I'm Back + Great YouTube Idea: Graduation Time Lapse Video

Well friends, I've tasted the fruits and let the juices drip down my chin... the "Summer of Joe" is officially over, and it only just now officially turned summer. Go figure. A two-week European boondoggle followed by a 10-day SoCal/Grand Canyon whirlwind tour - life was pretty good to me this past month. It wasn't so good for this blog, but hey... you get what you pay for, amirite? My goal is to get back to regular daily posts, starting today!

I only just returned yesterday (actually today as I write this, but thanks to the magic of the internet this won't be posted until Monday... no thanks to my lousy website host that doesn't let me schedule posts in advance - SO ANNOYING!) so I haven't had much time to peruse the latest social media offerings from all my brilliant colleagues out there, but since it's been commencement season it only makes sense to post about a trend that has really picked up this year: graduation time lapse videos!

This isn't a new idea, but it's becoming increasingly popular and is, all things being equal, a pretty easy way to make something really cool and special. There are LOTS of examples out there, but here are a few different ones that run the gamut from no-frills to super high-end production value. 

If you know of a cool example of a graduation time lapse video, please comment with a link or tweet it at me @SMforColleges

North Carolina: Just the Facts, Ma'am 

This entry from UNC is a good example of a basic time lapse video. Stationary camera in one location, sped up and set to music. A video like this is about as easy as it gets, and requires only a standard camera and the most basic of video-editing capabilities. Even though it lacks the production value of some of the examples that follow, it's still pretty darn cool.

Georgetown: Integrating Social Media

This example from Georgetown has a really neat way to incorporate all the social media excitement that surrounds commencement, in this case including Tweets from students, alumni, etc. The time lapse itself uses a few different stationary cameras and sets it to music. Like the example above, it doesn't require a huge amount of video-editing capability, though adding those Tweet graphics is way beyond what I'm capable of doing. (Of course, I really suck with video.) I especially love the call to action at the end, encouraging the new alumni to stay connected. That's a very nice touch.

Portland State: Production Value to the Max

Portland State University really ups the ante in the production-value department in this one, with a full-fldged cinematic feel. A video like this is not for amateurs, what with the sepia tone, motion graphics, slow mo, etc. Adding all the facts and figures is really cool, and helps keep the momentum going for the video - even two minutes can start to feel a bit long in this day and age, but you never lose your interest watching this. Really love the links at the end to several other commencement- and PSU-related videos. This can be done pretty easily using YouTube's annotation feature, and is an awesome way to drive more views to other videos.

Notre Dame: Incorporating Audio

Technically not a time lapse, though similar in feel, but I wanted to include it because this video does an excellent job of including audio from the commencement ceremony itself. This gives it a much different feel from the above examples, and does a nice job of stoking feelings of pride and nostalgia in alumni, parents, etc. Notre Dame did well in selecting the audio snippets too - what could have been a bit ponderous and stuffy (I mean, what are graduations but ponderous and stuffy) is instead uplifting and inspirational. Like the Portland State example above, a video like this is necessarily left to the professionals and also requires an HQ audio recording of the ceremony.

It's nice to be back blogging on social media in higher ed... hope you enjoying checking out these examples!