VIRTUAL GRADUATIONS™

We Provide Schools An Easy-To-Implement Solution To
Celebrate Your Graduation Ceremony

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AN EFFORTLESS VIRTUAL GRADUATION™ EXPERIENCE

Class of 2021

We help schools plan, record, produce, and execute virtual graduations. Our platform enables our parents, students, faculty, and their families to celebrate each graduate’s achievements.

For the Class of 2020 we delivered 100% of our Virtual Graduations on time for our clients – even with the shortened timeline caused by the pandemic. Getting started earlier this year will be key to maximizing the benefits our program offers, in order to deliver a spectacular program for your students, their families and your staff to enjoy.

84 west events

ABOUT US

With over 40 years of event production and over 10 years of webcasting experience. Our experts have the capabilities to plan, pre-produce and pre-record Virtual Graduations™. We also handle all the coordination and the distribution of the commencement to your virtual audience.

WELCOME REMARKS

Pre-Record and Live Stream
opening remarks,

STUDENT SPEAKERS

Showcase your student
speakers and leaders.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

Use our Royalty Free video version or use one your own student recording for the Virtual Graduation.

INTERACTIVE CHAT

Provided that your DOE allows it, Interactive Chat may be enabled during the stream of your Virtual Graduation.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Remotely bring in your keynote
and guest speakers

SOCIAL MEDIA

Share these special moments with
friends and family

OUR
PACKAGES

Select the package that best fits your graduation needs. Our team is ready with helpful answers whenever you need them! Regardless of what your question may be, we’ve got you covered.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PACKAGE
FOR YOUR GRADUATION

Designed for schools with 100 or fewer students.

Customized Workflow:

To insure a smooth and timely gathering of the assets required to create your Virtual Graduations™ we have created a custom workflow and accompanying documentation to simplify the process, making it easy for your school to organize and plan every element of your Virtual Graduations™.  We will help you make sure that everyone gets the recognition they deserve!

Live Stream/Recording Support Technician:

Our Support Team and documentation will help you with setting up recordings of Keynote speakers and presenters, as needed, insuring they look and sound their very best for the production.

Custom Branding Design:

We’ll create a custom screen branding design for each school that includes your school logo, school colors, mascots and any themed graduation graphic you’d like included.

Student Photos Embedded into The Virtual Graduation:

Our workflow is designed to help you organize your student’s yearbook, class photo or student ID photos so every graduate’s smiling face is displayed along with their name during your presentation of the graduating students.  We also provide you with templates to share with your student’s families to assist in capturing photos at home that can be used if no school photo is available.

Parent, Sponsor and Community Tribute Videos or ads:

We know that graduation printed programs offer the opportunity for ad space where parents can purchase space to offer their best wishes to their child or local businesses can thank the Class of 2021 students for their support throughout the year.  With our Gold Package, you will have 50 – ten second opportunities you can sell to families or sponsors.  Additional credits are available for $200 per 50 – 10 second clips.  The income of those “ads” will easily offset the cost for your Virtual Graduations™ production.  You may also select to simply have your school faculty and staff share kind words for their students.  We also offer a template that you can share for anyone making these videos to assist them in looking and sounding their best.

Graduation Video Custom Edit:

Virtual Graduations™ will present you with a fully edited video ready to be live streamed and embedded onto whatever platform you choose to share it on.  YouTube is our preferred platform as it offers the most security, scheduling and viewing options for your presentation.

Custom Graduation Download Link:

We will provide your school with a private download link that you can share with your students, faculty and families so they can cherish this History Making graduation for years to come.  Downloads are free of copyright restrictions for all to share.

AVAILABLE OPTIONS:

Virtual Graduation “disDANCEing” Zoom party:

One of our DJ & MC teams will host a “virtual disDANCEing” online dance party while our tech team remotely switches to scenes of your students, faculty and friends, also on the Zoom, dancing from their homes.  The Virtual Graduation Dance is recorded and uploaded for the school and the students to share along with a copy of the Virtual Graduation itself.

Portrait Photographer

Designed for schools with 200 or fewer students.

