Questions, Answered

Frequently asked
questions.

Everything families have asked about filming, consent, delivery, and how each bespoke film is shaped around an individual CDNIS graduate.

Delivery Schedule

Order by May 29 for June 12 delivery

Reservations placed on or before Friday, 29 May 2026 are guaranteed delivery by Friday, 12 June 2026. Reservations placed after Friday, 29 May 2026 are delivered within 10 business days from the date of order.

Filming Dates

When is filming taking place?

Filming takes place across two days for the CDNIS Class of 2026: the Graduation Walk on Friday, 22 May 2026, and the Commencement Ceremony on Friday, 29 May 2026. Our crew arrives early on each day to capture preparations, the procession, the full ceremony, and the celebration that follows.

How many days of filming are there?

Two. The Graduation Walk is filmed on 22 May, and the full Commencement Ceremony — including the procession, diploma reception, tassel turn, mortar board toss, and recession — is filmed on 29 May. Footage from both days is then backed up across 30–31 May before editing begins.

Where is the ceremony being filmed?

On campus at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong, 36 Nam Long Shan Road, Aberdeen. Our team works alongside the Office of Alumni Relations and CDNIS staff to film discreetly without disrupting the ceremony.

Consent & Privacy

Do I need to give consent for my child to be filmed?

Yes. Filming is opt-in. When you reserve a bespoke film, you complete a short consent form covering your graduate's name, image, and likeness for use in their personal film and any general ceremony coverage.

Will my child appear in other families' films?

Only incidentally — for example, in wide procession or audience shots where multiple graduates are visible together. Each personalised film is structured around a single graduate; other students are never the focal subject of someone else's edit.

Where is the footage stored, and who has access?

All footage is held on encrypted Six Cat Studios Limited drives accessible only to the production team. Final films are delivered to a private folder shared exclusively with the graduate's family. The school and Six Cat Studios reserve the right to use selected films, in whole or in part, for promotional or educational purposes.

Turnaround Time

When will I receive my child's film?

Final films are delivered by Friday, 12 June 2026 — within ten working days of the ceremony. You will receive a private link to your secure folder by email.

Why does it take this long?

Each film is hand-edited around your individual graduate. After backup (30–31 May), every sequence is logged, the diploma moment is identified for each student, and the film is colour-graded and scored before delivery (1–11 June).

What format will the film be delivered in?

A bespoke 4K cinematic edit (3840 × 2160), delivered as a high-bitrate MP4 suitable for both archival storage and large-screen playback. A web-optimised version is included for easy sharing with family.

How is the film delivered to me?

Once your edit is finalised, we publish it to a private folder shared exclusively with the email on your reservation. You'll receive an email with a download button, and the same link appears on your status page. The master file is yours to download and keep.

How long will the download link remain active?

Your download link remains active until 1 September. After that date, your film rests in our encrypted archive for one year, after which it is permanently deleted from our servers. Should you wish to retrieve it from the archive within that year, we can issue a new download link for a fee of HKD$200. We warmly encourage every family to download and safely back up their master file before 1 September.

Personalised Highlights

How are my child's personalised moments chosen?

Every film follows the same six-sequence structure (see Captured Moments), but the footage inside each sequence is selected around your graduate. Multiple cameras track the stage, and our editors identify your child's procession, diploma handshake, tassel turn, and recession from the master log.

Will every graduate's film be different?

Yes. Although the structure is shared, no two films are the same. Each edit is built around one student — their walk, their diploma, their face in the crowd — so the final piece is genuinely theirs.

Paying with AlipayHK

How do I pay with AlipayHK at checkout?

On the order page, proceed to payment and continue to Stripe checkout. Select AlipayHK, then scan the QR code with your AlipayHK app or sign in to confirm. The HKD charge is taken in one tap — no card details are required.

Will I be charged in HKD?

Yes. The full HKD 400 reservation fee is billed in Hong Kong Dollars directly from your AlipayHK balance or linked bank card. There are no foreign-exchange fees or hidden surcharges.

How do I get a receipt for my AlipayHK payment?

Once payment is confirmed you are returned to a confirmation page showing your reservation reference (CF-XXXXXX), the payment method, and a downloadable PDF invoice. A copy of the same details is also sent to the email on your reservation.

What if my AlipayHK payment fails or times out?

No charge is made until AlipayHK confirms. If the QR code expires or you cancel, simply restart checkout — your selected ceremony moments are preserved. If a charge appears in your AlipayHK app but you did not reach the confirmation page, contact us with your AlipayHK transaction ID and we will reconcile it the same working day.

Contacting the Team

May I contact the team via WhatsApp?

Yes — contact Stuart on +852 9854 5728 for quick questions about your reservation, payment, or delivery.

About the Imagery on This Site

Are the photos and videos on this site from a CDNIS commencement?

No. Every image you see across the site is illustrative — chosen as a visual reference for the kind of moments your bespoke film will capture (the procession, the handshake, the tassel turn, the recession). They are not photographs of CDNIS graduates and were not taken by Six Cat Studios. We made this choice deliberately to protect the privacy of past students and families until our first official CDNIS commencement.

Then how do I know what my graduate's film will actually look like?

Your film will be original 4K cinematic footage, captured on the day by our seven-camera crew at the Leo Lee Arts Centre. The illustrative images on this site mirror the framing, pacing, and tone of the real edit — over-the-shoulder stage moments, wide processional shots, intimate tassel turns — but every frame in your final film will be of your graduate, on their day, in their venue.

Will you publish real footage from this year's ceremony in the future?

Only with explicit family consent. After the 29 May 2026 ceremony, we may invite a small number of families to share short excerpts as future reference material. Until then, illustrative imagery keeps the focus on what your bespoke film will deliver, without involving any student who has not opted in.

Contact Support

Pick the topic closest to your question — we'll prefill the email so you only need to add the details. We respond within 24 hours.

None of these match? Email contact@commencementfilms.com directly and our team will route it.

Still have a question?

Email us — contact@commencementfilms.com (24-hours response), or reserve your bespoke film and we'll confirm everything by return email.

Reserve Now — HKD 400