone else, whether in terms of education, the way the building was designed (there are literally and figuratively no walls), or their marketing. This has allowed us to work together with SAR to push the limits of what can be done differently with what most video production companies make into run-of-the-mill Open House films, which - in the wrong hands - can end up looking like more of an infomercial than a compelling film that would get kids excited about high school.
Our in-depth research into how families decide on high schools for their 8th graders revealed that at the high school level - particularly in co-ed schools - the students themselves make the final decision about which school to attend, rather than the parents. Based on this research, we created a campaign more relevant to a younger audience. One of our ideas was to implement an Emoji theme and infuse it into the Open House film. That film was shown at SAR’s Open House.
When it came time to create a new promo, we decided on a thematic upgrade that reflected an upgrade in technology: Animojis. The Emoji and Animoji themes match the culture and character of SAR; and between the two films, it tells a story of the evolution of the school, and how it keeps up with the latest in technology, as well as with what matters to its students.
This is our more recent, animoji film for the SAR Open House:
And this is our original emoji film for the SAR Open House:
During the pandemic, to reflect the seriousness of the times, we updated the film by removing the animoji aspect and revealing the real people speaking. We had originally filmed using our RED camera for the video footage, and we used an iPad to create the animoji animation. So we reverted to the normal footage, and kept the structure of the film the same.
When you have a forward-thinking partner like SAR High School, it's a lot of fun for a production company, because we get to let our creativity loose and come up with some out-of-the-box ideas. You can show how different your school is by presenting an Open House film with a theme that appeals to your young audience. This is important subliminal messaging for students, because it communicates that your institution understands their needs. And that's what they're looking to see in your Open house film - that your school is the right match for them because you speak their language.