Unit Five: Understand the requirements of working to a brief.

Assignment 1In the Media industry, briefs are a set of instructions given by a client that details what they want they want from the job they are offering. Briefs can come in many different forms and can be considered formal and informal, this mainly depends on the client and the circumstances of the work.

Formal BriefsA formal brief is a type of brief that the producer of a product is provided a client that outlines exactly what they want their product to have in it. This type of brief is very strict when it comes to instruction for the product, it only contains enough information for the producer to create the product and leaves little to no space for negotiation. If a relevant issue arises then the producer, crew and client can discuss it and make a formal agreement. The contract that is agreed on is legally binding, this is especially true when coming to fees and conditions that are laid down by the client. Once a crew has committed to a project, it is expected that they will follow through and finish the project to the clients standards.

Formal briefs are very clear and concise with what is required. Due to the brief’s legally binding nature, they will sometimes include a list of the clients ideas but they will not have a lot of breathing room or room for the producer to negotiate with the client.

One of the major disadvantages that come from working on a formal brief is that the company working on the product may not be able to create the product to the standards of the company due to having to stick to the information provided by the client.

Stroke Client Pitch from Stroke Organisation In a formal brief the client must come in and pitch their brief including details of exactly what the end product is, production schedule and deadlines, budget and discuss legal and ethical matters and allow for risk assessment. In a formal brief pitch back their creative content for the agreed brief.

Example: Church’s trust - Searching For Columbahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh_2cw4qX-8

This is an example of a formal brief that our class was pitched by a client from Churches Trust. The client was brought into the college and met our class to discuss what they wanted from the project (Interviews, Shots from the saint columba trail ect)

Informal BriefsInformal briefs are similar to formal briefs but the producer has a lot more freedom in the production. Instead of using a more traditional written document to provide information for the project, it is more common for the client to vocally communicate what they want of the project. The client and producer sit down and talk about what needs done. After discussing what the client wants from the project, the producer and client make an overall agreement to what the terms and conditions are for making the product

Since there is not as much formality with these types of brief, the producer has a lot more freedom with how the product is styled. The producer will also have the ability and opportunity to offer their option of how they think the product should be made before coming up with a final idea for the product.

Unfortunately there is a chance that the client will fail to pay the producer and team for creating the product due to there not being any binding legal documents with brief. The would be literal no evidence that the company hired the media company in the first place.

Example - Macmillan - coffee morninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0cPJkr8riU

As part of our course, we were asked to make a social action project. I chose to make a coffee morning with macmillan, this can be considered a informal brief because macmillan gave a loose idea of what i should have for my coffee morning but it was largely up to me to plan out the entire event.

There are different types of professional brief that are commonly used in media productions.

TenderA tender is a type of brief that is received by the client advertising the job, then used to help the producer to make a pitch to the client for the production company that the producer. The brief isn’t open to just a single company, many different companies will make a pitch to the client with their ideas for the project, then the client chooses the company that they think will make a product that will suit what they envision for the project.

One of the main reasons that tender brief are useful to a client is that they are able to see many different examples of how their product can be developed through multiple different companies. This gives the client the ability to choose the company that they think will be able to achieve what they want from the product.

Example: Landau invitation to tender - https://www.landau.co.uk/5136-2/

“Landau has been awarded funding from the ESF and the Big Lottery Fund to lead a partnership of 21 organisations delivering Building Better Opportunities provision in The Marches LEP area. This funding runs from January 2017 to 31st December 2019.

The Project engages people living across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin who are experiencing multiple barriers to employment. It helps them gain skills and develop confidence, equipping them with the abilities needed to move towards and into employment.”

ContractA contractual brief is a type of formal commission where the client gives the media company a very specific set of guidelines for the work that they want done. This brief will have a very particular set of do’s and don'ts that the company must follow in order to keep to the brief.

If the media company doesn’t follow the set guidelines then the client is likely to withdraw the brief from the company. If a company loses a brief then it is unlikely that a client will be willing to work with them on further projects.

One of the main advantages of having a contractual brief is that the media company that has taken the brief has their guidelines laid out and knows exactly what the client wants from them. One of the major disadvantages is the media company

Example:

NegotiatedA negotiated brief is a type of brief where both the client and the media company discuss the goals of the project and then they work together to make a creative solution. It is the result of both sides cooperating as opposed to the client creating a contractual brief that is set in stone.

An example of a negotiated brief is the Saint Columba project that i did last yearhttps://joshkuzma.weebly.com/just-us.html

The reason that this brief can be considered a negotiated is due to the fact that we were able to have relatively flexible creative with how we wanted the film to look and run, the client gave us deadlines and dates that we could not negotiate. Although we were given creative freedom for most of the film, this is due to the film being comprised of multiple different segments, each filmed by a different student.

This is my segment of the film: https://youtu.be/60hmDUFfBKc

CommissionA commission is a working agreement between a larger media agency and a smaller media agency. The larger company wins the brief from the client and then subcontracts part of the project to the smaller company. The smaller company only deals with the larger company directly, so they never meet the client themselves.

An example of a commission would be the Just Us project that i was part of last year. https://joshkuzma.weebly.com/just-us.html

When you are working on a project, there is a chance that the brief will double as multiple different types of brief. This project is a good example of this, the just us project counts for both a negotiable brief as well as a commission, this is due to the fact that the project was commissioned to us by the churches trust to create a documentary of the saint columba trail in derry. The main objective of the documentary was to help expand on what columba’s legacy meant to the young people of derry today.

CompetitionA competition is a “clever” way for a client to get a lot of proposals, strategies and project ideas given to them for free. The client puts out the competition and makes it open to any agencies that want to take part. The client chooses the winning submission and awards the paid work to the winner. However the client benefits from all of the unsuccessful submissions, for which they have paid no money at all.

Example: Erasmus + - https://wakelet.com/wake/efd6d0d4-a929-4750-8e05-1e679d480bd7My example is a competition that i was invited to enter because of a trip that i took with the tech. The Competition asked for a photo and a 150 word caption that helps to explain what your discovery was from the trip that you were taken on. My photo was one of the runner up entries but it was still posted on the round up for the competition (It can be seen on the link above).

Example: Best in FE

The Best in Fe awards were an award ceremony for students that were outstanding in their course. I won an award for representing the college in a good light.

Bibliography

Derry and Raphoe Diocese Website- https://www.derryandraphoe.org/st-augustine-s

The Walls- https://discovernorthernireland.com/17th-Century-City-Walls-Londonderry-Derry-P7097/

The Derry Walls Website- https://thederrywalls.com/explore-the-walls/

St. Columba’s Park House Website- http://www.stcolumbsparkhouse.org/

Flickr- https://www.flickr.com/photos/tjg182/with/4383398431/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/earlychurch/features_earlychurch_iona.shtml

http://www.colmcille.org/colmcille/history-in-stone

http://www.colmcille.org/colmcille/history-in-stone

http://biography.yourdictionary.com/saint-columba

Peace Walls Tourism Project Website- http://www.visitbishopstreetandthefountain.com/portfolio-item/carlisle-methodist-church/

Film Archive Research

Research Film Sources The Cholmchille Centre - Research for Documentary and Full Interview with Ivor Doherty by Jonny Fulton

https://youtu.be/GJmxvAXyIa4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl8q8fHriMw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn_i6zX9QXM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDl56NTLliQ

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-st-columba-1963-online