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Storyline & Sinker
Case study films · High-trust services and B2B

Show future customers what working with you looks like.

Your customers make decisions, experience your process, and see the result of your work. Their story can help another buyer understand what to expect.

Storyline & Sinker researches the people you want to reach, identifies the questions that matter to their decision, and follows a relevant customer or project. Planned interviews and footage of the work bring the story together: the original problem, why the customer chose you, the decisions along the way, and the outcome.

Choose a focused film or a full documentary following your service across its actual timeline.

Plan My Case Study Watch the Example

Focused Case Study Film from $5,500 · Full Case Study Documentary from $15,000. Each includes one horizontal main film. Add a social package of vertical teasers, a carousel and sound-bite clips (+$550 Focused, +$750 Full), or a three-minute sales edit with the Full documentary (+$1,250). Local filming in Huntsville, Madison, and Madison County.

The customer’s experience shapes the story. The service timeline decides how many filming days it takes.

02

A patient’s story, made for dentists choosing a lab.

Scene noteA first conversation usually starts with a finished example. This is ours.

This Focused Case Study Film was made for Oral Arts Dental Lab. It follows one full mouth restoration from the patient’s starting situation to the result, for dentists deciding which lab to trust with their cases.

Focused Case Study FilmThe package this example illustrates
Still from the film: a dentist hugs a patient, who covers her face with her hands. Watch the film on Vimeo 5:17

Her Smile Changed Her Life

Full mouth restoration case study · Oral Arts Dental Lab

Made for
Oral Arts Dental Lab
Audience
Dentists choosing a dental lab
Runtime
5:17 · horizontal
Package
Focused Case Study Film

What the film shows

  1. A woman in a grey T-shirt, seated for an interview, holds a tissue and is visibly emotional.The patient’s starting situation
  2. A dentist in a white coat points to a panoramic dental X-ray on a monitor while a patient watches.The doctor’s diagnosis and plan
  3. Gloved hands use a fine brush on a dental restoration.Oral Arts lab craftsmanshipTechnicians designing and making the restoration
  4. The patient smiles widely in a dental chair.The result and the patient’s reaction

Stills from Her Smile Changed Her Life, made for Oral Arts Dental Lab.

The Oral Arts Dental Lab building, with its sign on the roof.
Made forOral Arts Dental Lab. Still from Her Smile Changed Her Life.

The production choice: the film follows the case from the patient’s starting situation through the doctor’s plan and the lab’s craftsmanship to the result, so a dentist sees the process behind the outcome, not just the final smile.

What this story helps the viewer understand

A dentist evaluating a dental lab can see what the lab’s restorative work involves, how the doctor and the lab plan a complex case together, the craftsmanship behind the restoration, and what the finished result meant for the patient.

See more of our workHow a focused film is scoped

03

Start with the buyer’s questions.

In a clinic hallway, a woman in a black dress sits on a stool for an on-camera interview, framed on a monitor at left, while a camera operator watches from behind a cinema camera under a softbox light.
InterviewThe questions asked on camera come from what the research says future buyers need to know.

Scene noteEvery case study opens with the original problem. In yours, it’s what the next buyer needs to understand.

We research who needs to see the story and what they need to understand before choosing a provider.

For a high-trust service, that may involve the customer’s concerns, the care taken during the work, and what the finished experience was like. For a B2B engagement, it may also involve implementation, operational demands, technical decisions, and documented outcomes.

Those findings guide which customer or project we feature, the interview questions we ask, the stages we film, and how we edit the story. The finished film connects a real experience to the questions another buyer is considering.

  1. Who we feature
  2. The interview questions
  3. The stages we film
  4. How we edit the story
A woman seated for an interview, smiling slightly as she talks. A man in a dark shirt is interviewed in a dental lab.
InterviewsTwo of the interviews in the example film. Stills from Her Smile Changed Her Life, made for Oral Arts Dental Lab.

From buyer questions to story decisions

Two illustrations of how research changes a film. Different buyers ask different questions, so the film makes different decisions.

IllustrationA high-trust service
What a future buyer asksWhat it changes in the film
“Were other customers as uneasy as I am?”Who we featureA customer whose starting concerns match the next buyer’s.
“Why did they choose this provider?”The interviewWe ask the customer what they weighed up and why they chose you.
“How much care goes into the work?”What we filmThe stages where that care can actually be seen.
“What was it like when it was finished?”The editThe story builds to the finished experience, in the customer’s own words.
IllustrationA B2B engagement
What a future buyer asksWhat it changes in the film
“Have they handled a project like ours?”Who we featureA project whose situation and scale match the buyers you want to reach.
“What will implementation ask of our team?”The interviewWe ask the people involved about the operational demands and how their staff adapted.
“Which technical decisions mattered?”What we filmThe work at the stages where those decisions were made.
“What results can they document?”The editThe ending rests on outcomes the customer can demonstrate, with the context needed to understand them.

