Cambridge Technicals Unit 21 - Introduction

1. Working to a Brief

2. Contractual Brief
Definition: A contractual brief is a legal document,
which is created between an employee and a client.
It outlines the duties that will be required by the
company, and how the company organises their
work. It is a document which states the expectations
of the client, the prices they agree on, as well as the
the payment terms.

3. Formal Brief
Definition: A formal written brief is a document that
includes detailed information about what the client
wants the company to achieve. It is usually a
straightforward document, which refrains from
including any unwanted information. The brief itself
may not always be classified as a legal document.

4. Informal Brief
Definition: An informal brief is less professional than that of
a traditional brief, where it outlines the project verbally,
as this particular type of brief does not require any
means of a written document. There is a discussion
conducted between the client and the employer, where
they will come to a general agreement over the details of
the contract.
Advantages: A advantage is that there is no real guideline
to the brief, it is very free, and the employer will be
allowed to manoeuvre and influence their own opinions
into the document, before the client finalises it.

5. Co-Operative Brief
Definition: This is where two or several production
companies are employed to operate upon a set brief,
which they complete in unison on a team basis. The
project has to be completed before a certain
deadline, otherwise the client will be extremely
dissatisfied, and will not employ the selected
companies in the future.

6. Negotiated Brief
Definition: This is where the client and the
employer will come to a specified agreement
upon the brief of the project, which will
include the final ideas of both the employer,
as well as the client. It is important that the
client and employer/company agree on the
brief, or it will cause inevitable problems in
the future.

7. Commission Brief
Definition: A ‘commission brief’ is where a large
corporation, such as The Daily Mail, employ an
independent company to create their
product/project for them. It is notable that this type
of brief is negotiated between two media companies,
as opposed to an external client, who may receive
the product once it has been established.

8. Tender Brief
Definition: A client will produce an advertisement
stating that they require a media product to be
created. A potential employer, such as a production
company, initiates a brief, a budget, as well as a
proposal, which is then pitched to the client in order
to secure their chance of obtaining the work that
was previously advertised by the employer. The
client decides upon the most impressive proposal
featured from their group of candidates.

9. Reading the Brief
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
It is extremely important for an individual to read through their
brief, otherwise they may complete the project with errors,
which the client will be unhappy about, and it is likely that
they may not pay the employer the full agreed wage.
Not reading the brief often leads to employers devising a project
based on their own thoughts, instead of incorporating the
wishes of the client.
If it is a contractual brief, the employer is likely to be scrutinised
for their inability to complete a set project expressed in the
legally-binding document. The company/employer will then
lose money, and their reputation as a corporation will be
immediately diminished.

10. Negotiating a Brief
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to
production?
It gives you a chance to share queries regarding the project, and
state your views and interpretations of the client’s brief.
It gives the client and you an opportunity to discuss the brief,
which will become a legal document once it has been
finalised, so if there are any problems, you must state them
before it is too late to alter it. It is vital for both you and the
client to read over the terms, so that there are no
disagreements between you in the future.

11. Negotiating a Brief
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief?
An advantage in employing discretion within the brief is that it enables you to
complete the project in the most efficient way, without any interruptions from
the client, who may require several drafts of the work to be sent to them via
email, which is likely to disrupt your workflow.
On the other hand, by using discretion, the client is literally ‘left in the dark’,
where they will have little of no news on the progress of their project, which
may unnerve the client, who wants to know how the work is going, and
whether you are committing any serious errors within the assigned project.
The lack of communication between you and the client may create a sense of
isolation, where you do not operate in unison, which means that there will a
state of distance, and it will inevitably affect the final outcome of the
project/product.

12. Negotiating a Brief
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed
product?
When initiating a product, you and the client have to list any ethical issues in the
brief, which may arise in the near future. The client would have to state that
their product does not infringe on copyright, and that everything listed within
their brief is completely original, as opposed to incorporating the work of
others into their own work, which would be illegal.
Also, the client would have to discuss with you whether any moral/ethical issues
would be touched upon in the process of making the product. It is notable that
the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) may have to be involved in the
creation of the product, due to the fact that when the client advertises their
brief, they would have to monitor it to check if it is suitable for publication,
and that is does not offend any members of the public

13. Negotiating a Brief
– The product
– The budget
– Target audience profile:
• How would you define this audience?
• Demographics? Psychographics? Behaviour?
• How useful is each type of profiling method?
– Industry requirements:
• What medium is it in?
• When will broadcast be scheduled (TV and radio)?
• On what channel (channel profile)?
• How will it be distributed (Film)?
• How will customers buy it (Newspapers and magazines)?