Working to a brief pro forma

Working to a brief pro forma

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  WORKING TO A BRIEFJake Stanyon-Carr
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  CONTRACTUAL BRIEF Definition- acontract is a legally binding document, so this means that the brief is legally binding too, which means that you sign this brief to do a specific task in a specific time period. This will be a document that you and the client both sign and date. If you do not complete this task to the specifications, you can be taken to court by your client. It is very important for both parties to understand this. If the client doesn’t do what they say they will, for example if they do not pay enough, they can also be taken to court. Advantages- you know exactly what you are getting form both parties. The client knows what they are getting, and the producer knows exactly what they are going to create for them. There is also legal protection for both parties as it is there in writing what both parties want/need. You know exactly how much you are getting to spend on the project, so there will be no issues with underfunding. Disadvantages- you could potentially get sued if you make the wrong product or not to the right specifications. You are also locked into the contract, so you cannot get out of it even if you want to.
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  FORMAL BRIEF Definition- aformal brief is a brief that simply gives you an idea of what product that the client wants. It is saying what they want but is up to the producer to make these product. For example, McDonalds would hire a producer to make an ad for a billboard, but they wouldn’t say what they wanted, so it is up to the producer what sort of content will go on this billboard. Advantages- gives the producer more freedom into what they can produce for their client. It gives them flexibility for time, money and resources. It keeps things fairly simple in the sense that it means that you don’t have to read a massive contract, and you can have more input. You can often have a lot of discussions and negotiations, for example you can chat with them on the phone, and then formalise it with an email. Disadvantages- a formal brief isn't necessarily legally binding. So if something goes wrong, or the product/deadline isn't quite right, the best way to protect yourself in that instance is making sure that you have a lot of correspondence through email.
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  INFORMAL BRIEF Definition- andinformal brief would typically mean that there is not writing involved, as it will be a verbal agreement. This means that there are no contracts o written documentation to support the brief and the process/project. For example, when you arrange to meet up with a mate later on through speech. This isn't a professional example but it shows the brief type well. Advantages- the informality of the contract means that you have full flexibility with what you want to create. The client is typically open to any ideas and as it is informal, no set time frame either, so as long as it is done at some point, then that’s cool. Disadvantages- it is not a reliable way of making work or sometimes even getting payment. If it is an informally brief, you may forget their core message or sometimes what they want in general.
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  CO-OPERATIVE BRIEF Definition- thisconsists of three or more parts, for example there could be two clients that the producer is making content for. For example, you could hire a DJ to play for an event, but you could also hire another one to play after him. These two media producers may end up working together to make a product. Advantages- you could both work to a more refined or a better end product, as opposed to one person working on an ok product. The work can be done a lot faster since there are ore than one of you making it. You can bounce ideas off each other. Having more than yourself working on the project, you always have a contingent, so if person A falls ill, person B can pick up some of the workload. Disadvantages- as there is more than one person on the job, this could result in arguments and creative differences. Figuring out who is doing what can end up being problematic. Splitting the payment up can often result in differences too.
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  NEGOTIATED BRIEF Definition- anegotiation is a discussion between yourself and another, and you are trying to objectify what you are producing. If there are any disagreements in the contract, they can negotiate. Negotiation is an important part of any brief. Advantages- you are making sure that everyone involved is happy, for example, resources, budget, time constraints. Making sure the fine details are known and agreed upon from both parties. Another thing could be with successful negotiation, you can ensure that all parties will work together effectively. This is called synergy. Disadvantages- You could get into arguments. If you don’t negotiate, you may not get the correct information.
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  COMMISSION BRIEF Definition- alarge media company will hire a smaller media company to create a product for them. For example the BBC may hire a seperate film company to make a production for them, then the BBC will use this production. This is basically outsourcing your work to another company. Advantages- one key advantage is that when you are given the brief, you will have a better understanding of it as it is coming form a media savvy person. You are in the same field of expertise so they can use proper industry terminology. You can still get royalties form the products after they have been released. Disadvantages-
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  TENDER BRIEF Definition- atender brief is basically an open brief where the client will put out a brief, and a producer will offered their services to fit the brief. Some companies are obliged to choose the cheapest option. Advantages- gives smaller production houses a chance to work with a large company. There is flexibility to choose a producer and effectively gain full control of the ideas given to them. This brief doesn’t require as much time for negotiation. Disadvantages- for the producer, you might go and pitch the idea to the company, and all of the planning and pre production from the producer is wasted if they do not get the job.
