Scene 01Take 1●
Answer arrival, help and the next step
A student welcome video should leave a newcomer knowing where to find current arrival details, who can help and what to do next. Start with those three answers. A list of every department, achievement and rule can wait for the written handbook.
Scene 02Take 1●
A real arrival case: Waterloo orientation in September 2026
The University of Waterloo published First Year Orientation for 6–12 September 2026. Its official orientation instructions direct registered students to their personalized Portal schedule and say to check in once during a listed check-in block. This is a dated case study, checked 24 October 2026, rather than a current invitation or a shared timetable for every student.
The six-scene script below is our independently written example based on that published information. It is not a university-produced or approved welcome. The suggested sequence is to consult the personal schedule, check in and follow the next listed event. Personal timetables differ, so the script does not give everyone a shared room, entrance or arrival time.
| Time | Picture or written action | Complete script |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:15 | Original title card: Waterloo first-year orientation, September 6–12, 2026. Identify this as an independent historical example. | For this worked example, you are arriving for Waterloo’s September 2026 first-year orientation. The published event runs from September sixth through twelfth. |
| 0:15–0:30 | Plain instruction card: open your personalized Portal schedule. Do not show another student's calendar or account details. | Before coming to campus, open your personalized Orientation schedule in Portal. After you confirm registration, that calendar gives you the schedule to follow. |
| 0:30–0:45 | A simple check-in checklist: select a listed check-in block and use its location. No invented building, desk or room. | Choose a check-in block listed in your own schedule. Use its time and location. You only need to check in once for First Year Orientation. |
| 0:45–1:00 | Next-event card. Explain that following the personal schedule is the suggested first-day sequence, not a common timetable for everyone. | After check-in, use your next scheduled event to plan the rest of the day. Faculty activities differ, so this example does not assign everyone one room or time. |
| 1:00–1:15 | Written link to the Welcome Warriors contact page. Keep it available beside the video; do not simulate a submitted message. | For questions before arrival, use the Welcome Warriors contact page linked beside the video. The team answers questions about getting ready to attend Waterloo. |
| 1:15–1:30 | Closing card: official schedule, contact page and the example's September 2026 date. No institutional logo or claim of endorsement. | Read the event-specific accessibility notes in Portal and follow the university’s current instructions. This dated example explains orientation arrival; your course timetable is a separate document. |
Download the independent script and source links (JSON). The six fifteen-second scene budgets total 90 seconds. Record the words before treating those budgets as final performance timings.
Keep the official Portal calendar link and Welcome Warriors contact page beside the player. The contact page identifies the team that answers preparation questions. The 90-second table is a script plan; the separate 80-second fictional layout video below uses different words and is not footage of Waterloo.
The university publishes event-specific access information in Portal and accommodation instructions on its orientation page. Before adapting this case for another year or institution, confirm the actual process and responsible contact again. A globe tour would add little to this schedule-and-help task.
Scene 03Take 1●
An 80-second fictional layout to watch
The complete example below is for the fictional “Example School.” It uses synthetic narration and visual placeholders, not footage of a real campus. The entrance, desk, staff role and help process are illustrative. Replace every one with details approved by your institution before sharing a real welcome.
Sample files: MP4 video, English captions (VTT), SRT captions and descriptive transcript.
The fictional video has eight ten-second scenes; its downloadable transcript supplies that separate narration and describes the placeholder pictures. Keep one presenter for continuity when making your own version, then add approved views of the actual entrance, help location and first session. Record the complete script before fixing scene lengths, because real speakers pause at different places.
Scene 04Take 1●
Replace the fictional details with an approved arrival page
Choose one audience first: new primary pupils with their families, new secondary students, college entrants or a specific course. They have different arrival questions. Ask the person responsible for induction to approve the exact entrance, date, arrival window, contact and access arrangements.
Put changing details on one maintained web page and link it beside the video. Read that page and the script together before release. A student should not have to pause a film to copy a phone number, and a changed room should not require re-recording an entire welcome.
Give the page an owner and a review date. When an entrance or process changes, update the text and check whether the video still implies the old arrangement. Do not promise that a staffed desk or student helper will be present unless the school has confirmed it.
The Waterloo case is a dated source example, not a live arrival notice for another cohort. Use the caption-and-transcript workflow for accessible delivery and the school-map project guide for a location explanation. Confirm changing arrival details on the institution’s current official page before publishing your version.
Scene 05Take 1●
Use the simplest production method that does the job
A presenter and three useful campus views may be enough. Ask a student helper for one optional, approved answer to “What helped you on your first day?” Give a written or off-camera option and follow the institution’s permission and safeguarding process before recording or publishing students.
Record clear speech in a quiet space. Film the actual signs from the distance at which someone will use them; a decorative exterior shot does not explain an accessible entrance. Keep private timetables, student names and information on screens out of the frame.
A conventional editor is suitable for trimming, captions and combining those clips. AlbumMap may help explain several meaningful campus locations in a separate map story; a globe tour is unnecessary for a single-building welcome. See the interactive memory-map guide only when that output serves a real need.
Scene 06Take 1●
Review access, accuracy and comfort before release
Provide checked captions and a descriptive transcript. The W3C transcript guidance explains why relevant visual information belongs in the text as well as the speech. In this example, the transcript identifies the entrance and help-desk shots as placeholders.
Have someone unfamiliar with the plan answer three questions after viewing: Where are the current arrival instructions? What should I do if I am unsure? Who can I contact? Correct the video or page when the answers are unclear. Repeat the test on a phone with sound off.
For recording contributions, use the request-video-messages guide; for caption review, use the family-video accessibility checklist. Publish to the school’s approved channel, retain the reviewed master, and remove or replace obsolete versions.
End card
That’s a wrap
Helpful answers
Frequently asked questions
Can we publish the sample as our school welcome?
It contains fictional processes and visual placeholders. Use it to plan the structure, then replace the details, footage and narration with an approved welcome for your audience.
Is the Waterloo script an official university welcome?
No. It is an independently written case study based on the university’s published September 2026 orientation information. Use your own official schedule for your check-in time, location and subsequent events.
Does a welcome need a campus map?
Only if it clarifies a real location problem. For one building, an actual entrance view, a clear help contact and current written directions may work better.
How can we keep the welcome current?
Assign an owner to the arrival page and review the video whenever the entrance, dates, support arrangements or next step changes.
