This document discusses different types of briefs used between media companies and clients. A contractual brief clearly outlines expectations, prices, and terms agreed upon by both parties. A negotiated brief allows some flexibility for the media company to discuss issues and negotiate aspects of the project. A formal brief provides detailed information about the project goals without unnecessary details. An informal brief discusses the project verbally without a written document, allowing open discussion but risking lack of clear expectations. Communication of briefs is typically via email while file sharing platforms can also be used. Time management is important, and can be helped by a production schedule. Technical skills and experience levels needed vary depending on the size of the media company and complexity of the project.

1. Contractual Brief
A contractual brief isa style of brief orcontract inwhicha mediacompanyisemployedbyaclientto
complete acertaintask due to the guidelineswhichhave beensetforthe mediacompanytofollow,
thisbrief setscertain expectationsof the clientalongwiththe pricesandpaymenttermsinwhich
theybothagree on. I believe thatone of the advantagesof usingthisbrief isthatit givesaclear
understandingtowardsthe mediacompany onwhatthe clientwantsto themto do howeverwitha
brief like this,itmayrequire aheavyworkforthe mediacompanywhichmayresultinstrain forthe
mediacompany,takingadvertisingasanexample,thiswouldrequirealotof creative and
theoretical workinwhichthe companymayonlyexcel inone.Mostbriefsare sentanddeliveredvia
the use of E-mail inwhichthe mediacompanyandthe clientwouldbe able toformallycommunicate
and deliverthe content,howeverthismayalsobe sentviathe use of the cloud,email wouldgive the
mediacompanythe opportunitytoaskinformationregardingthe brief.Time managementonthe
otherhand variesasit all isdependentonthe lengthof time the clienthassetforthe media
company,forexample if the mediacompanywasgiventwomonthsthentheywouldhave to
manage theirtime forpre-production,productionaswell aspost-productionwhichcouldeasilybe
scheduledonaprogram like MicrosoftExcel inwhichthe mediacompanycanschedule taskstobe
completedbycertaindatessothat theydon’t fall behindandmeetthe deadline.There are many
technical skillswhere wouldbe requiredforanadvertisementrangingfromrolesinpre-production
withsomeone whocanwrite scriptsandstoryboardthe ideas,productionwithsomeone whocan
directand operate the camerahoweveractorswill be requiredforthisstage andpost-productionin
whichthe editingtakesplace,itispossiblethismayinclude multiplerolesfromsounddesignerto
evenvisual effects.Itismore thanlikelythatsmallerstudioswouldincludesomeone takingup
multiple roleshoweveritmaybe easierforsomeone tobe assigneddifferentrolesineachstage of
productionitismost likelythatthe contentwouldn’tbe the clientsstandardsointhe mediaindustry
it ismore likelyforone persontohave a setrole so ithelpsenhance theirknowledge andhelpsthem
to become more experienced.The more worksomeonedoes,the more likelytheywouldbe
experiencedinthatfieldof workthisiswhyit ismore likelythatabig mediaproduction company
like the BBCwouldhire more experiencedworkerscomparedto small scale productioncompanies
howeverclientsmayreachout to smallerstudiosdue tothe limitedbudgetthattheyhave.
