1. Working to a Brief
LO1
Contractual Brief
A contractual brief is where a media company sings an agreement
to complete a specific task within a specific time period for a set
fee. The agreement is like a promise in which the promise is to do
something in return for a valuable benefit. Once the contract is
signed you have to therefore stick to your promise and get the job
that is asked to be done on time as you have signed for something
you have promised to deliver.
Advantages
The advantages of having a contractual agreement is that it is
declared that you have promised to do something in return of a fee
which is promised to be granted once the job has been completed.
Another advantage is that, you do not have to sign the contract if
you do not agree with something or if you don’t understand making
sure that you read the contract properly will benefit you to not have
any problems.
If the person who has agreed to job and unsuccessfully doesn’t
deliver than they can be sued and legal action can be taken as
they have broke the promise and have abused the contract by not
sticking to the agreement, this makes sure that you get back
whatever you have not received.
Disadvantages
The disadvantage of a contractual is that it may not be changed
further down the line if something do not go to plan for you to alter
or renegotiate the contract so when signing you have to make sure
you stick with what needed from you and that you read the
contract carefully so you do not sign to anything you will not be
able to commit.
Formal Brief
A formal brief is where a client provides a media company with a
brief simply clarifies the product they want to be made. The brief
only states the necessary information needed to complete the
Lusi Ndoja & Hannah
Richards

2. project. Another thing that needs to be negotiated will be
discussed with the client. Just like the contractual agreement both
sides of the parties will formally agree on the project but however a
formal brief is not always legally binding as a contractual
agreement is.
Advantages
The advantages of a formal brief is that, it is more relaxed and not
as strict as you have a friendly discussion with your client about
what will be agreed in the contract.
Another advantage is that the brief is not always legally binding so
you can be more flexible with your project as you have not
promised anything legally and further down the line things can be
altered.
Informal Brief
An informal brief is more like a verbal agreement. There is no
written contract at all or any agreement between both parties. As
the brief is informal there may not be a completion date therefore
you can make your own agreements with yourself and organise
what you will need to do for the project.
Advantages
The advantages are that you can work as long as you like on the
project, as there is no specific date of when the work needs to be
in. Another reason is that, it can be created in a relaxed
environment and it I more friendly then strict as it can be discussed
quicker.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages are that, an informal brief can be seen as
unprofessional as there is no contract and is an oral brief which
down the line can get lost and can cause problems. Another
disadvantage is that, there is no clear record of what has been
agreed so it can be backed up if anything goes wrong and go back
to see as there is no evidence.
Co-Operative Brief
A co-operative brief is where two of more media companies are
hired to work together on a specific brief. In order for this to work

3. the two companies have to work as a team to complete the project.
If however the two companies disagree on something then a
negotiated brief will have to be submitted to appease both parties.
Advantages
The advantages of having a co-operative brief is that you are part
as a team so there is more than one working on the project
together which takes some of the weight of with the work load and
everyone is contributing. Another advantage is that, as there is
more people working on a project there are more ideas combined
making it more interesting.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages are that there might be disagreements within
the team and might cause problems leaving the project to be left
behind. Another disadvantage is that, if there is any sort of
disagreement then everything will have to be negotiated which can
cause hassle.
Negotiated Brief
An negotiated brief is where two media companies are working
together and are having conflicting ides in the project and they
have to negotiate the brief. This means with the discussion the
brief will have to be changed to appease all parties including the
client. This could involve changing the project completely but also
taking into consideration the project is in the boundaries of the
legal and ethnical obligation. Both parties have to agree on the
brief in order to continue on with the project.
Advantages
The advantages of having a negotiated brief is that everything can
be discussed and said so it clear to both parties on with what they
need to do exactly and compromise. Another advantage is that,
everyone has be happy with what is needed and have to work as a
team so there is more than one opinion.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages are that both parties could have a
disagreement to what’s been agreed and this can make the client
refuse their work and employ other media companies who are
willing to work as a team and can all agree on the brief that has
been set.

