1. Working to a Brief
LO1
Jess & Callum

2. Contractual Brief
Definition
A contractual brief is when a company signs an agreement to complete a specific task that has been set
by the contract holder. This type of brief will have to be completed in a certain amount of time and
the person fulfilling the contract will be paid a set fee at the end of the project. This type of brief is
similar to the brief we have being given for our project, as we have being assigned a task by a
separate company (contract holder) and have a set time of 10 weeks to complete.
Advantages
• You are set with a deadline and are expected to plan a set schedule around your daily basis in order
to complete the project on time, this allows you to have more control and a more thorough
understanding of how to complete the project in a set space of time.
• Fully detailed description of what needs to be done, where, who for, when for etc. gives more
structure and organization to how to plan your time effectively.
Disadvantages
• Often with a secure fixed contract like this a contract holder and a media company can have
disagreements. This can be to do with things such as the deadline date, how they are expected to
work, costs etc.
• With been given the contracted payment at the end of the project, often a company can object to
paying you for the project if you have gone against there wishes or not met the brief.

3. Formal Brief
Definition
This client is more short and to the point than a contractual brief. The client provides the media company with
a description about how they want their product to be made and look. It is not as detailed as the
contractual brief and only contains the necessary information needed to create the product e.g. materials,
locations, software, target demographics. Any additional information will be further discussed in
negotiation with the client on a later, where any questions can be asked. A formal brief is similar to a
contractual brief as the parties involved will both formally agree on the project, however unlike a
contractual brief – formal briefs are not always legally binding. This is similar to our brief as there are no
legal terms or boundaries associated with our project, we have never met the client and have only
received a short description of the necessary materials etc. needed to complete the project successfully.
Advantages
• May not be legally binding, which stops any sort of legal procedures if task is not completed.
• Briefly detailed description of the necessary materials, locations, software, target demographic etc. that
need to be used to complete the product and help gain a standard knowledge of the product’s history and
meaning.
Disadvantages
• Not a structured as a contractual brief, the fact there is no contract may lead some people to get
complacent and not concentrate on the project enough.
• Any additional information that is needed will not be given at the start of the project and must be
discussed later on in the negotiation period, in person.

4. Informal Brief
Definition
An informal brief is the most relaxed of the briefs so far. It is most likely a non contractual
verbal agreement. There will be no documentation involved with this type of brief at all.
As there is no contract the brief and what needs to be done in the project will be
discussed verbally in person, there may not be any set completion date. The brief is
similar to ours as there are no legal ties attached to the project, so if the project is not
completed to its full standard or not on time – no legal action can be taken. Also, it is
similar to an informal brief because we had a thorough verbal negotiation with our
tutor about the context of the brief.
Advantages
• More relaxed that other types of brief.
• In some cases no set completion date.
Disadvantages
• The fact it is more relaxed may not be good for everyone as they may not get the work
done.
• No contract means that it isn't really going to affect anyone if the work doesn’t get
done.

5. Co-Operative Brief
Definition
A co operative brief is when two or more production companies are hired to work on a
specific brief. The selection of companies will then have to work together to ensure that
they complete the project in the allotted time. If a disagreement were to arise between
the co operating companies a negotiated contract would be submitted which would
hopefully fix the issues between the conflicting companies. This kind of brief has no real
relevance to our project.
Advantages
• More than one company means that they may have specific skill sets and can help each
other to finish a project more efficiently.
• The project can be completed quicker with the benefit of having more people working
on the project, compared to just one person.
Disadvantages
• Disagreements may arise on subjects that the companies feel passionate about.
• Often companies strive for different things and lean more to the target market they
specify in rather than the audience specified by the brief.

6. Negotiated Brief
Definition
A negotiated brief, as mentioned in the previous slide, is when a co operative brief goes wrong. It occurs
when two companies that are working together on a co operative brief have a disagreement on one
or more topics. Through the negotiation of the parties involved the brief will be changed in order to
please all parties involved. This may involve changing things such as the style, content or ensuring
that the product they are creating is kept within the boundaries of a legal or ethical obligation.
Advantages
• Allows multiple companies still to work on the same project.
• Broadens the opportunities for new ideas from other sources and overall expands the compatibility
of the project.
Disadvantages
• Both parties have to compromise to allow for project to continue.
• A lot of the time given can be spent trying to negotiate rather than actually working on the project,
it can be hard to come to a final conclusion.

