Revolutionising Graduation: Royal Holloway, University of London

Project Overview

First Sight Media has partnered with Royal Holloway, University of London for over a decade, delivering filming and livestreaming services for their graduation ceremonies. Recently, the University undertook a major redesign of its ceremonies to create a larger, more inclusive graduation experience while maintaining the distinctive aesthetic of the historic campus.

Previously, ceremonies were held within the university chapel in Founders Building. While traditional, the space limited audience capacity and separated graduates from their guests due to the layout of the venue. The University wanted to transform the experience into a more inclusive environment where graduates and families could celebrate together, while also increasing capacity and enhancing the quality of the production.

To achieve this, the University made the strategic decision to relocate ceremonies to a large temporary structure on Founders Field, directly in front of the historic Founders Building. First Sight Media was engaged early in the planning process to act not only as the filming and streaming provider, but also as a trusted production partner supporting the design and delivery of the new format.

Challenges and Sector-Specific Considerations

Graduation ceremonies present a unique set of production challenges compared with other live events. They must deliver a highly polished, broadcast-quality experience while maintaining absolute consistency across multiple ceremonies delivered over consecutive days.

Key challenges within this project included:

Hybrid audience expectations

Graduation ceremonies increasingly have a global audience, with family members often unable to attend in person. Livestream quality and reliability were therefore critical to ensure remote viewers could share in the experience. This included designing a camera plan that captured both the formal ceremony and the atmosphere of the venue.

Designing a broadcast-ready environment within a temporary structure

Moving from a permanent chapel to a temporary venue required careful planning to ensure the space supported professional filming, lighting and sound production. Camera sightlines, staging layout, and audience seating were all considered to ensure an optimal experience both for in-person audiences and those watching online.

Maintaining ceremony intimacy at larger scale

The University wanted to increase audience capacity without losing the sense of occasion that defines a graduation ceremony. Our production planning therefore focused on stage positioning, camera coverage, and screen content to ensure every graduate moment remained clearly visible and emotionally impactful for both live and remote audiences.

Delivering consistent production across a high-volume schedule

Fifteen ceremonies were delivered across a tightly scheduled programme. This required robust operational planning, including camera workflows, crew rotation, rehearsal processes and contingency planning to ensure every ceremony ran smoothly and maintained the same high standard.

Our Approach

First Sight Media worked closely with the University’s events team and other suppliers from the early stages of planning to ensure the temporary structure could fully support the production requirements of a modern graduation ceremony.

Our role extended beyond filming and livestreaming to provide production guidance across multiple elements of the event, including stage layout, audience sightlines, screen content and operational flow.

To capture the ceremonies, we deployed a five-camera broadcast setup, including a remotely operated Sony PTZ camera that provided wide-angle coverage of the venue and allowed viewers watching online to fully experience the scale of the ceremony.

Additional camera positions were placed to capture key moments including graduate crossings, audience reactions, and stage presentations. A further external camera was positioned overlooking Founders Field to provide establishing shots of the venue and showcase the unique setting of the event.

Recognising that graduations often attract additional family members on the day, an overflow viewing space was also implemented. This allowed guests who were unable to enter the main venue to watch the ceremony live with the same high production quality as those inside.

Outcomes

The redesigned graduation ceremonies successfully delivered a more inclusive and visually striking experience for graduates and their families, while significantly increasing the capacity of the event.

The new structure enabled the University to host a larger number of guests while maintaining the prestige and atmosphere associated with Royal Holloway’s historic campus. The enhanced filming and livestreaming production ensured that both in-person and remote audiences could fully engage with the ceremonies.

Royal Holloway praised First Sight Media not only for the quality of the video production but also for the strategic support provided throughout the project.

CASE STUDY