Industry: Education
Duration: Yearly since 2024
The Challenge
East Midlands Academy Trust's schools serve very different communities, and the trust needs video for all of them: to attract staff, to show prospective parents what each school is like, and to bring families into the trust's biggest event of the year, the EMAT Olympics.
The Olympics is a large, multi-week event that needs filming across several days, three separate video outputs, live streaming, big-screen feeds, drone footage and fast turnarounds.
In 2026 there were two new challenges on top of that. Olympic Day had to be moved twice: first because of extreme heat in June, then because of heavy rain on the rescheduled date. And EMAT wanted to replace its primary schools' digital prospectuses with short videos in time for the autumn open days.
How We've Helped
EMAT Olympics 2026
- Filmed the Torch Relay across ten schools, with guest athletes, and had it signed off within days.
- Produced a highlight film of the Ability Games.
- When the original Olympic Day was called off for extreme heat, carried the big-screen booking over and lined up a new live team for the new date. When heavy rain moved the event indoors to Kettering with a day's notice, the plan moved with it.
- Ran a three-camera live team (a roaming camera with the presenter, a roaming action camera and a wide) streaming the day to YouTube, with a big screen on site and a dedicated camera for the highlight film.
- Delivered the first draft of the Olympic Day highlight film within five days. It was signed off with no revisions.
School Prospectus Videos
- Produced short films for six primary schools to replace their digital prospectuses.
- Spent half a day filming at each school: the headteacher, the early years lead, pupil soundbites and everyday b-roll from the classroom and playtime.
- Delivered a captioned website film of around two minutes for each school, plus a vertical cut for social media, scheduled around each school's open day.
- Re-edited where parental consents changed at the start of term, keeping the right children out of shot.
Recruitment Video Series
- Produced brief, impactful videos to attract the right candidates by highlighting the benefits of working at each school, overlaid with relevant footage.
- Delivered vertical versions for social media ad campaigns and landscape versions for EMAT's websites.
Ongoing Collaboration & Impact
- Filmed EMAT Cup football highlights and a media training day in May 2026.
- Kept regular feedback loops going to adapt as EMAT's needs evolved.
- Built up a library of footage the trust can reuse where needed.
The Results
- Almost 1,400 views of the Olympic Day live stream, even after two date changes and a last-minute move indoors.
- An Olympic Day highlight film signed off with no revisions. Joni Ager, Head of Communications: "We're very happy, Josh, no revisions from us!"
- Prospectus videos for six primary schools, shared on EMAT's channels ahead of the open days.
- A standout recruitment video series, helping attract staff across the trust's schools.
- A strong ongoing partnership, now in its third year, with more video projects on the horizon.
Building a Lasting Partnership
From One-Off to Ongoing: What began as a high-impact live event has become a long-term collaboration across events, recruitment and admissions.
Expanding Our Services: In 2026 we added live streaming and school prospectus videos to our event and recruitment work.
Adaptive & Trusted: When the weather moved Olympic Day twice, the plan moved with it. That kind of reliability is why EMAT keep coming back.