Customized Workflow:

To insure a smooth and timely gathering of the assets required to create your Virtual Graduations™ we have created a custom workflow and accompanying documentation to simplify the process, making it easy for your school to organize and plan every element of your Virtual Graduations™.  We will help you make sure that everyone gets the recognition they deserve!

Live Stream/Recording Support Technician:

Our Support Team and documentation will help you with setting up recordings of Keynote speakers and presenters, as needed, insuring they look and sound their very best for the production.

Custom Branding Design:

We’ll create a custom screen branding design for each school that includes your school logo, school colors, mascots and any themed graduation graphic you’d like included.

Student Photos Embedded into The Virtual Graduation:

Our workflow is designed to help you organize your student’s yearbook, class photo or student ID photos so every graduate’s smiling face is displayed along with their name during your presentation of the graduating students.  We also provide you with templates to share with your student’s families to assist in capturing photos at home that can be used if no school photo is available.

Current or Cap & Gown Photo of Each Student:

Lately we’ve heard that many students want the opportunity to wear their cap & gown for graduation.  Optionally, and if time allows, you may select to allow students to submit a current photo of themselves in their cap and gown instead of a photo that may have been shot earlier in the school year.  This may allow a more current look for the presentation. Our Photo Templates will assist with capturing this too.

Student Video Message:

Students will love recording a short (5-7 second) personal video to play after their name is read during the commencement.  They can record a simple thank you or a shout out to the school, faculty or the entire student body.  Last year this was mostly used as Tassel Turning videos of students in their Cap and Gown.  We also provide a Template for you to share with your students and their families to insure they looks their best! 

Year-In-Review Photo Montage:

In the custom workflow we set-up for you, you may submit up to 200 of the best photos of the 2020-2021 school year.   Include both Virtual and Live events your students participated in before and during virtual studies.  We will edit a custom photo montage set to music that your students will cherish forever as the memories of this history making school year!

Parent, Sponsor and Community Tribute Videos or ads:

We know that graduation printed programs offer the opportunity for ad space where parents can purchase space to offer their best wishes to their child or local businesses can thank the Class of 2021 students for their support throughout the year.  With our Gold Package, you will have 50 – ten second opportunities you can sell to families or sponsors.  Additional credits are available for $200 per 50 – 10 second clips.  The income of those “ads” will easily offset the cost for your Virtual Graduations™ production.  You may also select to simply have your school faculty and staff share kind words for their students.  We also offer a template that you can share for anyone making these videos to assist them in looking and sounding their best.

Graduation Video Custom Edit:

Virtual Graduations™ will present you with a fully edited video ready to be live streamed and embedded onto whatever platform you choose to share it on.  YouTube is our preferred platform as it offers the most security, scheduling and viewing options for your presentation.

Custom Graduation Download Link:

We will provide your school with a private download link that you can share with your students, faculty and families so they can cherish this History Making graduation for years to come.  Downloads are free of copyright restrictions for all to share.

AVAILABLE OPTIONS:

Virtual Graduation “disDANCEing” Zoom party
:

One of our DJ & MC teams will host a “virtual disDANCEing” online dance party while our tech team remotely switches to scenes of your students, faculty and friends, also on the Zoom, dancing from their homes.  The Virtual Graduation Dance is recorded and uploaded for the school and the students to share along with a copy of the Virtual Graduation itself.

Portrait Photographer:

Designed for schools with 300 or fewer students.

Customized Workflow:

To insure a smooth and timely gathering of the assets required to create your Virtual Graduations™ we have created a custom workflow and accompanying documentation to simplify the process, making it easy for your school to organize and plan every element of your Virtual Graduations™.  We will help you make sure that everyone gets the recognition they deserve!

Live Stream/Recording Support Technician:

Our Support Team and documentation will help you with setting up recordings of Keynote speakers and presenters, as needed, insuring they look and sound their very best for the production.

Custom Branding Design:

We’ll create a custom screen branding design for each school that includes your school logo, school colors, mascots and any themed graduation graphic you’d like included.

