HOW TO WRITE A VIDEO BRIEF
If you are looking to step up your communications or advertising with a video for your business – congratulations! You have made the first step in creating a powerful tool for your business.
When creating video content for your business or brand, you need to start your video project with a well written video brief.
What is a video brief?
A brief is a document where you put together all your thoughts, ideas and goals prior to commencing work on a project.
Video Briefs ensure that all parties involved in the project, whether you are working with a video agency or creating a video internally, are on the same page and working towards the same goals. A strong brief is a really important part of the pre-production process of video production. They make sure that there are no miscommunications or misunderstandings on how the video project will look and feel.
This can save a lot of time, money and headaches in reshoots, reedits or unusable video content.
Check out our list of the six must have elements of a strong video brief.
1) THE WHY - What is the purpose of your video/videos?
The first part of a strong video brief is communicating the why. Why is this video being produced? What is your goal? Is it to teach something? Promote something? Motivate someone?
For example, the purpose of your video may be to sell your latest line of exercise bikes, or it may be to teach new employees how to log in to your CRM.
You should be able to communicate the purpose of your video in a sentence or two.
2) THE WHO - Who is your audience for your video?
Who is the video for? What are their likes and dislikes? Traits and attributes? The more detail you can provide about the ‘who’ the better. This allows your video production team to make creative choices that will best appeal to the target viewer. These could be choices such as the type of music that is used, the talent selected, and the stories that are shared.
3) THE WHAT - What is the message of your video/videos?
What is the message you want to communicate in your video or videos? What key takeaways do you want the viewer to leave with? The message of the video is different to the purpose of the video. Look at the example below of the start of a brief to see how the message builds on the purpose.
EXAMPLE
What is the purpose of your video
The purpose of my video is to promote our latest line of exercise bikes – the M3000s. We would like the video to drive potential buyers to our website where they can buy the product.
Who is your audience
For this campaign we would like to target both men and women, 20s – 40s. They would be active professionals looking for ways to fit exercise into busy schedules.
What is the message of your video
Key messages we would like to communicate in the video
- M3000s are the thinnest exercise bikes on the market, making them very easy to store in an office or home
- They have a detachable platform that you can put your laptop onto, so you can work and exercise at the same time
- WiFi capabilities
- We would like the video to direct viewers to our website for purchase
It is important to also provide context on how you would like to be perceived by customers. Share with your creative team a bit about your business. Who are you and what do you do? What is the personality of your business? Is it fun and youthful? Prestigious and dependable? What makes you stand out from your competitors? The more your video production team know about you, the better they can accurately represent your brand and your company in the video project.
4) THE WHEN - When do you need the final project by? What is your deadline & a budget? Are there key dates for filming?
This part of the brief communicates to the production team the key days and times of the project. For example, if the video is for a conference or event, then the filming must take place on the days the event is scheduled for. The video or videos may be needed to coincide with the launch of a new website, product or business. Or you may not have as strict a timeline to work in. Share this information with your production agency so they can be sure that they can complete the project in the time available.
If you have already have a budget in mind, it is important to communicate this early to the creative team. By knowing the budget ahead of time, the video production team can focus on ideas to achieve your video goals within those parameters.
Components of a video production that influence the cost can include:
- Amount of time on site
- Amount of pre-production required (concept development, shot listing, planning)
- Location, prop and talent hire
- Length of video
- Animation and graphics needed
- Where the video will be broadcast
5) WHERE - Where will the filming take place? Are there multiple locations that require filming?
Depending on the type of video you are looking to have produced, you may already know the locations that you would like to film at.
For example, if the video is a profile video for your business, you would share with the video agency the location of your business.
If it is a tourism ad, you may know the areas of interest that you would like captured.
This information helps the creative team understand the scope of the project and assists them in providing an accurate quote.
6) WHERE (again) - Where will the video/videos be watched?
What video distribution channels are you looking at using? Will your video be on your company’s website? On your social media platforms? Used in cinema advertising? Is it intended to be a national television commercial?
The video production process can vary based on where the video will be watched. TV ads need to go through approval processes and have a special way that they need to be exported. If producing videos for your socials you may choose to have your videos delivered in square and vertical formats. The style of your video will be tailored by where you are showcasing the video.
Now that you have a strong video production brief, the next step is to find a video production company to make your plan a reality!
Elite Media is an award winning boutique video agency that has the skills and creative mindset to realise your vision. Reach out by calling us direct on (03) 8849 9334 or fill in the form below and we would love to talk through your brief, bounce around some ideas and create a quote for you.
