Task 1 - Types of briefs

1. AnthonyBowes
Contractual – “A contractual briefis a legal bindingbetween a client andemployee that outlines
the requirements of the company’sneeds andhow the companywill organisetheir work. Thisbrief
normallyconsistsofa legal document statingthe expectationsof the client, as well as the
payment terms. “
http://www.slideshare.net/veggieburgers4lyf/different-types-of-brief-16919081
Communication– The communicationbetweenclientandemployee isclearandeasyto understand
as it clearlystateswhatthe clientmustdoas well asthe paymentplan. Asa legal documentitis
likelythatthe contactbetweenclientandproducerwill be done byemail asthe contractormay be
busymost of the time.
Time management– There will be a setdeadline andthistype of brief isnormally allocatedwhen
smallertasksor projectsare created.
Technical skills– The clienthiredwill normallybe free-lance ortemporaryworkandneedtobe at a
verygoodskill level ratherthanafull time job.
Career progression– As thesesbriefsare normallytemporarythere isnotmuchroomfor career
progression asa clientwill normallyworkwithlotsof companies.
NegotiatedBrief – “This type of brief will be brought up if the co-operative brief given to the
two or more media companies that are competing the project have any issues between
themselves about the brief or anything they would like to clear up with the client. Through
the negotiations the brief can then be changed in order to suite every party taking part in
the production. This could be anything from changing the appearance of the product to
changing the products content as well as keeping it to the guidelines set in the brief.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/negotiated-brief.html
Communication– the communicationbetweenthe clientsandemployee isthe mainfocustomake
sure 2 competingclientsare okwiththe brief andsoit isup to the clientstocommunicate withthe
employeeif theyhave problemswiththe contract.
Time management– If any companydisagreeswiththe time scale theycancontactthere employee
to change it.
Technical skills– These briefsare normallybetween2or more companiesandare competingto
make the bestproduct soit is upto the employee tochoose the bestproduct.
Career progression– If yourproduct ischosenthenyouwill be thoughtmore highlyof bythe
companyand couldevenleadtoa full time employment.

2. AnthonyBowes
Formal – “This this where a media company is given a brief by the client which outlines the
product which they are wanting to be made. This brief is very open and only gives enough
information to be able to produce the product, any issues or information that the media
company would like to go over can be discussed during the negotiations with the client.
Both the client and the company employed by them will formally agree on the project and
the brief but it cannot always be legally binding.“
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/formal-brief.html
Communication– Communicationbetweenthe clientandcompany isdone mostlyatthe start of a
projectto negotiate anytermsordifferencessuchaspay or time scale.Bothpartiesagree ona final
brief whichtheyhave discussedthoroughly
Time management– With thisbrief there will be asettime periodgivenbutcanbe changedif it
doesnotfulfil the client’s needs.
Technical skills– These typesof briefsare normallygiventofull timeemployeesof the company
whena task or projectneedscompletingsuchassome conceptart or a new game.
Career progression– If the clientperformsagoodjobthenthe employee will askthemtodomore
briefsandmove upthe career ladder.
Informal – “An informal brief is not documented and is usually of the verbal kind. It is
where the client and the company which they have employed simply discuss the
requirements for the product they will be making and ultimately agrees upon the project.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/informal-brief.html
Communication– The communicationisverystronginthisbrief atis mostlyverbal andcan be
discussed andchangedveryeasilythere isnopaperworkandwill normallybe inthe formof a
simple conversation.
Time management– Time managementwill be easytochange andis discussedwiththe employee
inpersonso theygeta betterscope of how longtheyhave.
Technical skills– These briefsare normallyusedforquickandshorttasks suchas makinga character
or sketchingposterideas,thesebriefsare giventoartistsanddesignerswhoproduce lotsof work.
Career progression– There is notmuch career progressionfromthese briefsastheyare valuedas
highlyandas theyare small taskwill normallygotowardsabiggertasksuch as a completedgame.

