A contractual brief is an agreement between a media company and client that outlines specific guidelines and deliverables for a project. The media company must follow the client's guidelines outlined in the brief to avoid breaching the contract. This brief is discussed and agreed upon by both parties, who may need to sign the contract and obtain liability insurance. The main advantage is guaranteed delivery of the agreed upon work, while the main disadvantage is feeling controlled to complete only what is in the contract.

1. Contractual
“A contractual brief is a type of brief or contract where a media company is employed by
the client in order to complete a project within the brief which is set to specific guidelines
which the media company must follow. It will be very important for the media company to
follow these guidelines and do exactly what the client states within the brief, if they fail to
do so this can result in a breech of contract and the company could face legal actions.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/contractual-brief.html?q=contract
This brief is discussed between both the client and the company. Itis set out in
the formof a contractand is about whatthe worker wants to get out of his
job. For the contractto take effect, both parties will have to sign the contract,
but agree on its terms beforehand. Also, for this to work properly, liability
insurancewould be needed to cover any legal issues that occur.
The main advantageof this type of brief is that anything agreed on in the
contract will be guaranteed to happen, so for example, if the company agrees
to pay you a certain amount, by law they will haveto do so. Italso highlights
the specific roles and jobs the worker musttake, so that there will be no
confusion.
The main disadvantageabouta contractis that if you sign it, you will haveto
undertakewhat is stated by law and this can feel very controlling.
Communication – A contractual brief shows communication as the client and
company will have to negotiate an agreement. The company will have to check
on the client too.
Time Management – The client will haveto managehis work well and show
good time keeping skills as the contractmight detail when certain items of
work should be completed.
Technical Skills – The client may also need a number of technical skills in order
to complete the work. On top of this, if they already have some skills, they can
improveor learn more skills throughoutthe process such as work related skills
or learning aboutcontracts.
Career Progression –The contract may also aid the client’s career progression
as they could learn valuable skills which could enable them to move on to a
higher job after the contract.

2. Negotiated
“This type of brief will be broughtup if the co-operativebrief given to the two
of more media companies that are competing the projecthave any issues
between them selves 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
fromchanging the appearance of the productto 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
This type of brief is when two companies or more negotiate their ideas about
the projectand all parties must agree with the terms beforethe brief is
finalized. This means that all parties will have to discuss each item necessary
and change any ideas until it is fair to each party and they all agree. This type
of brief is most commonly done over the telephone.
Communication – The whole brief is negotiated and communicated between
the client and the company. This means a lot of communication about specific
items or problems can be quickly highlighted and addressed throughoutthe
conversation.
Time Management – The Company will tell the client about deadlines and this
enables the client to use time management skills to keep to thosedeadlines
Technical Skills – Talking to the company would give the client skills on how to
talk and work with companies so that they can both come to an agreement.
Career Progression –Skills in negotiation can help the client and business
progress. Theclient has a better chance of getting the job if they can negotiate
ideas and agreements with the business and the company can progress as it
can negotiate with other businesses and also come to agreements.

3. Formal Brief
“This this where a media company is given a brief by the client which outlines
the productwhich they are wanting to be made. This brief is very open and
only gives enough information to be able to producethe 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 projectand the brief but it can
not always be legally binding.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/formal-brief.html
This type of brief is very open and allows the client to understand whatthe
company requires. Any problems the client comes into can be discussed to an
agreement, but this type of brief is not always legally binding.
Communication – The Company communicates to the client by giving them a
briefs detailing exactly whatthey will do to producethe product. This shows
communication as the business is describing whatit wants the client to do and
the client will be able to talk to come to an agreement.
Time Management – The brief in this case should detail deadlines for the
client. This enables the client to meet those deadlines and use time
management skills.
Technical Skills – Formalbriefs will help the client understand how they formal
briefs actually work, so they will gain skills in being shown onein the future of
if they have to create their own.
Career Progression –Formalbriefs are set out very professionally and this
could help career progression by making the client/company stand out and
have more professionalism.

