Working to a brief pro forma

1. WORKING TO A
BRIEF
LO1
Hannah Woollaston

2. CONTRACTUAL BRIEF
Definition
A contractual brief is when a brief is set and both sides sign an
agreement or contract to ensure that a task is met and
completed within the time frame given. If either side don’t stick
to what has been agreed in the contract this can result in legal
action and the situation could go to court to be resolved.
Advantages
Having a contractual brief can be good because it ensures that
there is a signed agreement on which both sides are happy
with, which often leads to a better working relationship
because both sides are happy with what has been agreed.
Another advantage of a brief like this would be that, if anything
does go wrong, because there is a signed contract- it can be
resolved through legal action.
Disadvantages
A disadvantage of having a brief like this is that because it is
likely you will be employed by a company, they often have set
styles and ways of doing things so it can be difficult to put your

3. FORMAL BRIEF
Definition
A formal brief is when a client gives you a brief which only states
what they want to be made by you and then you have to negotiate
with them the rest of the information and details they need to be
put into the product. It is also similar to a contractual brief in the
sense that both sides agree on the details of the brief but it may
not be legally binding like a contractual brief would be.
Advantages
An advantage of a brief like this is that you have more chance of
putting your own stamp on the product created because you have
to negotiate with the company instead of them just telling you
what they want out right.
Disadvantages
A disadvantage of a formal brief is that the client could be difficult
to work and negotiate with, this could be because they are busy or
hard to contact or because they don’t like any of your ideas. Also,
another disadvantage would be that because this contract isn’t
legally binding, if anything goes wrong it could be difficult to
resolve.

4. INFORMAL BRIEF
Definition
As the name would suggest, this type of brief is very relaxed and
most of the time it takes the form of a verbal agreement between
you and the company who are commissioning the work where you
will discuss the work and there may not even be a completion date
set.
Advantages
An advantage of having such a laid back and informal brief is that it
often allows you to be more creative with what you produce for the
company because of the informal nature of the work.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of having a brief like this is that it can be
incredibly risky as there is no contract of any kind involved which
means if anything goes wrong it will be difficult to be resolved.
Also, because it is only a verbal agreement, it can be unclear
sometimes as to exactly what the company wants to be produced.

5. CO-OPERATIVE BRIEF
Definition
This style of brief is where multiple companies come together to
work on just one brief and they have to complete the project
together.
Advantages
An advantage of working on a brief like this is that you can
benefit from working with other people to get fresh ideas.
Disadvantages
a disadvantage of working on a brief like this is that if you don’t
both agree, you would have to create a negotiated brief where
both companies have to meet in the middle and agree with the
plans.

6. NEGOTIATED BRIEF
Definition
This type of brief occurs if more than one media company is
hired by the client to work on one project but then if they don’t
agree on a plan, they have to create a ‘negotiated brief’ where
they talk through with the client and all come to an agreement
which incorporates both the companies ideas and the clients.
Advantages
An advantage of this type of brief is that you get to discuss with
the client more, so that you can understand what they want
from the project.
Disadvantages
A disadvantage of this brief is that you don’t get to do exactly
what you want to do and you have to compromise to create a
happy medium with both the company and the client.

7. COMMISSION BRIEF
Definition
A commission brief is when a big media business commissions
an external and independent media company to create a
product or complete a project for them. The brief is then
discussed between those two companies.
Advantages
You get two work with a large media company and it is likely
that each time the media product is used, sold or published
you will get paid for it so it earns you money even after the
work is done.
Disadvantages
A disadvantage of working on a commission brief is that
because you will be working for a large media company their
requirements may be quite restricting so that the product fits
in with their style.

8. TENDER BRIEF
Definition
This is when many different people can apply and create a brief
to pitch to the client and then they get to pick the best one to
go with.
Advantages
An advantage of working on a brief like this is that you don’t
have to you don’t have to produce a full project before they
decide on whether they are going to use your work or not, so
this saves time and money by using a tender brief.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of a brief like this would be that you never
know if the company is going to choose your brief to work with
so you have to make sure it is really strong even though its not
guaranteed you will achieve it.

