This document provides an overview of different types of briefs including contractual, formal, negotiated, commission, informal, tender, co-operative, and competition briefs. It explains what each brief type entails, including examples. The key aspects are that briefs provide concise details and requirements for a project or task. Contractual briefs establish agreements and payments, while negotiated briefs find compromises. Commission briefs involve one company hiring another to create a product. The document also shares tips for understanding briefs such as thoroughly reading them and asking questions.

1. W
orking to a B
rief
By Anton Lewis

2. Structures of Briefs
Briefs are important in everyday lives. The
goal for the assignment is to pitch an idea,
but in writton form. There are many different
types of briefs and in this short
presentation, you'll learn about the main
types of briefs.
This will include Contractual, Formal,
Negotiated, Commission and various others
that are used in a project environment.

3. Contractual Briefs
A contract brief is strictly between an employee (or employees) and a client. The
contractual brief explains the duties required and how the company's schemes its
work. The contractual brief explains how the much employee will receive for the
stated objective.
If the employee or the other party were to break any agreements they would be in
breech of contract and could face legal action.
An example of a contractual brief is when a client wanted to sell something on
the television as an advertisement, and the employee would be the production
crew willing to create the advertisement.

4. Negotiated Briefs
Two parties have differing ideas and a compromise
has to be found that makes both sides happy,
sometimes involving a third party.
An example of this is a marketing company having
multiple cunning ideas, both with pros and cons. They
may merge their ideas which can result to both parties
to agree on it.

5. Informal Briefs
More of a verbal agreement between parties with nothing official or in
writing, less formal so to speak. So to bring a party to court will have
an extremely low chance of succeeding seeing as it hasn't been
officially signed for, and there may be no actual recording of what
was agreed on – which makes it virtually impossible to know the
assignment word-for-word.
Situations like these are commonly done when you assign an
assignment to a colleague, friend, or relative. For example, you
asked your colleague at your workplace to design a banner to hang
outside a local library to advertise a school play.

6. Formal Briefs
Formal briefs are a formal written document containing specific
and concise details about the goals that needs to be achieved.
The brief gets straight to the point and doesn't contain any
unnecessary detail or information. This type of brief is mainly
aimed at a group of people or a business company rather than
at one person. A formal brief is not always a legal document.
An example of a formal brief is a college tutor assigning a task
for his or her students for them to complete.

7. Commission Briefs
This brief is where a large media company will employ an
other independent media company to create and produce
the product for them. 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 which can result to
getting 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.

8. Tender Briefs
The production company might find out someone is looking for
a video. They put together a brief with a proposal and a budget
and send it to the potential client. The client would look at all
the different tenders they receive and choose the one they
prefer.
An example of this is a person is looking for a music video that
has a horror-type feel to it. Production companies will contact
that person with reasons why that company should shoot it
(and also offering other things, such as: providing horror-type
costumes for free).

9. Co-operative Briefs
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're wanting 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.
This is used famously in film production, for example. A producer
may hire Lionsgate to produce the film and hire Technicolor
professionals to digitally grade the film. Both parties will have to work
together in order to achieve the producer/director's vision.

10. And finally... Competition Briefs
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.
A great example of this is Virgin Media Shorts. They create a
brief based on a feature of choice (such as love) and people
will have to create a short movie that is related or containing
the feature.

11. The art to Understanding Briefs
Reading Briefs:
When you read a brief, you must understand on what the client wants done.
Key things you should be aware of is the deadline, what the assignment is,
who the client may be (they could be a leading innovative marketing
company) and the total budget.
It's important that you read the brief thoroughly to avoid misreading
something. It's always good to read the brief more than once so there is a
clearer understanding of what exactly the client wants you to do. It's always
good to ask questions – don't forget that. It's better to have asked, than to
have gone ahead with your intensions to find out later that the client doesn't
like what you've done. Also, it's best to confer with the client before starting
your project, this is to polish up on missed (or improved) tasks in the brief,
or to ask your questions if need be.
Depending on the type of brief it is, you may need to do a bit of research
before starting your project. It's always good to research the client, and
what the client wants done. Be sure to time yourself accordingly. Don't rush
things; do things evenly paced. It's best to get a start on the project early,
rather than waiting it out until the last minute. You never know, things may
change (e.g. preponed deadline).

12. My Own Brief
Hello.
My name is Andrew Garfield, founder of the Antheas Citaden Group – exclusively
famous for producing features films such as “Gridlock”, “Powerday” and “Total
Carnage.”
I am now looking to create a new feature film, but this time based off the book: “To
Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. I'm looking for an outstanding production
company that will put forth their style into the making this film. The production
company must have already shot at least three feature films and have their own
professional equipment. The start date of this project is 15th March 2014 and will
subsequently finish on 5th April. The budget for this film is approximately £35,000.
The production company that has proven themselves worthy will be graciously paid
£15,000 for the making of the feature film. This film will shall showcase on Sky
Movies at the end of November 2014, so it will be a pretty big deal.
If you are interested, please send your request by emailing me on
andrew@acg.gov.uk. Submissions close 28th February at 11:59PM. If you have any
questions, do not be afraid to contact me; I will be more than happy to answer
questions.
Kind regards,
Andrew Garfield
Founder of Antheas Citaden Group Ltd.