Types of Briefs

Competition Brief
A competitive brief is a brief used when
competing in competitions, they are used
so that the entries or competitors know what
they are doing and what to expect in the
competition. They give details of the
competition, entry requirements or how the
competition works. They are slightly different
to other briefs as they are directed straight
to the audience. This is a positive as they are
for the competitors therefore they know
exactly what they need to do. A negative
with a competition brief is that because of
the amount and specific details for just one
winner of the competition out of hundreds
of entries it can make the competition very
hard.
Informal Briefs
An informal brief is normally a verbal brief. It when
a client or entry is given instructions verbally instead
of a documented brief. One of the advantages of
using this type of brief is that there is more
opportunity for the client to have a discussion with
the organisation or company. This is a positive
because you are able to understand fully and ask
questions to find out exactly what to do. One of
the main negatives and disadvantages of this type
of brief is that because there is now written
document it becomes very informal therefore
there is nothing to say it must be completed or
deadlines and criteria.
Tender Briefs
A tender brief is when the client has
more control, it is when they
advertise their brief for a production
then a production companies
decides whether they like the brief
then continue to pitch ideas to the
client, the client then is able to pick
which idea and company they
want to work with the most. The
positives about using this kind of
brief is that the client has more
control and can look at many
different ideas and companies. The
negatives are the client doesnt
have to except the companies
pitch or proposal therefore it makes
it very hard for the companies to
gain profit from the brief.
Formal Briefs
A formal brief is similar to the tender brief however a company can choose to
use a clients brief. The client makes the brief for then the production
companies to make it. The brief has to however be legally agreed with by the
production company and client and put in a legal contract. The positives for
using this type of brief is that there can be a formal discussion of he brief and
different ideas can be used and changed before making the final legal brief.
The negatives of this brief is that the production company may feel the client
has not given enough information to make the production to the standards of
the client. Also because a lot of the discussion is done before the final brief so
there may be parts missed off, this may cause problems later on such as
financial issues.
Contractual Briefs
A contractual brief is a type of brief where
a media company is employed by a client
to compete the brief for the client. The
company has to follow the specific details
of the brief given by the client. An
advantage of a contractual brief is that
the production company know exactly
what needs to be done, included and all
the specific details to make the
production. One of the negatives of this
brief is that if the company thinks there
may be some issues with the brief they
arent able to change as that would be
violating the original clients brief.
Commissioned Brief
A commissioned brief is when a large media company then employs another
to create and produce a products for them. The advantages of using this
type of brief is that it means the larger media company do not have as much
work to do as they are using the other company to help them. This is good
because it means both companies get money for the product and the
amount of work is shared. The disadvantages of this brief is that there are two
different companies working on the same brief this means there could be
some conflicts or disagreements between the companies.
Co-operative Brief
A Co-operative brief is when there are two or more companies are brought in
by the client to make the product of the brief. Both companies work together
to create the product for the client. One of the good things about this type of
brief is that there can be two or more different perspectives on the
production. The major disadvantage of this brief is that it can cause a lot of
arguments and disagreements with producing the productions.