Research gives the film its questions. The customer’s real experience supplies the answers.

04

One filming day, or the whole timeline.

Scene noteIn a case study, this is where the customer explains why they chose a provider. Here, it’s where you choose the scope.

Both packages start with research and include planned interviews and a horizontal main film. Add-ons extend either one: a social package of vertical teasers, a carousel and sound-bite clips, and for the Full documentary, a three-minute sales edit. A Focused film tells the whole story, the starting situation, the work and the result, from one filming day, with the customer’s account and your records covering what came before; it can be filmed on up to three dates. The Full documentary follows work filmed as it happens across four or more milestone dates.

Runtime drawn to scaleMain-film runtime on a 12-minute track · filming-date timelines are illustrative (hollow marks: possible additional dates) · add-on tiles show the formats, illustrated with stills from the example film.

01One to three filming dates

Focused Case Study Film

A service story whose meaningful stages can be filmed on one to three dates.

From $5,500for one filming day

From one local filming day, up to 6 hours on siteUp to three filming dates in total; each additional date adds to the cost and is priced in your proposal.

Main film: approximately 5 minutes, horizontal

Interviews
Up to 2 participants
Locations
One
First cut
10 business days after the shoot and receipt of agreed source material
Research, finishing, and review
Research
Target buyer, central buying questions, customer background, and supporting evidence
Finishing
Narrative edit, color, sound, music, captions, and basic graphics
Review
Two consolidated rounds: a story review, then finishing corrections
Plan a Focused Film

Add-ons

Social package +$550

  • One 30-second vertical teaser
  • One branded carousel of at least 10 slides that combines moments from the film and its sound-bite clips with graphic design and images to tell the story of the case study
  • Five sound-bite clips in vertical orientation
Plan a Focused Film + Social Package

Sales editA separate sales edit for the Focused film is quoted in your proposal.

02Four milestone filming days

Full Case Study Documentary

A service delivered over time, with the story captured as the work develops.

From $15,000with four filming dates

Four local filming days across project milestones, up to 6 hours on site per dayDates can span several weeks or months, following your service schedule.

Main film: up to 12 minutes, horizontal

Interviews
Up to 4 participants
Locations
Up to 2 across the booked days
First cut
20 business days after the final planned milestone shoot and receipt of agreed source material
More days
Additional filming days from $2,500 per day
Research, finishing, and review
Research
Relevant decision makers, buying questions, project history, implementation, and results
Finishing
Narrative edit, color, sound, music, captions, and basic graphics
Review
Two consolidated rounds: a story review, then finishing corrections
Plan a Full Documentary

Add-ons

Social package +$750

  • Three vertical teasers: 10 seconds, 30 seconds and 90 seconds
  • One branded carousel of at least 10 slides that combines moments from the film and its sound-bite clips with graphic design and images to tell the story of the case study
  • Ten sound-bite clips in vertical orientation
Plan a Full Documentary + Social Package

Three-minute sales edit +$1,250

  • A three-minute sales edit of the story, delivered in vertical and horizontal formats
Plan a Full Documentary + Sales Edit

Compare every detail

Case study package comparison
DetailFocused Case Study FilmFull Case Study Documentary
Starting priceFrom $5,500 for one filming dayFrom $15,000 with four filming dates
Included filmingOne local filming day, up to 6 hours on site; up to three filming dates, each additional date priced in your proposalFour local filming days across project milestones, up to 6 hours on site per day
First cut10 business days after the shoot and receipt of agreed source material20 business days after the final planned milestone shoot and receipt of agreed source material
Main filmApproximately 5 minutes, horizontalUp to 12 minutes, horizontal
Best fitA service story whose meaningful stages can be filmed on one to three datesA service delivered over time, with the story captured as the work develops
Interview participantsUp to 2Up to 4
LocationsOneUp to 2 across the booked days
ResearchTarget buyer, central buying questions, customer background, and supporting evidenceRelevant decision makers, buying questions, project history, implementation, and results
Companion contentWith the social package (+$550)With the social package (+$750)
Social package+$550: a 30-second vertical teaser, a branded carousel of at least 10 slides, and five vertical sound-bite clips+$750: 10-, 30- and 90-second vertical teasers, a branded carousel of at least 10 slides, and ten vertical sound-bite clips
Sales editQuoted in your proposal+$1,250: a three-minute sales edit of the story, vertical and horizontal
FinishingNarrative edit, color, sound, music, captions, and basic graphicsNarrative edit, color, sound, music, captions, and basic graphics
ReviewTwo consolidated rounds: a story review, then finishing correctionsTwo consolidated rounds: a story review, then finishing corrections
More filming daysUp to three filming dates in total, each additional date priced in your proposal; four or more dates is the Full documentaryFrom $2,500 per additional day, with coverage and crew confirmed in your proposal