7. Commission Brief
Definition
A commission brief is where a large media company will hire an independent media
company to create a product for them, for example the BBC may hire an independent
group to create a documentary about prisons or them. The brief will then be negotiated
between the two media companies rather than using an external client. The product
then may be used by the larger media company who commissioned the work and given
to an external client. The independent company will be paid for their work and they
may also be given a percentage of the profits of the product each time it is sold or
broadcast.
Advantages
• Gives smaller independent companies a chance to work for a large media outlet.
• Allows smaller companies to make some money doing what they enjoy.
Disadvantages
• The independent company can often not meet the expectations of the large media
company, due to their own personal beliefs etc. For example the independent company
could create a documentary unsuitable for BBC viewing and due to the deadline slot
there would be no time to film the documentary all over again.

8. Tender Brief
Definition
A tender brief is where a client will publish the media product that they need to be made so
that production companies can see it. Production companies will then create a brief,
proposal and budget which will then be pitched to the client. Sometimes several
different production companies may all create briefs for the same project in the hopes
that they can secure the project over the other companies. The client will eventually
decide which of the proposals received is the best for them and will offer the project to
that production company.
Advantages
• Gives multiple different companies the opportunity to have work
• Gives several ideas and opportunities to choose from rather than just the one.
Disadvantages
• Pits production companies against each other which could cause rivalry.
• Small possibility of none of the proposals been suitable for the project.

9. Competition Brief
Definition
A competition brief is a brief that is made available to all participating production
companies. Each company will then create a brief for the client. All of the
completed projects will then be collected and judged. The best project will have
their product created and the project will be published. Often entering the
competition is free of charge and the client will only have to pay the winning
company (if at all). This type of brief doesn’t relate at all to our brief.
Advantages
• A guarantee with working with the company if you win the competition.
• There is no fee to take part in the project.
• Made available to most up and coming production companies.
Disadvantages
• There’s no guarantee of being able to work with the company if you do not win.

10. My Brief
Which structure/structures will the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief use?
Reference your reasons for choice/choices
The brief that we were given for the vegetable recipe cards is almost a mixture of two
different kinds of brief. In some ways the brief we received could be seen as a
Formal brief it does not contain any legal bindings or contracts this is also the
same as an informal brief . The brief also gives us a rough outline of the things that
the company wants but leaves a lot of the creative aspect to us. We have also
been set a deadline of 10 weeks which we must adhere to strictly. Our brief is also
similar to an informal brief as we received a description and brief details from our
tutor verbally rather than in a form of written communication.

11. Reading the Brief
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
Ensuring that we read the brief in its entirety will allow us to fully understand what the company
is expecting us to achieve with our project. It’s also important to thoroughly read the brief so
that we do not miss out any important details, e.g. ingredients, target audience – that could
potentially reduce the quality of our project. Reading the brief careful helps us gain a better
understanding of the project in hand and what it entails, it also helps us to pick out anything
that we may disagree with such as legal terms or methods of working. It’s particularly
important to make sure we understand certain sections of the brief such as “What we want.”
It is important that we appeal fully to the client and their needs, if we fail to do this it can
result in legal action (depending on the contract), being dismissed from the project resulting
in a bad reputation with our client and future clients.

12. Reading the Brief
What is the nature and demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief?
The nature of this brief is to create a set of interesting and creative designs for a new series of
recipe cards. We need designs on both the front and the back of the card. There should be a
clear theme across all the cards so it is apparent that they are a set. This brief gives us a
rough outline of what is required of us but leaves a lot of the creative aspect of the work to
us, we could make it to suit newly found vegetarians or for those who have given up meat a
long time ago. It also states that we do not have to come up with the recipes ourselves, this
gives us a bit of freedom. We can either take existing recipes, create our own or take existing
recipes and modify them to better suit our audience.
The demand for the brief was that we have the final product ready to send to the company
within a timescale of 10 weeks. In the brief it doesn’t mention anything about the size of the
team that will be required, we have worked out the jobs that will need to be completed
during the task and have chosen to work as a team of two and have distributed the tasks
evenly.

