Write
an entry on working to a brief for a website or textbook guide to working in
the creative media sector. (Minimum 500 Words)
Working
on a brief for a website, textbook guide or any requirement is not usually a
regular responsibility. When you, or the company you are employed by, decide it
is time to create, restructure or improve a website, you will need to work out
the cost for a solution and what is to be achieved in the end.
You
will also need to find and select a supplier who is able to offer you the best
value for money, while capable of delivering to your requirements. The most
effective way to begin this potentially daunting process is to create a brief.
What
is a brief?
To
brief someone is to prepare or instruct them by giving a summary of relevant
facts. In this situation, your brief is a document that informs the potential
supplier your requirements, what you wish to achieve, what market and audience
you are targeting, and any other related information. In this case we’re
talking about working for a media company in the media sector. When working for
that particular sector, most of the work is produced by a client. It doesn’t
matter whether it is a small or large media establishment because the work will
still be produced for a client. When a company proceeds onto a new project, the
project will usually come with a client brief. It could be a set brief with no
negotiation or it could be negotiable, depending on what the client consents.
The brief could be for a national broadcast television programme with a big
budget (roughly around £700,00) or a
smaller television programme meaning that it would have a smaller budget,
roughly around £10,000.
Different
types of briefs
There
are many different types of briefs when working in the media sector, which can
be distributed from a client to the person working on the brief.
Contractual
The
most secure type of brief in the industry.
A contractual brief is a documentation of a signed agreement that states
objectives that the person who is to sign the brief agrees to, if the contract
is signed and then breaks the regulations of the contract the contract holder
has the ability to take legal actions.
Formal
This
type of brief is a written document like a contract containing very accurate
details about what needs to be achieved and sometimes how to achieve what the
document is presenting, you would never find extra unneeded information on a
formal brief. This type of brief is
often aimed a groups of people than an individual for example a university
course will explain exactly what the course is about and what is needed in
order to be accepted.
Negotiated
This
is when two or more companies, individuals or parties generate differing ideas
that conflict which one another which has to then be negotiated to ensure that
all parties are in an agreement on the topic that the brief is about.
Informal
This
brief is often done in person which can result to a better understanding
between parties the advantage of an informal brief is that the 2 or more
parties can get to understand each other more personally for example job
interviews are often informal so then the employer can learn about the person
who is seeking the job before they accept them.
Tender
you
would often receive a tender brief if you are new to a company and also where
you could create ideas for the company that sees you as their client the main
disadvantage when it comes to a tender brief is that you’re not always the only
client that the company has to deal with at the time and you might not be chosen
as the final client.
Co-operative
Co-operative
briefs are shared by the producers of the project. Each producer may be in
charge of a different section of the project.
Understanding
Briefs
When
you are given a brief it’s significant that you read through it thoroughly and
that you comprehend what the brief is about and what the client wants from you
and the brief. Making notes and speaking to the client about problems that you
might have with the brief may be useful; it might help you remember the significant
parts of the brief. Another important point Is the legal and ethical issues and
if you feel that it is essential, you may want to talk to a solicitor with this
type of concern.
When
meeting with the client, it is a great idea to ask questions you feel you need
to answer about the brief and the project. Here are some points you should be
asking about:
- Are there any specific points of the project that they want to highlight?
- What is the productions time-scale?
- What is the budget for the project and is the budget realistic?
- What does the client want?
- Who is the target audience?
Now
you have analysed your brief, you can now contact the client and negotiate about
any modifications that you think should be included, such as: changes to
technical problems and time scales. If everything is in order then you’re ready
to begin coming up with ideas if the brief didn't already have a specific
guide.
The
most significant thing about a brief is the deadline. You must guarantee that
you will be able to meet the deadline. If you don’t think you can then you can rearrange
the deadline to a more realistic time. This is significant because if you begin
a project and you can’t finish then there is a chance you may not get paid and work
in the future.
Once
you have completed the brief you should evaluate and review what you’ve done and
decide what worked and what didn't. You can use what you have learned in the
past for self-development and when it comes to your next brief you should be
better than the last.