NegotiatedBrief
A Negotiatedbrief onthe otherhandvaries froma contractual brief asit givesthe mediacompany
the opportunitytoraise possible issueswhichmayoccuras well aspossiblyhave adisagreement
towardsthe clientandtheirbrief inwhichtheywouldnegotiatewithclienttosee how theycan
worktheirway roundthe projectwhile stayingtrue tothe guidelinesof the brief.Applyingthistoa
photographyshoot,aclientmayask for a certainamountof photosregardingacertaintopic andthe
mediacompanyfollowsthe brief tosatisfythe clientthoughtheyare willinglyallowedto raise
awarenessof issueswhichmaycause anissue. One advantage of one these briefsisthatthe media
companyare able to suggestideastowardsthe brief whichcaninclude the finalideawhichincludes
boththe clientand the mediacompany.Whenitcomesto negotiatingbriefs,therewill alwaysbe
disagreementswhichcouldevenresultinthe mediacompanyloosingpotential workastheymay
disagree withthe brief. Intoday’sdayandage,communicatingviathe internethas become the new
mediumwhetherthisbe regardingapersonal orbusinessmatter,forexamplemediacompaniescan
use the likeswebsiteslike MicrosoftandGoogle whichofferfree emailwithcustomnamesforthose
much smallercompaniesunlike bigcorporationssuchasBBC andITV whichwouldpaya quite a high
amountof moneythoughhave theirowncustomdomain(yourname@bbc.tv wouldbe anexample
of a customdomain) sowiththe advancementsintechnologyIbelieve thatcompaniesbigandsmall

2. woulduse the likesof email tocommunicate withclientsandthe advantage of thisishow itis sent
instantly. Manycompaniesfinddifferentwaystomanage time howeverwhatIbelievetobe the
mosteffective waytohelpmanage time isbyuse of a productionschedule inwhichwouldhelp
benefitproductionsince the mediacompanywouldbe completelyaware of whatpartof production
shouldbe completedbyacertainweek,forexamplethe mediacompanycouldassignasetamount
of time topre-productioninwhichthe mediacompanycome upwiththe ideaof the shoot,
productioninwhichthe companygoesoutand actuallytakesthe imagesandpost-productionwhere
the mediacompanyeditsthe imagestosuitthe client. A benefitof anegotiatedbrief isitallowsthe
mediacompanytonegotiate atime whichbestsuitsthemandwouldnotbe pushedfortime. One
thingthe clientmayask foris the camera RAW fileswhichwouldallow the clienttoeditthe images
themselves,the beneficial thingaboutcameraRAWfilesishow itgivesthe editorthe freedomtore-
editthe image withoutitsaving,andmeaningwhateveriseditedissavedintoanotherfilelikea
JPEG. Whenitcomesdownto the mediaindustry,manytechnicalskillswouldbe requiredsince not
everyisexperiencedineveryone,like one personmaybe experiencedinpre-productionbutnot
post-productionandvise-versa.One essential skill forashootlike thiswould be the use of a camera
since there wouldbe nopointinagreeingtoa photographybrief whennoone isable to
professionallyuse acamera,thiswouldleave anegative impactonthe companyinwhichno body
wouldwant.Otheressentialskillsconsistof pre-productionroleslike draftingandplanningaswellas
post-productionandsoftware knowledgeonprogramslike Photoshopwhichisknownforbeingan
image manipulationprogram.Thoughdependingonhow experiencedthe companyIswoulddepend
on the formof contentthe clientwouldreceive,stereotypicallysmall mediacompaniesare less
likelytobe experiencedincomparisontohuge companieslike the BBCthoughthisisn’talwaysthe
case.It is mostlikelythatthe clientwouldresearchintocompaniestomake sure theyare getting
whattheypaidfor. Briefslike thiswouldhelpsmallercompaniesbecome more experiencedand
evenrecognisable anddependingif the contentwastotheirstandard,it mayhelpto attract more
clientsandhelpthe companygrow.
Formal Brief
A formal brief isa brief whichisaformal documentwhichincludesdetailed informationregarding
aboutwhat the clientwantsthe companyto achieve withthe project. Thisbrief isusuallyseenasa
straightforwarddocumentwhichrefrainsfromincludingunwantedinformationhoweverthisbrief
may notbe classifiedasa legal document.Gatheredfromthis,one benefitof thisstyle of brief is
howclear to understanditisdue to notincludingunwantedinformationandsince itisnotalways
seenasa legal-bindingdocument,itallowsthe mediacompanytoexpresstheiropinionregarding
the brief as well ashave the abilitytoworkaroundthe contract howeveradisadvantage onthe
otherhand can be seenthatthe contract whichlacksany principle of organisationwhatsoever.One
of these briefscouldbe usedtoproduce asmall productionmusicvideo,like forasmall upcoming
bandor somethingsimilar. Asstatedpreviously,Ibelieve thatemailingisaneffective wayto
exchange andnegotiate abrief surroundingamusicvideo,howeveranotherformof communication
couldcome in the formof cloudstorage.Thiscan be achievedbyuse of exchangingbriefsviacloud
storage platformslike dropbox andanotherbenefitcouldbe how the mediacompanycouldgive the
finished.mp4filetothe clientthroughdropbox soitgivesfull control of the contenttothe client.
