Structure of a Brief
Briefs can differ massively depending on what the client wants and how they go about their business. There are eight different ways in which a brief can be structured first of there is a:
Contractual Brief: This brief is a binding legal document created between the client and whoever they brought it to, for example a production company. This 'contract' is very clear and concise in what it will entail, this is so that the production company will know exactly what has been outlined in the brief without confusion so for example it will have a set deadline on it and will have outlined the maximum budget they will be working with, before this document is signed there will generally be a meeting between the client and the production company this formality is to ensure that neither the client or the company has any issue with each other or the brief, this will be the only time the company will get to suggest any adjustments to the brief whether they want more time for the project or better pay it is the deciding meeting that could potentially make or break the contract for if the company asks for to much money then the client will just go elsewhere.
Both sides of the contract must be 100% sure when signing a brief as if there is any confusion then this could lead to problems in the future legal or not, as the document can be used by both parties if one or the other messes up or mistreats the other, an advantage for the production company is that the contract is basically insurance as it has been written and signed that you will get payed after the job however it does have it's disadvantages as the contract can be quite controlling from the client's side if they do not take into account the production company's ideas or suggestions. I have never been engaged by a contract like this yet as this type of contract is quite industrial or commercial so you would see something like this from bigger companies when they want something done that is more straightforward than some viral video advert done by other companies like Delta Air Lines who had a viral video about safety that included lot's of celebrity guests.
Negotiated: A negotiated brief is a lot more open than a contractual brief as it allows the company to more open to the client so they can discuss the product the client wants and how they will make make it. The initial brief may undergo many different changes and could be an entirely different brief by the time the discussion stage has finished. The legality of the contract still applies but the company has much more of a say in the creative process and there is not as many limitations or restrictions.
Both parties should be happy with a negotiated contract as they both have a say in what happens and the create process. because of the openness of the contract you are able to develop a better relationship with the client and might go onto working with them in the future, better relationships make better contacts in the industry.
A disadvantage to a negotiated brief is that constant discussion about the same subject can be quite draining on both sides of the contract and it might not get to the root of a problem. sometimes both parties just want the discussions over so they will just make a deal without looking at what the best deal was.
I myself have only brushed with a contract like this as we were set to make a pitch for a local band to make a music video for them but we were outpitched by another team however it gave good insight to working to a negotiated brief with a team.
Formal: A formal brief is in a way similar to a contractual brief as it is very precise in what it wants and uses clear wording when presented to a company, it will also include everything that the client wants however it differs in that there isn't the same legal standards that are upheld on a contractual brief, it is also up to the production company to ensure that you do not make yourself open and vulnerable to being sued or prosecuted this could lead to disaster for a company. The clarity of the brief makes it easier for the production company to just get on with working to the brief as they are all in a nice relaxing position in which they want to work and achieve. This type of brief will not be changed as there is no open discussion or contribution to the create process it's 'just do this'. This can be risky for the production company as they could find themselves in financial trouble if they undertake the brief without looking at the budgetary requirements and find out they can't afford to produce the project. These briefs like the contractual are generally found to given out by larger companies and are more commercial than others and they find themselves on the more business side.
I have come across and worked to a brief like this before, as we were set a brief with a live working client to produce posters for a local film festival that is run in college called 'Cinefest' the guidelines and specifications where all set out to us in email, that told us what they wanted and when they wanted it by.
Informal: An informal brief is the opposite as it it way more relaxed and relies on lot's of communication between the two sides: The Client and The Producer. It will involve lot's of discussions between the client and the company, it isn't really seen as a contract and they could really care little about the legal side of the contract this can be exampled for if we were working with a local band for a brief perhaps we would contact each other via email or a social media platform like Facebook. Normally the brief would call out to company so they are interested in working with the client an advantage of an informal brief is that it comes with no strings attached with easy and quick meetings between the client and the company to just discuss what's going to happen usually the company is on the same level as the client so they know how to make what they want. However because there isn't really a written document as it is all verbal in the meetings between the client and the company the company loses the insurance that they will be getting paid so if they don't and they try to sue for their lost expenses they will have to gather other evidence that a verbal contract was agreed on. It could also mean that somethings are not clear like a exact deadline or the budget.
