A client who is happy to speak on camera is a useful starting point. It does not automatically mean a testimonial is the film your next buyer needs. Sometimes the unresolved question is about the working relationship. Sometimes it is about a technical challenge, a delivered scope or the reasoning behind a decision.
Choose the format by the question, not by which interview is easiest to arrange. A testimonial can communicate a customer’s experience. A case study can explain a particular piece of work through a structured account and supporting evidence. The two can overlap, but they should not be treated as synonyms in a production brief.
Decide what is missing from the sales conversation
Think of the last useful enquiry your business received. What did the prospective client need to understand before progressing?
If the question was “What is this team like to work with?”, a relevant customer may offer a first-hand perspective. If it was “How did you approach a project with this constraint?”, the answer may need explanation from the project team alongside visible or documented evidence.
Do not turn this into a promise that either format will close a sale. The practical objective is to answer a real question more clearly. Write that question at the top of the brief and use it to decide which contributor and material are necessary.
Map the evidence before booking interviews
Use this short worksheet for the proposed film:
| Buyer question | Who has first-hand knowledge? | What can support the answer? | What must remain qualified? |
|---|---|---|---|
| What was the working relationship like? | The customer involved | A specific recollection and its context | One person’s experience is not a universal guarantee |
| What did the contractor deliver? | The responsible project representative | A defined work package and approved project material | Other parties’ contributions |
| Why was a particular approach chosen? | Someone involved in the decision | Relevant constraints and the recorded reasoning | Alternatives not tested or results not measured |
Replace the example rows with your own questions. A blank evidence column is a reason to investigate, not a reason to ask an interviewee for a stronger-sounding answer.
If almost all your useful evidence is the customer’s experience of the relationship, a focused testimonial may be appropriate. If the explanation relies on project context, several decisions and material showing the work, a case-study structure may fit better. If both are essential, brief a case study that includes a customer perspective rather than forcing two unrelated stories into a short edit.
An illustrative commissioning choice
Suppose a fitout contractor wants to show a completed workplace. Its client is comfortable discussing communication during the project. The contractor also wants prospective clients to understand how retained areas were integrated into the new fitout. This is an illustrative scenario, not a client result.
A testimonial brief might focus on what the client experienced and what they found helpful, in their own words. The case-study brief would also need the project boundary, the integration challenge, the contractor’s actual contribution and supporting images or footage. The customer’s satisfaction does not establish technical performance by itself.
The production decision is therefore not “one interview or two”. It is whether the second set of questions is necessary for the intended buyer. If it is, scope the material required to answer it instead of expecting a customer to cover a project manager’s responsibilities.
Keep customer participation genuine
Ask whether the person wants to participate, what experience they can discuss and what review arrangements are appropriate. Avoid providing praise for them to repeat. Preparation can help them recall concrete details without scripting an endorsement.
The ACCC’s guidance on online reviews stresses genuine opinion and warns against fake or misleading reviews. If a filmed endorsement involves an incentive, commercial connection or sensitive claim, have the relevant context reviewed before use. This article is a production-planning guide, not advice on the legal position of a particular testimonial.
The practical test is simple: would a viewer understand whose experience is being described, what project it relates to and what the person can genuinely know? Do not use a confident delivery to hide an uncertain claim.
Give the supplier a format brief
Before asking for a quote, supply:
- The buyer question the film should answer.
- The intended audience and where the film will be used.
- Potential contributors and what each knows first hand.
- The supporting project material that exists and can be shared.
- Any statements requiring factual or specialist review.
- The expected role of customer feedback in the production process.
Use the interview evidence worksheet to prepare the substance after deciding the format. It is more useful to gather specific, supportable answers than to chase an impressive testimonial phrase.
Start with the question, then scope the film
Discuss the project with Live Images and include the buyer question you want to answer. Explain whether you have a willing client contributor, project evidence or both. That gives the production conversation a clear starting point without assuming a format or outcome before the material has been considered.
Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images. Planning guidance is general; suitability and production scope must be agreed for your project.