Case study template: how to write about your community project
A simple template and worked example to write a clear community case study.
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How to produce a film case study
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Tell your community story on film. This short guide covers planning, locations, sound, length, on-screen text, consent and sharing your finished video.
Cover photo: Alex Brenner
How long should a film case study be?
The guide suggests about 2 to 5 minutes for a film about one story or activity, and 6 to 12 minutes for a bigger story with several parts. For social media, shorter clips usually work better, so consider a short and/or vertical version for sharing alongside the full film.
How do you get good sound when filming?
Use an external microphone if you can, especially outdoors. Without one, avoid filming on windy days and in echoey spaces such as sports halls. Always do a sound check first: record a short clip, then play it back to check that you can hear everything clearly.
Add captions so everyone can follow your film, including people watching with the sound off.
What is this toolkit and who is it for?
This short guide from Local Trust helps you make a film case study about your community work. It covers setting the scene, planning with a storyboard, choosing locations, recording clear sound, deciding on length and keeping effects and on-screen text simple. It also covers checking that participants are happy with the film, and sharing it online and at local screenings.
Use it alongside the case study template when shaping your story. The guide was written in 2015, so it doesn’t cover filming on a phone or making short clips for social media. For those, see “Find your voice and tell powerful stories”.
This guide will be useful to community groups, community organisations and residents who want to show the difference their work makes through film.
Use it alongside the written case-study template when shaping the story.
What will I learn?
- Setting the scene so viewers understand your story
- Planning with a storyboard and interview questions
- Choosing filming locations that help tell the story
- Recording clear sound and doing a sound check
- Deciding how long your film should be
- Keeping effects simple and on-screen text easy to read
- Getting consent and checking participants are happy with the film
- Adding a title, logos and where to find out more
- Sharing your film online and at local screenings
Attribution
Produced by Local Trust as How to produce a film case study (July 2015). Adapted by Locality for MyCommunity.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence.
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