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  COMPETITION BRIEF Definition- acompetition brief is where you compete with others for a company to use your content. This brief is available to anyone. There is normally a prize of some sort, as there would be no incentive if there wasn’t. York college put out a student voice poster design competition, with the winner taking a £50 amazon gift voucher. Advantages- if your work is used by a large company, it could lead to further opportunities for you. You get the opportunity to work for large companies. The company putting out the brief is that they will have a lot of quality content to choose from. It is free for the producer to enter. The client ends up with cheap labour and the mass creation of products. Disadvantages- there is a possibility for nobody to enter if there is not enough publicity or the rewards aren't good enough, leading to no or a select few entries, so you have to give the prize to the best one, even if it isn't very good. The entries themselves might not be too good, o you are stuck using sub par content. Your product that you make for the brief may not get chosen, so you have just wasted your time.
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  MY BRIEF Which structure/structureswill your client brief use? I will use a formal brief as I prefer the more casual nature of the informal brief. The fact that it makes it a formal brief is that I am communicating with them over Facebook Messenger. I have flexibility to do what I want with his project as my client has given me full control of the creative process with a couple of pointers as to what she wants, for example they have told me that they will want headshots.
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  READING THE BRIEF Whyis important to thoroughly read your brief? It is important to thoroughly read through your brief as you need to able to knew what you are creating, whether that be following instructions given to you by your client or to come up with original ideas. Understanding what it expected of you is important for building a relationship with your client. Reading through your brief can help you know what your limitations are, as in what you cant do.
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  READING THE BRIEF Whatis the nature and demand of your client brief? My brief is an formal brief, as me (the producer) and the client have communicated through recorded forms of communication such as Facebook messenger and through email. The client has asked me to produce photography of the outside of the store, and some shots of the staff who work there.
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  NEGOTIATING A BRIEF Whyis it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production? It is important so that both sides know what they are getting into, in order to avoid any legal issues. When both sides are clear as to what they are receiving/producing, it will make the production a lot faster and easier as the producer knows what they are doing. It also helps you get to now your client through communicating with them more, so you could potentially come up with more ideas through this.
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  NEGOTIATING A BRIEF Whatare the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief? An advantage to employing discretion with a brief is that it allows you and your client to potentially be more creative with the work that you make, as you can make the product better or more appealing to the audience that you are making it for. A problem with employing discretion with a brief is that you can potentially make something that the client doesn’t want or even like. This obviously could cause a massive problem, as it could mean all of the work you have done has been for nothing. This could cost both sides, it could cost the client as they don’t get the work that they want, and it could cost the producer as they wont get paid for the work that they do.
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  NEGOTIATING A BRIEF Arethere any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed product? The ethical issues in my project are pretty simple, I must make sure that if I get anyone in the shots I must have expressed verbal or written permission if my client wants to use the image with them in it. I must not use any images which I do not own or I do not have the rights to, s this would cause a copyright infringement.
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  NEGOTIATING A BRIEF Amendmentsyou have considered to: The Product Images for a shops website. The Budget Whether to buy fairy lights or not. The Conditions I haven't made any to the conditions.
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  OPPORTUNITIES What opportunities couldthis brief allow you to explore? Self Development It allows me to develop my skills with capturing images, using Photoshop and talking with clients in person. Learning new skills It allows me to take images for a professional use, which I have not previously done.
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  OPPORTUNITIES Multi-skilling It allows meto multi skill as I have to do all the images and process them myself, and I will not have any help in doing this. Contributing to a project It allows me to contribute to a project in which I would not have had the opportunity to do before.