Working to a Brief assignment 1
Structure of briefs
A contractual brief is a type of brief structure where you are employed by the client to make sure that the project that the brief tells them what they want is competed within the guidelines that will be stated in the brief which the media company needs to follow or they might not get paid for doing it. It is very important to follow all of the guidelines that is stated in the brief because if they don't then it can result in a breech of contract and then the you might have to deal with legal actions that the client that gave them since they didn't follow the guidelines. Also in a contractual brief you can't negotiate with the client to change anything in the brief. A good example of a contractual brief is the assignment briefs that we get from college which we can't negotiate we just get given the brief then we have to do everything that the brief tells us to do and hand it in before the deadline.
A negotiated brief is another type of brief structure where you can negotiate with the client if you have any issues with the brief that you can bring up with the client and then try to negotiate with them to try and change the issues with the brief. For example if you have an issue with the deadline where you don't think you can get it done for the deadline. Then you can negotiate this with the client to try and change the deadline date.
A formal brief is another type of brief structure where the brief that you are given by the client which fully outlines what the product is and what they are wanting you to do. The brief gives you all the information that you will need to know to be able to produce what the client wants you to produce. Also if there is any issues or information that you would want to go over and discus then you discus this with the client and negotiate it with them like in a negotiated brief.
An informal brief is another type of brief structure but the brief is not documented and it is usually just discussed. This means that you and the client just discus all of the requirements such as the product, what they want you to do, budget, deadline and legal requirements for the thing that they want you to produce.
A commission brief is another type of brief structure where the client commissions a company that they have worked with in the past or still work with to do the brief. So by the client commissioning a company with the brief they won't be making it a tender brief.
A negotiated brief is another type of brief structure where you can negotiate with the client if you have any issues with the brief that you can bring up with the client and then try to negotiate with them to try and change the issues with the brief. For example if you have an issue with the deadline where you don't think you can get it done for the deadline. Then you can negotiate this with the client to try and change the deadline date.
A formal brief is another type of brief structure where the brief that you are given by the client which fully outlines what the product is and what they are wanting you to do. The brief gives you all the information that you will need to know to be able to produce what the client wants you to produce. Also if there is any issues or information that you would want to go over and discus then you discus this with the client and negotiate it with them like in a negotiated brief.
An informal brief is another type of brief structure but the brief is not documented and it is usually just discussed. This means that you and the client just discus all of the requirements such as the product, what they want you to do, budget, deadline and legal requirements for the thing that they want you to produce.
A commission brief is another type of brief structure where the client commissions a company that they have worked with in the past or still work with to do the brief. So by the client commissioning a company with the brief they won't be making it a tender brief.
A tender brief is another type of brief structure where the client will advertise there brief to anyone that will want to go the brief and then their production team will come up with a proposal that they will pitch to you. Also there could be a lot of different pitches and you can choose which one sounds best for you and pick that one. Then when you pick the best one for you and then the client will hire you to do the brief and you will get the job.
A cooperative brief is another type of brief structure where the client has hired a team of people to all work on the same brief cooperatively. An example of this is two different companies that have been given the same brief by the same client and they will have to work together to promote the same product for the client and they will both give paid separately. But if they have different ideas they will have to negotiate with each other to resolve the issues and come up with an idea that they both want to do.
A competition brief is another type of brief structure where the client puts the brief up for everyone and anyone to see and do. So there will be a lot of different people all working on the same brief separately. Then at the end when the deadline is finished and everyone has completed the brief the client will have a look at everyone's attempt at the brief and they will judge all of them to see which one they like better. When they choose the best one the people that did will get awarded and their thing will get published. An example of a competition brief is the Mountain Dew brief where you have to create a Mountain Dew advert and the winners get a grant for creating it as well as their advert being published.
A cooperative brief is another type of brief structure where the client has hired a team of people to all work on the same brief cooperatively. An example of this is two different companies that have been given the same brief by the same client and they will have to work together to promote the same product for the client and they will both give paid separately. But if they have different ideas they will have to negotiate with each other to resolve the issues and come up with an idea that they both want to do.
A competition brief is another type of brief structure where the client puts the brief up for everyone and anyone to see and do. So there will be a lot of different people all working on the same brief separately. Then at the end when the deadline is finished and everyone has completed the brief the client will have a look at everyone's attempt at the brief and they will judge all of them to see which one they like better. When they choose the best one the people that did will get awarded and their thing will get published. An example of a competition brief is the Mountain Dew brief where you have to create a Mountain Dew advert and the winners get a grant for creating it as well as their advert being published.
