How to brief a video producer without writing an essay

The perfect brief is neither a forty-page specification nor “make us something dynamic”. Between the two, there is one page that changes the whole project.

What should a video brief contain?

The objective: what does this video have to change? Make the offer understood, reassure prospects, attract candidates? One single answer. If there are three, there are three videos.

The audience: who has to see it, and what does that person already know about you? You do not speak the same way to a cold prospect and to a client of ten years.

The channel: website, LinkedIn, trade show, sales meeting? The channel determines the length, the format and the tone, as set out in the article on length.

The expected action: what should the person do afterwards? Book a meeting, visit a page, remember your name?

The real constraints: the deadline if there is one, the budget if you have one, the no-go areas (people who do not want to be filmed, sensitive subjects, brand guidelines to respect).

What is useless in a video brief?

The home-made storyboard: translating your objective into pictures is the supplier's job. Give the problem, not the solution.
Adjectives on their own: “modern, dynamic, impactful” say nothing. Three examples of videos you like, with what you like about them, say everything.
The brief by committee: a brief reviewed by six departments becomes a list of compromises. One person decides, the others are consulted.

How do you know your brief is ready?

Reread your page and ask yourself one question: could a competent supplier propose something relevant with only this? If yes, the brief is finished. And if your supplier asks you no questions after reading it, be wary: a video project always starts with a framing conversation, never with a quote returned within the hour.

What does a video brief template look like?

Objective: [what the video has to change, one sentence]
Audience: [who has to see it, and what they already know about you]
Main channel: [website, LinkedIn, trade show, meeting]
Expected action: [what the viewer should do afterwards]
Deadline: [if there is a real one]
Indicative budget: [if you have one]
Constraints: [people not to film, sensitive subjects, brand guidelines]
References: [two or three videos you like, with what you like about them]

Eight lines. If you can fill them in, your project is ready to be discussed seriously. If some of them resist, that is valuable information: those are the ones we will deal with first during framing.

What questions should a producer ask after the brief?

The brief is a starting point, not a contract. On reading it, a serious professional should ask questions that dig: what made you decide to do this video now? What have you already tried, and why did it not work? Who approves, and against which criteria? What happens if you do nothing?

Those questions are not curiosity: they determine concrete choices of format, tone and scope. A supplier who asks none will produce what you asked for, not necessarily what you need. That is the whole logic of the first stage of our production method: framing before the camera.

Written brief or spoken brief?

Both, in that order: writing first, conversation after. Writing forces you to decide (you cannot write two contradictory objectives without noticing), and it serves as a shared record when the project runs over several weeks. The conversation then does what writing cannot: it reveals the context, the unsaid, the real reason for the project that was not in the document.

The opposite trap exists too: the project run purely in conversation, where everyone leaves with their own version of what was agreed. Three months later, nobody remembers the same scope. A half-page summary after the framing conversation costs ten minutes and prevents that scenario. Here it is systematic: you approve the framing in writing before a camera comes out of the bag.

Frequently asked questions about the video brief

What should a brief for a video producer contain?

Five items are enough: the objective (what the video has to change, in one sentence), the audience and what they already know about you, the channel, the action expected from the viewer, and the real constraints (deadline, budget, no-go areas). One single answer to the objective question: if there are three, there are three videos.

How long should a video brief be?

One page. Neither a forty-page specification nor “make us something dynamic”. The test: could a competent supplier propose something relevant with only this? If yes, the brief is finished.

Do you need a storyboard to brief a video producer?

No. Translating your objective into pictures is the supplier's job. Give the problem, not the solution. On the other hand, two or three examples of videos you like, with what you like about them, are worth more than adjectives such as “modern” or “impactful”.

Is it better to brief in writing or in conversation?

Both, in that order: writing first, conversation after. Writing forces you to decide and serves as a shared record; conversation reveals the context and the unsaid. A half-page summary after the meeting costs ten minutes and stops everyone leaving with their own version of the scope.

What if your supplier asks no questions after the brief?

Be wary. A video project starts with a framing conversation, never with a quote returned within the hour. A serious professional should dig: what made you decide now, what have you already tried, who approves and against which criteria.

Already got your one-page brief?

Send it over, or come with your ideas in a mess: framing is the first stage of our method, and the thirty-minute conversation is made for exactly that.

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