4. 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.
Advantages
The advantages to this type of brief is that there is more verbal communication between the
client and the company they are employing which could mean that the media company will
understand fully exactly what the client is asking of them and they should be able to
complete the project to the client’s standards easily.
Disadvantages
The fact that there is no written documentation or contract to prove the employment of the
company could mean that at the end of the project the client could easily fail to pay their
employees. Also this could mean that certain things like deadlines are not completely clear
and this can cause confusion for both parties.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/informal-brief.html
In an informal brief, the client and the company will have a verbal
conversation about what they need for the product and ideas can be
discussed until an agreement is formed
Communication – Informalbriefs areusually always verbal. This allows a lot of
communication between the client and the company.
Time Management – Whilsthaving the informal brief, the company may
discuss whatthe working year involves, which allows the client to create a
schedule for time management.
Technical Skills – Communication skills will improvewhen using informal briefs
and skills in how to negotiate an agreement with the company/clients
Career Progression –Informalbriefs would teach skills that would be very
usefulfor career progression. Theability to communicate to companies and
come to arrangements with them would help a lot for future work.

5. Tender
“This is where a client will advertisetheir brief and a production company will
bring together a proposalthat they will pitch to the client, there could be
multiple pitches to the client frommany differentcompanies, so the client will
then get the chanceto choosethe proposalthat they think bestsuits their brief
and offer the job to that production company.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/tender-brief.html
Multiple companies pitch their offering to the client in this brief. This lets
the client have plenty of options and be able to decide what’s bestfor
them. The client is then able to make a choice and join the company they
have chosen.
Communication – This brief shows communication as companies would have
to advertise and communicate with the client to entice them to choose their
brief.
Time Management – Time management skills will be shown for the production
of the brief as the client/clients may be at an event for example and the brief
will have to have been completed by them.
Technical Skills – This teaches the client skills in deciding for the future, as well
as deciding whatis best for them. There will be many choices and the client
will ultimately have to decide which career to go for.
Career Progression –Career progression would be stronger as the client will
have decided what is bestfor their future. This could also teach them skills in
how to decide what is bestand help them progress.

6. Commission
“This brief is where a large media company will employ an other independent
media company to create and producethe productfor them, and after the
producthas 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 productand 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
This brief works by having a large media company ask an independent one to
create the productfor them. Oncethe independent company has created the
product, it is sent to the external client who pays the company.
Communication – This brief shows communication between two or more
companies. This allows them to negotiate and come to an agreement.
Time Management – These skills will be shown by the independent company
as they would have to work to whatthe client wants and ensurethat it is
created in an appropriatetime-frame.
Technical Skills – Skills learnt here would mainly be communication skills and
how to talk to and supportother businesses. This is useful as then other
businesses can work with yours to finish the product.
Career Progression –Commission briefs allow career progression as a bond will
be built between two or morecompanies, allowing both to work together to
ultimately expand their businesses.

7. 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 havewritten for the specific
projectthey’re wanting to be completed. After both companies have received
the brief they can then proceed to work together to producethe product. If
there is a disagreement or conflict in ideas there can be a negotiated brief in
order to resolvethese issues.”
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/co-operative-brief.html
In this brief, two or more companies are brought together by the client in
order to co-operatively work on the productthe client has asked for. This
means that the companies involved will work closetogether to ensurethe
productis made properly. This can also be discussed if there are any problems.
Communication – A lot of communication is shown here as this type of brief
revolves around two or more companies communicating and working
together.
Time Management – All of the companies involved would haveto devisea plan
and a schedule in order to stay on track and ensurethe productis complete in
a set time-frame
Technical Skills – Co-operativeskills would mainly be learnt here and these
skills would help the businesses involved quitea lot.
Career Progression –Co-operation aids career progression as companies are
able to work together and build a stronger business.

