2. CONTRACTUAL BRIEF
Definition: A contractual brief is where a company signs an agreement containing certain
rules and regulations that must be followed for the completion of certain tasks within a
set time frame for a specific fee. For example if you hired someone to take photographs
for your wedding you would write up a contract for the photographer to sign explaining
the set fee, the times and the specific requirements wanted for the images so that both
people are aware of what needs to be completed and when it needs to be completed.
Advantages
You know exactly what you’re going to make minimising risks due to the fact that all of
the specifics are written down in the contract for you. Another advantage is that it offers
both the client and the producer of the content protection. For example if a producer
produced some business cards for a company and that company thought they asked for
flyers instead of business cards they can review over their contract to see what it stated
in the contract to stop the producer from doing more work than they need too. Funding
is another advantage as due to the fee that is written down in the contract it allows you
to be clear on what your budget is and limits you to overspend on your product.
Disadvantages
There are however some disadvantages. One of them being that you could potentially get
sued if you create an inadequate/ the wrong product ad it can also be difficult to try
and get out of the contract as once you have signed it you are locked in and have to
complete the task. Another disadvantage is that it can be relatively time consuming and
expensive, especially larger companies that are working on bigger projects
3. FORMAL BRIEF
Definition
A formal brief is where the client gives the producer the basic
format/structure of what the client wants the producer to do/create
however there are no set terms or conditions and any additional information
will need to be gained during negotiations with the client. Formal briefs are
not always legally binding.
Advantages
One advantage to a formal brief is that it gives you flexibility in terms of the
design elements/ time periods and occasionally budgets and resources too.
Another advantage is that it keeps things fairly simple as you don’t have to
read pages and pages of set requirements in a contract and gives you the
freedom to create a style that you like/want to create. Another advantage is
that you can negotiate and formalise things over the phone or via email so
that you have a clear set idea on what the clients are wanting.
Disadvantages
One of the main disadvantages to a formal brief is that they aren’t always
necessarily legally binding meaning that it doesn’t provide with you with as
much security as you would hope, meaning that if things go wrong such as
you don’t get paid the set fee that you agreed on you wouldn’t be as
protected and wouldn’t necessarily be paid the full amount you once agreed
on due to the fact that you didn’t sign a legally binding contract.
4. INFORMAL BRIEF
Definition
An informal brief is a casual agreement (usually verbal) between the client and the
company/producer where you are unable to trace/ build up evidence about what
it is you will be creating for your client meaning that there would be no contracts
or written documentations about what it is you will be producing for your client.
Due to the informality there also may not be a set completion date. These types
of brief can be risky and potentially harmful for either the client or producer when
there is no written documentation to prove things involved.
Advantages
An advantage is that it gives the producer more freedom and space to create what
they want and when they want to do it providing them with full flexibility with no
contract to stop them from doing certain things. Another advantage is that a lot
of the time there is no set time frame due other fact that they haven't discussed
this or written it down in a contract meaning you can take your time with it and
complete it when it best suits you. Another advantage is that it allows both the
client and the producer to discuss and change ideas as they please with new and
better ideas without contracts legally stopping them.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage to this type of brief is that its not reliable way of making/
producing work and receiving payment for the work being done. Another
disadvantage is for example if you were producing posters for a cruelty free shop
and you don’t include the fact that they are cruelty free on the poster then you
may not have produced the poster to a good enough standard as you won’t have
portrayed the brands ethos across the poster as you may have forgotten/
accidentally neglected some of the company's identity due to it not being in
writing.
5. CO-OPERATIVE BRIEF
Definition
A cooperative brief is where two or more companies are hired by a client who work
together (co-operatively) in the production of the same project.
Advantages
Some advantages to a co-operative brief include that the two companies can bring
contrasting skillsets to the project, one company may be better/ excel in a
specific area compared to the other company and vice versa. Another advantage
of the project can be seen from two different perspectives and allows you to
bounce and generate ideas off of each other meaning that you can have a wider
variety and a better understanding of what you could create for your client. A
final advantage is that you hve a backup contingency plan so for example if one
person falls ill or suddenly is unable to complete the task the other company can
pick up the work and take over so that the project isn’t altogether stopped or
halted.
Disadvantages
Some disadvantages can include there is a higher chance of creative differences/
confrontation as both company’s may not agree that a certain idea isn’t as good
as what the opposing company think it is. Another disadvantage is that you would
earn less than you would if you had done it all yourself as you have to split the
fee between both companies meaning you are not generating as much money.
However if one company brings more ideas and puts more effort in than the other
company both of the two (or more) companies would receive the credit for the
final product despite how little one of the company’s put into it. They would also
most likely split the fee 50/50 which wouldn’t necessarily be fair if one company
has put more effort in than the other.