Student Photos Embedded into The Virtual Graduation:

Our workflow is designed to help you organize your student’s yearbook, class photo or student ID photos so every graduate’s smiling face is displayed along with their name during your presentation of the graduating students.  We also provide you with templates to share with your student’s families to assist in capturing photos at home that can be used if no school photo is available.

Current or Cap & Gown Photo of Each Student:

Lately we’ve heard that many students want the opportunity to wear their cap & gown for graduation.  Optionally, and if time allows, you may select to allow students to submit a current photo of themselves in their cap and gown instead of a photo that may have been shot earlier in the school year.  This may allow a more current look for the presentation. Our Photo Templates will assist with capturing this too.

Student Video Message:

Students will love recording a short (5-7 second) personal video to play after their name is read during the commencement.  They can record a simple thank you or a shout out to the school, faculty or the entire student body.  Last year this was mostly used as Tassel Turning videos of students in their Cap and Gown.  We also provide a Template for you to share with your students and their families to insure they looks their best!

Year-In-Review Photo Montage:

In the custom workflow we set-up for you, you may submit up to 200 of the best photos of the 2020-2021 school year.   Include both Virtual and Live events your students participated in before and during virtual studies.  We will edit a custom photo montage set to music that your students will cherish forever as the memories of this history making school year!

Parent, Sponsor and Community Tribute Videos or ads:

We know that graduation printed programs offer the opportunity for ad space where parents can purchase space to offer their best wishes to their child or local businesses can thank the Class of 2021 students for their support throughout the year.  With our Gold Package, you will have 50 – ten second opportunities you can sell to families or sponsors.  Additional credits are available for $200 per 50 – 10 second clips.  The income of those “ads” will easily offset the cost for your Virtual Graduations™ production.  You may also select to simply have your school faculty and staff share kind words for their students.  We also offer a template that you can share for anyone making these videos to assist them in looking and sounding their best.

Graduation Video Custom Edit:

Virtual Graduations™ will present you with a fully edited video ready to be live streamed and embedded onto whatever platform you choose to share it on.  YouTube is our preferred platform as it offers the most security, scheduling and viewing options for your presentation.

Custom Graduation Download Link:

We will provide your school with a private download link that you can share with your students, faculty and families so they can cherish this History Making graduation for years to come.  Downloads are free of copyright restrictions for all to share.

On Location Video Shoot As Needed:

For an additional fee, and where available, our professional video team will come to your school or a location of your choice to professionally record the video and audio of your presenters – while adhering to social distancing guidelines that may be in place.  We bring the studio lighting, a backdrop and all video and audio recording equipment required to create a professional video.

AVAILABLE OPTIONS:

Virtual Graduation “disDANCEing” Zoom party:

One of our DJ & MC teams will host a “virtual disDANCEing” online dance party while our tech team remotely switches to scenes of your students, faculty and friends, also on the Zoom, dancing from their homes.  The Virtual Graduation Dance is recorded and uploaded for the school and the students to share along with a copy of the Virtual Graduation itself.

Portrait Photographer:

In 2020, several schools had not yet taken their Class Photos for the school year before the pandemic hit.  For 2021, we are working with professional photographers that, like us, are members of the Professional Photography Association in order to offer portrait photography services to any school that may need photos of their graduates.  If you’d like, we can arrange to have a photographer, with the proper backdrop and lighting, come to your school or location of your choice to photograph any students and faculty you need images of for your Virtual Graduation.  Our photographer will provide you with the full high-resolution images and include complete copyrights to you and your students – including providing your students with a copy for their own use.  This service is priced by quote and will depend on the city and the number of students to be photographed.

Designed for Schools that can have outdoor Graduation Commencements

This year we are hoping to help more schools produce their Graduation Commencements either Virtually or in a Live Hybrid format.  To this end, we have produced a turn-key Graduation Commencement Package that will allow your school to hold your graduation on your school grounds or at a designated open space where we can set-up one of our Mobile Stages complete with everything needed to hold the perfect graduation commencement exercise while keeping socially distanced.

