How to Brief a Case Video: A Step-by-Step Guide

When you brief a case video, the brief does the heavy lifting. It decides what story gets told, what proof can go on screen, and what gets cut before the first draft.

Brand says a bad brief is just a group chat with extra steps.

What a case video brief must decide first

Before you write anything, decide three things. What business problem the video should answer. Who needs to believe it. What proof you can honestly show.

Use a simple template: This video should help [audience] believe [claim] by showing [proof] so they take [next step].

• Name one result you want. Examples: get a demo request, help a buyer approve the next step, or get a partner to say yes.
• Pick one audience. A prospect, a buyer, a manager, or a team lead. Do not brief for all of them at once.
• Choose one main proof path. Use customer quotes, screenshots, a before and after, process steps, or a short product walkthrough.
• Set a rough length. Most case videos work well at roughly 30 to 90 seconds when the goal is tight and specific.
• Choose the first home for the video. Website, pitch deck, follow-up email, event screen, or social feed all push the edit in different directions.

Step 1: Write the job in one sentence

Start with one sentence that says what the video must do. Use this shape: This video should help [audience] believe [claim] by showing [proof].

Example: This video should help operations managers believe our approval process saves time by showing the review steps and the before and after workflow.

Keep the claim specific. “We help teams move faster” is too soft. “We cut approval delays with one review link” is easier to build around.

If no one on the team can repeat the sentence after one read, the brief is not ready yet.

Step 2: Pick the proof before you pick the style

Style comes later. Proof comes first. A case video can look polished and still say very little.

List the proof you can stand behind. Choose one main path, then keep the rest as support. Good options include screenshots, a workflow, a quote, a document, a product screen, a simple chart, or a clean before and after.

Also mark what is off limits. Leave out private data, unsupported claims, old logos, and anything legal or brand teams would flinch at.

If your source is thin, say so early. A short source doc usually means a tighter script and fewer moving parts. That is a useful boundary, not a flaw.

Step 3: Give the team the raw material

Give the team the source doc, any web pages, slides, transcripts, and a plain summary if the files are messy. They cannot guess product names, proof points, or legal lines safely.

Use exact spelling for product names, features, and departments. If the video needs a certain closing line, add it. If a disclaimer must appear, put it in the brief, not in a side note.

Good references help too. Send one or two videos you like. Then send one or two you do not want copied. That second list saves more time than the first.

If you are making the piece from a website, Nine can read the colours, lettering, and words from a web address on the front page. Seeing the film in your own colours is free and needs no account.

You can also start from a sentence, a script, a document, a template, a voice recording, or a website address. A film of your own comes with a plan, and the plan details live here: /pricing.

Step 4: Set the tone and edit rules

Do not just say “make it professional.” Use plain tone words instead. Calm. Confident. Serious. Warm. Direct. A little punchy.

Then say how the viewer should leave. Reassured? Curious? Ready to book a demo? Clear on the next step? That one line helps the team choose pacing and music without guessing.

Also set the edit rules. Tell the team what to avoid. Too much hype. Too many numbers on screen. Too much jargon. Too many jokes. A case video can be friendly and still stay focused.

If your brand wants the story to sound more like proof than polish, say that out loud.

Step 5: Define the format the video needs to fit

Where will the first version live? A homepage cut needs different pacing than a sales deck cut. A social version needs different framing than a screen in a meeting room.

If you need more than one shape, ask for that early. A wide version for a website, a tall version for a phone, and a square one for a feed are not the same job. Nine makes films in wide, tall, and square shapes, so one film can fit a website, a phone, and a feed.

If the case video may sit over your own footage or a web page, say that too. A transparent version can be laid over your own footage or page.

Step 6: Set the review process before it starts

Case videos often slow down when too many people weigh in at once. Fix that before the draft exists.

Name one person who can approve the script. Name one person who can approve brand and legal points. If the same person can do both, even better.

Ask for specific notes, not long email threads. Notes should point to a moment, a line, or a frame. That keeps changes usable.

If you use Nine, a client can review a film through a private link with no account and leave notes pinned to moments.

Step 7: Share the final brief like a working document

Put the whole brief in one place. Goal. Audience. Proof. Source material. Format. Tone. Review owners. Deadline. Links to files. That is the version people should open first.

Keep it short enough that a busy manager can read it in one sitting. One to two pages is usually enough if the brief is clear.

Then treat the brief as the guardrail, not the script itself. The brief tells the team where the story must go. The script comes after that. If the brief changes, update it clearly so nobody works from an old draft.

What goes wrong most often

The biggest problem is trying to prove too much. One video cannot show every product win, every customer type, and every feature. If the brief tries, the edit turns muddy.

Another common issue is weak evidence. A case video needs more than nice words. If all you have is praise without a concrete example, the video will stay soft.

Review chaos is the third trap. One person likes the facts. Another wants more emotion. Another wants the logo bigger. Without clear owners, the project stalls in tiny fights.

There is also a format trap. A video made for a sales deck may not work on a landing page without a different cut. If you need both, say so before production starts.

How long the briefing work usually takes

For a simple case video, the first good brief can take roughly one focused hour if the proof is already gathered. If the source material is scattered across slides, notes, and old docs, plan for roughly half a day to clean it up.

The best case is when you already know the audience, the claim, and the proof. Then the brief mostly becomes sorting and trimming.

If the project also needs a script, add time for one or two review passes. That is normal. The time saved comes later, when the edit does not have to be rebuilt from confusion.

A simple case video brief checklist

• One sentence that says the job of the video.
• One audience only.
• One main proof path.
• Source files and exact names.
• What must not appear.
• The first place the video will be used.
• Tone words and what to avoid.
• Who approves content and who approves brand or legal points.
• Which sizes or shapes you need.
• The deadline for the first review.

Final thought

A case video brief is the map. If the map is clear, the story gets sharper, the proof stays honest, and the review rounds stop wandering in circles.

Write the brief for the person who will challenge it. If that person can still follow the story in one read, you are close.