CU Urban Study Promotional Video

The image displays the logo of The Chinese University of Hong Kong above text in Chinese and English that reads: "Urban Studies Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong," on a light blue background.
A busy city street with construction vehicles, workers, traffic barriers, and double-decker buses. Large text reads "Traffic Congestion" and there are Chinese subtitles at the bottom. Tall buildings line both sides.
A blue and white apartment building with many air conditioners has large text reading "Noise Pollution Lack of Public Space." Chinese subtitles appear at the bottom of the image. A blurred object is visible in the foreground.
A woman in a striped shirt and apron smiles while selling vegetables at an outdoor market. The words "Local identity" and Chinese text are overlaid on the image. Bright shops and produce are visible in the background.
Two elderly women shop at a traditional Asian market stall selling groceries and dry goods. Colorful signs, stacked products, and handwritten prices are visible. Text reads “Traditional Stores, Sense of Community” in English and Chinese.
A woman stands and speaks in a bright room with a framed abstract painting on the wall. Text on the image introduces her as Prof. Mee Kam Ng, Programme Director, with subtitles about an urban development programme.
A person in glasses and a blue blazer speaks and gestures in front of a map of Hong Kong, with subtitles in Chinese and English about training in aesthetic, presentation, oral, and graphic skills.
Two students sit together at a desk with papers, smiling and looking at something off-screen. In the foreground is a wooden architectural model. Subtitles in Chinese and English are visible at the bottom.
A man with dark hair and a gray shirt sits thoughtfully with his hand on his chin in a classroom. Chinese and English subtitles at the bottom read: "to resolve multiple urban problems in one go.
A young woman with shoulder-length hair stands outside in a green garden, smiling. On-screen text reads: "Sabrina Hung, Graduate of 2016, Town Planning Assistant." Subtitles in English and Chinese appear at the bottom.
Three construction workers in safety gear stand on an elevated platform, overlooking a cityscape with a Ferris wheel and waterfront in the background. Subtitles describe their duties in English and Chinese.
A cityscape featuring tall residential buildings, busy roads, and a construction site, with hazy sky in the background. Subtitles at the bottom read: “compiling planning research, and liaising with government officials.”.
A young woman, identified as Winky Ngai, Graduate of 2016 and Graduate Transport Engineer, stands outdoors with green trees in the background. Subtitles read: "I think that Urban Studies Programme is a very comprehensive programme.
Four students sit around a table examining a scale model of a building and street in a classroom. One student points at the model while others observe. English and Chinese subtitles are visible at the bottom of the image.
An aerial view of densely packed, weathered apartment buildings in an urban area, with subtitles in Chinese and English at the bottom of the image. The English subtitle reads: “that can contribute to the competitiveness of our city”.

Client: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Duration: 01:54
Language: Cantonese
Video Ownership: The Client
Video Production House: Visual Media Limited

Video Objective

This video, produced by Visual Media Limited, aims to promote the interdisciplinary academic course of Urban Studies. Through vivid visuals and narrated explanations, the video demonstrates how this course cultivates future urban leaders by emphasizing the mastery of urban development theories, methods, and skills. It provides a multi-perspective understanding and analysis of urban issues, encouraging creative and sustainable solutions. The video also shares real workplace experiences of graduates, conveying the practicality of the program and its strong alignment with industry needs, fostering urban development professionals who can promote social harmony and ecological friendliness. The purpose extends beyond recruitment to inspire interest and support for humanistic and ecological urbanism.

Challenges in Creating the Video

The main challenges in producing such an educational promotional video include effectively organizing and clearly presenting a diverse and specialized urban studies content within a limited runtime. Urban studies cover theory, technology, and practice, which involves rich content and many technical terms that can be difficult for a non-specialist audience to understand. Another challenge was how to capture the audience’s attention and spark interest quickly, avoiding a dull academic presentation by using concrete, emotive language and imagery to vividly showcase the course features. Additionally, meeting the information needs of a varied audience (prospective students, educators, and industry professionals) while maintaining a cohesive and engaging narrative pace was inevitably difficult.

Solutions

To address these challenges, the production team adopted the following strategies:

  • Focus on Core Messages: The video centered on two key themes — “cultivating future urban leaders” and “interdisciplinary practical skills” — minimizing redundant information so that viewers could quickly grasp the course’s value and unique features.
  • Real-life Testimonials for Authenticity: Incorporating interviews with urban studies graduates to concretely explain their work in the industry and how their learning applies strengthened the video’s credibility and approachability, allowing viewers to feel the real-world impact of the course.
  • Design of Visuals and Sound: Using diverse cityscapes filmed from multiple angles and dynamic editing, paired with background music to create rhythm and avoid monotony. The video includes various multimedia elements such as graphics, text, and narrator voiceover to help the audience understand the content more easily.
  • Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration: Emphasizing close cooperation between the creative team and the urban studies academic experts ensured the content remained professional and met both academic and industrial demands while incorporating audience feedback for narrative adjustment.
  • Concise and Effective Scriptwriting: The script design focused on essentials to avoid information overload, using simple language to clearly convey the course’s value, supplemented by visualized data and vivid cases to balance educational content with entertainment.

Contributions

This video not only effectively promotes the urban studies course, raising awareness of this interdisciplinary education’s importance, but also helps cultivate talents with global perspectives and local insights in urban planning and development. By stressing a humanistic concern and ecological sustainability as core urbanism principles, it elevates public awareness of future urban development.

Through authentic workplace examples and peer collaboration stories, the video highlights the program’s practicality and ability to nurture innovation, encouraging students to actively participate in solving urban challenges. Such promotional materials benefit recruitment efforts and help build the institution’s professional image, enhancing interaction between academia and industry.

Moreover, as a model of interdisciplinary education, the video encourages more educational bodies and communities to value and invest in sustainable urban development, positively impacting social harmony, economic competitiveness, and ecological protection. Its presentation of integrated, multi-angle thinking also guides viewers to adopt a comprehensive perspective on urban issues, thereby promoting longer-term, healthier urban growth.

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