3. AnthonyBowes
Commission– “This brief is where a large media company will employ an other independent
media company to create and produce the product for them, and after the product has
been made the larger company may go on to be use the product for an external client who
will pay the independent media company for making the product and they could even get
a cut of the royalties too. The brief is not negotiated between the company and the client,
however is negotiated between the two media companies.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/commission-brief.html
Communication– Communicationismuchsmalleronthisbrief andisonlynegotiatedbetween2
companiesandthe largercompanythencommunicateswithaclient tosell the product.
Time management– Time managementisnegotiatedbythe 2companiesandcan be verybroad as
it isthe largercompanywho makesthe brief andrequirements.
Technical skills– These briefsare normallyassociatedwithlarge scale projectssuchas completed
videogamesorfilms,1 companywill make the game while the othercompanyfindsaclient.
Career progression– The maincareerprogressionisthatthe two companiesmayworktogetherin
the future forother projectsandmay doa similarbrief.
Tender –“This is where a client will advertise their brief and a production company will
bring together a proposal that they will pitch to the client, there could be multiple pitches
to the client from many different companies, so the client will then get the chance to
choose the proposal that they think best suits their brief and offer the job to that
production company.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/tender-brief.html
Communication– Communicationcomesinthe style of apitchand soeach companymustpersuade
the employee tochoose themtocomplete the brief. Theymustpromote there companyaswell as
theiridea.
Time management– The time managementissetandnormally isnotnegotiable,mostof the
companiesare fine withthe time scale andthat’swhytheyare tryingto obtainthe brief.
Technical skills– Thisbrief isfor large scale productssuchas a brief fora horror game,each
companypitches there ideaforthe brief accordingtoits guidelines.
Career progression– The successful companytomake the productwill mostlikely have an
advantage inthe nextpitchthe employee createsforthere nextproducttherefore gainingmore
work.

4. AnthonyBowes
Co-operative – “Within this type of brief there are usually two or more companies that are
hired by the client to work to the brief they have written for the specific project they want
to be completed. After both companies have received the brief they can then proceed to
work together to produce the product. If there is a disagreement or conflict in ideas there
can be a negotiated brief in order to resolve these issues.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/co-operative-brief.html
Communication– Communicationisstronginthisbrief asthere isconstantcommunicationbetween
the 2 companies evenif theyhave adisagreementthatiswhenanegotiatedbrief wouldbe
provided.
Time management– The time managementisagreedbetweenthe 2companiestowhentheythink
the product can be made,any changeswill be discussedbeforehand.
Technical skills– Thislike a tenderbrief isalarge projectand will take time tomake andis normally
usedwhenmakingcompletedgamesorfilms.
Career progression– The careerprogressioninthisbrief allowsthe 2companiestoworktogetherin
the future on otherprojects.
Competition – “This is where a client can put their brief out so it can be accessed by all of
the different production companies that are participating. It can sometimes been seen as
a free competition as each production company will complete the brief and the client can
then judge which company has the best project and as an award they have it published.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/competition-brief.html
Communication– Communicationisveryvague asmanycompetitionsare onlineandthere will be
verylittle contactbetweenthe clientandcompetitor.
Time management– There is a settime scale that isnon-negotiable if the competitorfailsto
complete theirproductwithinthe timeperiodthe submissionwill notbe accepted.
Technical skills– These normallyrequirefull finishedproductsdesignedindividuallyorasa group
and require avarietyof skillstomake the product,if makinga short fil theywouldneedcameramen
actors and videoeditors.
Career progression– These briefsadvertise smallerIndi companiestolargercompaniesandthere is
normallyaprize such as a large promotionof there productaroundthe world.

5. AnthonyBowes
Examples of creative industry briefs
This is the main page for the Brief Indies Vs
Pewdiepie, The client is a company called
Game Jolt. The idea of this brief is for
anyone out there to create a game based on
the theme “Fun to play, Fun to watch”
This game jam was hosted by famous
YouTuber Pewdiepie and the top 10 entries
would be played on Pewdiepie’s channel.
The time scale was 72 hours
this included all visual and
audio assets.
The competition received over
800 entries, the products where
available to anyone who
wanted to play them but where
mainly aimed at Pewdiepie’s
fans.
There was a strict rule on all
forms of hate speech,
pornographic content and
personal attacks. Submissions
would not be accepted if they
contained any of these things.
The biggest constraint was the time period as you were allowed to use and pre-existing
game development software you wanted and as it was a competition brief the budget was
down to the competitor.

6. AnthonyBowes
Steamgreenlightis anonline game store where small developerscanuploadandsell theirproducts,
there isno time scale as itis an openbrief.
Steamallowsanyone whohasa steamaccount to buyand playa large collectionof gamesfroma
range of developersbigandsmall;itisan online store onlyaccessibleforthe PC.
The legal and ethical rulesare notstatedas eachgame ispersonallyassessedbythe Steam
greenlightteamwhoassesif itisagainsttheircodesof conduct. The onlyconstraintthatis statedis
that itmust be in the formof a standalone executablefile ratherthana webplayer.

7. AnthonyBowes
The clientisthe companyGlobal game jam and everyyearhosta competitionbrief foranyone who
wantsto, to come developavideogame inthe space of a weekend.The time scale comestoaround
48 hours andallowsindividualsorgroupsto workon there brief.
There isno specificaudienceasthe
brief isa short periodof time andis
judgedonthe gamesqualityrather
thenwhoit’saimedat.
The legal and ethical constraints
are guideline withinthe brief
presentationshowstoall
competitorsatthe start however
there are the basicrules,of no hate
speechorpersonal attacks.
The onlyconstraintthat
competitorsreceiveisthe time
scale as thisconstrains the scale of
the project.