University of Melbourne, Faculty of Arts: postgraduate program series

The brief

The Faculty wanted a video for each postgraduate program in its Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, to show prospective students what the course offers and who it suits. It began in mid-2023 with 10 programs. The Faculty then kept extending it: social edits for an always-on campaign and a retargeting campaign in early 2024, the full suite of 21 programs from April 2024, and later ten-second reels and short YouTube ads for a selection of programs. Every video had to sit within the University’s brand.

What I did

• Made the Master of Development Studies first, as the template. Its interview questions, running order and look set the pattern for every program after it, from why the field matters to who the course suits. It was written into a style guide for crew joining later shoots, and refined as the series grew.
• Planned each shoot to yield more than the first video needed: a 30- to 45-minute interview with each contributor, then a matching block of B-roll, scheduled where possible so contributors were filmed together rather than alone.
• Ran and shot 77 interviews with academics, students and alumni over 40 filming days.
• Tracked every cut through post-production, client feedback, budget and music licensing. A camera and location log stopped interview setups repeating between programs, and a shared library of campus B-roll kept the series looking consistent.
• Gave the Faculty a shortlist of four or five soundbites for each social edit, which kept reviews focused and left the final choice with them.

Outcome

Each time the Faculty added a format or a program, the new edits could be cut from footage already filmed rather than reshot. The series grew from 10 programs to 21 within a year, then kept adding formats for another two. It held together through five successive client leads and a University rebrand, which we handled with the brand team as the new guidelines developed. The Faculty now has a library to draw on: program videos, social edits, versions without graphics or music, and licensed B-roll it can re-cut whenever its templates change.

“They manage the perfect balance of collaboration and expert advice.”

Strategy, audiences, campaigns and approvals: Faculty of Arts marketing and University Communications and Marketing. Production: Latitude Video Production (opens in new tab).