The document discusses different types of briefs used in creative media industries. It defines a brief as a document that outlines the requirements and expectations for a production. It then examines informal, formal, negotiated, commissioned, tendered, cooperative, and competitive briefs. For each type it provides examples and discusses the advantages and disadvantages. Key points covered include legally binding requirements, creative freedom, budgeting, collaboration between companies, and opportunities that can arise.

1. Unit 5: Working to a Brief in the
Creative Media Industries
A brief is a document that details what is required of the production team for the overall product.
Why Read the Brief?
You should always read your brief as it has important information about the production. This is so you have no surprises and know
what is needed from you and your company. The brief will include many things, such as: fees, deadlines, the production outline and the
expectations. It will also include important factors about the production. It will tell you the use of the product, where the final product will
displayed, as well as the style. This information is needed so you can properly plan and create a product designed for a certain
platform and genre. The brief will also state who the competitors and demographics are. This is stated so you know who to gear the
product towards and what the product is up against.

2. Contractual
This is a legally binding document that outlines the responsibilities of the job. This
document will state such responsibilities as the deadlines, overall fees and materials that
will be used. You can see this in the example under the heading ‘Responsibility for Original
Material’.
A positive to using this brief is that it is legally binding and this means that this contract
cannot be broken. Another positive would be that the brief will clearly state what is required
of you for the job, both creatively and the time period it needs to be completed by. A
negative aspect of is that it can be restricting on your creativity within the project as there
are strict requirements to follow. Another disadvantage is that this type of brief can take a
long time to prepare and put together.

3. Informal
This type of contract is often communicated verbally or in a basic message, there is no official document and is not for professional use.
In the example below, a basic request for a job has been written in an email format.
The advantages to using an informal contract is that there is no guidelines which can lead to feeling more free creatively. This type of
contract is often used when working with friends, which can be a positive thing as you are working with people who you are already
familiar with. However, the lack of document can also be a bad thing as there is nothing in writing. This could lead to you not being paid to
previously promised amount or even not being paid at all. There is also the danger of not meeting what the employed desires as the
requirements are not stated

4. Formal
This is a contract that states everything that the employer requires
you to do for the job. It will have the basics for the production and
nothing more. This brief is also not always legally binding.
An advantage to using this contract is that it is possible to work
around legal issues that could possibly be a problem. A disadvantage
to this sort of contract is that is could be quite general and lack
certain detail. This could lead to misunderstandings in the production
or even missing things the employer wanted.

5. Negotiated
This is brief is quite similar to formal briefs but instead all the details and
overall ideas are negotiated upon. This will be discussed until there is no
disagreement and everyone involved is happy.
An advantage for this type of contract is that each individual gets creative
input, making it suitable for all parties involved. However, if there are
disagreements it could result in a loss of work for the parties involved, if they
can not come to an agreement. It could also lead to a loss of creativity in the
job.

6. Commision
This type of contract involves a company employing an independent
company or individual to create products for them. This will be
negotiated between the two parties.
Advantages to this type of contract is that the independent company
may receive a percentages of the profits for the product made, along
with their previously agreed fees. The commissioning process also
creates and builds working relationships between companies. A
disadvantage for that contract type is that the independent company
may be paid unfairly for their products or even not get the full credit for
it. Corporate greed may also play a factor as this will result in the
company not wanting to give the independent company a percentage of
the product profits. This would then lead to an break down in the
working relationship between both parties.

7. Tender
This brief involves the employer advertising the need for a
product and then a company will apply with their brief that will
includes budget, schedule and their proposal of an idea for the
product. This type of brief can be seen in the example that is
advertising a need for a study.
This type of brief means that multiple companies will be up for
the same job. This creates competition that could in turn make
the product proposals be of better quality in hope of being
chosen. However, this could also result in some companies
work being overlooked if a large number companies apply.
Another positive of this type of brief is that there will be a range
of options to choose from so the company can pick the best
product.

8. Cooperative
This type of brief multiple companies coming together to work and input on
one brief.
An advantage to this type of brief is that it creates a community environment
when working as there is lots of people from the multiple companies
working together. As the team is made up of multiple companies there will
be lots of different perspectives and ideas to input into the project. However,
having so many people working on a project could cause there to be too
many voices and ideas being lost. It could also lead to rivalry amongst the
team.

9. Competition
This is a brief that is meant to be accessible for all production companies,
regardless of their situation. For this brief, the production company will create an
outline and display their ideas for the project. Then different companies will submit
their work for a chance to win. In this example, the brief is advertising a short film
competition for the chance of that short film being shown in The O2.
An advantage to this kind of brief is that the competition usually results in
companies being competitive and therefore producing better quality work. This will
also give a better range of options to choose from. A disadvantage to competitions
is that there is often entry fees so you may be paying a lot of money not to win.

10. Consultation
This is a formal or informal meeting that the sole purpose is to
negotiate and discuss details and ideas for the brief. However, if
you are working on a contractual brief, this brief cannot be
negotiated or input details but you will still have a consultation to
discuss brief. This meeting is the time to raise any issues you and
your company may have with the brief. It is also the the time to
discuss any new ideas you may have come up with for the
production. Holding a consultation ensures that both the company
and yourself are on the same page in terms of ideas and creating
the product.
During the consultation, you will negotiate fees with the employer.
This is so all parties are aware of all the fees from the beginning.
This will also involve being made aware of the budget for the
production and finding ways to stay within that.

11. Degree of Discretion in Interpreting the Brief
When you receive a brief you need to interpret the ideas and work out how you will produce the production, how you will distribute it
and how the client wants the final product to look. The consultation will help to ensure you capture what the client has invision.
Constraints
Constraints are rules put in place to protect the audience from being manipulated, offended or discriminated against. For example, the
product must not have racist, homophobic or sexist tones or marginalise groups of people. As a production company you must follow
these rules but they do not limit your product, instead assure they are appropriate for all audiences. If you do not follow the constraints
you are in risk of breaching your brief.
Another constraint is that you cannot use other people’s work, whether it’s music or videos, without first asking permission. If you do so
it is called copyright and is a legal offence. This is used to protect people’s original work. It could be restricting if you cannot get
permission for a piece of material and you had to use an alternative instead.

12. Amendments
During the production, there will be a lot of changes to overall product. This
is why Sign Off Sheets are used by companies. This ensures that, once
something has been ‘signed off”, the production company or client cannot
go back and make anymore changes. It creates a sense of security as
amendments to the details and conditions could have a big impact on the
production and the overall product. For example, if the target audience was
to change it would the overall production team would need to make several
changes to accommodate the change.
Amendments to budget may also be needed. This may be because a new
cost has arisen that was not planned for or that prices have changed. If this
does happen it is the responsibility of the production company as they
should have taken in account all prices.

13. Opportunities
There are many opportunities that may arise as result of the briefs. One opportunity is that it may lead to new work experiences. You
may also get the chance to experience new and better technology than previously used. You may also develop new skills if you help
out in other departments, excluding your own. The brief may also lead to you feeling more confident in yourself as you will, most likely,
had to lay down your ideas to the client. If you win a competition brief, it could also lead to you having more self belief than before.