You’ve done some amazing work and you want to shout about it. That’s natural. Whether it’s you talking about your achievements, your staff harping on about how amazing the latest project was, or your customers screaming your name as if you’ve just taken them out for oysters and the soft caress of those silk sheets are just too much to hold in, there’s a case study video tailored to just that.
Honestly, some of the most effective ways to sell is simply just by having someone else say how good you are. That’s where case studies really serve a solid purpose. They’re at their best when they feel genuine, the people in it are relatable, and the subject matter is of interest to the audience. Sometimes, even if people happen to find themselves watching something which is just so engaging, they could end up having already clicked to purchase that product without even considering whether they even needed it beforehand.
Having someone else sing your praises, or to really hammer home just how effective something was can speak volumes. It’ll do a bunch more for you than simply a written article! Seeing real people express their thoughts and feelings goes a long way both in terms of customers trusting in the brand and feeling as if the spend is worthwhile.
We’ve worked with a number of brands and organisations of all sizes on all kinds of case studies, and they can double up as product videos, brand content and even TV Commercials. But not those cheesy, fake case study TV ads with actors instead of real customers. God, no. We’d never support the continuation of such abominations.
Thank you so much for all your work on this. Really happy with the end product and it’s gone down really well with the team! So big thanks!
Thank you very much for the work you've done with us for Jellagen! We're all very happy with the result and I hope we'll work again together.
Thank you for all your hard work on the films – they are great!
Stuff to consider when making Case Studies
Every video production project is different, but there are a few important things to consider depending on the type of content you're need, who the audience is, and how it's delivered.
When it comes to the use of contributors (interviewees, essentially) in any film, we like to get written answers to pre-prepared questions ahead of filming whenever possible (or over the phone), so we can gauge what will be most interesting to discuss and if there are any concerns. During this process, we’re able to make our contributors feel more comfortable about filming. People are often nervous if they’re not reassured! Where this isn’t feasible, we like to give our contributors a handbook that talks them through the process so they have an understanding of what will happen on the day.
When it comes to filming real people discussing personal issues, we’re extremely sensitive in our approach, and understand how to approach an interview in order to get the best answers whilst making them feel comfortable, heard and reassured.
We’re responsible for ensuring that appropriate child-protection measures are taken with regards to all aspects of a project that relate to working with children and young adults. If required, we will ensure all production staff who need to attend meetings or location filming in schools, colleges or universities have their DBS credentials checked and up-to-date. Evidence that these checks have been performed will be presented to the client once they have been completed.
Our approach is to show as well as tell! For interviews of any kind, it‘s essential to grab contextual ‘cutaway’ (or ‘b-roll’) footage that gives visual context to what the speaker is referring to or the event itself, making the piece more engaging and impactful for the viewer. You want your audience to understand what your interviewee is actually talking about, and this is the best way to illustrate that!
Often, contributors speaking on camera will stumble over words, take long pauses, or deviate from the question at hand. This means we need to edit between takes in order to get their points across clearly and effectively. Sometimes, even making whole new sentences out of a bunch of different takes! Cutaway footage is used to cover these edit points in the film.
We specialise in Welsh-language content, and have several natively bilingual Welsh and English team members with over a decade of experience in bilingual content production, so we’re able to translate content in-house and deliver subtitles in English and Welsh for those who don’t understand the language, the hard of hearing, or anyone watching without sound.
Having worked on many bilingual projects in the past, we suggest that the video be transcribed, with both English and Welsh subtitles to be provided as .srt files. This way, the user can select their language in the video player (whether that’s YouTube or Vimeo). We also suggest that all Welsh-language audio be subtitled and have these ‘burnt’ into the video, so they show up no matter the subtitle settings. This helps where people may have disabled subtitles by default and for those who have opened the video on social media channels where the subtitles disappear unless enabled.
We also have a network of cunning linguists (ooh-err) for subtitling in various languages if the project requires it! Japanese, Russian, Italian… we’ve given it all a go!
Case Studies FAQ
How much does a case study video cost?
There are a fair few things to factor into the budget of a corporate video such as style and complexity, length, and how many locations we’d be looking to shoot in.
Some things that will play a big part in the overall cost of the video will be the number of days needed to film, the amount of crew needed (whether we’ll need dedicated lighting and sound people or multiple cameras) and the kit used. In an initial call with you, we’d go through your requirements, the sort of content you’re looking to create, as well as taking a look at the sort of quality of content your competitors are putting out there and create a bespoke quote.
How long does a case study video take to make?
Depending on complexity, logistical craziness and contributor schedules, these can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks to pull together including all editing and colour/sound work. We’re aware that most companies hardly ever work with a comfortably lengthy timeline, so we’re tuned in to the fact we need to hit the ground running with this sort of stuff! We’d also make sure that whatever we put forward is achievable within your timescales, as we know the video you need for that event has to be for a specific date, so it’s up to us to deliver on time and on budget.
How involved will I need to be with production?
That’s totally up to you! We’re happy to sit down with you at every stage of production, have you on set or even sitting in on an edit, or we can take the brief and come back to you with a first edit. The level of involvement is wherever you feel comfortable—we’ve got processes in place to suit however you’d like to approach it, including dedicated review platforms for multiple stakeholders (goodbye email chains!) and trusted catering & transport contacts for when we’re accommodating an army on set!
How will I review the video?
We use a review service called Frame.io which allows us to conduct online review cycles of the video, where you can log in and leave comments directly on the vid itself. No more long email chains where things get lost and cross-talk makes it a multi-coloured quoted text nightmare! This also means you’re able to have a comprehensive and contained review with stakeholders no matter where they are or when they’re free to feed back—it’s all visible and organised so everyone (who needs to) has their say.
Do you guys cover international requirements?
Sure thing! As well as gracing pretty much every corner of the UK with our presence, we’ve filmed around Europe and understand the logistical challenges that come with shooting abroad. We’re used to having to describe, assemble and disassemble our kit at customs, as well as finding our way around new cities. Who doesn’t love a bit of travel?
I’m from an agency. What makes you guys different to the next production company?
Well, if you’re looking for a company that’s nice and quiet and that’ll just do whatever it says in the brief with a “yes sir, no sir” mentality, then I’m sorry, you’re in the wrong place. Sure, everything we do hits exactly what your client needs and is in-line with your objective, but we’re the kind of people to run with an idea and throw in a few suggestions and curveballs, giving feedback from a production perspective so that we can make the best possible content for the client. We’re not obnoxious, middle-finger-in-the-air kinda stubborn, we just know from experience that clients enjoy the fact we offer our creative input and give an experienced outside perspective to help content shine and get those other agencies going “ah jeez, wish we’d have thought of that.”
How we like to get things done.
Getting great content made should be as straightforward and painless as possible for our clients. So we double down on our processes, thrive on transparency, and communicate like the warm, bright (and slightly peculiar) humans that we are. We’re aware that our clients are busy people—our job is to make your life easier, not to add to your workload.
Sure, making money is important to us; it means we get to keep doing what gets us out of bed in the morning. But we’re always clear about where your budget goes. No sneaking around, no hidden costs. We don’t believe in tricky small print—we like big, bold, honest conversation.
These lovely human beings look after our clients. Look how chirpy they are! Don't you just wanna pick up your phone and give 'em' a call? Or, if interacting with humans in real time saps your energy (know them feels), feel free to lob us an email.
