Working to a brief pro forma

1. WORKING TO A
BRIEF
LO1
Emily Pinder

2. CONTRACTUAL BRIEF
Definition: A contractual brief is when a media company signs an
agreement about the specific task and time frame for a set fee.
Advantages: An advantage of a contractual brief is that the
employee will know exactly what work needs to be done, how
long they have to do it and how much they will be paid for this
work and that the money is guaranteed.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of a contractual brief is that there
is a lot of small print to the contract that the employee must read
before signing the contract to make sure they know what they
are agreeing to. Also, if they fail to make the correct work or go
over the time period, not only would they lose their pay they
could also face legal action for breaching the contracts agreed
upon.

3. FORMAL BRIEF
Definition: A formal brief establishes what a company want to be
made and only contains necessary information that the
employee needs to know to create the product. If the employee
needs an extra information they will need to talk to the client
when negotiating the brief. Both parties will formally agree on
the project however, this type of brief is not always legally
binding.
Advantages: an advantage of this document that it is very clear
and concise as it has no legal jargon included that can make
briefs confusing and hard to understand. Also, as there is no
extra information included it will be a short brief that is easy to
understand. The employee also has more creative freedom to
work around the brief as it is not a legally binding brief.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of this brief style is it is very
basic and generalised about what the client wants, with no
explanations of their ideas or the products they want creating.
Both parties may also disagree with each others opinions and
decisions about the brief.

4. INFORMAL BRIEF
Definition: An informal brief is usually a verbal agreement
between two parties about what work the company want
creating. There is no contract or written documentation involved
as all the work is discussed and agreed upon verbally.
Advantages: An advantage of a informal brief is that is much
more laid back than other styles of brief meaning there is no set
end day that the work must be completed to. This means both
parties can discuss the work throughout the creative process so
both parties are happy with the product before it is finalised.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of this brief style is there is no
actual contract involved which can be risky for both parties as
the employee may not get paid for the work they do and the
company may never get the work created.

5. CO-OPERATIVE BRIEF
Definition: A co-operative brief is when two or more production
companies are hired to work on a specific brief. The companies
must work together in order to complete the project.
Advantages: An advantage of a co-operative brief is that it builds
a sense of community in the work place which should help to
make the project easier as everyone will work together. It will
also help to have a variety of ideas to help generate work for the
client.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of a co-operative brief is also
teamwork as their maybe conflicting ideas, personalities and
views as it will slow down the work produced and may stop any
work being created altogether.

6. NEGOTIATED BRIEF
Definition: A negotiated brief is used when a co-operative brief
does not work. When two or more companies are working on a
brief together and have conflicting ideas regarding the project
causing the work produced to slow down or stop altogether. A
negotiated brief is when the original brief is changed in order to
appease all parties involved. Compromising the visual style,
content or legal/ethical boundaries of the brief will allow for the
project to continue.
Advantages: An advantage of this brief style is that it takes all
parties thoughts and ideas into account and merging them into
one to create a suitable brief for everyone. This will stop any
arguing that has taken place or may in the future.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of this brief style is that the
negotiations do not please everyone involved as they have not
all compromised their ideas and requirements. This can lead to
loss of work and pay for everyone involved as well as stopping
any future work with the companies.

7. COMMISSION BRIEF
Definition: A commission brief is when a large media company
hires an independent media company to create a product for
them. This brief is negotiated between the two media companies
rather than an external client and this product may then be used
for an external client.
Advantages: An advantage of this brief style is that the
independent media company will be paid by the large media
company not only for the product but also receive profit each
time it is sold, broadcast or published.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of this brief style is that the large
company are not fair to the independent media company in terms
of pay and credit. The large media company may develop some
financial greed and not pay the independent media company the
sufficient amount of money as well as no crediting them for their
work.

8. TENDER BRIEF
Definition: A tender brief is when a client advertises a product
that they want to be made. A production company would then
create a brief, proposal and budget to pitch to the client. Many
companies can submit a brief to the client to try to win the
project. The client will then chose the best proposal submitted
and offers the project to that production company.
Advantages: An advantage of this brief style is that the client
could receive lots of interest for a variety of media companies
offering a range of ideas. The companies would be more
motivated to produce high quality work due to the amount of
competition resulting in better work for the client.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of this brief style is that their is a
lot of competition and it is unlikely your company would get
chosen to complete the work. The more competition, the higher
your chances of losing the work. You also have to put in a lot of
time and effort that may result in no job or money.

9. COMPETITION BRIEF
Definition: A competition brief is when a brief is released to all
production companies for them the complete. After all project
are completed they are then judged and the best project is
awarded/published.
Advantages: An advantage of this style brief is that it is often
label as a free to enter competition which encourages more
people to take part resulting in more work to be judged by the
company on which they like the best. The company only has to
pay the winning project if they do award any money at all.
Disadvantages: A disadvantage of this style brief is that their is a
lot of competition which means a lot of people will be left without
winning the project meaning they have wasted a lot of time and
have not been payed.

