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How To Write a Video Brief

Our 5-step videography brief & free downloadable template!

When it comes to creating a video either internally, or with a video production company, the best way to ensure a successful project is with a comprehensive video brief.

Videos are one of the best tools for storytelling. Whether you’re launching a new product, explaining your brand or service, or engaging with your social media community, videos consistently rate as the highest ROI for marketing teams.

We’re going to walk you through each step of writing a video brief and, as we have so many video projects under our belts for leading brands in the UK, Europe and America, we’ve included our tried and tested video production brief template for you to download and use for your next project! From a corporate video brief to a more creative brief for video production, this template has you covered.

What is a video brief, and why do I need one?

A well-thought-out video creative brief is crucial to align all stakeholders towards the same goal. Developing a video brief will enable you to define the scope, the expected deliverables, deadlines and budget, as well as the important elements you want to see in your video. This not only ensures your production team fully understands who you are and what you are trying to achieve, but it will also help ensure the production process runs seamlessly from kick-off to final post-production edits. Ultimately, it will help ensure that the video deliverable you end up with is exactly what you envisioned – or better!

What kind of projects need a video brief?

A well-written videography brief is crucial for any video project, from a 60-second Instagram reel to a 3-minute corporate brand explainer video, they will help ensure your video vision becomes a reality.

Some examples...

Here are a few examples of videos we've produced with a comprehensive video brief.

Explainer Videos

Brand, service, or product explainer videos that clearly explain the why, who, what, and how.

Animated Videos

Animated video – the perfect tool to break down complex information and make it digestible for your target audience.

Social Media Videos

Express your brand personality and engage with your social community with social content to support your social strategy and campaigns.

Promo Videos

Maximise the success of your promotional campaign with compelling video content.

Corporate Videos

Shine a light on your company, its values, culture, and team.

Event Videos

Highlight the best of your event with a range of event videos.

Explainer Videos

Brand, service, or product explainer videos that clearly explain the why, who, what, and how.

Animated Videos

Animated video – the perfect tool to break down complex information and make it digestible for your target audience.

Social Media Videos

Express your brand personality and engage with your social community with social content to support your social strategy and campaigns.

Promo Videos

Maximise the success of your promotional campaign with compelling video content.

Corporate Videos

Shine a light on your company, its values, culture, and team.

Event Videos

Highlight the best of your event with a range of event videos.

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.

Your video brief template!

With hundreds of successful video projects under our belts, we thought we’d share our tried and tested video brief template to help make sure you have a seamless, successful video project! 

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