Commission: A commissioned brief is when a client approaches an individual company and lays out exactly what they want, when they want it by and budget. The client will have spent a considerable amount of time before they came to the company planning out their ideas. The creative process it overseen by a commissioner who ensures that the product is actually made, these types of brief are seen very regularly from broadcasters and TV providers with big names like ITV, BBC, Channel 5, Channel 4. They will want a programme that has been outlined by the brief and you will pitch them an Idea that fits within the briefs standards so if they were looking for a cooking show you would pitch them your take on a cooking show. If your pitch was successful and a series is made they might 'commission' another one, this does depend on ratings and viewer count.
Commissioned briefs work well for individual companies because they are getting paid as well as gaining new contacts to potentially work with in the future, however a disadvantage is that the company doesn't have an active role in the decision making so they could potentially make something very different to what they were expecting to produce.
Tender: a Tender brief is quite similar to someone advertising a Job this means that the client publishes an advert displaying that they need a product to be made for something so different production companies will pitch their ideas to the client and show all the relevant information like budgetary requirements and how they will produce the final project the endgame for the company is to get paid by the client for their work or to win a cash prize as it is on some occasions. An advantage of this type of brief is that the production company could put together multiple teams that come up with several ideas that will be pitched to the client, this tactic might be employed if the tender was a great amount that you possibly needed. However a major disadvantage to a tender brief is that if you don't get the brief then you would of wasted time and money for nothing it is also something a production company should not rely for a steady income.
Cooperative brief: A type of informal brief which includes the production company working on par with the client as they go through the creative process, The brief would of had to have appealed to the company as this brief doesn't involve a written contract or any document, and the discussion would mainly be just meetings between the company and the client, this brief is also very open as you work side to side with the client. The open discussion is an advantage as both the client and the company will know what they are working on. A disadvantage would be if there was any disagreements or conflict between the two parties then they might to renegotiate the verbal deal they have. This can be bad for the company as they could potentially lose the client's business for the future and they might be bad mouthed to similar companies to the clients. Often two or more production companies will also be working together and it is important to follow all the same personal rules you would have when working with a client, you also need to ensure that both companies agree to the final ideas you have both put together.
Personally I have never worked worked side to side with another production company or a client, but this research and essay has given me a good idea on how to work effectively on a cooperative brief
Competitive brief: A competitive brief is when a brief is left open to many different companies for them to pitch their ideas to the client much like a tender brief in that respect, however unlike a tender brief not every competitive brief offers a reward of money for example at college we enter our films or productions we have done over the course of the year into a film festival called 'UK Cinefest' where we compete for winning recognition for the films we have made there are different categories like best editing or best
short documentary. For example in my first year there was a brief for a contest for a film that was a minute long and only had one actor and one location, I entered the film I made for a film production assignment for this competition. Overall a competitive brief is open to any company willing to have a shot at it, each pitch or idea will be individually assessed and put to test against what is included in the brief and whether it deserves an award (if it's in a film festival) or if the company is to be hired to make their idea for the client. An advantage of a competitive brief is that it is openly advertised and a company has the potential to make money of it or a reputation. A disadvantage would be that they could waste their time and money making a production that might not get picked as lot's of other companies compete against them so therefore it is not a good business plan to rely on competitive briefs as a source of steady income.
Reading a brief
When reading a brief from a client it is highly advised that you break down the brief into easily understood individual pieces, this is all to help you recognise any things you wish to discuss with the client and whether you want to change any part or are not happy with a certain aspect of the brief and what you want to be changed. However a brief doesn't contain all the relevant and needed information so you need to be able to recognise what the brief is trying to implore. This requires you and the client to be communicating correctly. The brief is required to be read because you don't want to miss any small details that the client has laid out or specified that they want doing running the risk of misunderstanding the brief is something that should be never done as it risk ruining the deal between you and the client.
