What should be in a video production brief?

A good video production brief does not need to be long.

It needs to be clear.

The best briefs give a production company enough information to understand the problem, the audience and the constraints without trying to prescribe every creative decision before the conversation has even started.

If you are commissioning a film, these are the things worth including.

1. What are you trying to achieve?

Start with the actual objective.

Not:

“We need a three-minute film.”

That is a deliverable.

Instead, explain what needs to change as a result of the film.

For example:

• increase awareness of a new brand

• explain a complex service

• support a product launch

• attract new employees

• reposition the company

• build trust with customers

• raise funds

• document an event

• support a wider campaign

The clearer the objective, the easier it is to develop the right creative approach.

2. Who is the audience?

Try to be specific.

“Everyone” is rarely useful.

A film aimed at existing customers should probably behave differently from one aimed at people who have never heard of you.

Useful information might include:

• who they are

• what they already know

• what they currently think

• what matters to them

• what might stop them taking action

Understanding the audience helps shape everything from tone to length to where the film should live.

3. What do you want the audience to think, feel or do?

This is one of the most useful questions in any brief.

Do you want people to:

• understand something

• trust the brand

• feel inspired

• remember a particular message

• visit a website

• make an enquiry

• sign up

• share the film

• change their perception of the company

You do not always need a direct call to action.

But you should know what response you are trying to create.

4. What is the key message?

Try to identify one central idea.

You can have supporting messages, but if the film needs to communicate ten equally important points, it will probably struggle to communicate any of them particularly well.

Ask:

If the audience remembers one thing, what should it be?

That is usually a much better starting point than a long list of features or statements.

5. What does the audience need to know?

This is where the practical information belongs.

It might include:

• product details

• service information

• brand positioning

• event details

• statistics

• customer proof

• a new proposition

• a specific announcement

Try to separate essential information from information that would simply be nice to include.

That distinction becomes very useful during creative development.

6. Where will the film be used?

This can change the production significantly.

Tell the production company whether the film is intended for:

• your website

• YouTube

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• TikTok

• paid advertising

• broadcast

• events

• internal communications

• sales presentations

• digital out-of-home

• multiple platforms

If the film needs to work in several places, say so from the start.

That may affect framing, duration, captions, aspect ratios and the additional footage captured during production.

7. What deliverables do you need?

Try to think beyond the hero film.

You might need:

• one main film

• 30-second cutdowns

• 15-second versions

• vertical edits

• social clips

• subtitled versions

• still photography

• interview extracts

• different calls to action

• alternative language versions

You do not need to know every technical specification.

But knowing the likely outputs before filming means the production can be planned around them.

8. What is the budget?

If you know it, include it.

This is sometimes treated as something that should be hidden until production companies submit their prices.

That usually makes the process less efficient.

A £7,000 solution and a £30,000 solution are likely to involve fundamentally different approaches.

Knowing the available range allows the production company to propose something realistic.

It also lets them tell you if the budget and ambition are out of alignment before everyone wastes time developing the wrong idea.

A budget is not an invitation to spend every penny.

It is a production parameter.

9. What is the timeline?

Include any genuinely fixed dates.

For example:

• launch date

• event date

• campaign start

• board presentation

• product release

• broadcast deadline

Work backwards from the date the final film is actually needed.

Remember that production may include:

• creative development

• research

• contributor sourcing

• locations

• scripting

• approvals

• filming

• editing

• feedback

• colour

• sound

• final delivery

A realistic schedule gives the creative work room to develop.

10. Who needs to approve the film?

This is more important than it sounds.

If one marketing director needs to approve the work, the process can be relatively straightforward.

If approval involves marketing, legal, the CEO, HR and an overseas parent company, that needs to be understood early.

Too many unexpected decision-makers appearing halfway through post-production can cause delays and weaken the work.

Include:

• who the final decision-maker is

• who needs to provide feedback

• whether legal or compliance approval is required

One clear route for consolidated feedback is usually much more efficient than five separate sets of notes.

11. Are there any mandatory elements?

If something definitely has to appear in the film, say so.

That could include:

• logos

• products

• locations

• people

• taglines

• legal wording

• partner branding

• sponsor requirements

• accessibility requirements

• specific statistics or messages

It is much easier to build these into the creative concept from the beginning than discover them after filming.

12. What should the film not feel like?

This can be surprisingly useful.

You may know you do not want:

• something overly corporate

• comedy

• glossy advertising

• staged interviews

• excessive branding

• a voiceover

• a particular visual style

Try to explain why.

“Not corporate” can mean ten different things to ten different people.

References help.

13. Include examples, but explain what you like about them

Sending reference films is useful.

Sending ten links with no explanation is less useful.

For each reference, identify what you respond to.

For example:

• the interview style

• camera movement

• pacing

• colour

• music

• humour

• structure

• use of real people

• restraint

• energy

The goal is not necessarily to copy the reference.

It is to understand your taste and expectations.

14. What access do you already have?

Some of the strongest films depend on access rather than production scale.

Tell the production company if you already have access to:

• customers

• employees

• athletes

• founders

• unusual locations

• archives

• events

• communities

• manufacturing processes

• behind-the-scenes environments

These things can often become the foundation of the creative idea.

15. What has already been decided?

Be clear about which parts of the project are fixed and which are open to development.

For example:

Fixed:

• launch date

• budget

• featured product

• filming location

Open:

• concept

• contributors

• format

• length

• creative treatment

This gives the production company room to solve the right parts of the problem.

What does a bad brief look like?

Usually one of two things.

The first contains almost nothing:

“We need a two-minute video about our company. Please quote.”

There simply is not enough information to develop a meaningful approach.

The second contains everything:

• exact script

• exact shots

• exact music

• exact locations

• exact duration

• exact structure

At that point, you may not really be asking for creative production.

You may simply be asking somebody to execute a predetermined plan.

Sometimes that is exactly what is required.

But if you are hiring a production company for its creative expertise, give it some room to contribute.

A simple video production brief template

If you want to keep things straightforward, answer these questions:

What are we trying to achieve?

Who is the audience?

What do we want them to think, feel or do?

What is the one thing they need to remember?

Where will the film be used?

What outputs do we need?

What budget are we working with?

When does it need to be finished?

Who signs it off?

What is mandatory?

What should it definitely not feel like?

That is enough to start a productive conversation.

The brief is a starting point

A good brief should give direction without trying to solve the entire project.

You do not need to arrive with the film already designed.

That is part of what the production company is there for.

At eklectics, the first stage of a project is usually about understanding the audience, objective and story before deciding what the film should look like.

Because the strongest briefs do not tell filmmakers exactly what to make.

They make the problem clear enough for them to find the right answer.