4. Commission Brief
A commission brief is where a large media company hires a small
independent company to do their work for them. The brief is
negotiated with both companies but this means the client will not
be involved in the agreement. This then can be made to be used
for the large media company for an external client. The
independent company will be paid for making the product they
have been asked to do by the large company every part of the
product sold the will get a share of the profit.
Advantages
The advantages are that, the brief is discussed between the two
media companies and therefore a client is not part of the brief as
its one company is asking another company for a project they can
do for them.
Disadvantages
A disadvantage is that, the larger company may take advantage of
the small company and giving them an unfair amount of share for
the product they have made for the large company.
Tender Brief
A tender brief is where a client publishes that they need a media
product to be made. This leads that the production company to
then create a brief for the media product, proposal and a budget so
this can then be pitched to the client. Several production
companies may enter a brief to the client to secure their product
they want to pitch. The client then comes to a decision in which is
the best brief that fits in with what they have asked for and offers
the project to the production company.
Advantages
An advantage is that, more than one production company can
enter to make sure that their brief is secured giving them a good
chance for their project to be submitted and for the project to be
offered to them.
Disadvantages
The disadvantage is that, the production company who have
carefully planned out the brief and gathering together a budget can
be a complete waste of time as the project might not be handed to
them as it is not guaranteed.

5. Competition Brief
A competition brief is available to all participating production
companies. Each of the production companies will each have to
complete the brief. All the briefs are then judged and the best one
will be awarded the project or has the project published.
Advantages
The advantages is that, the client will only pay the production
company who the project has been awarded too. Another
advantage is that, the entry is free for all production companies.
Disadvantages
A disadvantage are that, like the tender brief a production
company could have wasted their ideas as there is no guarantee
they could win as the project could be offered to any production
company.
My Brief
The brief for our product that we have decided to use is a formal
brief as everything will be handed in a professional manner and
any additional information will be discussed and negotiated. Both
parties will have a formal agreement of the project and anything
that is changed or doesn’t go according to plan it can the later be
negotiated again. The advantage of having a formal brief is that
the maker can be flexible with their time so that the outcome of the
project will be perfect and care has gone into it. Also after the
discussion we can be creative with the brief and gather lots of
ideas together to make the project of high standards.
Reading the Brief
It is very important to thoroughly read your brief as you have to be
exactly sure of what you are doing and what it is been asked from
you. It is also good to read the brief again and go over the main
parts you don’t understand and can be explained to you after. By
understanding the brief in more depth you will have the sense of
what its like to be a vegetarian and putting yourself in their position
so you understand more in what is been asked. By researching in
vegetarian recipe cards you will also have to have an idea of how
you will come to create your project and what you will include such
as the styling of cards, location and what types of materials you

6. will be using. Also by reading the brief you can understand what is
not asked from you and make sure you take in all the major points
of the brief, for example you could be making a recipe cards and
involving meat products which vegetarians cannot eat, so its
important to thoroughly read the brief so you don’t misunderstand.
Reading the Brief
What is the nature and demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards
brief?
By thoroughly reading the brief and making sure you understand of
what is asked it will also allows you to see the nature and
demands of the brief. In the brief we have been asked to creates 8
vegetarian recipe cards, this allows me and my team member to
think about how we are going to create the recipe cards whether
we will take our own photographs of the food presented or whether
we want to use images of food that is already out there but we will
select the ones that are appropriate for the brief and are of high
quality standards. The demands of the brief allows to think about
the timing such as how long it will take, by reading the brief it is
stated that we have 10 weeks to prepare the project as we have
been given a strict deadline. This also allows us to think about who
will be doing what as we are working part of the team and to even
the work out between us so it is fair and equal. Taking into
consideration that the work we produce is original and our own
work taking into account that if theses rules are not followed it can
be an issue with copy right which therefore will makes the work
stolen and illegal.
Negotiating a Brief
It is important to discuss your brief with your client before
production because you can go over areas you do not understand
and the client can therefore explain to you so you fully understand.
Another reason is that you can tell your client what you agree with
in the brief and what you disagree as both parties are aware what
will be done and therefore it will be recorded down on the brief.
Depending on what kind of contract you have agreed to this will be
discussed with the client when negotiating the brief for the project.
How you will be paid, how long the project will take and how much
you will be funding or who will be funding your project all these key
points will be thoroughly discussed between other sides and come

