Understanding & Interpreting a short film brief.

Contractual Brief

A contractual brief is one that involves a very clear description outline every aspect of the job involved. The contractual brief will tell the employee things like the pay, time scale etc. It would further be used in situations where by there is a lack of trust between the employee or a larger sum of money is involved.

A contractual brief could be used when working on a big money project eg, a feature film. The production company would use this type of brief to specifically outline what the producer needs to create. One example of a contractual brief would be a film like Silence, where by Martin Scorsese was contracted to produce this big money film ( $50 million budget).

One advantage of a contractual brief is that it does offer legal protection for both parties, the employee can not be wrongly dismissed, but equally the company know that they will get an end product. Furthermore, with a contractual brief there is a real clarity in the aspects of the work and specifics of what the job/project would entail. However, this type of brief is non-negotiable, meaning that there is no creative freedom. Moreover, the contract doesn't allow for a set standard, there may be a scenario where the employee falls out with the company and doesn't produce their best work. They may just produce something that ticks all the boxes whilst doing the bear minimum.    

Negotiated Brief

Negotiated briefs are entirely flexible in a creative sense, the client is left with a very raw idea, that needs to be put together making an end product. The brief would mainly be used when the client doesn't have a full idea or creative direction and needs someone that can be creative and put together something from nothing.

A negotiated brief was one that was used during the production of my ultra short film, where we was given some requirements that needed to be met, but ultimately the creative idea was left for interpretation. We was able to create anything we wanted provided that our end piece had some specifics included in it.

The brief allowed us to create a piece of content that we could add in our own styles and influences, because the brief was very flexible. The brief didn't necessarily need the specific elements in a certain place or time during the film, which meant we could create an idea that used them when and where we wanted. Equally though not every initial idea that we had was particularly a good one, and perhaps with a flexible brief it means that there is a bigger risk of failure. If the client doesn't know exactly what they want, then when an end product is produced it may not be what the client really wanted.

Formal Brief

A formal brief is a document that is very specific and structured. This brief is not mutually exclusive from other briefs, for instance it is likely to have a formal contractual brief. A formal brief should further be explained to the employee so they fully understand what needs to be done.

I experienced a formal brief when producing the suite of idents, whilst the brief was relatively flexible in terms of creating the suites, there was some specifics that needed to be included. The brief outlined a certain theme that we needed to keep to, in order for them to suite the new channel that they would be featured on. The brief further outlined, the 3 types of animation that needed to be included, however there was a freedom in how we incorporated them.

The advantages of having a formal brief is to simply have some structure and a focus on what needs to be produced. Whilst we did appreciate the creative direction we wanted to take, we still needed a starting focus point to get our ideas on the right track and tailor to the clients needs. Furthermore, the a formal brief typically is easier to understand and interpret, this is because generally they are explained in depth to avoid the confusion. Although, it is often the case that a formal brief is not as flexible as the one that I received, most are very rigid and outline the exact content and idea that needs to be produced. Moreover, a formal brief can be time consuming and harder to work through because there are specific requirments that need to be met. Much like when i was creating the idents, there was a 3D animation requirement which became very hard to create.

Informal Brief

An informal brief is is generally something between friends, illustrating how the brief would come in the form of an e-mail or a verbal agreement. As the brief is between friends of colleagues, typically there is a trusting relationship explaining the lack of need for a formal or contractual brief.

As an informal brief would be used in situation surrounding friends, I have used it when producing films and need some help from my friend Franki. As we live in different surroundings I was able to call him and ask for some shots to be done in his more rural setting. Equally he was able to ask if i could get some shots in my more urban location.


 One positive of this brief is that it offers a lot of creative freedom, this allowed Franki to add in his own style and ideas into the content, which i knew i would like. Generally, as the it is a trusting relationship, these briefs are often very easy to understand, because we have chemistry between both people. However, an informal brief is typically an assumption that includes little communication, indicating that what the producer and client both had in mind might be two different things. Also this work may not be a priority for someone, so sometimes i might want Franki to film something on the weekend and he didn't have the time to.

Commission Brief

A commission brief is more to do with companies, it is the where one company will give the work to another company without advertising the work. As the companies have established a trust between each other,  there is no need to go through the process of finding someone, because they know the job will be done to a high standard.

I have used a commission brief when producing different films, I worked with 2 actors in Yusuf and Molly on multiple occasions. To which, when working on my most recent project which was my ultra short film, i knew i could cast both and would do a good job, rather then having to advertise and ask others to play the role.

A commission brief is advantageous in terms of receiving a steady flow of work. As there is already a trusting pre-existing relationship between both parties work becomes more constant. Much like when i needed to cast people i knew i could rely on these two actors because i had worked with them before and they had done a good job beforehand.
However, there is potential for both parties to become too reliant on each other, by having the steady work flow it would be easy to continue to work and have a steady income. Moreover, it therefore would be easy to become more stale and loose the edge that had driven people in the first place.

Competition Brief

A competition brief is one open to the public, and anyone can enter to produce the work. In terms of a company perspective, they are able to receive many creative submissions and ideas, without having to spend a lot of money. 

One example where I have experienced a competition brief, is with the short film which was later submitted in the      Film Festival. Here i was given a brief which entailed an overall idea, but i was free to present it in any way. The competition was open to any body so my film was competing against anybody, which allowed for tough competition.

The main advantage to these competition briefs for producers is the fact that there is a chance to be recognised. If the film was very well received it could win the competition and a company may spot them. Furthermore, the very fact that anyone could enter highlighting a way that people just starting in the industry  could go through. Although, Often there is no starting money involved or very little to produce the film, and if the film costed a lot as well as there being no guarantee that the film wins.

Tender Brief

A tender brief is where the work is advertised out to all other companies, they will then pitch their ideas and may be selected to do the work. This brief, allows for a competition to be created, and further allows for new relationships to be created. 

A tender brief could be used when a company needs a specific job done but doesn't already have a close relationship with any other company. This brief allows for a competition to be brought to the client in which they can select who would be best for the job. This brief could even relate from an employment point of view, as a tender brief may be advertised for a producers job to which professionals could apply for. 

An advantage for this type of brief is the fact that it does allow for new relationships to grow, between 2 companies and can be further used if there is the same specific job required. The production company gets to select who they want to work with and who will produce the best work for them, raising competition and standard of the content. However, a tendered brief does carry more risk for the producer, because they need to create something and pitch it to the client without a guarantee that they will get the contract for the amount of resources that they used. Also, whilst the brief does allow for many different perspectives they are not all necessarily great ideas.

Cooperative Brief

The cooperative brief is when more then one company will do the work. This maybe because just one company wouldn't meet the deadline or because each company has a specialty which can be brought to the content being made. 

A cooperative brief would be used through the production of many films such as Dunkirk. Whilst the film was distributed by Warner Bros. there was both RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Syncopy inc. producing the film. As the film has been tipped to be one of the best films of the year, the amount of work that went into it was a great deal because it needed to have 2 companies to produce it.

By having a cooperative brief it allows for a higher standard to be created, because often the different companies will have a specialty. It further allows a younger producer to specialise in a certain field, rather then only having a broader knowledge of everything. But much like the case of Dunkirk, bother production companies may have had different ideas, about the direction the film would take, which perhaps causes an upheaval at times. Furthermore, as a single producer this brief is more about sticking to deadlines, and improving the standard of the content because companies are specialised. But as an individual it would be harder to stand out because the focus is not solely just on quality but rather time, and more specific features