Get our Video Brief Template Free Download and Video Production Brief Sample
A video brief template is a communication device, which helps to set out the framework for a project’s requirements, expectations, goals, and budget. It is crucial as a first step in making sure that all parties are in agreement before looking to a third party supplier such as a UK video production company or video agency UK to help bring to fruition a corporate marketing video. A video brief template is an important communication tool that is used by any client, no matter the size, when wanting to collaborate with a London video production company.
Just click the above link for the free download video brief template. This is a really easy to use tool which provides a plan for a corporate video production. The video brief is also an important reference tool that can be used at every stage of the project in order to produce exactly what is intended.
The main consequences of not using a video brief template are;
- Wasted time and resourses.
- Missunderstandings between clients and supplier.
- a project that changes direction.
- loss of confidence in the overall project purpose.
All of this can almost certainly be prevented by implementing a video brief template free download.
A video brief is the best way of communicating your brand needs which a professional video production company UK will be able to interpret into creative solutions. Therefore you are really laying out the plan for a creative brief. If a creative video brief is to be truly useful, it must be the first step in the process and crucial for a video production company to start work.
A creative video brief is great because it gives a succinct and comprehensive overview of all the necceasry points that need to be considered.
So how to write a creative brief for your next video project? And what’s in a creative brief for your next video project?
- Here are the main topics and a short explanation for each section.
“Video production brief sample”
Project Name
Whilst you may think that naming your project is not essential this simple task can give you a clue as to how clear you are about the goals and objectives of your creative video brief. For example in my experience as a TV commercials director I have seen 100’s of scripts titled ‘Kitchen’, ‘Living Room’ or ‘Park’. Whilst a title like this tells you where the story is set there is nothing to indicate the emotive purpose of the story. And the most important thing about any story or any video communication is how it makes you feel. Recently when we made a series of Luxury travel videos for The Cayman Islands we received the scripts and video brief from creative agency, Mr H. The titles were “Moments” and “Barefoot”. So immediately and just from one word we new what the project was all about, what the creative themes would be and what they ultimately wanted their audience to feel.
Purpose of the video
Remember that by creating your Video production brief sample you should be able to clearly identify the main purpose of your video through every segment of this breakdown.
Do you want to make a video that explains in detail what you product is and does? If so this is a Hub video, and whilst we can find clever and cinematic ways to make a video like this seductive as well as interesting a project like this would be aiming mainly at an audience that is already aware of your product or service and wants to know more.
A hero video on the other hand is something that creates a mood or feel and ultimately projects a lifestyle choice. This kind of video you would typically feature on your website in order to draw people in. But in order to get traffic to your website you would usually have paid for media space allocated across platforms like facebook and youtube. Here you would post the main video as well as cut downs commonly known as buzz or sizzler videos which act as hooks to incise viewers to find out more.
What are the key messages?
The fewer messages you have the more targeted and effective your video will be. Again using our campaign for The Cayman Islands as a case study, the key message there was ‘luxury’. So this meant that every creative choice we made as filmmakers along the way from, casting, to styling, to locations, to filming style and colour grading, had to scream out ‘LUXURY’.
Reaction: What do we want the viewer to think, feel and do?
This is a very important 3-part question. If you want them to think something then it’s a great idea to ask a question. And a question can be a great way of opening your video and creating a hook within the first 5 seconds that helps to maintain attention. If you want to make them feel something that you need to have plenty of emotional triggers including in your script and shot design. You need to have a ‘call to action’. Do you want them to visit your website? Do you want them to buy an impulse product? Do you want them to tell other people about what they’ve seen?
Key considerations
Here you can include any brand guidelines. These are important to know for your production team because in video production you have an ongoing set of choices to make and there is always wastage along the way. But the guidelines help to reduce that wastage and save time to.
Any existing pictures or footage to be included
This is something that needs to be shared early on so that the resolution and quality of the images can be ascertained.
Have you seen any references that you like?
Usually we are not in the business of re-inventing the wheel. We are in the business of making the wheel look bigger, better and faster. As such sharing videos that you like or videos that you don’t like can be a great way of determining what direction you would like your brand to go. Quite often clients will come to us and say, this is what our nearest competitors have done – we want the same but we don’t want to copy them. That’s where you really need a top-level video production company London like Beast. We are well used to TV commercials where you have essentially the same script and message used over and over again. There is always a new way to tell your story. That’s because everyone is unique and stories have been told and re-told from cavemen around the fire up to modern day. Filmmakers know there are essentially only 7 stories so it is not the story but the telling of the story that gives you the edge. So then you really need to look at the showreel of the video production companies that you have shortlisted and ask yourself, who are the better storytellers. And usually this will tie in nicely with the best treatment for the video project you want to create.
At Beast London we give great importance to our treatments, not just because we want to win the job but also because the treatment becomes a blueprint for the reaction. And as such we know that we must be able to deliver a video that is not just similar but as good or better than the treatment that we pitch.
Possible locations
We have shot all over the world and even have an office in Los Angeles. We are always keen to shoot on Location. But when shooting on location there are cost implications. So that is needed to give an accurate quote and to keep costs down, flights etc. need to be booked well in advance wherever possible.
Where is the video going to be shown?
Depending on your marketing budget and purpose of your video you should consider early on where your video should be shown and if you need to have a media spend allocated to the production. Whilst making a great video is important, it’s no use if no one gets to see it.
Timings
It’s important to allow plenty of time to the production. This is because in order to keep costs low we have to minimize wastage, and by having plenty of prep time we are able to make better use of your budget and bring you the best production value for money. Typically after sign off you would have 2-3 weeks of pre-production and then 1 -2 weeks for post production.
Budget
It is always better to be open and dedicate a budget – then see who can deliver what for any given budget. To give an idea of costs, a typical shoot day with 6 – 8 person crew would kick off at around 10-12,000 GBP. You have so many variables like; location costs, travel costs, talent and extras that you have to tailor any quote to the video production project on hand.
Remember too that when creating video content your really need to create a body of work so that you can create a video content campaign. So for The Cayman Islands we delivered 4 x 60” Hero videos and 12 x 15” buzz videos for social media over 3 days. These buzz videos can also be used as wall paper around your website and this really helps bring a website to life and set out the tone of your brand. Think of your website as your store – if you walk into an apple store you know exactly where you are, then look at their website to see how this reflects the store and the products they sell. See our blog on video content strategy and the get the content strategy free download.
