A Brief Report

I was assigned to help The City of Westminster College production team, expand their business when working around the areas of TV and Video production. This report is to guide the managing director James Hodges, understand how to analyze a brief as he has so little experience in briefs. 

What Is A Brief?

Briefs come in many different forms. From a spoken or written brief, to being drowned in detail or very basic. When a brief is basic, this gives the client a chance to add in their own creative input and emerge their ideas with the very few steps they have been given to follow. However, when a brief is more detailed, the criteria can be more rigid not giving the client a chance to change or play with anything. When reading a brief, you can expect clients to include an aim/goal, how they would like this to be achieved and what to include in the process of completing a task.

Structure Of A Brief

When reading a brief, the first thing you will notice is the instructions. All instructions and other requirements included in the brief, will be clear. They work as guidelines for what you must do to achieve the end goal. You can expect a brief to include the following topics:

- A Title

- The Date & Deadline Dates

- A Topic

- The outcome of the project

- Tasks

- Any other comments for clients

A brief is not only for following for the benefit or completion of work but can be used in many different things. For example; competitions, contracts, negotiations. They may also be formal, informal, operative and tender. 

A competition brief is a brief that focuses on being completed by either proposing the most creative idea or working the hardest to achieve better than your competition. A competition brief covers the media sector as this tends to appear on TV, Internet, Magazine/Newspapers or on the Radio. In a competition brief, you will be given different tasks or structured guidelines as to how you are able to complete the project. In competition briefs, the deadlines usually have a specific time and date as there are other people working to this brief. They may also include a more personal section to be completed where they will require your Name, Age, Skills etc. At the end of a competition brief, there is always a winner and the person receives a prize. 

A contractual brief 

Definition

A contractual brief is a brief where a media company may be employed by a client in order to complete a project. For this type of brief there tends to be specific deadlines, dates and specific guidelines to follow. If a client fails to follow the guidelines given in the contractual brief, this may result in a breech of contract, meaning the company may be faced with legal actions. A contractual brief is one of the most specific and important type of briefs.

Advantages

The advantages of having a contractual brief, is that it is extremely beneficial for media companies involved as it is clearly structured and detailed meaning they go into specifics that are not to be negotiated. Going into a brief like this, you will fail to misunderstand what is being asked for you. Another advantage is, that taking into consideration how serious this type of brief is, you know what to expect with the outcome as a client. There could be severe consequences for anyone whom doesn't follow the brief as asked but a contractual brief can be extremely reliable. 

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of this type of brief is that by taking on a contract, you are expected to follow specific requirements. With that being said, it results to you having no creative input with the project, no negotiation and any failure to produce anything not up to the clients expectations, you have the risk of legal action being taken upon you and your company meaning it could leave your job in jeopardy. 

Negotiated Briefs

A negotiated brief, is when two different parties are able to come into agreements. They may discuss budgets, deadlines, achievements and also ideas. This not only helps clients as they are able to have a more in-depth visualization of what is expected from them, but also the chance to work towards this brief by having a creative input.

Formal Briefs

A formal brief, is a written document usually by big companies, with specific information and guidelines. This brief includes focusing on the goal and the process stage of how this is being achieved. A formal brief is straight to the point. Any other information that is not important, will not be found on this type of brief. A formal brief is also written to a strict legal guideline. 

An Informal Brief

An informal brief is not always documented and may be of the verbal type. This verbal brief can be in a meeting with a company and an employee, discussing requirements for a project or product. This brief may also  be written but with no specific guidelines and no in depth information on what requirements they may have. 

Advantages

The advantage of having an informal brief is that it may include more verbal communication meaning the client and company have the opportunity to discuss further for a better understanding of a brief. Meaning the client is able to achieve the requirements more easily as they know what is expected of them. They also have the opportunity to ask more questions to find out as much as they wish. 

Disadvantages

Informal briefs not being written documents, means there is no proof that a client and company. This could lead to the company getting away with failing to follow what is required off of them and for the client to not receive as asked. This could be from not meeting deadlines or causing confusion to the two parties.

A Co-Operative Brief

A Co-Operative brief is shared between more than two parties. There are different people managing different areas of the project. You may be required to work along-side organisations, who are also following a brief of their own meaning both your briefs, will have to co-operate with each other for the both to complete the project.

A Tender Brief

A tender brief is used for example, if a client wants a video shot, They may put together this brief with budgets, deadlines and a proposal but to potential clients. It is a brief that is yet to be decided by the client whether they are wanting to work along with your brief or not. The client then analyzes all the different Tenders and makes a decision on who's brief suits them the best.