Recognising the nature of the brief is very important as well as the product has to meet the standard set by the client. So you the company has to be able to 'read between the lines' as the brief might not outright state that perhaps the finished product will be marketed to a specific gender or cultural background, you have to see what the client is getting at and what they 'actually' want making.
For example for the UKCinefest poster brief we had we were required to imply that the festival was about Films so we had to show things that implied that it was about film on the poster
Negotiating The Brief
Meeting with the client and discussing the brief with them is a key critical moment when working to a brief and creating a production. This is the chance to talk the brief over with the client so you can work any issues you might have with it or if you want anything to made clearer. Consulting with the client is possibly the most important thing you should be doing with an open brief as it lets you figure out what they want and how to deliver something like that at the highest quality you do. Changing things about the brief can usually be done however the hardest thing to negotiate will be the Fee and possibly the budget this is something that the client might not budge on.
For example during a class exercise we were given a brief by a group and their idea required traveling to a different country to shoot it. So me and Adam set out to work out how much it would be to travel to this country with kit and employees with a few days stay and limited travel expenses budget. we worked out that the fee would just not cover it so we started to negotiate about a larger fee, this got us nowhere as they refused to budge on the fee ( and also the lesson had finished...) but it was a good lesson to learn about a client's resilience when negotiated a fee or a budget
Degree of Discretion
A degree of discretion occurs when dealing with a client so if the information on the brief is quite vague or left for your own interpretation you are left to judge what you will do with this creative freedom. You also have to think about the technical side of creating something like that and about how the client actually wants the production to look, this is where a meeting with the client would be had in order to discuss all these fine details usually this meeting will be extremely helpful in pin pointing what the client wants. However not all the briefs you might receive will come with the opportunity to actually speak to the client either face to face in a meeting or casually over an email or things like social media. This means that you will have to interpret what the client wants and means from the brief.
A NDA ( Non Disclosure Agreement) is like a rule you agree to with the client. It means you agree that you will not publicly under any circumstances talk about what you are doing/making for the company, the brief can only be talked about with the people that you are working with and for. An NDA is a binding legal contract that if you break then a possible investigation could ensue and some legal action could be taken against you because you broke it. For example if I was working on an up and coming big movie release I couldn't go on twitter and leak things like spoilers (no matter how much I would want to.) If I did I could face some serious legal troubles especially from bigger companies like Marvel or D.C.
Legal, Ethical,Regulatory Restraints
When dealing with a brief or even when creating any other form of media that is going to viewed by someone you have to take into account the guidelines that you have to abide by.
Legal and ethical considerations need to be adhered to when working as a creative media producer as they can cause off sorts of issues that could cause you to lose your job. It is always important to remember that as a producer in the media sector you have to be very careful about the issues that surround copyright, you wouldn't look very professional being sued for stealing someone else's work,as a producer you also have to take health and safety into account as you could be help responsible if someone is hurt during your production, this is why numerous risk assessments have to be completed before filming even begins if these risk assessments are not completed, as a producer you will also have to take trademarking into account, a trademark is a logo or symbol that defines a company, for example the coke logo is a trademark that is known worldwide so you would have to acquire the rights to use the logo in your production.
The Obscene publications act of 1959 is an act that was introduced in 1959 that relates to publishing programmes or works into the public that contain obscene acts or images The Act created a new offence for publishing obscene material.