Time managementisessential tomediacompaniesasitallowsthemtofocuson certaintasks
withoutfallingbehindschedule,Ibelieve itisaneffectivewayformediacompaniestoestablish
whatshouldbe done ina set amountof time,forexample the mediacompanywouldallocate time
to finisheachtaskfrompre-productionall the waytopost-production.Fora small production
companyto produce a lowbudgetmusicvideo,theywouldneedthe knowledge andpossiblythe
experience toproduce contentfora client.Itismostlikelythatsmall productioncompanieswould

3. hire universitygraduatessince theyare more likelytobe experiencedinthe technical andtheory
side butnot the industryside,sothose withmore experience inindustrycouldhelpuniversity
graduatesto effectivelyproduce contentwhichsatisfythe client.Universitystudentsare mostlikely
goingto have knowledgeregardingtechnologylikecinematographyanddirectingalongwithpost-
productionwhereasindustryspecialistsare more renownedtoknow pre-productiondue toknowing
the industry.A wayto gain more experience inindustryisbyusinganopen-deskplaninthe
companyand allowemployeestochoose acertainrole to eitherenhance theirknowledge or get
establishedintothe role,universitystudentscouldbe givenguidance byfellow employeestohelp
supportthemwhichinthe longrun wouldhelpbenefitthemandgive themmore experienceto
progressintomore intensivecareerssuchasworkingInthe BBC or evenHollywood.
Informal brief
An informal brief onthe otherhandvariesfromtraditional briefsasitoutlinesthe projectverballyas
opposedtowrittenbriefs,thismeansthatthe brief doesnotrequireanyformof writtendocument
as it isan opendiscussionbetweenthe clientandthe mediacompany.Itisveryfree whichallows
the mediacompanyisopento include theiropinionsandsuggestionsbefore the deal hasbeen
finalisedhoweveradisadvantage of givingthe mediacompanyopensuggestions isthattheymay
not wantto performa task whichinvolvesaheavyworkflow andtherefore turntheirbackonthe
clientthereforepromptingthe clienttolooksomewhere else.Anotherdownside isdue tothe fact
that the mediacompanydoesnothave written evidence of whattocomplete,theymayfall behind
or missout certaincontentinwhichthe clientwasdemandingthereforefallingbehindonschedule.I
believethata brief of thissortsbestsuitsfreelance photographerssince theyare self-employedand
workfor a range of differentcompanies,theywouldbe able todropbythe clientsworkplace and
discussworkat hand. Communicationisdifferentasopposedtothe previoussince the deal ismade
inpersonas opposedtothe use of a brief,here the freelance photographerwouldbe able toopenly
discusstheiropinionsandwhattheybelieve couldimprove the project.Here they wouldbe able to
discusstimeframesanddeadlineswhichbestsuitthe freelance photographersotheydon’tfall
behindandmeetthe requirementsforthe client,speakingof time management,the photographer
coulduse alternative methodstotime keepingsbyuse of diaryorsettingdatesviacalendar.I would
believethistobe more reliable forfree-lance photographersastheyare renownedfortraveling
constantlysousingtheymaynot be usingcomputersmuchas opposedtomediacompanies.When
it comesdownto technical skills,youwouldexpectthe photographertohave advancedknowledge
regardingphotographyandimage manipulationbecauseif theydidn’tthenitwouldn’tmake the
photographerreliable.Planningonthe otherhandmay be discussedinpersonbythe clientby
statingwhattheyare wantingfromthe photographer,so all the photographerneedstofocusonis
the productionandpost-productionprocess. More projectsthatfree-lance photographersdo,the
more trustedtheywill become andinthe longrunwouldbenefittheiroverallcareerprogression
allowingthemtotake uphighpayingprojects.
