The document provides definitions and discussions of different types of client briefs that media companies may receive for projects. It defines briefs as contractual, formal, informal, co-operative, negotiated, commissioned, tender, competition, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each type. It also includes sections for the student to describe which brief structure their client will use, the importance of thoroughly reading the brief, the nature and demands of their client's brief, and why it is important to discuss the brief with the client prior to production.

1. WORKING TO A
BRIEF
LO1
Name: Cara Taylor

2. CONTRACTUAL BRIEF
Definition;
When a media company signs an agreement to complete a certain
task set within a specific time period for a set fee of money. A
contract is singed to show that the media company will meet
everything that is said in the brief and that they won’t make any
unauthorised changes to the product that is being produced.
Advantages
It gives a clear idea and overview of the project/product, what is
going to be created due to it and shows the company what they
will be able to produce when they are working on the product. The
contract can be used to show a singing of the legal agreement and
can be used at any time something may go wrong. E.g breach of
contract.
Disadvantages
If the contract is not read carefully before it is being singed the
worker may have contracted to something they do not want to do.
If anything is to go wrong by mistake e.g. a product going off task
the person creating the product may face issues in court due to
breaking the contract.

3. FORMAL BRIEF
Definition
When a client provides a media company with a brief that simply establishes
the product that they want to be make, this could be something such a
series of posters that the client is wanting to be made by a certain company.
The brief will only contain the necessary information needed to complete
the project and any additional information will be gained through
negotiations with the client.
Advantages
The advantages of this type of this brief that the producer has mostly free
range with what they create as long as they follow the brief they have been
given their client, this gives them more room for creative freedom when
creating the product for the client.
Disadvantages
One of the disadvantages of this type of brief is that it may not always be
legally binding so if anything is to go wrong with the project; the brief can
not always be used to help in this case and can not be used for/against
either parties in the case of court. The company may also feel as if the client
has not provided them with enough information to create the wanted
product so the final result may not be as the media company wanted/was
excepting due to lack of information.

4. INFORMAL BRIEF
Definition An informal agreement is more than likely a verbal
agreement between a producer and a client who wants
something to be created, what is wanted will be discussed and
agreed upon.
Advantages Some of the advantages of this style of brief is that
they are quick and easy to discuss and negotiate and can have
enough information for the business to create a product for the
client.
Disadvantages
This can be risky to take as if there is no contract involved
nothing can be done if something is to go wrong or if there is a
legal issue, it could not be taken to court as there is no form of
a legal contract to help either side to show what has/haven’t
been achieved. There could be a misunderstanding between the
client and the producer with this style of the brief and the
producer would not be able to look and refer to a brief to help
them with the creative process as there would not be a brief
due to it being a verbal contract rather than a physical copy

5. CO-OPERATIVE BRIEF
Definition: When two or more production companies are hired to
work on a specific brief, the companies have to work together
in order to complete the project.
Advantages
Having this type of brief means that there can be more
perspectives to creating the product needed by the client and
means that the brief can be more easily understood if two
companies are working together. If the two companies combine
their efforts they can overall come out with a high quality
product that the client is wanting.
Disadvantages
This type of brief can be prone to disagreements and conflict
between the two companies working together, the brief would
have to be re-submitted to change any disagreements between
the two companies, which could heavily delay the production
process.

6. NEGOTIATED BRIEF
Definition
If two or more media companies are working on a brief together and have
conflicting ideas regarding a project, they would have to negotiate the brief.
A negotiated brief is the final result of the two parties discussing the brief
and making changes to it.
Advantages
Both parties can make arrangements so that the brief is changed to best suit
their needs and to best suit them as producers, this may include changes to
the product for the client which will result in its final product being better
and more high quality than the one firstly thought out. At times they can be
quick and easy to arrange and allows for the producers to have their own
say in the discussion on the brief so any changes can be made to it if
needed.
Disadvantages
If the two parties do not come to a compromise on the brief the project may
be put on hold or not continued to any further notice, having to work out a
compromise may heavily delay the production process of the product if both
parties can’t come to a compromise.

7. COMMISSION BRIEF
Definition
Where a large media company hires an independent media company
to create a product for them. The brief is negotiated between two
media companies rather than an external client.
Advantages
This is counted as an official brief so that the company creating the
product is able to refer back to the brief if anything is starting to
go wrong and that they can see they are following along the right
tracks with creating the product. The company being
commissioned will also get paid for making the product and can
potentially get part of the products profit each time it is
sold/broadcasted/published.
Disadvantages
The bried has to be negotiated between two media companies
rather than just one client, this can cause different ideas and
possible conflict between both companies to do with the final
product and what is contained within the brief.

8. TENDER BRIEF
Definition
Where a client publishes that they needed a brief to be made.
When it is noticed, production companies will then produce a
brief, proposal and budget which is then pitch to the client.
Advantages
When the briefs are made for the client, there is a wide variety
for the client to chose from which gives them a wide range of
options to chose from when figuring out what brief they are
wanting to work on. The client can choose to work to a brief
that best suits their needs.
Disadvantages
The production companies may take a lot of time working on a
brief only to not get chosen by the client, a client may also
sometimes chose a brief that is not best suited for what they
are wanting.