6. NEGOTIATED BRIEF
Definition
Negotiated briefs are only involved when two or more companies are working on a co-
operative brief and have contradicting ideas and they feel that the brief has to be
formalised in a certain way to ensure that all parties are happy with it. All parties
involved including the client themselves wouldn’t have to come back to the decision
making process at a much later stage in production.. The brief would often be changed
and certain aspects of it such as the legal requirements or contents of the final product
have to be compromised slightly in order to appease all parties.
Advantages
An advantage is that after the brief is reviewed it can still negotiated and changed
between all parties meaning the project is open to more ideas making for a more
effective project. Another advantage is that you are able to consultate with the client
easier than if you were to work to other briefs meaning that you are able to build a
better relationship with them that can possibly result in you doing more work for them
in the future as well as the company being able to recommend your work to other
businesses due to the better relationship you have with the client.
Disadvantages
For there to be any progression both companies will almost always be forced to
compromise some of their ideas in order for the project to be able to continue running
smoothly and in a professional manner.
7. COMMISSION BRIEF
Definition
A commission brief is when a large media company hires an independent media
company to create a product for them. The brief is negotiated between two
media companies rather than an external client. The product can then be used by
the larger media company for an external client. The independent production
company will be paid for making the product and potentially will get part of the
products profit each time it is sold/ broadcast/ published.
Advantages
An advantage of this type of brief is that when you receive the brie you will be in
the same field of expertise and will explain things using certain terminology that
you will understand and be able to undertake for them specifically as you can
have a more in depth conversation with fellow media savvy people about the
specialist requirements they are wanting involved of the final product. Another
advantage is the longevity of the final product. For example if a company created
a poster or short film for the BBC every time that poster or short film is used you
will get paid each time meaning that hypothetically you can always earn
commission from the products that you have created depending on how many
times different people are wanting to use them.
Disadvantages
Some of the disadvantages are that you may not get paid as much money than if
you had undertaken the work directly from the client as the larger production
company that has hired you to do the work will more than likely take a cut of the
profits. For example if you sold an image to channel 4 and more people are also
wanting to purchase that image channel 4 will then take a cut of the commission
8. TENDER BRIEF
Definition
A tender brief is when a client will publish through either online or print platforms
that they require a media product to be made. Companyies/ freelancers will then
create a brief outline, proposal and a budget before pitching it to their possible
client. Multiple production companies may submit their brief to the client however
only one can secure the project. The client then decides on the best proposal
submitted before offering the project to the winning production company.
Advantages
Some advantages include that the client will be able to review several different
ideas and come up with a detailed proposal of what they like/ dislike which allows
them to have a more in depth idea of what they are wanting to be created which
as a result allows them to decide which company they’re best suited too. This
type of brief also puts the client in a more powerful position as they have the
choice of multiple companies and freelancers.
Disadvantages
There are also multiple disadvantages as this type of brief can often result in
negative outcomes for many businesses. As they may not be offered the job
meaning that all their hard work of creating a proposal/ brief may have gone to
waste..
9. COMPETITION BRIEF
Definition
This is where a client will release their brief to the public in order to gather a more
diverse range of products. Multiple production companies and freelancers will enter the
competition (usually free to enter) in which they will have to review the brief and and
come up with their own designs to enter and submit. At the end of the competition the
client will choose the product they feel best suits their brand and will usually offer a
prize to encourage more people to enter. For example Channel 4’s E stings’ competition
is where production companies/ freelancers create and enter small animated clips that
relate to the brands image. At the end of the competition, two winners are chosen , one
voted for by the public and the other one by judges at E4 each won a £5,000 prize was
broadcasted on the Channel 4 station.
Advantages
Advantages include due tot the large amount of companies that enter the completion the
client has a huge choice of products to look over and choose from allowing them to
make an informed decision on what they believe will be most effectively show their
brands image. It also allows them to view a variety of different and diverse range of
product, providing them with new ideas that they hadn’t originally thought of
themselves.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages may be that the decision process of choosing a winner out of the
many entries they have had can be very time consuming, it would be quicker if the
client proposed the brief to an individual company in the first place. Saving them a lot
of time and possibly money. When it comes to the decision making process it can also
be a disadvantage if not a lot of companies have entered in the competition or none of
them are up to the clients standards however they would still be required to choose a
10. MY BRIEF
Which structure/structures will your client brief use?
Reference your reasons for choice/choices
My brief is mainly an informal one as I have been/ will be
conversing with my client face to face in order to discuss what
products they’re wanting me to produce and the requirements
and key pieces of information they wanted to be included
within the product. There will be minimal if not any written
contracts drawn up as my client doesn’t have a specific
deadline that they want my product completed by as well as the
fact they had little specific requirements as to what they
wanted the business cards to look like.
Initially I felt that a formal brief would be a better route to take
however after speaking with my client and them being very
open to new ideas and not having any major specifics as to
what they wanted the business cards to look like (apart from
including the logo on it somewhere) I decided to keep it on an
informal basis.
11. READING THE BRIEF
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
It is important to read through the brief thoroughly so that you as a
creator/producer can be aware of all the specific pieces that the client
is wanting included on your finished product. The brief will tell you all
of the clients requirements and demands so reading it is vital so that
you don’t miss out on any key pieces of information and risk
completing the product that is inadequate and doesn't match the brief.