First-cut delivery. The timings above are for the first cut. Final completion follows the included review and correction process: a story review, then finishing corrections.

More filming days. Additional Full documentary filming days start at $2,500 per day, with the specific coverage and crew confirmed in your proposal. They contribute to the same main film unless more deliverables are commissioned.

Scoped separately. Photographs, written case studies, further interview participants, and travel beyond Huntsville, Madison, and Madison County are quoted for the intended use. So are a carousel without a social package, sound-bite clips beyond those a social package includes, and a separate sales edit for the Focused film; for the Full documentary, the three-minute sales edit is a +$1,250 add-on.

Several filming dates, one scope. A Focused film tells the whole story, starting situation, work and result, from one filming day; it can be filmed on up to three dates, and each additional date is priced in your proposal. A project requiring filming across several stages, with the work filmed as it happens on four or more separate dates, belongs in the Full scope, even if the strongest edit is shorter than twelve minutes. These are this service’s own deliverables and schedules; event coverage has its own packages.

05

Map your project. See the package that fits.

Scene noteIn the film, the decisions along the way shape the work. Here, your answers shape the scope.

The case study planner recommends a package from the filming dates your story needs and shows where it starts. Your cost analysis, the next step, confirms the dates, the details, and the final price.

How the planner chooses

  1. Where is the project now?Finished, underway or not started yet. Only work that is still ahead can be filmed as it happens.
  2. Which moments need their own filming date?Most stories are covered on one filming day, through interviews, your records and photos, and the work available that day. Each moment filmed as it happens, or a follow-up visit, adds a date.
  3. Up to three dates, or four and moreOne to three filming dates: the Focused Case Study Film, which starts from $5,500 for one filming day; each additional date adds to the cost. Four or more: the Full Case Study Documentary, which starts from $15,000 with four filming dates included.
  4. Your cost analysis covers the detailsAdditional dates, more people or locations than the package includes, travel beyond the local area, and add-ons are priced in your cost analysis.
Value lens · break-even

What would it take to cover the fee?

Think about the gross profit one additional customer brings your business. Dividing the production fee by that figure gives a break-even point.

For illustrationA $15,000 production and $5,000 in gross profit per additional customer: $15,000 ÷ $5,000 = 3 additional customers would cover the production fee.

A break-even calculation, not a forecast of sales from the film.

How to work out what a customer is worth

06

We follow the work as it happens.

Scene noteIn the film, the decisions along the way happen while the work is underway. That is when we film.

Your service may unfold across several weeks or months. We plan filming around the stages that matter to the customer’s story and to the people who will watch it.

What we capture at each milestone

What the full documentary captures at each milestone
MilestoneWhat we capture
Filming day 1Initial situation and decisionThe original problem, starting conditions, customer expectations, and why the provider was selected.
Filming day 2Early workThe service beginning, the team’s process, and the customer’s experience as work gets underway.
Filming day 3Meaningful progressImportant decisions, work in progress, and challenges or adjustments as they occur.
Filming day 4Completion and resultThe finished work or implemented solution, the customer’s experience afterward, and the outcome that can be demonstrated.
A digital design of a full set of teeth on a computer screen. A lab technician looks through a microscope.
For exampleWhat work in progress can look like on camera. Stills from Her Smile Changed Her Life, our Focused Case Study Film example, made for Oral Arts Dental Lab.

The four included filming days are scheduled around the agreed milestones. When a result needs time to develop after completion, we plan the appropriate follow-up coverage and confirm the final capture date.

Between visits, we prepare footage selections and story notes and update the interview and capture plan, so later coverage answers the questions raised by earlier footage.

The length of the final film is one part of the scope. The service timeline determines what needs to be captured.

07

One story, wherever buyers decide.

Scene noteEvery case study ends with the outcome. Yours is a film your team can put to work.

Use the finished film on service pages, in proposals, in sales follow-up, and in conversations involving several decision makers. With a social package, vertical teasers introduce the story and direct interested viewers to the full film, alongside a branded carousel and vertical sound-bite clips. With the Full documentary, a three-minute sales edit of the story, in vertical and horizontal formats, can serve proposals and sales follow-up.