CommissionBrief
A Commissionbrief onthe otherhandiswhere a large corporationlike the BBCemploymuch
smallerindependentcompaniestohelpcreate theirproductforthemselves.Unlike previously,this
isa brief whichisnegotiatedbetweentwocompaniestoachieve acommongoal since the BBC are
well recognisedforairingindependentcontent.Anadvantage of abrief isthat an independent
companywouldpaidto create the requiredcontentandmayreceive afractionfromthe generated
revenue once contenthasbeendistributedhoweveradisadvantage couldbe thatthe larger
corporationmaynot creditthe smallerindependentcompanydue tocooperate greedwhichcreates
and unfairadvantage whichwouldpreventthemfromworkingforthe largercorporationwithinthe

4. future. Itis mostlikelythatthe BBCwouldeitheraskfora TelevisionSeries,FilmorRadiobroadcast
so forthisexample Iam goingto choose RadioBroadcastsince a fair portionof BBC’sradioshows
include independentcontent.Socommunicationbetweentwocompanieswouldmost likelytake
place overtwoforms of communication,inpersonandthroughinternetcommunication.Ibelieve
that the companieswouldmeetinpersontodiscussthe termsof the brief andto presentthe
finishedproducthoweverthroughthe stagesof productionIthinkcommunicatingviaemail would
be more convenientasthe smallerproductioncompanymaynotbe able toaffordto travel long
distances all the time socommunicationviaemail wouldbe the cheaperalternate.Ibelievethat
smallerproductioncompanieswouldbe betterattime managementincomparisontotheirbigger
counterparts due to not focusingonmanyprojectsat once,thisisbeneficialforthe production
companysince theyare able to focuson the project effectivelycomparedtoworkingonmultiple
tasksat once.Thiswouldbe achievedbyuse of a productionschedulewhichthe companycan
allocate time toeachschedule andonce theyare on track, it ispossible theycouldcomplete the task
aheadof time,thoughthisisall downtothe company knowingwhatneedstobe completedand
whathas beencompleted.Technical skillsincludeknowledge of the radioindustryaswell ashow to
structure a radio show,whetherthisbe aradiodrama or justa regularradioshow,if itis a drama
thenthe company wouldhave to hire actorswhichbestfitthe part whereaswitharadioshow they
wouldhave tosource the contentalongwith needingalicense toplaycopyrightedmusic.By
workingwithcorporationslike the BBC,employeesof the smallerproductioncompanycangain
connectionswithinthe BBCwhichcouldhelpthemprogresstoadvance careerrankings.
TenderBrief
Witha tenderbrief,aclientwouldproduce anadvertisementtomultiple mediacompaniesinwhich
theyrequire contenttobe createdbymediacompanies,saidmediacompanieswouldthencreate a
brief,budgetalongwithaproposal whichwouldbe pitchedtothe clientinordertosecure their
chance of obtainingthe role.Itisthe role of the clienttodecide whichpitchoutof the group was
mostimpressive andtherefore wouldbe responsible producingthe content.Thisformof brief would
workmost effectivelywithtelevisionorfilmswhichwouldbe broadcastedonchannelssuchasITV
and BBC ina wayto source independentcontent.Anadvantage of thisformof brief isthat there isa
lotof competitionwhichmeansthe companieswillbe more determinedandmotivatedinorderto
create high-qualitypitchwhichwouldsecuretheirrole underthe clienthoweveradisadvantage also
comesunderthe formof competitionsince anmediacompanyismore thanlikelytobe
disheartenedbymissingoutonthe opportunityof work,companieshave toexpectfailure,sothey
can lookfor temporaryemploymentelsewhere. Forcommunicationpurposes,thiswouldhave tobe
negotiatedinpersondue tothe aspectof pitchingthe ideatothe client,anyquestionsthe
productioncompanymayhave regardingthe pitchcouldbe summedupvia email,one effective way
of discussingthe detailsisbypostingthe brief viaajobapplicationwebsite like MonsterandIndeed
since these include ajobdescriptionandwhatthe clientwouldexpectinthispitch.Thissortof pitch
wouldpushthe companiesdue totime pressure sothe companieswouldbe onthe clockand would
have to keeptoa stricttime schedule tomeetthe requireddeadline,sotime managementwouldbe
keyfor thisbrief. The productioncompanycouldkeepuptodate withthe use of communication
and a productionschedule whichtellsthe productioncompanywhattaskshouldbe completedby
whatdate andtherefore crossingoff anythingwhichhasbeencompletedsotheycouldpossiblystart
tasksearlier.Companieswhichmanage theirtime efficientlyare more likelytosucceedinthis
industryaswell asany othersince noone wantsto see someone whocannotmanage theirtime
effectively.Since thisstage wouldconsistsof pre-productionmaterialbecause the selectedpitch
wouldprogressonto the productionside,researchwouldbe aneffectivestrategyinthis
presentationinorderto showthe clientwhatknowledge theyhave regardingthe subjectathand.