7. to a final conclusion therefore the client and the maker are both
happy.
Negotiating a Brief
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing
discretion with a brief?
The advantages of the brief are that you can be as creative as you
wish but keeping in mind you have to understand the dos and
don’ts of the brief. For example we can use models in our project
and photograph the food being made or presented. Another
advantage is that since as the project is aimed at vegetarian’s and
the food can only be aimed for that specific audience there are
many ingredients that you can replace to make it look like its meat
for those who miss the simplest things such as bacon, nowadays
there are mimics such as quorn and tofu that could be added to
the food which looks like meat but however it is not actually meat
this is an advantage because we can add these sort of ingredients
fitting in the brief.
The disadvantage is however we have to avoid the foods that are
meat and only focus on vegetarian meals. Such as different
themes and cultures of food will have to be dismissed as it will not
follow the brief for example choosing to do an Indian cuisine theme
recipe cards this will have to be avoided as most of the dishes
have meat products which will make the discussion difficult.
Negotiating a Brief
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the
brief’s proposed product?
In every project you do you always have to think of the legal and
ethical view points. You have to make sure that you work is not an
issue with copy right all the work has to be original and not stolen
by someone else whether it is from the internet. Also taking into
account that your work is not offensive or discriminates against
someone's age, sex, race or ethnical background it has to be
suited for everyone and it needs to be fair and safe.
Looking into the regulatory bodies regarding the brief such as
contacting unions, the governmental regulations and health and
safety. All these things have to be considered so you project is
successful but also fits in with the privacy law

8. Negotiating a Brief
Amendments you have considered to;
The Product
In the product you have to consider the copy right issues making
sure you work is all original and your own ideas making it unique.
In the brief it says to create recipe cards but you can add your own
interpretation and create a booklet instead of cards.
The Budget
Making sure you have a good budget plan well planned is always
key and giving yourself enough money to fund your project as it
wont always go to plan as you way go over the budget and have to
downscale your spending. Making sure you have a backup plan
incase this doesn’t go to plan can be key and can save time.
Opportunities
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development
Self development will also be like a new skill as the work being
produced is part of a team it will help you explore what you are like
as a person working with another member and making sure
anything that needs to be negotiated is discussed so there is no
issue during the project. Taking into account what your
weaknesses are discussed as the other member will find that as a
strength. Having good communication skills with the team will lead
to a successful outcome or can be development during the
process.
Learning new skills
In this brief learning new skills can be a great advantage as you
will be exploring different areas outside your comfort zone for
example as a non-vegetarian learning about vegetarians in depth
can be a great outcome as we will have experienced a part of their
lifestyle.
Multi-skilling
As the project will be involving team work making sure the work is
evened out equally and staying on top of the timing is key, as we

9. have to balance the work load so we can work quicker but also not
getting behind as it can affect the project as a whole.
Contributing to a brief
As working part of a team contributing ideas will allow you to
explore someone else's view and creative ideas for the project
making it more interesting and exciting. Making sure that not just
one person does all the thinking is key as 2 minds are greater than
1, all ideas should be discussed with each other and negotiate
what will work.

10. have to balance the work load so we can work quicker but also not
getting behind as it can affect the project as a whole.
Contributing to a brief
As working part of a team contributing ideas will allow you to
explore someone else's view and creative ideas for the project
making it more interesting and exciting. Making sure that not just
one person does all the thinking is key as 2 minds are greater than
1, all ideas should be discussed with each other and negotiate
what will work.