  • Service pagesLet visitors see the experience behind a service before they get in touch.

  • ProposalsPut a relevant customer’s experience beside your scope and price.

  • Sales follow-upSend the story after a first meeting, while a buyer is weighing options.

  • Several decision makersGive the people who weren’t in the meeting the same story, in the customer’s own words.

Who it’s for

Service providers whose customers need trust, understanding, and evidence before they choose, including B2B organizations whose buyers involve several people in the decision.

Stories that could follow a service over time

IllustrationsThese are hypothetical examples, not client work. The featured film above is our actual case example.

Illustration · high-trust service

A renovation

  1. Initial situation and decisionThe homeowners’ starting point, their concerns, and why they chose the contractor.
  2. Early workThe crew’s process as the work gets underway.
  3. Meaningful progressDesign decisions and surprises behind the walls, handled as they come up.
  4. Completion and resultThe finished space and what living in it is like.
Illustration · B2B

An engineering engagement

  1. Initial situation and decisionThe client’s problem, its constraints, and why they chose the firm.
  2. Early workSite assessment and the first design work.
  3. Meaningful progressTechnical decisions and adjustments as the design develops.
  4. Completion and resultThe implemented solution and the outcome the client can demonstrate.
Illustration · B2B

A manufacturing installation

  1. Initial situation and decisionThe line before the project and why the plant chose the installer.
  2. Early workDelivery, rigging, and the installation crew at work.
  3. Meaningful progressCommissioning, testing, and adjustments on the floor.
  4. Completion and resultThe line running, and the operators’ experience of it.
Illustration · B2B

A managed-service implementation

  1. Initial situation and decisionThe client’s situation and why they chose a managed provider.
  2. Early workOnboarding and the rollout plan in action.
  3. Meaningful progressStaff adoption and the issues worked through along the way.
  4. Completion and resultDay-to-day operation afterward and the results the client can document.
08

Clear steps from access to final film.

Your proposal identifies the anticipated project window, the included milestones, the filming days and locations, and who coordinates access and schedule updates.

  1. Share the projectTell us the customer story, where the work stands, and who needs to understand it.
  2. Research and planningWe research the buyers and their questions, plan the interviews, and set the milestones in your proposal.
  3. FilmingFilming days at the agreed milestones, with access to the people and work being featured.
  4. First cut10 business days after the Focused shoot, or 20 business days after the final planned milestone shoot, once agreed source material has arrived.
  5. Two review roundsA consolidated story review, then consolidated finishing corrections.
  6. Final filmFinal completion follows the review and correction process. Timing for any add-ons is confirmed in your proposal.

Access

Filming depends on access to the customer, your team, and the work itself. Your proposal names who coordinates access and schedule updates. Each filming day is one scheduled production visit; several short visits on different dates are scheduled separately.

Two consolidated review rounds

You review the first cut as a story, in one consolidated round. A second consolidated round covers finishing corrections. Final completion follows that review and correction process.

First-cut timing

Focused: 10 business days after the shoot and receipt of agreed source material. Full: 20 business days after the final planned milestone shoot and receipt of agreed source material.

Additional filming days

Full documentary days beyond the included four start at $2,500 per day, with coverage and crew confirmed in your proposal. They add material to the same main film unless more deliverables are commissioned.

These schedules belong to Case Study Films. They run in business days from the final planned shoot. Planning an event instead? Event coverage has its own packages and delivery schedule.

09

Your story starts with a first conversation.

Scene noteEvery case study begins with a first conversation. This one is yours.

Tell us about the customer experience or project you have in mind. You don’t need to choose a package first: describe the assignment and we’ll recommend the scope.

Production brief · Case study inquiry

Tell us about the project.

Share the customer or project, where the work stands, and who needs to understand it. Package preference is optional.

What happens nextWe’ll review the customer story, filming milestones, and intended audience, then follow up about the right scope.

A woman in a white top smiles in an interview chair.
Still from Her Smile Changed Her Life, made for Oral Arts Dental Lab.

Thanks for sharing your project. We’ll review the customer story, filming milestones, and intended audience, then follow up about the right scope.

We couldn’t send your project details just now. Please try again in a moment, or book a content call and tell us about the project there.

Who’s asking
The project

For example, a kitchen renovation, an equipment installation, or a software rollout

For example, March to June, or about eight weeks

Have you identified a customer or project to feature? (optional)
The story
Scope
Add-ons (optional)

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