Working to a brief
- 1. Working to a Brief LO1 Contractual Brief A contractual brief is where a media company sings an agreement to complete a specific task within a specific time period for a set fee. The agreement is like a promise in which the promise is to do something in return for a valuable benefit. Once the contract is signed you have to therefore stick to your promise and get the job that is asked to be done on time as you have signed for something you have promised to deliver. Advantages The advantages of having a contractual agreement is that it is declared that you have promised to do something in return of a fee which is promised to be granted once the job has been completed. Another advantage is that, you do not have to sign the contract if you do not agree with something or if you don’t understand making sure that you read the contract properly will benefit you to not have any problems. If the person who has agreed to job and unsuccessfully doesn’t deliver than they can be sued and legal action can be taken as they have broke the promise and have abused the contract by not sticking to the agreement, this makes sure that you get back whatever you have not received. Disadvantages The disadvantage of a contractual is that it may not be changed further down the line if something do not go to plan for you to alter or renegotiate the contract so when signing you have to make sure you stick with what needed from you and that you read the contract carefully so you do not sign to anything you will not be able to commit. Formal Brief A formal brief is where a client provides a media company with a brief simply clarifies the product they want to be made. The brief only states the necessary information needed to complete the Lusi Ndoja & Hannah Richards
- 2. project. Another thing that needs to be negotiated will be discussed with the client. Just like the contractual agreement both sides of the parties will formally agree on the project but however a formal brief is not always legally binding as a contractual agreement is. Advantages The advantages of a formal brief is that, it is more relaxed and not as strict as you have a friendly discussion with your client about what will be agreed in the contract. Another advantage is that the brief is not always legally binding so you can be more flexible with your project as you have not promised anything legally and further down the line things can be altered. Informal Brief An informal brief is more like a verbal agreement. There is no written contract at all or any agreement between both parties. As the brief is informal there may not be a completion date therefore you can make your own agreements with yourself and organise what you will need to do for the project. Advantages The advantages are that you can work as long as you like on the project, as there is no specific date of when the work needs to be in. Another reason is that, it can be created in a relaxed environment and it I more friendly then strict as it can be discussed quicker. Disadvantages The disadvantages are that, an informal brief can be seen as unprofessional as there is no contract and is an oral brief which down the line can get lost and can cause problems. Another disadvantage is that, there is no clear record of what has been agreed so it can be backed up if anything goes wrong and go back to see as there is no evidence. Co-Operative Brief A co-operative brief is where two of more media companies are hired to work together on a specific brief. In order for this to work
- 3. the two companies have to work as a team to complete the project. If however the two companies disagree on something then a negotiated brief will have to be submitted to appease both parties. Advantages The advantages of having a co-operative brief is that you are part as a team so there is more than one working on the project together which takes some of the weight of with the work load and everyone is contributing. Another advantage is that, as there is more people working on a project there are more ideas combined making it more interesting. Disadvantages The disadvantages are that there might be disagreements within the team and might cause problems leaving the project to be left behind. Another disadvantage is that, if there is any sort of disagreement then everything will have to be negotiated which can cause hassle. Negotiated Brief An negotiated brief is where two media companies are working together and are having conflicting ides in the project and they have to negotiate the brief. This means with the discussion the brief will have to be changed to appease all parties including the client. This could involve changing the project completely but also taking into consideration the project is in the boundaries of the legal and ethnical obligation. Both parties have to agree on the brief in order to continue on with the project. Advantages The advantages of having a negotiated brief is that everything can be discussed and said so it clear to both parties on with what they need to do exactly and compromise. Another advantage is that, everyone has be happy with what is needed and have to work as a team so there is more than one opinion. Disadvantages The disadvantages are that both parties could have a disagreement to what’s been agreed and this can make the client refuse their work and employ other media companies who are willing to work as a team and can all agree on the brief that has been set.
- 4. Commission Brief A commission brief is where a large media company hires a small independent company to do their work for them. The brief is negotiated with both companies but this means the client will not be involved in the agreement. This then can be made to be used for the large media company for an external client. The independent company will be paid for making the product they have been asked to do by the large company every part of the product sold the will get a share of the profit. Advantages The advantages are that, the brief is discussed between the two media companies and therefore a client is not part of the brief as its one company is asking another company for a project they can do for them. Disadvantages A disadvantage is that, the larger company may take advantage of the small company and giving them an unfair amount of share for the product they have made for the large company. Tender Brief A tender brief is where a client publishes that they need a media product to be made. This leads that the production company to then create a brief for the media product, proposal and a budget so this can then be pitched to the client. Several production companies may enter a brief to the client to secure their product they want to pitch. The client then comes to a decision in which is the best brief that fits in with what they have asked for and offers the project to the production company. Advantages An advantage is that, more than one production company can enter to make sure that their brief is secured giving them a good chance for their project to be submitted and for the project to be offered to them. Disadvantages The disadvantage is that, the production company who have carefully planned out the brief and gathering together a budget can be a complete waste of time as the project might not be handed to them as it is not guaranteed.