5. Knowledgeof pre-productionmaterial suchasScriptwriting,Storyboarding,riskassessmentsetc.
wouldbe useful asitshowsthe clientthatyouare aware of the planof actionand are readyto go
momenttheyare greenlit.However,technical skillssuchasin cinematographyandpostproduction
wouldbe essentialforabrief like thisforif the mediacompanyhadtheirpitchgreenlit,butthe
clientwouldexpecttosee a detailedoutlook onthe productionprocesswill go.Ibelieve thatabrief
like thiswouldbe more effectiveforemploymentwithinthe mediaindustryasitshowsother
corporationsthattheirideawassuccessful comparedtootherpitches,whichinthe longrunbe a
keydetail ingainingexperience.
Co-operative Brief
A Co-operativebrief isinwhichtwoormore productioncompanieswhichare employedunderone
clientworktogethertooperate underaset brief inwhichtheycreate together,hence the name
“Co-operative.”Thoughthe projectmustbe completedbefore the setdeadline otherwise the client
wouldbe dissatisfiedwiththe teamcouldimpactthe future onhow theyare employed.An
advantage of workingina teamis that itwouldhelpbuildasense of communityamongst the
workplace,alsohavingseveral people workingonaprojectmeansthat a varietyof differentideas
whichdifferentideaswouldbe circulatedandinthe longrunmeansit will be beneficial in
completingthe project.A disadvantageonthe otherhandcouldbe that each sectorof the teammay
disagree whichcouldresultinadownfall of the projectandtherefore hinderingthe projectdue to
conflictingideas.One example of abrief like thiswouldcome underasa documentaryasmany
people worktogetherinordertoachieve acommongoal,whichisthe completionof the
documentary.Forthe presentationof the brief,the productioncompanieswouldmeetinpersonas
theydiscussthe termsof thisbrief whichmaybe emailedtothemforfurtherreference howeveritis
unlikelythatthese productioncompaniesmaysettleinthe same buildingsoforthe ease of
production,itwouldbe simplertoemail eachotheras theywouldbe able togetan instant
response.Videocallingsoftware maycome inhandyasthe two productionteamswouldbe able to
communicate viaSkype todiscussrolesinthe productionprocess,forexample one teamfocuseson
dialogandpre-productionwhereasthe othercompaniesfocusprimarilyonproductionandpost-
productionhoweverthisisn’tto saythat each companycan’t doboth since itisa brief associated
around“workingtogether.”Technical skillsonthe otherhandare similartoany otherformof
production,nomatterwhatsector inthe mediawhetheritbe radioor filmhowever,how these are
producedcan vary since radiostationswouldn’tneedstoryboardsandfilmswouldn’tneedtolist
theirmusic,thoughwhenitcomesdownto documentaryproductionclientswouldexpectresearch
regardingthe topicat hand since studiosdon’tgothrough productionwithoutknowingwhattheir
projectsurrounds.One aspectwouldbe pre-productioninwhichwouldinclude the researchalong
withthe manystyle of shotstheywouldwantto take howeversince thisregardsnature,directors
cannot alwayspredictwhatcouldhappen,sothismaylikelyjustbe suggestionsandwhatthe client
hopesthe directorcan capture.Regardingcinematographyonthe otherhand,clientswouldexpect
the camera operatorsto have experience andknowledge regardingcinematographyandthe many
formsof shotsinorderto get the bestpossible footage of the wildlife.Inordertocreate an effective
documentary,the productioncompanieswouldneedefficientskillsinpost-productioninorderto
immerse the viewerinthe experience,pooreditingandcinematographywouldruinthe experience
whichissomethingthe clientwouldn’tcome toexpectwhenhiringtwoormore companiestowork
together.However,the careerpathswhichcouldbe developedafterthiscouldleadtothe
companiesworking togethermore oftenwhichmayresultinamergerof the two companiesinorder
to create a largerfootholdinthe mediaindustry.

