Project Description
Edtech supplier Scanning Pens showcased how their devices unlocked SATs success for students in new school case study video
Scanning Pens works with the education sector to provide reading pens which support dyslexic children, and they wanted a school case study video which would really bring their ethos and success to life.
These devices have been used in lessons across the world for many years now, but more recently they’d been working with Birchwood Primary School in Tamworth, Staffordshire, to see how these devices could be used in primary school SAT’s exams.
After boosting both the pupils’ confidence and test scores, they asked us to go to the school and produce a school case study video which they could use to book and convert more sales calls primary school senior leadership teams.
What was the pre-production process?
This was a project that Katie Mayers from Scanning Pens had been wanting to do for a long time, as she’d been working closely with Birchwood Primary School for a number of years.
So she’d got the outline of a brief, and the client already (and even had a filming date booked!) – but she needed the videographer.
Initally, we had a couple of online meetings with Katie and the team to work on the messaging, and what finished videos would work best for them.
We decided to produce a full-length school case study video, as well as three shorter testimonial clips for social media and blogs.
Part of Katie’s role is sales calls with primary schools for Scanning Pens, so we wanted to dig into what would make this video really effective for her. So we asked questions like:
- Where do you see this video fitting into the sales process – will SLT’s have watched it before the call?
- How much will they know about Scanning Pens before watching the video?
- What’s the main reason you struggle to convince headteachers to try the reading pens in their schools?
Answering these questions really helps to iron out the messaging.
For example, knowing that the video might be the first piece of content headteachers see from Scanning Pens, meant that we took the time in the video to explain the benefits of the pens, and how they could be used.
And from those conversations, we also learned that the main struggle for Katie is that headteachers are so busy, they might not be prepared to invest the time to trial the devices – and that was actually the situation for Birchwood.
So I made sure to ask the SENDCO at Birchwood about why it was worth investing that time, and we produced that as a separate short video which Katie could use to send directly to SLT’s who hesitate to trial the devices.
Once we’d decided on the messaging, it was time for the filming day.
What was the filming process?
Katie and the team had already done a phenomenal job organising the filming day at the primary school.
They’d decided which teachers and pupils they wanted to interview, and got all of the necessary permissions sorted ahead of the day.
As a result of that preparation, the day ran really smoothly. We filmed:
- An interview with the SENDCO about how the pens have supported their SEN students
- An interview with the school reading lead about the improvement they’ve seen to reading confidence and independence
- An interview with the Year 6 teacher about how the pens were used in SATs
- An interview with the school IT lead about how easy the devices have been to implement
- Interviews with the pupils who had been using the pens about their experience
- Footage of the pupils using the devices
As you can see, it’s all about knowing what point of view you want to get from each interview – you don’t just want to capture everyone saying the same thing.
Katie and the Head of Marketing Chloe joined the shoot for the school case study video as well. We’d discussed in advance if they wanted to ask the questions in the interviews, but we decided that I’d do it. This works great for two reasons:
- I used to be a BBC journalist, so know how to ask the questions in a way which gets people to be descriptive, and comfortable on camera
- This meant that Chloe and Katie could just listen to the answers and ensure the messaging was what they wanted
What was the editing process?
With so many interviews, you can imagine how many fantastic quotes I’d got to work with!
But since the school case study video would only be around three minutes long, the first job is cutting it down to find the absolute gold.
After that, it’s important to see how the quotes fit together to produce a narrative which really flows from one interviewee to the next.
Because we’d spent so much time working on the messaging beforehand, I knew exactly what points needed to be included in the video.
So when it was sent across for review, the messaging was all approved – there was just a couple of revisions requested to things like the design of the text on screen.
With our quotes, a full round of revisions is included in the cost, so it gives you chance to ensure the video is exactly how you want it without worrying about the price increasing.
After that, we sent across the approved school case study video with the video thumbnails we designed, and video subtitle files to improve accessibility.
What did the client say?
It’s been an absolute pleasure working with VideoHQ.
Despite the tight turnaround before filming, you handled everything with such calm efficiency and made the whole process feel effortless.
You took on all our feedback with care and adapted beautifully – your responsiveness and professionalism really stood out.
You’ll be top of our list for any future filming projects!
- Katie Mayers, Scanning Pens.
Do you work with the education sector, and want to produce a case study video with one of your clients?
At VideoHQ, we specialise in working with education providers ourselves. So not only are we ace at filming in schools, but we know exactly what it’s like selling your products and services to the education sector.
When we produce school case study videos, you can be confident that we’re creating content which is going to help you to book and convert more sales calls with education providers.
If you’ve got a recent project which you want to tell the story of using a case study video, get in touch and we can get the ball rolling.
