We wanted to share with you a solution we found to showing the full program that a school actually offers, while still staying current (as in 2020-current with masks, plexiglass partitions, etc), and even if your Open House is via Zoom.
This is one solution we found, for Ma'ayanot High School in Teaneck, NJ.
Ma'ayanot's Open House was pretty early in the fall, so we used past footage that we had filmed in previous years, and then showed, toward the end of the film, the transition to this year, in which people and events look very different visually, with masks, social distancing, smaller cohorts, and plexiglass partitions.
Since Ma'ayanot's Open House was virtual this year, we included in the film a "tour" of the school so that prospective families could get a sense of the building, and the robust resources that the school has to offer (tangibles like a huge gym, a new library, a beautiful beit midrash, and a hi-tech STEM lab that includes a 3-D printer, etc.)
Our goal here was to show the huge range of extracurriculars, spirit and volunteer programs, and academics that the school has to offer, while showing the changes it has made during the pandemic. In this case, we distinctly separated pre-pandemic footage from contemporary scenes, so as not to confuse the audience, and to convey that the school takes the necessary health and safety precautions.
The typical Ma'ayanot experience includes high-level academics, strong Torah and gemara learning, and many clubs, sports, and opportunities for chessed, and trips. We wanted to make sure that the plethora of opportunities came through in the film. The spirit and energy of the school, carrying out its mission, is still alive and well even with all the health and safety precautions, and THAT is what we tried to show throughout the film.