Andy Raynes

Unit 5: LO1 - Brief

1) Comprehensively describe why working to a brief is important in the media sector for both company and client (100 words) (P): Working to a brief optimises the organisation and efficiency of the overall production, especially when trying to understand the audience that you are aiming to target. For instance, if a client was to give a media company a contractual brief with specific guidelines; it would: Avoid misunderstandings: Depending on the level of detail, there would not be any further unnecessary add-ons to the product from the company, or feature creeping, which wastes time and potentially cause a breach of contract with the company, thus facing legal actions. Define goals: Specific objectives set by the client will be followed by the company exactly within a given time. Summarise their thinking: It is important to get an overall view of what the client wants during the production; therefore a brief will give the company the confidence in carrying out the task effectively in a timely manner. Stimulate creativity: Giving a clear and detailed brief will allow the media company to come up with ideas of how to carry out the task, but keeping to the guidelines which are set. Save time and money: If deadlines are set in the brief, the media company will have to follow them, or else they will have failed the client. Also, if the budget for the production has been thought out in an efficient manner, money can be saved by narrowing any unnecessary equipment. Set clear standards: To be able to stand out from the rest, the expectations of standards will need to be aware of by the media company.

Andy Raynes 2) Discuss each of the above Briefs in your OWN words (please do not cut and paste or plagiarise) and discuss the pros and cons for each brief within the Media industry (give examples where possible): Competition Brief This type of brief is given when participating in competitions for a timeslot and prize, which allows clients to understand what they must do to win it. It is different to other briefs as it is more intense with the audience and is usually used for companies that are promoting competitions. When creating the brief, the scope of work; medium required; budget; target group; time frames; resources and locations will need to be considered. A pro of this type of brief is that, of the variety of candidates to choose from, the most suitable for the media company is selected. On the other hand, a con could be that the brief might be a little less detailed, and it may be possible for many other firms to enter the competition. Informal Brief This might be done face to face through a meeting, where all aspects of the brief must appeal to all members from the client list. The advantages of doing an informal brief are that it can create a relaxed environment and therefore can be created a lot quicker. The disadvantages of an informal brief is that it can be seen as unprofessional and unclear, and if the brief is not written down there could be some misunderstanding in future. Tender Brief Quite often, clients will ask media companies to compete against other media firms for the work. They might pick a handful of companies that have a good reputation from that sort of work to put on the tender list. They would probably indicate generally what they want, and then leave it to the media firms to make their proposals of how they will do the job and what it will cost. This is a good way of making sure the client gets what they want at the right price, but it takes some time to organise the process. Formal Brief This might be used when the client has some very clear ideas about what they want to achieve so they invite the media company to a formal briefing meeting to tell them, or they write to them describing the brief in detail and asking for a proposal. Generally, the outline of the brief is given in great detail to avoid misunderstandings, and any issues can be negotiated. Furthermore, this style of brief is good because client will get what he or she wants, but because the media company is not competing against others the client doesn't know if they are getting a good price. Contractual Brief The brief might be set out in a contract, which is a written agreement which explains the responsibilities that the media firm and client may both have, and how they might share in the financial success. The layout of the contractual brief is clear and easy to read, to allow the client

Andy Raynes to complete their details. They may also be asked to include personal information and formalities that are necessary to allow them to complete the work. The advantages is that it is easy for the client to complete with extra information, as well as allowing them to have more control over the process. The disadvantages is that it is inflexible and disagreements may occur between what the client and the company. Commissioned Brief A commissioned brief consists of granting certain powers, money or the authority to carry out a particular task. A large media company could hire other smaller media companies to carry out a production. Once this is done, the large media company may go on to use the product and get paid by an external client, as well as possibly sharing some of the royalties. Lastly, there would be no negotiation between the large media company and the client, however there may be between the large media company and the smaller media firms. Cooperative Brief This may be a project which involves more than one media firm talking to another in order to agree to the brief, or perhaps more than one client talking with more than one media firm. All of the parties will need to cooperate closely to agree the brief. This is a good way of sharing a complicated job between different firms, but it will be even more important to make sure there is a written agreement so that everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to be doing. This may produce some really great ideas, but it might be difficult to decide between all of the media companies that have put forward their ideas and this could slow the project down. Negotiated Brief This is when two parties have different ideas from each other, but they both have to come to a decision by compromising and making sure that both the parties are happy by the decision. In this way the brief is gradually developed by discussion. This is good because client will get what he or she wants, but because the media firm is not competing against others the client doesn't know if they are getting a good price. The communication between the client and the company is very important for this brief as it is created by both parties and all decisions must be made together.

