Earlier this year, we had the pleasure to work with Nanyang Technological University to produce a corporate brand video incorporating creative storytelling.
NTU Singapore is a world class research institution that aims to create leaders that influence societal impact through multidisciplinary education and research. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship brand drives this goal forward while creating inventions that are designed into practical solutions that promote Singapore’s growth and improve society’s well-being.
This article is written by the Producer of the NTU corporate video project, Faris Kamis.
Note: Some content in this article may be enhanced or paraphrased by using AI writer software.
University Brand Video Production Team
Our team consists of media professional with expertise in video production from pre to post. Consisting of videographers, video editors, director, project coordinators and graphic designer. Our portfolio is focused on corporate clients. And our works ranges from internal communication videos, brand story videos, virtual & hybrid events and corporate photography.
The Video Brief
The NTU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Brand Video is aimed to highlight the programme to all NTU undergraduates and graduates, encouraging them to bring their ideas to life while pursuing an ambition and goal that defines each undergraduate as a leader in their respective fields.
In addition to bringing across the goal and aim of the programme, the video needs to also showcase the various facilities that are available to all despite their course of study. A psychology student will have access to engineering and science facilities to work on projects, and the programme encourages each aspiring entrepreneur to collaborate together to not only bring their ideas to life but improve upon the initial concept.
The Challenge
While the aim of the video is to bring across key information in a visual manner, a story still needed to be told in the brand video. Together with the client, we believe that only through a story, told from the perspective of an undergraduate, can we bring forward an inspiring and emotionally driven story that is aimed to drive viewers to brave the challenge of being an entrepreneur.
Therefore, a narrative short story needed to be the style of the video.
As we geared towards the short story approach, we came across another challenge. Casting was a big challenge for us as the client wanted the video to have the tagline ‘Brought to you by students, for students’ we begin to realise our casting options are limited to graduates and undergraduates from NTU.
Instead of focusing our search, we in fact, broadened it. We shared our casting call beyond that of casting groups in Singapore to NTU students who wish to try their hand at acting. We collaborated with the client in the casting process, combining our reach and resources and were able to put together a cast of entirely NTU graduates, undergraduates and lecturers – a combined group of experienced and aspiring talents.
Our Concept
The video follows Wei Zhou, a psychology undergraduate who is struggling to find a purpose after graduation. He aims to make a difference, affecting society in a meaningful manner and drive change in a positive direction. In this quest for purpose, he comes across the Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme.
The video proceeds to bring across key highlights of his journey through the programme. From his first day in class to the eventual submission of his entrepreneurial idea, we follow Wei Zhou as he meets fellow aspiring entrepreneurs, successful alumni who are running their own businesses and support staff from the Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme – all key driving motivators that encourages and reinforces Wei Zhou’s belief in himself to be able to find purpose and make a difference in society.
The narrative is driven by Wei Zhou’s voiceover as we go through his journey in the initial stages of the programme. As this is to be an episodic series, the video ends at Wei Zhou’s submission of his idea and his journey will be explored further in the later episodes.
Site recce & Planning
As the video requires us to showcase the facilities and collaboration between graduates of different disciplines, we needed to bring across key different areas of NTU. This led to another challenge for the team as the NTU campus is relatively large and the key locations within the campus are spread out across.
Due to the distance between the key location and that NTU is built on a hill, it was not conducive to travel on foot between locations. Therefore, the crew needed to do multiple loading and unloading trips throughout the two days of shoot which took up a lot of time.
However, the site recce allowed us to work an optimal path that reduces the traveling time.
We also had to plan in accordance with the availability of the respective NTU graduates and undergraduates that are to appear in the video. With the exception of Wei Zhou, who was available throughout both days, the rest only had a couple of hours or so for their respective scenes. While it appeared difficult at first, we were able to work out a strong schedule together with the client.
Filming & Production
The filming took over 2 days, both going well into the 12th hour mark. Despite the long hours, the crew and talents were driven to create the best video they could. The creative process during production was the key priority as we didn’t want the video to simply appear as if this is a journey across NTU but rather Wei Zhou’s emotional journey to find purpose.
The director worked closely with each and every talent, growing their confidence and delivery in performance, despite some of them having little to no experience in acting. We collaborated with the client well to ensure that each location and talent is on time and on schedule to avoid any expected delays.
Due to the physical demands faced by the crew, we made sure there was plenty of time for set up. While we were chasing for time in some scenes, we didn’t compromise on the setup and made sure that each and every shot is lit, framed and designed to the very best of our abilities.
The Final Product
Director/Writer: Jackson Ho | Producer: Faris Kamis | Director of Photography: Melvin Mak | Gaffer: Alden Thng | Grip/Camera Assist: Felicia Liu, Zhi Yanlin | Sound: Eugene Ng | Production Assistants: Calista Kit, Chloe Tng | Makeup Artist: E-van Yeung | Editor: Jackson Ho
The editing process took some time – roughly about 2 weeks. The pace of the video was the key objective. We needed to make sure that none of the scenes were too quick and also that we didn’t hold onto moments for too long that would slow down the energy and pace of the video.
Again, it was vital for the story to bring across Wei Zhou’s drive and emotions in the video. We want to inspire viewers and not turn them away from entrepreneurship. We are happy to say that the video is well received, not just from a creative viewpoint but also from the messaging and goals of the video.
We hope the video inspires more to take up the challenge of becoming entrepreneurs and we believe that we have taken a positive step in that direction for the first episode of this series.
University Corporate Video Production Team
We hope this article has provided quick insights in media production. Our team is ready to work with you. Leverage on our combined expertise for your media production. Our core expertise are in the following fields:
- Corporate video production
- Live streaming for virtual & hybrid events
- Corporate photography
- Event photography & videography
For a profile of our team, visit About us to learn more.
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Some projects are straight-forward while others can be complex, drop us a message with your project requirements. Our project coordinator will get in touch with you to provide a price quotation.