9. COMPETITION BRIEF
Definition
A competition brief is where it is open to all of the production
companies who, if they want to complete the brief, hoping their
work will get chosen by the client. If their work suits the clients
needs they will then be chose create the product.
Advantages
Only the winning company of the competition brief will get paid,
that way money is not wasted into a company who creates a
product/brief that is not suited to the client and their needs.
Disadvantages
A company may have used their time and money only to not get
chosen by the client, the company may also only be entering the
competition to get paid and not put the right amount of effort into
the work so it comes out as a low quality as opposed to it being a
high quality piece of work.

10. MY BRIEF
Which structure/structures will your client brief use?
The structure of brief that my client will be using if a formal
brief as I have given my client a form to fill out which will
contain the information needed to piece together the brief. In
the form my client will be telling me what they would like me to
create and if they have any specific they wanted to be included
within the work I am creating for them. The brief will only be
contain the necessary information that I need to create the
product my client is asking for, if they are wanting anything
additional this would be done through negotiations. As the
brief my client is filling in matches the points in a formal brief
it is a formal brief that my client will be using to give me the
information for me to create the product.

11. READING THE BRIEF
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
It is important to thoroughly read through my brief so that I can find out
what my client is wanting, how they want it to be made and if there is
anything they do/do not want including within the work I am creating
for them. This makes sure that I will ne able to achieve everything my
client is asking for in the brief and so that I can spot anything that
might need to be discussed further/negotiated to make any changes to
the brief is necessary. Reading through the brief thoroughly also means
I can make sure that I reach everything my client is asking for and that I
can come out with an overall product that matches everything they are
asking for. Reading through it thoroughly is also important as I will
need to keep referring to my brief during production, so I will be able
to spot anything my client has asked for easily and I will not come
across any unseen information in the brief.

12. READING THE BRIEF
What is the nature and demand of your client brief?
The nature is a poster that I have been asked to create, my client wants
it to advertise their company. They have asked for one poster which
gives people information to do with the group. They have to be clear
and easy to read, along with sticking to the theme of black and white.,
The demands from my client is that the poster must be eye catching
and theatrical and I must use music notes and theatre masks on the
poster.

13. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to
production?
It is important to discuss the brief with my client prior to production as I
can talk with them about anything that may not be clear in the brief
and so that I can get a better idea of the product the client would like
making. I would also be able to make any negotiations with them to do
with the brief if any were needed to be made before production began.
I would also be able to get a clear image of what the client wants
making as well as being able to write down anything else they may like
including within the brief so the product can be tailored to how they
would like the final product to be. Any issue or concerns with the brief
can also be discussed with the client before production that make sure
that there are none or minimal issues during the process of production.

14. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion
with a brief?
Some of the advantages of this is that my client company has the
chance to use their own ideas and put it to use to come out with a
creative final product, they can ask for whatever they would like on
their product and would not have to hesitate to ask for any changes if
the client is not pleased with the product and how it is coming along.
The client is also getting for for free which gives them the opportunity
to put their funding into a different department.
A disadvantage is that my client may not like the overall product that is
being created and it could cause conflict between the client and the
worker.

15. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s
proposed product?
There are no ethical and regulatory issues with the briefs proposed
product however there is legal issues which I need to be careful of, as
my client has asked for certain types of images/designs to be included
within the product (this being music notes and theatre masks) I will
need to be careful with the images that I chose to use as I cannot put
anything on ,my clients poster which is subjected to copyright as this
may negatively affect my client if it is spotted and action is taken to do
with it. So I need to make sure I do not use any copyright subjected
images on my clients product, other than that there are no issues with
the brief.

16. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Amendments you have considered to:
The Product
If the finished product does not match the clients need or if it is not a high enough
quality I will have to re-do some parts of it depending upon what the client wants.
If I have a complicated plan and may not be able to reach it on time for the
deadline it may need to be changed around to be some simple. The time taken to
complete the work may been misjudged so there may not be enough time to
create some part of the work which could possibly be cut, which is why some time
should be left spare to work around.
The Budget
The budget for this project is not very much so I need to be careful not to go over
it or to create a product that would cost a large amount for my client to produce.
If this is the case I would need to simplify my product so my client can easily
produce/publish the finished product so it does not cost them much.
The Conditions
In the brief the conditions are how long I will be creating the product and when my
client is expecting the final and finished version of my product. If this runs over
the allocated time from my client I would have to discuss it when them as it would
be bad for the project to over run as my client would not get the product when
they expect to.

17. OPPORTUNITIES
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development
As a media producer this project gives me the chance to get work
experience with creating a product for a client. If the work comes out
high quality and to a good standard that my client is wanting my work
may get published and used to advertise my client, as well my client
may recommended me to others who are looking for a media producer
to create them some work.
Learning new skills
I would be able to learn some news skills, although I am very familiar
with photoshop and how to use it to create a product, during my
timescale of production I could possibly learn new skills and develop a
different style on my work to create a product that would be best
suited to my client and their needs. I would also be able to learn more
on different layouts for poster styles and I would be able to further
develop my Photoshop skills while creating the product.

18. OPPORTUNITIES
Multi-skilling
Throughout the production of my product I will have the opportunity to
use the different skills I have developed, these will mostly be my skills
on Photoshop but also my skills with page layout and design. All of my
skills will be combined together to create the final product for my
client.
Contributing to a project
I would be contributing to a group who's work is spread around the
area, this is by the use of being posted online or being handed out/put
up on display in places such as shops and schools. This gives me the
opportunity to contribute to this group by providing them a product
(the posters) for them to put on display.