10. MY BRIEF
Which structure/structures will your client brief use?
The brief from my clients are a mixture of formal and informal as I
have no time constraints from my client, no contract and it is not
legally binding. I have spoke to my clients about the type of work I can
do for them and discussed the work that they wanted doing. We have
come to an agreement about the work I will create for them. My brief
from the Staymor is quite restrictive as they have very set ideas and
colours they want to use. However, the Go Down Restaurant brief is
more broad as they want some photographs taking for their website
but it is up to me the style I chose to shoot in and how I choose to edit
the images.
I have chosen to work in this style brief as it is not as constrictive as
other brief types that have lots of rules and regulations, time
schedules and other constraints. It also allows me to be more open
and casual with my clients, making it easier to communicate.

11. READING THE BRIEF
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
It is important to thoroughly read through the brief as you need to be sure of
what a client or company wants from you and if you are able to complete this
work. Other things you need to read properly about the work is what they want
you to complete, how long you have to complete it, the money you will get paid
for you if at all and what consequences you will face if you fail to complete the
brief.
If the brief is legally binding, you could face being taken to court or other
charges if toy fail to complete the work and break the contract. This also leads
to lack of work/income, a bad reputation and lack of referrals to other
companies.

12. READING THE BRIEF
What is the nature and demand of your client brief?
The nature of my client brief from the Staymor is that I have been asked to
create a logo, business card and A5 leaflet to promote the company. I have
also been given the themes of Steampunk, gentleman's club and art deco/40’s
to work to as well the colour scheme I need to work to.
The nature of my client brief from the Go Down Restaurant is that I have been
asked to take photographs of the food and the restaurant.
The demand of my client brief from the Staymor is that I must use bold colours
and fonts. Avoiding pastel colours and any fonts that are joined up.
I do not have any demand from the Go Down Restaurant as the brief is very
broad and open.

13. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production?
It is important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production as you can
make sure what has been asked of you is clear. You both will have agreed
upon ideas, any requirements, the pay you will receive and the time you have
to create the work. It also allows you to ask any other questions to understand
what the client wants you to make.
It also allows you to understand the business you are working for which you can
the incorporate into your work.

14. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a
brief?
An advantage of employing discretion with a brief is that it allows you to add
your own interpretation and idea of the work which can lead to many different
outcomes that your client may like. However, you need to be sure it does not
conflict what is already stated in the brief.
A disadvantage of employing discretion with a brief is that if it does not have
enough structure or ideas then you may end up making a product that is
completely unsuited to the client and they may not wish for you to use it or
continue working for them.

15. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed
product?
With my brief, I have no legal/ethical/regulatory issues as I have been given a
broad idea of what both companies want me to create. I will not copy anyones
work or use any material that is not free or of public domain.
I have also checked copyright laws and ASA standards however, the work I am
creating will not be effect by these.

16. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Amendments you have considered to:
The Product
After my meeting with my client ( The Staymor ), she decided to take the work in a
completely different direction from the ideas she gave me in the brief. I will need to
keep in close contact with my client throughout the project as she seems very fickle
about what she wants and may not be happy with my ideas.
The Budget
I am not being payed for this task so I have not had to think about a budget, instead I
have relied on college to lend my any equipment I may need such as a camera. If I
was creating this work independently, I would need to either buy or rent equipment
such as a camera and photoshop.
The Conditions
If I were getting paid for this project, I would need to have a discussion with my client
about how much I would get paid depending on how much work I create for them.
Also, as I mentioned before that my client is not sure of what they want, they may
want me to create a variety of ideas which could be very time consuming and I would
want to get paid for it.

17. OPPORTUNITIES
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development
This brief and project will allow me to gain confidence in talking to business
owners about what they want me to create for them. It will allow me to gain
feedback on my work and help me to develop the work they want. Also,
creating this work will allow me to add it to my portfolio. It is also a chance for
my work to be show to the public.
Learning new skills
I will learn new skills such as communicating professionally, expanding my
photoshop skills and working to a time schedule/idea contrasts. I will help me
to create work that others want from me rather than the usual style I would go
for.

18. OPPORTUNITIES
Multi-skilling
In this project I will be using a range of different skills to help me complete my
briefs such as commutation with my clients, photoshop skills to create my
products as well as brining the clients ideas to life, photography/camera
handling skills to create professional standard images and time management.
Contributing to a project
The work I am creating for my clients wont be contributing to a bigger project or
allowing me to work with others. However, it will give me the experience of
working for others and examples of my work to add to my portfolio.