6. Competitive Brief
Thisbrief variesfromthe otherbriefsdue to the aspectthat the brief iscreatedto be accessible to
all productioncompanieswhichare partakingincreatingthe project/product,howeverone thingto
take intoaccount is thateach productioncompanycompletestheirbrief whichoutlinestheirplots
and theirethoswhichisthensubmittedtothe clientandwhicheverstandsoutona more creative
outlookandisthe mostimpressiveiscrownedthe winnerandtherefore takenintopublicationby
the client.One advantage of a brief like thisisthatdue tothe heavycompetition,the production
companywouldstrive toproduce the brief whichstandsoutfromthe crowd and therefore resulting
inhigherqualitybriefs,the downside of abrief like thisisthattheyare usuallyfree topartake in
therefore the winnerof the completionmayhave topay a winningfee asopposedtorunnersupin
the competition,itismore likelythatthe winnerwouldbe unhappypayingmoneytowardsthe client
as opposedtoeveryone else paying. Ibelieve thatwithone of these formof briefs,amediaproduct
cannot be distinguishable since eachproductioncompanywouldbe pitchingtheirbrieftoa client,
one may propose aradio drama as itis cost effective howeveranothermaysuggesttoa mini-series
as thismay draw inmore profitso itall comesdownto the form of brief soby thisit maybe difficult
to distinguishwhatrolesmaybe requiredhoweverIwill tryto outline all briefssothere maybe
formsof productionwhichare excludedfrom this.Startingwithcommunication,thisadvertisement
may be postedviathe internetthroughaJob Website orevensocial mediainordertoattract
enoughsupportandalsodue to the aspectof it beingfree topartake howeverwhenitcomestothe
competition,submissionorjustgeneral knowledgemaybe sentthroughmeansof email asthisis a
formof instantmessaging.Time managementonthe otherhandcan vary since noteveryone would
joininthe competitionatthe same time as some mayhave a furtherhead start than othershowever
the enddate wouldbe the same sothose whojoinedlate wouldbe pushedfortime andmayrunthe
riskof runningoutof time,productionscheduleswouldbe the mostconvenientwayof allocating
time to eachstage in orderfor eachproductioncompanyto be aware of whatshouldbe completed
and bywhen.Technical skillscanvaryas statedbefore,pre-productionwouldbe verysimilarwith
the likesof scriptwriting,riskassessments,draftingandeven hiringactorshoweverwhenitcomes
downto productionthisiswhere itmaychange since each formof productionvariesforeachsector
of the media,like radiocompanieswouldrequirepersonalwithradioknowledge andexperience and
cinematographerswouldneedknowledge andexperience inthe filmandtelevisionindustry.The
clientwouldexpectthe productioncompanytohave commonknowledge ontheirchosensoftware,
whetheritbe AbletonforaudioorAfterEffectsandPremierProforvideo.Uponcompletionof the
projectand whetherornotthe clientissatisfiedwouldresultinhow reliablethe production
companyisto work with,forexample if the clientissatisfiedwiththe contentthentheywould
promote awarenessof the productioncompanytherefore increasingthe workflow andprofits
howeverif the clientisnotsatisfiedwiththe contentthenthe clientwouldmostlikelyleavea
negative outlookonthe companytherefore decreasingworkflow andprofits.