Fairholme Academy

Music department film and social cutdowns

Fairholme Academy's music department had a problem most schools would envy: brilliant teaching, a full set of instruments and not enough pupils signing up for lessons. The head of music wanted a film that would change that, shown at the Year 7 welcome evening and shared with families online. We spent a day in the department filming real lessons, and made a short film and a set of social cutdowns that let the pupils do the persuading.

Services

Department film
Social cutdowns
Filming on site

Let the pupils make the case.

We filmed lessons exactly as they happened: a Year 8 guitarist working out a riff, a Year 5 pianist playing her piece for the first time without stopping, the noise of a band rehearsal at lunch. There is no voiceover. The pupils explain in their own words why they started and what they would tell someone thinking about it, which is more convincing than anything we could write for them.

A young pianist concentrating on her piece while her teacher points to the next bar.

Cut for the welcome evening and the weeks after.

The main film runs for two minutes and plays on the big screen at the welcome evening. We also cut four short vertical edits, one per instrument, for the school's Instagram and the parent newsletter in the weeks that follow, when families are deciding what to sign up for. Each one ends with a simple next step, so interested parents know exactly who to contact.