A good video production brief fits in one email and answers seven things: who it's for, the single message, where it will run, reference links, constraints, the deadline and a budget range. Give a production company those seven fields and they can quote accurately and start designing shots.
We've seen briefs of every shape across 25+ brands, from a single tight paragraph to long decks that never name the audience. This note sets out the structure we ask for and why each field changes a production decision. There's a copy-paste email version too.
What does a bad brief cost?
The expensive part of video is usually the rework rather than the shoot day.
A vague brief forces the production company to fill the gaps with assumptions, and you won't see them until the first cut lands and someone says "this isn't quite what we imagined". Some of the fixes are polish notes, like swapping a shot or adjusting a super, and they're cheap. Intent notes cost far more. Changing the message, the audience or the platform after the edit means re-cutting work built on the wrong foundation, and sometimes re-shooting it.
In our experience, blown video budgets trace back to the brief more often than to the supplier. Revision rounds end up correcting guesses that the brief could have settled before filming.
What are the seven fields that matter?
Each field is there because it changes a production decision.
- The audience should be one specific group, not "everyone". It sets the tone, pacing, language and even the shot length. A video for gym owners and a video for gym members can share a shoot day and nothing else.
- The single message is the one sentence a viewer should be able to repeat afterwards, and it becomes the spine of the edit. Three messages usually means three videos, which is better to know before the quote.
- Where it runs decides the format. A 15-second vertical reel and a website hero video need different aspect ratios, hook timing and caption treatments, so settle the placement before the creative.
- Send two or three reference links, with a note on what you like about each. That's the fastest way to show your taste, and it stops a supplier guessing at your visual style.
- Constraints cover brand rules, legal requirements, people who can't appear on camera, locations and any assets that must be used. They're cheap to state upfront and expensive to discover in a review round.
- The deadline works backwards into shoot dates, edit windows and your own approval time, so give the date and what's driving it.
- The budget range is the field people most often leave out, and the most useful one. It decides the approach itself, from crew size and locations to live action versus animation. More on this in the FAQ below.
The brief-in-an-email version
Copy this template and replace the brackets.
- Subject: Video brief for [project name]
- Audience: [the specific group this is for]
- Message: [the one thing they should take away]
- Runs on: [platforms and placements, e.g. Instagram Reels, website home page]
- References: [2-3 links, with one line on what you like about each]
- Constraints: [brand rules, legal, who or what can't appear, must-use assets]
- Deadline: [date, and what's driving it]
- Budget range: [a bracket is fine, e.g. $8k to $15k]
Seven lines and a subject. If it's hard to write, the message or the audience probably isn't settled yet, and that's better found out before a camera is hired. You can send it to us as-is and we'll tell you what we'd do with it.
What does a good production partner do with your brief?
A good partner uses the brief to plan the shots rather than filing it away.
Every scene has to serve the single message. Audience and placement decide the formats before anyone talks about creative, because a reel and a hero video need different coverage, even when they're shot on the same day. References set the visual style, and constraints shape the plan from the start instead of being patched in during review.
The brief should come back sharper than you sent it. Expect questions, a written scope and a shoot plan that makes proper use of the day. Our version is the Batch Day (from $6,500 ex GST): one planned shoot day that comes back as 20+ channel-ready assets over 14 days. Capture is the expensive part, and each extra cut costs far less.
What are the red flags in a supplier's response?
How a supplier answers the brief tells you more than their showreel.
- A quote with no clarifying questions means they've priced their assumptions, and you'll meet those assumptions at the first cut.
- If the first conversation is about cameras rather than what the video needs to achieve, the priorities are the wrong way round.
- A supplier who doesn't ask where the video will run is probably planning to deliver one file and leave you to adapt it.
- Unlimited revisions offered as a selling point sound generous. They often mean there's no structured approval process, and the cost of endless rounds gets pushed into the timeline.
- If deliverables, rounds and dates aren't in a written scope, every later disagreement becomes a negotiation.
None of these makes someone a bad operator, but each one suggests the process will lean on you to fill the gaps.