How To Write a Video Brief

Who should write the video brief?

This depends on whoever is closest to the project. The author of the video project brief should completely understand the purpose of the video, the goals of the project, the key messages and the intended audience. It might be a member of the marketing, brand, or content team, or your creative team. At London Filmed, we often collaborate with our clients to pad out the video brief ahead of creating storyboards to bring the ideas to life ahead of the shoot, so don’t hesitate to reach out to your video production company to complete your brief.

Three top tips for writing your video brief:

1. Be concise, clear, and avoid ambiguity – take time over your video brief and add as much detail as possible – it should be a comprehensive documentation of your project.
2. With that being said, be open to change – collaborate with your video agency and lean on their expertise – they’ll be able to advise on the best tech to achieve your goals, key shots to ensure your message is clearly conveyed, and the style to suit your brand and video purpose.
3. Be goal orientated – so long as you keep your video purpose front and centre, any developments to your brief should only serve to enhance your video, maximising its success.

What do I need to include in my videography brief?

Your videography brief should include the purpose, objectives, deliverables, timelines, style references, and any other information that will help communicate your ideas and requirements to your video production company.

Let’s take a look at each of those in more detail:

1. Overview

• Project purpose
  Describe the purpose of the project – consider what the vision for the project is and what problem the project solves.
• Project deliverables
  What are the specific outputs you require? E.g. 1 x 30-second video to be used on YouTube (16:9) and Instagram (9:16).
• Storyboard & script
  If you have a storyboard and script, link to it here. If you want input from the video production team or you need to create one with them, let them know here.
• Shoot location(s)
  Do you have a shoot location or locations? If not, describe the type of location you envisage so your production company can help.
• Project timeline
  What dates do you need your project to follow, including the completion date?
• Budget
  What budget are you allocating to your project?

2. Objectives & Target Audience

• Key messages/shots
  What do you want your video to communicate? Is there a specific message you want to get across? Are there any critical shots to be captured?
• Key emotive takeaways
  What do you want people to feel watching the video and what do you want your audience to think and feel having watched it?
• Target audience
  Describe your target audience and what’s important and inspirational to them.
  Age:
  Gender split:
  Interests:
  Favoured social media channels:
• Audio
  What audio mix will your video have? Do you have music suggestions or genres? Will there be a voiceover or interview voiceover? Add any notes on your audio requirements.
• Distribution channels
  What channel(s) is the video going to be shared over?

3. Reference Videos

Include references of likes and dislikes – add links and a brief explanation of what you like/dislike

4. Brand

• Brand assets
  Link your brand assets that will be needed within the video output, including your brand colours. If possible, link to your full brand guidelines.
• Brand personality
  What brand personality traits should your video embody? What is the brand tone of voice (TOV) that should be followed? It is worth sharing your entire brand guidelines if you can.

5. Other Important Information

Add any other important information such as tech specifics, location or venue requirements, etc.