Reading a brief
When you get a brief it is important to fully read your brief to make sure that you fully understand the brief and what it is asking you to do. The first thing you should make sure that you know when you read the brief is what you have to do for example if it is asking you to make a film then you will need to know what type of film you have to make, what they want you to include in you film and how you have to make it. The second thing that you need to know when you read the brief is the deadline, you will need to know when you have to send it in and make sure you send it in for the deadline. They are the main things that you need to know when you read the brief and after you have have read the brief it will be good to make a plan which will help you know how long you have to complete the brief and what you are going to be doing each day or week to get the brief completed. Another thing that you should do after you have read the brief is to read it again to make sure that you haven't missed anything from the brief. Another helpful to know when you have read the brief is to check what type of brief it is which could help you to come with some ideas for the brief and how you could complete the brief.
Negotiating a brief- refer to Understanding media
When you get a brief from a client and you have read all of the brief there might be something in the brief that you don't think you can do like you might think the deadline is to short or that the budget is not enough to make it. Then you can discus your issues with the client and try to negotiate the issues and you might get an extension on the deadline or a bigger budget but it doesn't always work out and you might not be able to fix your issues. Also there might be some constraints in the brief such as legal, regulatory or ethical constraints that you might be able to do or agree with. An example of this is if the on the brief the client is wanting to only use British people in the film and you don't agree with this you and you want to use some from France in your film then you could negotiate with the client to try and be able to use them in your film.
When you get a brief it is important to fully read your brief to make sure that you fully understand the brief and what it is asking you to do. The first thing you should make sure that you know when you read the brief is what you have to do for example if it is asking you to make a film then you will need to know what type of film you have to make, what they want you to include in you film and how you have to make it. The second thing that you need to know when you read the brief is the deadline, you will need to know when you have to send it in and make sure you send it in for the deadline. They are the main things that you need to know when you read the brief and after you have have read the brief it will be good to make a plan which will help you know how long you have to complete the brief and what you are going to be doing each day or week to get the brief completed. Another thing that you should do after you have read the brief is to read it again to make sure that you haven't missed anything from the brief. Another helpful to know when you have read the brief is to check what type of brief it is which could help you to come with some ideas for the brief and how you could complete the brief.
Negotiating a brief- refer to Understanding media
When you get a brief from a client and you have read all of the brief there might be something in the brief that you don't think you can do like you might think the deadline is to short or that the budget is not enough to make it. Then you can discus your issues with the client and try to negotiate the issues and you might get an extension on the deadline or a bigger budget but it doesn't always work out and you might not be able to fix your issues. Also there might be some constraints in the brief such as legal, regulatory or ethical constraints that you might be able to do or agree with. An example of this is if the on the brief the client is wanting to only use British people in the film and you don't agree with this you and you want to use some from France in your film then you could negotiate with the client to try and be able to use them in your film.
Opportunities
There is a lot of opportunities when working to a brief that you can get instead of just doing it for the money for example you could gain new skills, gain contacts, meet new clients and maybe some higher up people in the industry which will all help your self-development. Some of the new skills that you could gain will probably be really useful for you and could help you with future briefs. Some examples of new skills that you could learn might be to do with technologically that you haven't used before, some new software skills or new production skills that could help you with your own productions and future briefs. Also be working with clients you will be gaining new contacts that could help you out in the future by they might contact you with new briefs or they could recommend you to new clients that could be higher up in the industry. Also by doing a lot of different briefs, working with a lot different clients and gaining new skills will be good for your portfolio and your CV. Also these will be giving a lot of experience which will be good and you might be able to do a lot of traveling around the world to complete the briefs or with your clients.
There is a lot of opportunities when working to a brief that you can get instead of just doing it for the money for example you could gain new skills, gain contacts, meet new clients and maybe some higher up people in the industry which will all help your self-development. Some of the new skills that you could gain will probably be really useful for you and could help you with future briefs. Some examples of new skills that you could learn might be to do with technologically that you haven't used before, some new software skills or new production skills that could help you with your own productions and future briefs. Also be working with clients you will be gaining new contacts that could help you out in the future by they might contact you with new briefs or they could recommend you to new clients that could be higher up in the industry. Also by doing a lot of different briefs, working with a lot different clients and gaining new skills will be good for your portfolio and your CV. Also these will be giving a lot of experience which will be good and you might be able to do a lot of traveling around the world to complete the briefs or with your clients.