The official secrets act of 1989 is a law that states it is an offence for a Crown servant, Government contractor or member of the public who has, or has had, official information in his possession, to disclose official information in any form of creative media a producer has to be seriously careful when handling official secrets as the defense that 'the public needs to know' will not work and you could face serious jail time.The Health and Safety Act 1974 is the piece of legislation that covers occupational dangers,he Health and Safety Executive, with local authorities is responsible for enforcing the Act and a number of other Acts and Statutory Instruments relevant to the working environment.Copyright and intellectual property law is a law that covers many things first and foremost it protects owners of a certain logo or brand by insuring that only they have the rights to it and if someone else steals their work they have the right to prove that they and they alone own that certain product.Libel Law is the law that protects people from other people writing down something that is libelous as they would be breaking the law, this could be simply a tweet or a Facebook status, something that breaks the libel law must be a statement which claims to be fact and is not clearly identified as an opinion.Privacy Law is a law that protects peoples rights to be left in privacy/alone it lets people live their life without being scrutinized in the public eye an example of this would be the NSA revelations concerning Edward Snowden.Producers within the creative media sector have to take care and take into account the ethical considerations, they must insure that certain things that are put out are adhering to the ethical constraints, things like Not causing anyone harm or offence ,Language ,Violence, Sex, Sexual Violence and Stereotypes if a producer was to ignore the ethical constraints within the creative sectors of the media they would surely face severe consequences, an example of when ethical considerations were not taken into account was when Judy Finnagin made comments on convicted rapist Ched Evans. She said the footballer should get his job back because the victim was ‘drunk’ and the rape was ‘unpleasant’ but ‘not violent’. Bad ethical practice can really affect companies and individuals.When working in the creative media sectors a producer has to take several ethical issues seriously in order to remain as a producer:
Harm and offense, a producer has remain constantly aware that the material they are putting out is not causing and harm or offense to ANY member of the public or they could face consequences a famous example of this would be the Sachs gate controversy which involved lewd voice messages left on Andrew Sachs's voice mail by Russel Brand and Johnathon Ross involving an alleged sexual encounter between his granddaughter and Brand. You must also consider the privacy laws that constrict you in your works as breaking on of these laws might lead to prosecution you must also ensure that you protect the interests of parents by not showing ANY inappropriate material that could damage a child's mental state before the watershed this also applies to any vulnerable people as they also deserved to be kept protected.
Producer guidelines are things like OFCOM's broadcasting codes and the BBC's editorial guidelines they include things like not using offensive material on live radio, privacy,religion and the right to religious freedom,Crime being primarily anti crime, protecting under eighteens and even monitoring things like the watershed which is is the point in time after which programmes with adult content may be broadcast.
Regulatory Bodies
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification is a non governmental regulatory organisation, its primary source of funding is from the film industry. Its main job is to classify all films that are to be released in the UK whether in cinema's or as DVD's. They split each category into different age ranges, these age ranges offer a guide to peers and parents as to what films to take kids to see, this is very important as they would not want to expose the kids to the sometimes controversial content of films that are restricted to older ages. Here is a list of the age ranges and explanations as to why they are rated.
U – Universal
A U film can be seen by anyone, they will contain no humor/violence/references that would appeal to those over 4
PG – Parental Guidance
All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8. PG films may contain some Mild violence or humor although the original release for the Film 'Poltergeist' was a PG it does contain a scene where a man imagines ripping out chunks of his face, the film has since been re-released as a 15.
12A (with an Adult)
Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. It is generally not recommended that children under 12 years should watch the film. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, commonly used milder swear words, and moderate violence or sexual references. The 12A rating is only used for cinema releases as it would require someone under 12 to be with an adult.
12
Nobody younger than 12 can buy a 12-rated film on DVD or Blue ray. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence. sometimes films can stand on the border of being a 12 or 15 as 12 does allow brief nudity and sometimes uses of the word 'Fuck' despite being a stronger form of swearing (however uses must be infrequent)
15
Only those over 15 years are admitted. Nobody younger than 15 can buy a 15 rated DVD or Blu Ray or see a 15 rated film. Films that are rated 15 can contain frequent adult themes and things like strong language, hard drugs strong violence (with blood) strong sex references but only non detailed sexual activity (nudity is still allowed, normally this is used within a comical aspect).
18
Only adults are admitted. Nobody younger than 18 can watch or buy an 18 rated film. There is very limitation to what can be in an 18 film the only things that are not accepted is actual sex portrayed on screen this is normally categorized as porn. Things like hard drug use strong violence/ simulated sexual violence, the strongest language imaginable, and blood and guts galore as Gore isn't generally allowed in films that are lower rated than 18.