The brief will also provide you with information about the budget of
your product, this is important to read and remember as you don’t
want to risk overspending which will reduce the amount of profit you
make from it.
My brief specifically is very informal and has very little requirements to
it, the most specific requirements that were said in my brief were that
they wanted the companies logo (Hill Care Company) to be somewhere
on the business card as well as the head offices telephone number and
email address, which they have written down for me. Apart from these
two requirements my client was very open to any ideas/ designs I had
in mind for the business cards.
12. READING THE BRIEF
What is the nature and demand of your client brief?
The nature and demand of my client brief is that they are wanting me to
produce business cards that include the Hill Care logo as well as basic
contact information in which people can get a hold of the business if
they would like/need too, that look professional and completed to a
high standard. Other than those basic requirements my client is open
to any design ideas I may have and is allowing me the freedom to
design the business card in a way in which I think looks the most
professional.
There are few to no demands that have been given with this brief all
they ask is I produce regular sized business cards for Hill Care
Company that include basic contact details as well as the companies
logo somewhere on the card, however other than that they are allowing
me to design it any way I want.
13. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to
production?
It is important to thoroughly discuss the brief with your client prior to
production so that you can clarify what exactly it is they are wanting
and so you’re sure of every requirement they have and can double
check everything before you start producing all of your work. If you are
unsure of anything during the production process it will consequently
slow the production down. Or if you have already produced the finished
product and its not up to the clients standards they may not pay you or
make you change the product resulting in a loss of money and making
it more time consuming as you have to go back and reproduce/ change
the product which could have been avoided if you’d have thoroughly
discussed all the requirements through with your client beforehand.
14. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion
with a brief?
There are several advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion
with a brief. One of the advantages being that you have full control as
no one is controlling what you can and can’t do, this as a result gives
you the freedom to choose what you want to do and how you want to
produce it, it also gives you the chance to add in extra details that
maybe your vclient won’t have originally thought of, Another advantage
of employing discretion is that you have the time to do your work freely
as no one else will be bothering you or trying to put their input across
meaning that you may get your work done much quicker compared to
if you weren’t employing discretion.
Moving on to the disadvantages however one of the main disadvantages
is that you are unable to get any advice or feedback on your work.
Because you have been left to complete the work on your own means
that you cannot reach out to anyone for help if you are unsure or stuck
on an idea. As a result this can lead to your work not being produced
to its full potential or you possibly becoming slower at completing the
task as you are stuck thinking by yourself of what to do and you may
15. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s
proposed product?
There are a few potential legal and ethical issues with my brief however
none that I cannot work around. The main issue will be breach of
copyright, this will only occur if I use someone's font and/or images
that aren’t copyright free, to ensure that this doesn’t happen I will have
to be extra careful and double check before I use these that they are
both free of copyright, most of the text I have looked at are already
free of copyright so there hopefully shouldn’t be an issue.
Moving onto legal and ethical issues I don’t feel that there are any major
factors in my brief that could potentially affect this category. My clients
business aims to treat the older generation with the care and respect
they deserve and wants them to live a happy and healthy life under
their care so that they are kept safe and well. There aren’t any ethical
issues my brief could affect.
16. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Amendments you have considered to:
The Product
The product in which I am producing for my client should not need
amending as all of the text I have looked at are already free of
copyright and I will be producing my own image to put on the business
card meaning that there will be no copyright issues there either.
The Budget
My client has not given me a specific budget meaning that I do not need
to amend this
The Conditions
The conditions of my project will remain the same as my client hasn’t
given me many specific instructions to complete my project meaning
there is little changes to be made.
17. OPPORTUNITIES
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development
By taking part in the project will help me to further develop me own skills
both technical and non-technical as it will also prepare me for work that I
may potentially start doing outside of a college atmosphere, it gives me an
idea of what it will be like to work for a client in the real word and also
allows me to explore my photoshop skills further.
Learning new skills
Within this project I will be learning multiple new skills, especially within
Photoshop as this is the main platform I will be using in order to create the
clients business cards. In order to produce these business cards I will have
to do a die cut on the overall shape of the card as well as completing a lot of
post production to my images which I have taken in order for them to look
the best they can be.
It will also help me to learn how to better my time management and gives me
an idea on what its like working on my own with little to no help.
18. OPPORTUNITIES
Multi-skilling
This brief allows me to learn several different skills that I will need in
order to complete this project to a high standard. All of these skills will
be learnt through photoshop and photography. I already have a lot of
experience in photoshop however this project allows me to elaborate
my skills further so that I am able to produce work of a high standard.
Contributing to a project
In this project I am creating business cards for a care company. My work
will as a result help my client's massively to bring in potential new
clients as they have ready to hand and easily accessible business cards
to hand which make the company look both professional and keen to
work with there potential new clients.