13. Negotiating a Brief
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production?
It is important to discuss the brief with out client prior to production as we need to ensure that
the work is up to the standard that the company is expecting. It will also give us a chance to
iron out any of the problems or questions that we have about the project. This is why having
an agreement where we have a good communication with the company is essential, so that
we can stay in touch and make sure that the work is of the best standard that we can
produce.
If we were not to bring up any problems that we were having at this point we may complete the
entire project and present it to the company thinking that we have done everything correctly,
when in actual fact there may be a lot of errors. This will lead to a delay on the product and
may result in your company losing the project.

14. Negotiating a Brief
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief?
Some advantages of employing discretion within a brief are as follows.
• Allows creativity from the people creating the product.
• Keeps up a good communication with the company and the client.
• Using discretion allows you to add separate aspects to the brief that you may want to try or
find beneficial or interesting to your brief.

15. Negotiating a Brief
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed product?
• There are ethics behind the vegetarian society “In many societies, controversy and debate
have arisen over the ethics of eating animals. Two main ethical objections are to the act of
unnecessary killing of sentient beings and opposition to certain agricultural practices
surrounding the production of meat.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics_of_eating_meat)
It is important that I understand the brief in a way that will no persuade me to create
offensive or unsuitable material for our audience. I must conduct a series of research into the
ethics and beliefs of eating meat and why people choose to go vegetarian. I must respect that
often people choose to stray away from eating meat for health purposes, promoting a
healthy diet without eating meat would be a suitable starting point in the description of my
products. Also through reading my brief it is important to understand the laws of copyright
and no take imagery or context from other brands, it is also important that I do not compare
my product to other products on the market in an inappropriate fashion that could be
deemed offensive.

16. Negotiating a Brief
Amendments you have considered to;
The Product
I must take into consideration there may be changes needed to the proposed product in its final state
due to being too ambitious. It could also be due to a misjudgement of practicality, for instance a
certain mixture of ingredients not tasting as imagined. This could also be regarding time scale or
scope, or due to breaking a law or regulation, an example here being copyright infringement.
The Budget
Any minimum or distinctive changes made to the budget will usually be due to lack of money needed
to complete what has being requested in the brief. With this being the case (if so), our original
budget will have to be increased so that we are certain we will have enough money to complete
the brief. The budget will have to either increased or the scope of the project (photo quality,
printing methods etc.) will have to be downscaled. In relation to our brief, we may have to deduct
things such as using high quality ingredients to save cash necessary to complete the project.
The Conditions
In the original brief is will state the requested fee a production company will be paid for, for the creation
of their project. Although, in the some contracts the amount paid to the production company can
be amended (increased or decreased) due to the final quality of the work produced. A client may
not want to pay the production company the full payment if the work is not to their standards. If a
change is not made before the contract is signed it can be proved to be extremely difficult to try
and get paid extra money, especially if the project overruns or more resources are requested.

17. Opportunities
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development
My brief would allow me to explore self development through the method of learning new skills,
whether they be manual or technical. Researching about the vegetarian market enables me to have
a more open mind of thinking when it comes to advertising food based products. It will help me
reach out a wider audience and appeal to a larger target demographic rather than a single group. I
will learn new skills using software such as Photoshop software in order to improve the visual
appearance of our recipe cards to appeal to our audience.
Learning new skills
Skills I will learn include using forms of technical written communication in order to promote and
advertise my product. This can involve blog/website creation, as in today’s society written press is
usually read on electronica devices such as iPads and laptops rather than purchasing the paper
copy. I will learn how to design, create and maintain these forms of advertising as well as using
familiar software such as Microsoft Word etc. and Photoshop.
Multi-skilling
As I progress in making my product and researching the market surrounding vegetarians, I will learn
how to do separate tasks in one go rather than separately day by day – or in other words, multi-
tasking.