The Requirements of Working to a Brief

The Requirements of Working to a Brief 

Briefs -

Project Brief

A project brief is something the client will give you prior to starting out a project. 

This can be delivered in writing or by meeting.

In both the client needs to provide the key details and what they want the outcome to look like, including details of how long the video needs to be, when they need it by, where the filming needs to be done (in a studio or at a location), background music and if they are including people in it for interviews etc.

Some people may put this into more detail than others. 
Another ways of responding to a brief is by entering a competition. Our first assignment was to create a video for depict. This is a competition where you are given a full brief. From the entries the winner is chosen. 

https://www.depict.org/

In terms of reading a brief we had Julie Woods from the local community group called MESH give our class a brief. She specified that they needed a video that was between 3-5 minutes long to be shown at a yearly meeting full of local mp's and charity workers. 

In terms of direction we were told we needed interviews from some of the people who helped behind the scenes to get the gardening projects underway but also from volunteers who undertook work on the projects to restore gardens and public areas. We had to show what previous projects they have done using photos they provided us with. The rest was left to us to get a video made in under a month. 

Tender Brief 

Tender brief is where the client will put out a brief and then other companies approach them with a pitch. This means the client will get an assortment of companies each with different ideas and perspectives come to them resulting in the client being able to pick what they think is best suited to the brief that was set. 

In terms of being the company, advantages are if you get chosen to produce the video then you are getting paid and growing your business. Although, disadvantages would be if you are not picked by the client you would have spent a lot of time getting a proposal together whilst not being paid.

* https://www.slideshare.net/leeanne123/brief-14633707 

Informal Brief 

Informal briefs are very different to a formal brief as it means you can work more closely with the client to create something together. You would be more likely to have a face to face meeting which would give a deeper incite into what the final product could look like as well as going over shot types and who would be in it.

Potentially in these situations you would already know the person or what they do and the deadline may not be as strict either meaning the scheduled is more relaxed.

Formal Brief 

This is where you will have to follow a lot more rules and complete more legal paperwork to comply with regulations. Often you would be given a contract made by the company you are being commissioned by which would state your deadline, pay and your rights/ responsibilities. Having a more strict brief and meetings with the client means you don't have as many opportunities in terms of creative abilities. Compared to an informal brief the creator has a more clear direction of what the client is in need of and you can always approach them to go over new ideas too to insure that this is what they want.

Co-Operative Brief

This means that two or more companies are selected to come together and create a product from a brief that has been set by the client. 
For this communication is key as you have to work with the other companies that have been chosen which could mean a lot of people to co-ordinate when shooting/editing and doing pre-production work. Although with so many people working on a project you will find many different perspectives and ideas which could even help make the video process quicker. But you would have to bear in mind that not everyone will not agree with every idea suggested meaning you may all have to compromise.   


Negotiated Brief 

Both the client and employer come together to decide on the final project ideas after seeing the brief. It means you can take ideas from both sides to have the end product being creative but also conveying what is in the brief. 
A negotiated brief is different to the co-operative brief because you can change ideas with the client whereas the co-operative brief means you have a set task to already create and you don't have much room for new ideas to come in.

Other ways of responding to a brief
Source -  https://www.slideshare.net/veggieburgers4lyf/different-types-of-brief-16919081
https://collective.lacie.com/contest/view/000000000000002361?r=fb
Briefs can be set by companies as a competition where you can win prizes if you are selected. The example I have linked above gives you a script to work from and then gives creative freedom in terms of how you want to film it. It is then judged by a panel on the bases of the quality of storytelling, sound, creativity, editing and cinematography.





Negotiating a brief - 
When working on the MESH project we had lots of room in terms of being able to negotiate and put ideas in to come up with what would be included. Julie who gave us the brief didn't have many ideas of what she wanted other than it needed to portray the projects that had been completed and show short interviews of people within this who could explain it.

When responding to a brief you may come across some constraints. These constraints are strict and you don't want to push these as it ensures viewers of the content you make are not offended. 
Ethical would come under this and would include discrimination (age and race), privacy and offensive stereotypes. An example I have been aware of is by a British actor called Antonio Aakeel. He has previously been offered big roles in tv shows/films but to play characters like terrorists just because of his appearance. We visited the Norwich film festival and had a session about equalities within the work place. This is where he spoke out on the panel about the discrimination he has faced within his career as an actor.
Legal is also something you have to be aware of because you can get into a lot of trouble with authorities if it is discovered have used copyrighted music or content. 
For the film we made we did use music however got a BenSound license to be able to use their content. Source - https://www.norwichfilmfestival.co.uk/events/2018-events/screen-equalities-diversity-and-inclusion-panel/

Opportunities - 
- People respond to briefs to gain work. Most of the time when seeing a brief it would be a freelancer or a growing film company. 

New skills I learnt whilst doing the project was filming of behind the scenes footage and working out the best angles to see what everyone was doing at set points. 
I also learnt how to interview people and direct them we came up with questions and helped the interviewees come up with answers before they responded on camera.
I helped to film as well as edit parts of the clips and aligning sound too.
Personally I enjoyed the role that I undertook as I got to do some interviews with students as well as general shots of others filming. As a group we had lots of ideas which we were able to incorporate but wouldn't have been able to if we had a stricter brief. 
If I had taken a different role for example, interviewing Julie it would have been more challenging as they had to be a lot more prepared only having a few takes. Whereas I interviewed students in college that I have known for two years now.