From the first conversation to the final export
A production brief worth filming.
Define what must be captured, delivered and approved so a producer can price the work you actually need.
By Rob Urban · Paper Boat Media
Choose a question to work through
Project guides / commissioning video
The deliverable is bigger than the running time
A request for a two-minute video leaves a producer with most of the job still undefined. Two minutes of interviews, an animation and a location-heavy brand film have very different production needs.
Start with the audience and the action or understanding the video should support. Then list where it will appear and what versions are needed. A website film, a paid advertisement and vertical social edits may use some of the same footage while requiring different planning and permissions.
Name the moment the film has to earn
Write one sentence about the viewer’s situation. Are they meeting the organization for the first time, checking whether a product solves a problem or preparing to attend an event? Give the producer the context in which the film will be watched, including whether sound is likely to be available.
Then identify what must be understood by the end. Keep this useful and narrow enough to shape a production. A film that introduces a company and a film that explains a detailed process may share footage but need different scripts and edits. If the audience or message itself is unresolved, treat that as strategy work before locking the production scope.
Show the producer what already exists
Identify the script, interview subjects, locations, brand materials, product samples and existing footage you can supply. Mark whether each is ready, needs revision or does not yet exist.
Ask who develops the creative approach and who approves it. If several stakeholders must agree, name a person who consolidates feedback. A production schedule cannot stay stable if each reviewer starts a new version of the film.
Describe any location constraints, access windows, background noise or operational interruptions. The producer should assess the practical and safety requirements. Do not promise access to a place or person before it is confirmed.
Build the day around what can actually be captured
List the people, locations, products and activities the film depends on. Assign a person to confirm each one. A busy employee who is “probably available” and a location awaiting permission are open dependencies, not secured production resources.
Ask the producer to explain which moments need preparation: a room cleared, an interviewee briefed, a product ready to demonstrate or an activity scheduled for the crew. Keep operational constraints visible. A business still serving customers needs a workable plan for the filming around it.
Discuss a fallback for an unavailable contributor, weather-sensitive location or delayed product. The producer should explain what the alternative would change in the result, budget and schedule.
Make a deliverables register
List the master film, alternate lengths, aspect ratios, captions, language versions, stills or thumbnails and any other outputs you actually need. Identify what must be available at launch and what can follow later.
Discuss usage rights, music, stock material, talent permissions, source files and raw-footage delivery in the agreement. Ownership of a finished export does not automatically answer every question about the underlying assets. Use appropriate legal advice where needed.
Ask how review rounds work: what counts as a revision, what changes trigger extra work and how long feedback can take before the schedule moves. These details are easier to settle before editing begins.
One campaign can require more than one edit
In this fictional brief, the website film introduces the business while a short social edit invites a specific next step. The shorter version is not simply the website film stopped early. Ask whether it needs a separate opening, alternate footage, graphics or a different ending.
For each required output, record its purpose, format, language, caption requirements, due date and approver. Flag any output that depends on material outside the production team’s control. If one version is essential for a launch, distinguish that deadline from the complete delivery schedule.
A useful scope clarification
“Three short edits” could mean three lengths of one story or three different stories. Say which you need before the proposal is approved.
Video deliverables register
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Compare the work around the camera
A production proposal may include discovery, scripting, preproduction, crew, equipment, location costs, filming, editing, sound, color, graphics and delivery. Ask which elements are included and which depend on assumptions.
Instead of choosing a reel solely because it looks expensive, ask about work with a similar communication problem. What was the producer responsible for? How were the constraints handled? A beautiful image is useful evidence of craft, but your project also needs an appropriate process.
Keep the budget range visible. It allows the producer to explain tradeoffs in scope rather than quietly guessing what you can spend.
Give feedback that leads to the next cut
Agree who gathers comments and how they are delivered. Separate factual corrections, missing approved material and new creative requests. Supply time references where practical, and resolve conflicting stakeholder instructions before sending a consolidated response.
Review the appropriate question at each stage. A rough structure review is the moment to address the story’s order. A final export check is a poor moment to introduce an interview nobody planned to film. Ask the producer to define the review stages and the consequences of reopening an approved stage.
At delivery, check the agreed register: each version, captions, spelling, graphics and the files promised in the agreement. Ask how long project material is retained and what future changes would involve. Keep the approved final versions easy to distinguish from earlier review copies.
A deliverables list a producer can price
Here is an illustrative register for one campaign. It is a way to define the work, not a standard package or a recommendation that every project needs these versions.
| Output | What to specify |
|---|---|
| Main film | One 90-second landscape edit; identify the website or channel where it will run. |
| Social edits | Three 15-second vertical edits; say whether each tells a different story or cuts down the main film. |
| Captions | Specify required language versions and whether you need embedded captions, separate files or both. |
| Handover | Agree on final exports, thumbnails, raw footage or project files, and the storage period. |
Assign an approver and a due date to each output. If a new stakeholder requests an additional version halfway through editing, the register gives everyone a clear place to record the change and its effect on cost and timing.
Questions worth asking
Do I need a finished script?
No. State whether scripting is part of the work you want quoted. Distinguish a rough idea from an approved script.
Are social cutdowns automatically included?
Only if the scope says so. List the lengths, aspect ratios, captions and platforms that need deliverables.
Will I receive the raw footage?
Ask for that explicitly and have delivery, storage and rights addressed in the agreement.
Is this different from video strategy consulting?
Yes. This brief defines production procurement. Strategy consulting addresses audience, messaging, distribution and measurement as a separately scoped service.
How should several stakeholders give feedback?
Choose one person to consolidate comments, resolve conflicting instructions and return the agreed response through the producer’s review process.
Is a shorter edit always just a cutdown of the main film?
No. It may need its own opening, message or ending. Specify whether the requested versions tell the same story or serve different purposes.
Sources & further reading
Related Paper Boat Media reading
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