8. 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. Itcan sometimes been
seen as a free competition as each production company will complete the brief
and the client can then judgewhich company has the best projectand as an
award they have it published. “
http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/competition-brief.html
Here, the client produces a brief which is to be accessed by a number of
companies. Here, the companies can decide which client has the best idea for
the projectand can haveit created.
Communication – This would be seen between the client and the companies
that chose the client. These would then have to communicate and find out
whether the client is best for the job.
Time Management – These skills would be shown by the client as they would
have to manage their time to ensuretheir brief is complete beforethe
deadline and allow time for companies to view it.
Technical Skills – Skills in creating briefs would be found here and this would
allow for more professionalbriefs to be created in the future.
Career Progression –The production of briefs would aid career progression as
the briefs should be very professionaland very detailed. This allows the client
progress further as there is a higher chance more companies would choose
him.

9. Game Jam
Whois the client?
The clientinthiscase wouldbe the creatorsof Game
Jam and the people runningthe event
What mediaproduct(s) does the clientrequire?
Theyrequire avideogame to be produced.Each
groupwill be requiredtocreate one videogame.
What is the timescale to deliverthe product(s) to the
client?
The clienthas48 hoursto create and finalize their
game
Whois the intendedtargetaudience the client
wishesthe product(s) to appeal to?
Thisvaries dependingonwhatgame the group
decidestoproduce.Itcould be an FPS targeted
towardsteenagerforexample,ora 2D platformerfor
children.
What are the legal and ethical issues relating to
the production?
GGJ ensuresthatall people involvedare welllookedafterandensure thattheydo “everything
possible toprotectrights,welfare,andwell-beingof subjectsinvolved”.
What constraints do you have to workwithin (budget, length of product, format)?
The time constraintof 48 hoursisveryshort to produce a game in.This alsoputsconstraintsof
thingssuchas level of detail inproductionasmakinglotsof brillianttextureswill take upalot of
time.The lengthof productwill mostlikelybe quite shorttooasnot much can be made.

10. Saxxy Awards 2014
Who is the client?
The client in this case would be Valve, the
creators of Steam and they run the project
to assess people creations.
What media product(s) does the client
require?
The client requires a short video no longer
than 5 mins that shows creativity,
intelligence and skill that has been made on
the Source Film Maker software.
What is the timescale to deliver the
product(s) to the client?
The event began on July 24th
and runs
through until Sept. 29th
. Voting begins on
the 24th
Sept, so those involved will have 2
months to make the video.
Who is the intended target audience the
client wishes the product(s) to appeal to?
The client wants this to appeal to 4 different
types of film fans. There is an action
category, comedy, drama and short. Each
will have a winner and there will be an overall winner of the 4 chosen.
What are the legal and ethical issues relating to the production?
Creators must have permission from the copyright owner if they wish to use copyrighted
material, “You are free to use all Valve IP”, and films must be offensive or rude.
What constraints do you have to work within (budget, length of product, format)?
 2 month time limit
 Length of production – 5 mins of sex
 4 categories only
 Can only use Source Film Maker

11. Who is the client?
The Client in this case would be Game
Jolt and Pewdiepie as both are working
in co-operation with each other.
What media product(s) does the client
require?
The client requires a game to be made
on any software and requires games to
be made by Pewdiepie himself and the
public.
What is the timescale to deliver the
product(s) to the client?
The creators have 72 hours to complete
their game
Who is the intended target audience the
client wishes the product(s) to appeal
to?
The target audience is gamers in
general as the indie developers will be
producing all different types of games
that could interest or inspire gamers.
What are the legal and ethical issues relating to the production?
These rules are “Be cool. No racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, religious
prejudice or other forms of hate speech. No personal attacks. No pornographic
content. Nothing illegal.”
What constraints do you have to work within (budget, length of product, format)?
 Time constraint – 72 hours
 Games content
 Budget
 Limit to game programs and content