Transylvania County Schools

Brevard, NC

Media Type: Conference Presentation, Promotional, Fundraising
Client or Agency: Transylvania County School System
Producer: Kevin Smith, TCSS in collaboration with Heath Cowart
Creative Concept: Kevin Smith in collaboration with RDP Team
Camera: Canon Cinema Cameras
Editing: RDP Collaborative Editing Process on Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Adobe After Effects CC
Location: Brevard, Transylvania County, NC

When Kevin Bryan Smith, the Community Relations Coordinator for the Transylvania County School System brought us an idea for a video project about the teacher of the year it sounded like a fairly simple video. Instead, it was one of the most heartwarming and moving projects we did all year. When we met these teachers and got to know them, we were touched by the depth of their talent and dedication to their students. Teaching was not just a job for them. It seemed to be what they were meant to do and they took personal responsibility for the well being of their students.

They are not just teachers. They are advocates, coaches, confidants, and friends adapting their roles to fit each student. We are grateful for the chance to meet these great people and gain a new appreciation for what they bring to our community.

We are also proud to have been a part of such an effective video. The award-winning video is set apart from standard school system communications in that it highlighted the teachers, the true hero of our kid’s education experience. While originally intended to shake-up an annual event, the video has gone beyond its original intentions and reached thousands of students, parents and friends who otherwise, would not have been able to get this wonderful perspective.

We wanted to celebrate our teachers of the year by opening up windows into their classrooms, and hearing their thoughts about serving their students. A video project was the perfect medium, and we couldn’t have asked for a better result than what we achieved with Real Digital Productions. Heath and Melinda helped us plan every aspect well in advance, with a sensitive and thoughtful approach that took our ideas and turned them into something really special. It was a great experience for us and our subjects, the principals and especially the teachers who typically don’t like being on camera at all! Heath’s approach put everyone at ease, which helped them open up and find expressive words that cut right to the heart of why teachers and schools are so beloved in our community. Every aspect of the process expressed our vision perfectly: from picking camera angles, setting the mood, and capturing B-roll that cast everyone in a beautiful light, to truly expert editing that brought out our message in every sequence. They helped make recording sessions enjoyable for nearly 20 distinct subjects, and found a perfect blend of music and effects to weave nine distinct schools into a unified whole that showed our teachers for the caring professionals they are. We started out making a video, and found more stories than we can share in an entire year’s time thanks to our collaboration, I hope we can repeat this project again for many years to come.

Kevin Smith

Schools-Community Relations Coordinator, Transylvania County Schools

Kevin Bryan Smith with the Best of the Best award from the annual Blue Ribbon Awards hosted by the NC Schools Public Relations Association. The Teacher of the Year video also won the Gold Medal award.

Results

Engagement: This video, in all its forms, has been shared on Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms. It reached thousands of parents, students and friends.
Public Relations: The community was able to get a peak inside the classroom and learn about how passionate and dedicated these teachers are to their students. This public relations tool succeeded in connecting the community to the classroom in a way that was never possible before.
Awards: TCS was awarded the Gold Medal and Best of the Best at the annual Blue Ribbon Award Ceremony hosted by the NC Schools Public Relations Association for this video.
Lifespan: This video has been circulating for almost a year and has not lost any steam. It will continue to be a major player in the TCS engagement strategy.