First Sight Media, the filming and streaming specialist, has completed two acquisitions to expand its reach and capability. It has acquired 100% of Galaxy Video’s graduation video production business and a 50% share in MyGraduationClip, the rapid video clip-sharing platform.
First Sight Media MD, Rich Belcher, explained the deals: “Acquiring the video production part of Galaxy Video has added 13 more institutions to the First Sight Media client list. It also brings the student-funded part of the business, which retails the award ceremony footage via USB and digital download directly to the graduates.”
The addition brings First Sight Media’s graduation ceremony market share to 25%, and it will now serve 60 of the UK’s 240 universities annually.
In the second acquisition, First Sight Media has acquired 50% of the MyGraduationClip business, an innovative system that sends graduates footage of their moment on stage at their degree presentation within minutes of it happening. The pioneer of personalised graduation clips, MyGraduationClip was launched as a spinoff from MyGraduationFilm’s eVideo product two years ago by founder Matthew Hoare, and now delivers over 100,000 clips to graduating students at 1,000 ceremonies across 31 institutions annually.
MyGraduationClip uses AI technology to identify graduates from announcements made by the presenter, providing each person with a clip of their presentation in minutes, and removing the need for universities to compile long, complex lists of graduates. Hoare will remain fully committed to advancing MyGraduationClip and an equal shareholder within the business.
Hoare said, “I am incredibly excited for the future with MyGraduationClip now partnering closely with First Sight Media; this will enable even more graduates across the UK and beyond to celebrate their achievements and share them with their loved ones as if they were there! Together, we will continue to innovate on our offerings for all aspects of graduation.”
Before the development of MyGraduationClip, universities had to provide a list of graduates in the order that they would be presented with their degrees, placing a significant administrative burden on the university personnel. A successful trial was undertaken at City University, where all graduates received the clip of their personal graduation within 14 minutes of the ceremony closing, removing the need for them to log in and search for them, or for the university to have to send them out.
“This expansion means that we can offer a wider range of services to more universities, and we are thrilled to welcome Matt on board. Over the next few months we will further develop the software with additional features as part of a major relaunch in 2025; watch this space!” Belcher concluded.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