Staging:

We own and operate several portable stage trailers, the kind you see used at Music & Art Festival around the country.  We also belong to a mobile stage owners association, which allows us to produce your Live Hybrid Graduation Commencement in many parts of the country.  Our Stage Trailers set-up quickly and will be equipped with all the tools needed to produce your Graduation Commencement right inside ready to setup and operate at the location of your choosing. Our stages are all professional and very clean, allowing for a presentation commensurate with your image.

Sound, Video, Lighting and Power


Sound:

Each trailer will be equipped with a complete Music Festival quality Line Array Sound System providing the clearest of audio suitable for crowds from 100 to over 2500.  Larger systems are available by request.  Included with the Sound System are microphones for your presenters and a podium for your presenters to stand at.  If your school band will be performing, we can provide additional audio support for their performances. 

Video:

The back of the stage will be equipped with an LED Video Wall where your school branding, the Streaming Simulcast and any media you choose to share can be displayed in a large format for the entire audience to enjoy. 

Lighting:

Whether you select to have a daytime event or an evening event, we have equipped each stage with LED Stage Wash lighting to enhance your visibility and eliminate shadows.  In addition, the stage washes can provide a colorful display at night. 

Power:

If power is not available on location, we can also provide a Whisper Generator that will power the entire production.

 

Streaming:

Your Graduation Commencement will be Streamed Live Online as well as Simulcast on the LED Screen on stage.  Our “Stream Team” will capture and stream the graduation with a two or three camera system – depending on the production size.  The Graduation Video will also be recorded for the school’s records – to keep and to share with your graduates – free of any copyrights.

Options:

Through our partnerships in the live events industry, we can also provide Stage Décor such as Graphic Banners, Step & Repeat Graphics and Potted Plants to adorn the stage.  We can also arrange for all the Seating you will require for your graduates and their families – which can be arranged in pods for social distancing.  In addition, we can provide a Photography Tent to be set off stage where a photographer can capture each of the graduates in front of a printed step and repeat graphic as they leave the graduation platform.  If you need Photography Services, we are members of the Professional Photography Association and have access to many qualified professional photographers nationwide.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

84 West Events

This is what we do.  Our background in commercial and corporate video production uniquely qualifies us to be your partner in the creation of your graduation.  Much like a corporate meeting or conference, the virtual graduation video requires the proper equipment to switch between scenes and edit external content that our client provides.  Like many of today’s conferences, our final output has to be optimized for streaming as well.  This experience makes us the perfect partner to create your Virtual Graduations™!

Our proprietary user-friendly process, using a customized dropbox for your school, will function as the centralized workflow for collecting all necessary assets.  Supporting documentation is also included.

The school should provide the yearbook/student ID/senior photo for inclusion during the Virtual Graduations™.  However, all content will be approved by school administration prior to production including any student submitted photos and/or short video clips.

The streaming/broadcasting of your graduation will take place on a secure platform controlled by the school.  Virtual Graduations™ only produces the completed content.  School may choose to use internal intranet or virtual teaching platform or public platforms like YouTube or School Facebook page with privacy settings turned on so only students, faculty and families with the proper link will have access.

We recommend YouTube for your Virtual Graduations™ video.  YouTube will allow your video to begin steaming at a date and time of your choosing and features all the proper security settings required by most school boards.  A giant benefit to using YouTube is that it is pre-installed and available to view on Mobile devices (phones/tablets), Laptop & Desktop PC’s and most modern home TV’s – where the entire family can watch together.  And if school board rules allow, you may be able to activate the chat features so that your community of students, faculty, family and friends can comment live during the stream.  This interactivity will become one of the highlights of your graduation commencement.

Yes!  We will add in a soundtrack to play behind the Commencement Presentation.  We ONLY use Royalty Free music including the version of the traditional Pomp & Circumstance.  In addition, you may select to use any other music so long as it is Royalty Free version.

YouTube, Facebook, InstaGram and Vimeo have algorithms that prevent copyright music arrangements from being used on their channels.  For streaming Virtual Graduations™, YouTube and Facebook are the most popular platforms and both aggressively apply their algorithms to all videos.  If popular original recordings are used, for any portion of your Virtual Graduations™, your entire graduation video will be removed completely from the video by the streaming service and will need to be re-edited.  Cover recordings/renditions of popular songs made by your school band, music department and students is allowed so long as the backing music is not a copyrighted instrumental recording of the original artists song.