R18
Porn. Basically just porn. Can only be shown or bought from licensed retailers or sex shops and to only adults this category is also the one that demands the most cuts as there has to be some limits to stuff, some films are still made with this content but are all illegal. Although in contrast their are some ultra violent films that just cross to many boundaries and have to be rated R18 for example Cannibal Holocaust which still cannot be bought in the UK without cuts made.
OFCOM
The office of communications is the main regulator of TV and Radio within the UK. They also regulate Fixed Telephone lines/communications/ Mobiles, Postal services and Wifi. They are the organisation that deals with all the complaints with all the above mentioned services.
Their main job is to ensure that the UK maintains its broadband services and all forms of electronic communication, furthermore they also regulate the TV and Radio programmes that are broadcasted by dealing with any complaints that are registered as OFCOM does not watch all programmes that are to broadcasted as this would be impossible as their is just to many programmes that are released in one day let alone a week, they also also regulate that people have their privacy respected in TV and Radio programmes a good example of a programme breaking this rule would be the Sachsgate incident, the Sachsgate controversy involved lewd voice messages left on Andrew Sachs's voice mail by Russel Brand and Johnathon Ross involving an alleged sexual encounter between his granddaughter and Brand. However it is not OFCOM's job to regulate inaccuracies in BBC programmes, or other stuff like the BBC license Fee or anything to do with newspapers or magazines they also do not regulate complaints between a customer and their Television provider.
IPSO
The Independent Press Standards Organisation was established on the 8th of September 2014 after the termination of the PCC after the criticism of its lack of action during the Phone Hacking Scandal.
The IPSO , as Regulator, is charged with enforcing the following Code of Practice here is a list of all the main parts of their codes.
Clause 1 Accuracy
Clause 2 Opportunity to reply
Clause 3 Privacy
Clause 4 Harassment
Clause 5 Intrusion into grief or shock
Clause 6 Children
Clause 7 Children in sex cases
Clause 8 Hospitals
Clause 9 Reporting of crime
Clause 10 Clandestine devices and subterfuge
Clause 11 Victims of sexual assault
Clause 12 Discrimination
Clause 13 Financial journalism
Clause 14 Confidential sources
The IPSO handles complaints, and conducts its own investigations into editorial standards and compliance. It also undertakes monitoring work, including by requiring publications to submit annual compliance reports. IPSO has the power to decide what course of action to take when dealing with a breach of its codes they can impose several punishments an example of one of these sanctions would be a fine, for example if a newspaper published a article that included material that misled readers they could be fined under Clause 1. They can also request that that corrections are made to ensure accuracy.
ASA
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self regulatory organisation in the UK that monitors the advertising standards within the UK. The ASA is a "Non-Statutory" organisation, this means they cannot interpret or actually enforce any legislation. However its own codes of advertising closely mirrors legislation however it is not actually funded by the Government. Its role as described by itself is to "regulate the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK" it achieves this by "investigating "complaints made about ads, sales promotions or direct marketing."
This just means if an advertisement has offended anyone or a company they can lodge a complaint with the ASA and they will check with their rules, if an advert has broken one of their rules they can impose sanctions on the parties responsible for the advert, they can for instance give them bad publicity with their weekly adjudications on its website every Wednesday,They can also order advertisers not to advertise unless the CAP Copy Advice team has seen the advertisement first and allowed the advertisement to go ahead, They can also The office of fair trading (OFT) has powers to fine companies and bring legal actions against them. If the ASA has trouble with a repeat offender, it can refer the matter to the OFT under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988.
Consumer Choice
Consumer choice in the media is giving the customers the freedom to listen/watch what they want, the issue with this in terms of regulation is that people want certain areas to be unregulated, it is their right to choose if they want to for example watch a film with the material that was cut from public release, This leads to the job of regulator under fire as they have the rights to believe that its their choice to what they consume in terms of media, this means they don't want to watch something that someone else has tampered with.