Reading a Briefs

When reading a brief with a set of instructions, it may be used for different topics such as competitions, assignments, projects or can also be work related. A brief tends to be easy to read it includes instructions and outlines of what is expected for the final project. You may find different titles in the brief which sums up what that section focuses on making it easier for the reader to read as it is broken down to specific categories. 

When reading a brief, there are step by step instructions on how to complete tasks in the process of completion of project. When someone is reading a brief to another party, it is always wise to have a spare copy for the other party to have so they can follow the same structure that has been set out on the brief. 

The reading brief will summarize the task and what is expected by the end of the project. On the reading brief, you are able to add as much information as you want including any research or pre production you may have done. This not only benefits the client but gives the company an insight of your visuals and what they can expect. You may also be able to sway a decision in your favor.

This brief also shows you key areas that are vital to the task or proposal set. This reading brief should contain all information that the participant must be made aware of as it is necessary for the final proposal. 

The reading brief will not only allow a company to include all information and ideas for the project, but a chance to present an idea to a subordinate. It should always include a beginning, middle and end.

Here is an example of a competition I have come across. I will answer all the questions at the end.

For the second year running, the October issue of ELLE will be Edited by the Interns. As part of the scheme, we’re offering tomorrow’s fashion stars the chance to win one of 10 hotly-contested ELLE internships, spanning fashion styling, journalism, photography and design.

Now, in partnership with Nokia, an 11^th internship is up for grabs...

As part of a 2 week placement, the “Nokia ELLE” intern will work alongside ELLE’s promotions division: the team of art directors, graphic designers and writers behind the beautiful sponsored features and photo shoots you see in the pages of ELLE each month.

The Nokia ELLE internship will involve everything from attending brainstorms and meeting ELLE advertisers, to chasing clothing credits, writing copy, shadowing model castings and assisting on a photo and video shoots.

How to apply
For such a varied and demanding role, it’s vital that the Nokia ELLE intern is hard-working, confident and brimming with ideas and enthusiasm. Creativity and an interest in fashion is a must, as is a notable “social footprint”. So if you’re an avid Tweeter or dedicated blogger, we want to hear from you.

To prove why you deserve the last remaining internship at ELLE, you’ll have to get creative! Tell us why you should be joining the team via 150 words, 10 pictures or a 60 second video. Email your entry to nokiaintern@elleuk.com.  If you’re successful you’ll join ELLE for 2 weeks in total, with the opportunity to join Nokia for a further 2 weeks afterwards. Good luck!

For a taster of what you can expect from this amazing opportunity, watch our exclusive video interview with participants of last year's ELLE Edited by the Interns initiative, below.

Find out more and apply for ELLE Edited by The Interns 2013.

For more information on the newly-launched Nokia Lumia 925, please visit nokia.co.uk/lumia925

See the Terms and Conditions for this competition here.

QUESTIONS

What do you need to do?

Write 150 words, 10 pictures or a 60 second video telling Elle why you should be joining the team.

 What are the prizes? 

An opportunity to join Elle for two weeks and Nokia for a further two weeks. 4 weeks internship in total. 

What is the deadline for this competition? 

Sunday June 9, 2013 at 11:59pm GMT

What happens if you are successful?

A chance to become an intern, attending meetings with advertisers, chasing clothing credits, writing copies, shadowing model castings and assisting with photo and video shoots.

 What are the judges looking for? 

Creativity and an interest in fashion, hard-working, confident and brimming with ideas and enthusiasm. A possible tweeter or blogger.

Opportunities created by a brief.

Working with a brief, comes with many advantages and opportunities tagged. You have the opportunity to improve communication skills. When working with a brief, communication is key and you will need this to keep in contact with the client in which you are working with. Another advantage from briefs, is that you learn more about focusing on what it is you are working towards or a goal. For example, when I am handed an assignment brief at college, I am given specific requirements of what I am expected to deliver as the end product or in the project. As I focus on the goal, the instructions become more clear because I know what I am working towards. 

Some other opportunities when working with a brief is a chance for you to impress. If a client has given you a deadline, budget and instructions and you provide your client with an exceptional end product, you're more likely to receive more work from this client and maybe opportunities to work with more or bigger organizations. You have the opportunity to show off your skills and work ethic. 

Conclusion

In conclusion to this, when reading a brief you will now be able to pick out key points as listed above. Such as deadlines, guidelines, dates and instructions. I have explained all the different types of briefs you may come across and given examples with explanations. I have also included advantages of some briefs and disadvantages. I hope this helps give James a better understanding of what briefs are and how they all individually work.