9. COMPETITION BRIEF
Definition
This is when lots of production companies do projects to pitch
to the client and then the client can pick the best one to go
with. Or they can pick and choose parts from different briefs.
Advantages
An advantage of this is that the competition is motivating and
you can end up working with other people to carry out the
project.
Disadvantages
You can end up spending a lot of time on creating a product or
project and pitching it and then not get given the project.

10. MY BRIEF
Which structure/structures will your client brief use?
Reference your reasons for choice/choices
The brief I have worked on with my client follows the structure
of a formal brief, as I have been given a written brief from my
client which states what they would like to be made and I would
then need to negotiate any further details with them, for
example my client has stated what they would like me to take
pictures of but they haven't said what style they would like
them to be taken in so that would need to be discussed, they
also need to tell me in which format they would like to be given
them in. Also my brief is not legally binding, which is like a
formal brief.

11. READING THE BRIEF
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
It is important that I read though the brief I have been given thoroughly
so that I understand what I am taking on and that I am happy with the
instructions I have been given so that I can do the work as best I can.

12. READING THE BRIEF
What is the nature and demand of your client brief?
The nature of my brief is the client would like a range of product shots
taking for use on their social media sites and their website. They would
also like me to write and send them a list of social media
tweets/status’/instagram posts to help inform their audience of any
offers and where they will be each weekend.
The demand of my brief is I will only have three week production time to
complete this project in, which although I think it will be long enough, I
will still have a lot of work to do. The man power needed to complete
my project shouldn’t be too much and I think I will be able to complete
it myself. Their will also be no cost implications to this project because
I won need any money to carry it out.

13. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to
production?
To ensure we are both on the same page and that I am clear on the work
that I have been asked to produce. By discussing it with my client
before I start work on the brief it means that I am less likely to have to
re-do anything because I will understand what as been asked of me.

14. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion
with a brief?
This can be a good thing because it allows room for your own
interpretation with the brief, meaning that you are able to put your own
spin on the project and maybe try out something new. However, some
disadvantage with this would be that you have to be careful to ensure
that you still still to what has been asked an that you don’t stray too far
from what has been written in the brief.

15. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s
proposed product?
There are no legal issues with my clients product or what I have been
asked to do, so I shouldn’t face any copyright, privacy law or race
discrimination issues while carrying out my project or after it has been
put to the public.
I also don’t think I will encounter any regulatory issues with this project
either as I am not doing anything which would concern regulatory
bodies such as ASA or any unions.

16. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Amendments you have considered to:
The Product
After looking at the brief, I don’t feel the need to make any amendments
to it because I feel as though it is manageable for me to complete in
time and to a good standard. I also don’t feel the need to make any
amendments because I feel that what they have asked me to produce
could be useful to the company and would work well.
The Budget
I have no budget for this project I don’t feel the need to change that
because I don’t see myself needing any money to complete the project
as I will not need to pay anyone for help or any equipment fees.
The Conditions
After reading the brief, I am happy with the conditions of my brief and I
don’t feel the need to change any of them, I am happy with the 3 weeks
I have to complete the project and I am sure I will be able to complete
it within the time provided.

17. OPPORTUNITIES
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development
This project will help me develop my own skills in project management,
as well as improving my skills in photography and writing when I am
doing the social media tweets.
Learning new skills
I think this project will help me to learn new skills, in the sense that I
will learn new photography techniques as product photography is not
something I have done before, I will learn how to use the studio lights
and I will also learn how to get used to the studio environment.

18. OPPORTUNITIES
Multi-skilling
In this project because I am working on two different pieces of work
which involve different skills so I will be given opportunity to show I
can multi-skill, for example, I have to use both social media and
Photoshop to carry out my work
Contributing to a project
Through this project I could get the opportunity to contribute and help with other
peoples projects and trade skills, for example, I could help with the photography
aspect of someone's project and they could help with an aspect of mine. This
ensures that the client gets the best work they can from us.