How to prepare a video brief, plus a free video brief template to download

Let’s say you want to buy a vehicle. There are many options: a truck, a four-wheel drive, a campervan, a sports car, a mini miner (my uncle had a red one as a child: Loved it), a motorcycle, a train (don’t know if I’d buy one though) and so on.

How do you make the decision to buy the right one?

One consideration is how you will use the vehicle. Are you using it for commercial purposes, a truck driver with a truck; a courier with a van? Having lots of holidays? In which case a campervan or four-wheel drive (depending on the terrain) might do. Or maybe you just want to cruise in a luxury sports car. Other factors you might consider are your budget, storage space, fuel efficiency and the list goes on. This list of needs changes as you refine your search and you learn more about what is available.

With a video brief you are essentially following the same process to get the video that suits your requirements. By considering the right questions you have a greater chance of getting the most out of your video messaging strategy. Of course choosing a video is not as intuitive as choosing a car, which is why we developed our own video brief document. All you have to do is fill in as many of the questions as you can and find the answers for the ones you can’t, then you’ll be well on your way to getting the most out of your video budget and producing a video that is going to be aligned to your objectives.

But a video brief not only helps you formulate what you need, it also allows us to come into your project with a clearer understanding of what you want.

More often than not, when we get enquiries for perhaps a corporate video production, the client may not at first really know what they want, or sometimes they’re just doing what the have always done and not really considering how video fits into their messaging strategy. Essentially they’re asking for a vehicle, but we need to be more specific than that. That’s why the video brief is such an invaluable document to understanding the specifics of your project, with details that include your company goals and messaging outcomes, so we can all be on the same page.

What’s in a brief and what are some of the factors you need to consider with video?

There all types of creative brief formats and a quick search on google will reveal plenty of examples. Our video brief has two important components: there are the messaging considerations and then there are the technical aspects.

The messaging consideration will be very unique to your project.  Its questions like: who is your target audience, what is the purpose of the video and what is the call of action required? We’ve put all these questions under the ‘About your Project’ section of the video brief form. Because the answers here are so unique to your business it really does help to talk to us about the creative possibilities available based on your budget and deadline.

Next are the technical requirements (in our video creative brief this is covered by the ‘Requirements’ section). Once you understand the reason behind the video and what you want it to achieve you’ll be in a better position to detail your technical requirements. Here I can provide some pointers on what to consider:

• Number of cameras: With most video presentations, interviews and testimonials, a single camera will do the job if the focus is on the content of the presentation or the person speaking to camera. But have you tried watching a video of someone talking? It can be a challenge maintaining focus, which is why it helps to have a second camera shooting what are known as cutaways or inserts. As the name implies cutaways/inserts are inserted between the main footage. These inserts can be images of people listening and reacting to the presentation, different angles shots and closeups of the presenter or footage to support the content. The result is a more cinematic looking video, which will be a lot more engaging. It is particularly worth considering a multiple camera setup with longer presentations or in an event where there is a lot going on at once.
• Screen resolution: Most of the time we shoot everything in widescreen, but every now and then, especially when the content is to be shown exclusively on mobile phones, then we will shoot for a portrait resolution. We sometimes recommend to shoot in widescreen 4K, as this gives you the most flexibility for distribution on wide variety of platforms. Be sure to let us know that you intend to create a mobile friendly video and just be aware that the more platforms you want to share your video on the less flexibility there is in the way the video is shot. Best to discuss this with us.
• Number of videos: If your video content is very long it’s worth considering splitting up the content into bite sized chunks, which means splitting it up into multiple videos. It not only allows your viewers to take in the content one step at a time, but it is easier to navigate through the content when each segment or chapter is represented by one video. You might also need more than one video if you are using your promotional video both online and on big screens at exhibitions, which leads me to the next point...
• Compression: This has all to do with the video size and again depends on how you are distributing the video. Most people don’t want to be spending more than a few minutes waiting for a video to download before they can watch it, especially if it is a promotional video. So, generally you want to keep the file size small if you are distributing it online. However, the image quality will be seriously compromised with small files, which is an issue if you suddenly decide you want to show it on a big screen at an exhibition. In this case you will need a high quality file which is larger in size. It is a constant juggle between quality and size; often you might need two files of the same video, one large and one small, for the flexibility. Again, discuss this with us.
• Your Budget: Creating a professional looking video is actually not that expensive, however your budget will dictate the range of options available to you. Within limits we can find a creative way to achieve the video you want within your budget. It is important to state your budget on the outset.

It is worth considering makeup, especially if your video is a product that people will be paying for and it needs to look polished. A teleprompter is especially important if your presentation is long and you struggle to remember your lines; it can be easier on your nerves to know you have a teleprompter for a backup. A green screen is great for creating custom backgrounds (like with weather reporters on the news) and especially useful when you want to isolate a product for focus on your promotional video.

To sum up.

It helps to think of the video brief as a conversation started between you and us. It also helps to see a video brief as not only a list of your needs but your limitations. If there is anything you are not sure of and need more information on, be sure to ask questions. We don’t just see ourselves as shooting video, we also relish the challenge of finding creative solutions.

Download our new video creative brief.