Working to a brief
- 1. Working to a Brief LO1 Name
- 2. Contractual Brief A contractual brief is where the media company signs an agreement to complete a task or project for a client within a set time period. If the company working on the project doesn't comply with the contract and doesn’t meet the deadlines, the then company can face legal action against them for breaching their contract. Its important to read all contracts thoroughly to ensure that you don’t agree to do work that you don’t want to, or you cant do. An advantage of working within a contractual brief is that the client has a big say over what the project is and how it will look, allowing them to have control over the process. Another advantage is that due to the amount of information given in the contract, the company working on the project, the client has a clear idea of what to do. A disadvantage of contractual brief is that when the contract is complete, you will have to move on and find another job, usually you cannot do another job when working on a contractual brief so it can be hard to find a job afterwards. Another disadvantage would be that if the project or task was not done to the client specifications then the client can refuse to pay you, or even use the product you made. So you have essentially wasted your time, another reason why it is important to read your contract properly.
- 3. Formal Brief A formal brief is where the client provides the company with a brief that only establishes what the product is that they want to be made. An informal brief will only contain information that is necessary for the company to complete the tasks. Further information will be gained through negotiations and meetings with the client. The client and the company will agree to payment and will formally agree on the brief, but the brief is not always legally binding, a formal brief is usually easy to understand as its clear what the client wants. An advantage of a formal brief is that the company working on the project has a clear and precise idea of what it is that the client wants. Another advantage is that the company working on the task can put forward their ideas to the client and discuss any possible changes to the brief during negotiations and meetings A disadvantage of a formal brief is that due to it being slighting more relaxed than a contractual brief and it not being legally binding, the client could stop working with you or could change your task completely. The client could also not pay you if the product is not what they wanted or what you discussed.
- 4. Informal Brief An informal brief is where a verbal agreement has been made between the client and the company working on the task/project. There is no contract or written documents involved in an informal brief at all. The client and the company will discuss the project and then clients expectations through meetings and negotiations. There is not always a set deadline for the project to be completed by. Due to there being no written documentation, it can be tricky to prove you were asked to do the work and therefore risky when it comes to being paid for the work you’ve done. An advantage of working to an informal brief is that due to it being a relaxed approach to maintaining a job, a good working relationship can be made with the client and the company. Another advantage is that the work can be completed when the company working on the task has finished it, so it doesn’t have to be rushed. A disadvantage of an informal brief is that some companies will view it as unprofessional and unclear due to there being no written documentation. Another disadvantage is that the client could have other companies working on the same project, and when it comes to handing in the completed work, to client could chose another company. Therefore the company has wasted time and possibly money on work that is not going to be used and they wont get paid for.
- 5. Co-Operative Brief A Co-operative brief is where more than one company is hired by a client to work on the same task. The companies will have to work together in order to compete the tasks to the clients brief. Due to more than one company working together, disagreements may occur, it is then up to the client to create a negotiated brief in which all companies are happy with and can work from. An advantage of working with a Co-operative brief is that there are more ideas to work from due to there being a larger range of people working on the project. Another advantage is that the companies will both be working from the same brief, so the task will most likely be completes faster and more efficiently. A disadvantage of working in a co-operative brief is that the companies working on the task might have many disagreements and not be able to put their differences as side to complete the task. Another disadvantage is that the client will have to be majorly involved in the creation of the product due to more than one company working on it. The companies will have to have a clear understanding of what it is that the client wants.
- 6. Negotiated Brief A negotiated brief is when two or more companies are working on the brief set by the client, and they have a disagreement, the client and the companies would have to negotiate the brief to appease the companies, whilst still getting the product that the client wants. This negotiation could involve changing visual aspects, changing the content of the product or making sure that the product stays within the boundaries of legal and ethical obligations. A negotiated brief is a compromise between the companies and the client. This kind of brief is usually done in meeting and phone calls. The advantages of working within a negotiated brief is that the brief becomes a compromise of what the companies and the client want, which makes the product more of a team effort in order to create the ideal product for the client. Another advantage is that the client will get the product they want, so there is no reason that the companies involved wouldn’t get paid for their work. A disadvantage of working within a negotiated brief is that the client will have to change there original brief to appease the companies. Another disadvantage would be how the companies have to compromise on their ideas.
- 7. Commission Brief A commissioned brief is where a large media company has hired smaller independent companies to work for them on a project. The brief is discussed directly between the companies rather than going through an external company. The product made can then be used by the larger media company for an external client. The independent company who made the product will be paid for the work, and then possibly paid again each time the product makes a profit/is broadcast/is played. An advantage of a commissioned brief is that the company who created the product will receive payment for the product even if its not used, if the product is used, the company might also receive payments each time the product gains money. A disadvantage of working within a commissioned brief is that you are being hired by a company to do the work but your work may also be used by external companies if the media company that hired you allows it to.
- 8. Tender Brief A tender brief is where the client publishes publicly what they need to be made, this can be through advertisements or local papers. The company will then create a brief, proposal and a budget to present to the client. Several companies can be working on the task at once, and its up to the client to chose the best submitted idea and offers the company the job. An advantage of a tender brief is that the company can create their own brief, proposal and budget, and then present it to the client when they are happy with it. A disadvantage of a tender brief is that there are more than one company working to the brief that the client has set, you then have to work quickly and efficiently to ensure that you submit your work asap as you are competing against other companies.
- 9. Competition Brief A competition brief is where the brief is available to all participating production companies. Each company will then complete the brief given to them. Each project created is then judged by the client and the winner is awarded by having their project published. The companies are not expected to be paid, although usually the winning company will receive payment. The advantages of working in a competition brief is that the client has control over the brief, but the companies have the choice of how to complete the project and then present it to the client. Another advantage is that if you win, you receive payment as well as having your product being used. A disadvantage of working for a competition brief is what if you don’t win, you have spent money and time working for nothing, as you don't get paid at the end either.