Freedom Of Information
Freedom of information lets the public be able to learn what they want to learn, this means that they should have unrestricted access to learning materials, this means all informational material should be open to every single person, however a lot of the public information is regulated, regulated information means that there was a piece of info that breached their personal rules, this is most prominent in productions such as radio programmes, films or TV shows have episodes or themes based of real events, the regulatory bodies will usually have accurate information that they deem inappropriate removed, the content removed could be anything from real names, which would mainly be to prevent witch hunting in the event that the person mentioned did something bad and got away, or to graphic details whether violent or sexually violent. Some people disagree with the regulatory bodies as they believe it is their rights to have access to such information, they compare the regulation to a tyrannical government controlling what they see and can access publicly.
Censorship
Media censorship ensures that no offensive or potentially harmful content in media productions appears. Every regulatory body is involved in censorship one way or another, this of course depends on what sector of media they regulate. The biggest known censorship is in the film sector of media, films will be viewed and regulated by the BBFC before they are made publicly available, of course films come with a age rating recommending how old someone has to be before they view something, but a film that is aged at 15 may of had some content that bumped it up a age rating, however the director or production company might of specified that they want a 15 rating so as to appeal to a wider audience. Censorship's main job is to protect minors and those who don't want to see explicit content, however the argument is made that censorship shouldn't exist because people want to watch what they want and when they want, however the counter argument is that if there was no regulation on the content of films and TV programmes etc, then their children could be exposed to some explicit content at 10 in the morning and that is wrong as they want to protect their child's innocence.
Amendments To The Final Product
During the creative process there could be many points at which things can be changed. Whether big or small it happens all the time. Companies will use a thing called a 'Sign off sheet'. This sheet is a security measure employed by the company that basically says that once something has been fully completed it cannot be changed or altered even slightly be the client. This ensures the production process is easier and goes smoother and is less hassle for both the client and the company.
Amendments To Budget
Like the final the final product, the budget can also be amended. This could be because new unforeseen costs have come up and can't be paid. These new costs will have to be brought up in a meeting or consultation with the client. If the client is happy to pay the little extra to accommodate these costs then they should happily hand over the money. Sometimes this money can go the extra way to helping create a quality final product.
Amendments to conditions
Changing the conditions of the brief will have a profound effect on the final product. If something as drastic as changing the target audience were to happen then it would have a massive effect on the work you already have, forcing to potentially change some things or even start from scratch. For the best possible outcome a discussion between the company and the client will take place that will detail exactly what the company is going for, also a sign off sheet would be a good security measure so the client still has to pay you even if they might not be using the work you have done.
Negotiating Fees
The first meeting you have with the client will have a lengthy discussion about the fees that will be involved when making the product. They might talk you through all the things that they are going to pay for. Then the company will list all the things that will be needed to be payed for in order to make the final product. This will help both sides settle on what is the best fee to be paid. This can probably only occur in briefs that are more open like a negotiated brief for example.
Opportunities
Self development And Skills- New skills can be learnt by working for and with a client, this skills will go on to help you in the future when working with more clients or other companies, it will also better you as someone who works in the industry, with all the new skills you will off aquired you could have the potential to go far in the industry.
Multi tasking opportunities- If you are working for a production company or by yourself as a 'sole trader' then you might potentially have more than one brief running that people are working on. This means you can learn new multi tasking skills like being able to handle more multiple briefs in the future you can also learn skills like following these multiple briefs at the same time and might progress to working on both these skills can be crucial to have in this highly contested industry as they will help you better yourself as a media producer.
Contributions- There can be a great many ways in which you can contribute your skills when working to a brief. whether as a group during a production or as an individual for example my individual contributions to the UK Cinefest brief was my designs for a potential poster. When working in a production group you have to contribute what skills you have or else you have no say in what is presented as a final product. The lessons and skills you can earn and learn from contributing to a brief can be crucial and highly sought after by potential employers so again these skills can be crucial when either looking for a job or working on harder and more complex briefs in the future.
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