In the interest of time, we are limiting the Photo Montage length to no more than 10 minutes.  At 3 seconds per image, 200 images will equal 10 minutes of display time.

If our guidelines are followed, we can keep smaller graduations (50 to 100 students) to between 45 and 50 minutes.  (150 – 200 students) to between 60-75 minutes.  (300 students) to between 75-90 minutes.  Each additional 100 students should add an additional 15-18 minutes to the final production.

We require a 50% retainer fee to begin the project.  A project manager from our team will then work with you to create your custom Dropbox workflow and provide you with the tools and information needed to successfully collect the photo and video content required for the virtual graduation.  The balance is paid upon approval of the final video, before it is uploaded to be shared.

Why Should We Use Virtual Graduations™?

This is what we do.  Our background in commercial and corporate video production uniquely qualifies us to be your partner in the creation of your graduation.  Much like a corporate meeting or conference, the virtual graduation video requires the proper equipment to switch between scenes and edit external content that our client provides.  Like many of today’s conferences, our final output has to be optimized for streaming as well.  This experience makes us the perfect partner to create your Virtual Graduations™!

How Easy Is This?

Our proprietary user-friendly process, using a customized dropbox for your school, will function as the centralized workflow for collecting all necessary assets.  Supporting documentation is also included.

How Do We Ensure the Content is Appropriate?

The school should provide the yearbook/student ID/senior photo for inclusion during the Virtual Graduations™.  However, all content will be approved by school administration prior to production including any student submitted photos and/or short video clips.

How Private and Secure are the Virtual Graduations™?

The streaming/broadcasting of your graduation will take place on a secure platform controlled by the school.  Virtual Graduations™ only produces the completed content.  School may choose to use internal intranet or virtual teaching platform or public platforms like YouTube or School Facebook page with privacy settings turned on so only students, faculty and families with the proper link will have access.

Is One Platform for Streaming Preferred Over Another?

We recommend Facebook Live and we can set-up your Virtual Graduations™ video to begin steaming at a date and time of your choosing.  A giant benefit to using Facebook Live is that as the video streams live, your community of students, faculty, family and friends can comment live during the stream.  This interactivity will become one of the highlights of your graduation commencement.

Is there any music for the commencement?

Yes!  We will add in a soundtrack to play behind the Commencement Roll call.  Either a Royalty Free version of the traditional Pomp & Circumstance or any Royalty Free music you would prefer.

Why do you require royalty free music?  Can we use current pop music? 

Facebook, InstaGram, YouTube and Vimeo have algorithms that prevent many copyright music arrangements from being used on their channels.  For Live Streaming, Facebook Live and YouTube are the most popular platforms and both apply their algorithms to livestreams.  If popular recordings are used, for any portion of your Virtual Graduations™, there is a high likeliness that your graduation audio will be removed completely from the video by the streaming service.

Why are photo montages limited to 10 minutes or 200 images?  

In the interest of time, we are limiting the Photo Montage length to no more than 10 minutes.  At 3 seconds per image, 200 images will equal 10 minutes of display time.

Does the Virtual Graduations™ video have any copyright limitations?

No, we will grant you all copyright privileges allowing you to stream and share the virtual graduation as often as you choose to and we will further allow downloading and copying rights for your students and faculty to keep for their own memories.

How long will our Virtual Graduations™ stream last?

If our guidelines are followed, we can keep smaller graduations (150 – 200 students) to between 60-75 minutes.  Medium sized classed (300 students) to between 75-90 minutes.  Each additional 100 students should add an additional 15-18 minutes to the final production.

How are payments handled?

We require a 50% retainer fee.  A project manager from our team will then work with you to create your custom Dropbox workflow and provide you with the tools and information needed to successfully collect the photo and video content required for the virtual graduation.  The balance is paid upon approval of the final video.

You Can Celebrate Your Graduation This Year!

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Broward: 954-236-9000
Miami: 305-529-4200
Palm Beach: 561-218-2300

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