- 10. My Brief Which structure/structures will the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief use? Reference your reasons for choice/choices The type of brief that should be used for this project is a negotiated brief. This one has been chosen because there are two different sides working on this project and even though we are not separate companies we may still have conflicting interests as to what will be best for the project. This brief type will then allow us to have a discussion and come to a compromise and make sure that not only does the project turn out how we want but also fits exactly how the client envisaged . This could be that we have differing opinions on how the cards should look visually etc. and rather then there being a breach in the contract or a breakdown in the production of the product as there could be with other types of brief. I feel that this type of contract/brief is best suited to this particular project.
- 11. Reading the Brief Why is important to thoroughly read your brief? It is important that you always read through the brief thoroughly so that you are very clear about what has been asked of you. If you are unsure about something in the contract you should check it again and you still need more explanation you should ask the client. A lack of understanding could result in a breach of the contract and mean a loss of money for yourself and those that are working for you and could make it so that all the work you have done has been for nothing. Failure to complete a brief exactly how it has been set could prove to be damaging to the reputation of your company as it will give the impression that you are unreliable.
- 12. Reading the Brief What is the nature and demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief? In this project we have been asked to design a new range of recipe cards for a series of vegetarian meals. The ingredients and images have been provided for us and we simply have to make a design for the front and the back of each of the cards and ensure that there is a theme that runs right the way through the cards. It would be beneficial if the theme linked to the vegetarianism aspect of the whole thing. These cards should be new and inventive and stand out from the rest. We will have 10 weeks in order to complete this project however only the last few weeks will be spent on the actual production of the product everything prior to this will be any paper work that is required to be done beforehand or the designing of the product.
- 13. Negotiating a Brief Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production? It is important to always discuss the brief with the client prior to the production as this is a great chance to discuss any and all issues or concerns you may have about the project. This also links back to reading the brief carefully as it is a chance to ensure that you understand what has been asked of you fully. It is important to make sure that you are both clear about it all so that there is not a breakdown or conflict of ideas later on in the production that could prove to be detrimental to the overall finish of the product. This is good so that you can discuss any potential problems as well whether this is about the design of the product of the time frame etc. this will make it so that you are both prepared for any forthcoming problems in production. This gives you a chance to put forward any ideas you may have that could be implemented in the product in order to get the most out of the project but you have to careful not to go to far a field with these ideas because if what you create is not matching what has been asked of you in the contract there is a high possibility that you will not get paid.
- 14. Negotiating a Brief What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief? One of the advantages of having discretion within the brief is that it allow you a certain level of flexibility with the project and enables you to be more creative rather than having to stick to strict guidelines. A disadvantage of this is that you may take it too far and end up with a product that isn’t what the client was looking for and therefore you may breach the contract and end up not getting paid for your work. Another advantage is that it allows you to try out new ideas and see what will and won’t work well, you could then show these ideas to the employer and see if they like what you have produced. One more disadvantage of this could be that you end up getting to preoccupied changing the way that you are doing the project that you wind up rushing the final product or not meeting the deadline as a result of this, this could lead to a lack of payment, loss of contract and damage the reputation of your business as it may give the impression that you are not a reliable source for work.
- 15. Negotiating a Brief Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed product? When and if we choose to use photos from an image library we must ensure that we have the original photographers permission to use it. Also if we are to use a model we will have to get them to sign a model release form to say that they have allowed us to use the image of them for our own work. If there are any accidents during this project where legal action might have to be taken this could prove to be an extremely costly problem if you do not have the correct insurance to cover for instances such as this this could be either damage to equipment or people getting injured. it will also be vital that we obtain any and all release forms that we may need for any locations that we are going to be using if they require permission to photograph there. We will have to ensure that everyone sticks to the contractual obligations that has been implemented in this project i.e. amount of pay due, time allowed to complete said task etc.
- 16. Negotiating a Brief Amendments you have considered to; The Product -The design of the cards may have to be simplified in order to ensure that they are completed on time and to a good enough standard rather than ending up with 5 or 6 finished cards for example. - If we are unable to get permission to use the images from image libraries or to get a model to sign the release form we would have to re-think our strategy and come up with some other idea, maybe get a new model etc. and this will result in a loss of time. This is something that we would have to take into account because if we were to not fix these problems then the project would not be legally stable. The Budget Because we will more than likely be providing the funding for this project if we were to run out of money whilst we are still in the production process it could prove to be detrimental to the entire project and could therefore result in the needs and demands of the contract not being met. The Conditions If we were to be promised a certain rate of pay and either us or the employer wanted to change that figure due to the amount of work, resources etc. will be required it will be important to get the figure agreed upon before the contract is finally signed as if you try to change it afterwards it would be extremely difficult to extract more money from the employer if you have already signed the contract agreeing to a certain fee.
- 17. Opportunities What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore? Self Development This project allows us to be as creative as we like as we have free range over the design of the cards and can do whatever we want to them as long as it is applicable to the brief that we have been given. Learning new skills - Learn about food photography - Learn about different lighting conditions - Advance Photoshop skills further Multi-skilling There is going to be a point when we are required to do more than one job in this project as there is only two of us, this could mean that one of us may have to do the cooking, photography and drawing and the other may have to do the Photoshop work, copyrighting and set up the studio space for the photo shoot. Contributing to a brief Contributing to the brief is an important part when working on any project as it allows you to allocate different jobs to the people that are best suited for those jobs in particular. For example you might have someone who is a strong photographer or a strong copyrighter and you would give them the tasks that are best fitted to their abilities. This also allows you to share the responsibility and the work load so that it is easier to complete the task in the allocated time.