3) Detail which briefs you will be creating and working to for your final major project and why. (You will need a negotiate brief and at least one other): I have decided to choose a written Formal Brief as it will deliver the straight forward objectives I need, with just enough information to be able to begin production with no unnecessary detail, which could cause misunderstandings. Also, any complications can be negotiated with which can be very helpful. A Negotiated Brief is compulsory for the task and will mean two sides will need to agree on each others ideas. It is helpful that I will be able to attain someone elses ideas towards my own, but it is important not to waste too much time on this.

Andy Raynes 4) Create those briefs. If you are creating a competition brief you will need to produce a poster as well. Once your brief has been written you will have a meeting with me to discuss changes and you will then develop a negotiated brief outlining the changes that have been made. Your brief MUST work with the Production Company and task you have chosen to do and it must look professional and cover all aspects. (P,M,D) The Formal and Negotiated Briefs can be found on my Weebly page.

5) Give an explanation to the organisation you are working with and how this brief suits their genre and style (M) Toast TV is an award-winning TV production agency that has been working at the forefront of the UKs advertising & corporate communications industries for the last 11 years. Of course, this means they are very experienced in what they do. Furthermore, they are competitive and flexible by having in-house facilities that include the latest editing software, having full 2D and 3D animation capability. This means they can do a moving image project, no matter the size, scale or delivery platform and take it all the way to screen, choosing the best production methods along the way. My Formal Brief suits Toast TV because it will get the specific information needed to create the production across without any misunderstandings, and would be enough detail to create it to the standard the company expects. I am open to new suggestions and Ideas and this is why I have also decided to create a Negotiated Brief, giving the Toast TV a chance to input their own ideas into the final product.

6) Discuss the specific aspects which need to be taken into consideration for this brief (M) It is important to know specifically what the final end product will look like. Therefore, all the necessary details, such as the style and editing, have been included which will make the high standard that the production company expects. This includes mimicking the style of a music video by cutting to the beat and lip-syncing, as well as keeping to the original style of the advert; for instance displaying the product fully at the end, and sticking to the 40 second duration specified in the brief. I am also limited by resources and cannot actually make the 3D animation with models like Toast TV originally does. Also, I do not have access to high quality filming equipment such as a camera dolly and boom microphones which could enhance the professionalism of the production. The music chosen is essential for the advert to work, but written permission may be unlikely from the artist realistically. The deadlines for this production must be stuck to, having the interim deadline (Negotiated Brief) for the draft copy of the advert, where it will be checked for any improvements for a final

Andy Raynes version. This will be discussed in the regular meetings which are shown at the end of the Negotiated Brief. The synopsis is extremely helpful in letting people know what the story is about. Without this, the backbone of the storyline in the advert would be unknown, especially since the genre specified in the brief is a comedy. It is important for people to know that they are filming something of this genre, so they can get a glimpse whether people would find the content funny or not. 7) Discuss your role in the brief and how you are making reference to qualities required (D) I will be directing; producing; filming; and editing (including the sound effects) the final advert, therefore I share a lot of responsibilities during the production. I will stick to the deadlines and bring all the equipment and props necessary to the locations, in which as the producer, will be booked by me during specific timeslots. Any actors will be asked and notified beforehand. Since the advert will only be around 40 seconds long, every shot filmed will be ensured to be of high standard by using equipment such as tripods for its smoothness. Any pre-production and planning will make the process more professional and quicker.

8) Discuss how you have taken similar considerations into account in previous assignments (discuss the example) (D) Many of my previous filming productions encounter the same processes. It is very important to put a lot of detail into the pre-production before filming is started, or else a lot of time can be wasted trying to come up with something whilst you already have all the resources you need. Because I have also made similar work in Unit 30: Advertisement Production for Television, I will be sticking to the codes and conventions that follow a typical TV advert, which include keeping to the rules and regulations with no inappropriate language or images; consideration of the target audience and the socio-economic groups; and planning using the pre-production documents. As a result having done similar processes before, I have been able to stay prompt and proficient and because of my conduct, have carried out previous productions to professional standards.