- 5. Competition Brief A competition brief is available to all participating production companies. Each of the production companies will each have to complete the brief. All the briefs are then judged and the best one will be awarded the project or has the project published. Advantages The advantages is that, the client will only pay the production company who the project has been awarded too. Another advantage is that, the entry is free for all production companies. Disadvantages A disadvantage are that, like the tender brief a production company could have wasted their ideas as there is no guarantee they could win as the project could be offered to any production company. My Brief The brief for our product that we have decided to use is a formal brief as everything will be handed in a professional manner and any additional information will be discussed and negotiated. Both parties will have a formal agreement of the project and anything that is changed or doesn’t go according to plan it can the later be negotiated again. The advantage of having a formal brief is that the maker can be flexible with their time so that the outcome of the project will be perfect and care has gone into it. Also after the discussion we can be creative with the brief and gather lots of ideas together to make the project of high standards. Reading the Brief It is very important to thoroughly read your brief as you have to be exactly sure of what you are doing and what it is been asked from you. It is also good to read the brief again and go over the main parts you don’t understand and can be explained to you after. By understanding the brief in more depth you will have the sense of what its like to be a vegetarian and putting yourself in their position so you understand more in what is been asked. By researching in vegetarian recipe cards you will also have to have an idea of how you will come to create your project and what you will include such as the styling of cards, location and what types of materials you
- 6. will be using. Also by reading the brief you can understand what is not asked from you and make sure you take in all the major points of the brief, for example you could be making a recipe cards and involving meat products which vegetarians cannot eat, so its important to thoroughly read the brief so you don’t misunderstand. Reading the Brief What is the nature and demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief? By thoroughly reading the brief and making sure you understand of what is asked it will also allows you to see the nature and demands of the brief. In the brief we have been asked to creates 8 vegetarian recipe cards, this allows me and my team member to think about how we are going to create the recipe cards whether we will take our own photographs of the food presented or whether we want to use images of food that is already out there but we will select the ones that are appropriate for the brief and are of high quality standards. The demands of the brief allows to think about the timing such as how long it will take, by reading the brief it is stated that we have 10 weeks to prepare the project as we have been given a strict deadline. This also allows us to think about who will be doing what as we are working part of the team and to even the work out between us so it is fair and equal. Taking into consideration that the work we produce is original and our own work taking into account that if theses rules are not followed it can be an issue with copy right which therefore will makes the work stolen and illegal. Negotiating a Brief It is important to discuss your brief with your client before production because you can go over areas you do not understand and the client can therefore explain to you so you fully understand. Another reason is that you can tell your client what you agree with in the brief and what you disagree as both parties are aware what will be done and therefore it will be recorded down on the brief. Depending on what kind of contract you have agreed to this will be discussed with the client when negotiating the brief for the project. How you will be paid, how long the project will take and how much you will be funding or who will be funding your project all these key points will be thoroughly discussed between other sides and come
- 7. to a final conclusion therefore the client and the maker are both happy. Negotiating a Brief What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief? The advantages of the brief are that you can be as creative as you wish but keeping in mind you have to understand the dos and don’ts of the brief. For example we can use models in our project and photograph the food being made or presented. Another advantage is that since as the project is aimed at vegetarian’s and the food can only be aimed for that specific audience there are many ingredients that you can replace to make it look like its meat for those who miss the simplest things such as bacon, nowadays there are mimics such as quorn and tofu that could be added to the food which looks like meat but however it is not actually meat this is an advantage because we can add these sort of ingredients fitting in the brief. The disadvantage is however we have to avoid the foods that are meat and only focus on vegetarian meals. Such as different themes and cultures of food will have to be dismissed as it will not follow the brief for example choosing to do an Indian cuisine theme recipe cards this will have to be avoided as most of the dishes have meat products which will make the discussion difficult. Negotiating a Brief Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed product? In every project you do you always have to think of the legal and ethical view points. You have to make sure that you work is not an issue with copy right all the work has to be original and not stolen by someone else whether it is from the internet. Also taking into account that your work is not offensive or discriminates against someone's age, sex, race or ethnical background it has to be suited for everyone and it needs to be fair and safe. Looking into the regulatory bodies regarding the brief such as contacting unions, the governmental regulations and health and safety. All these things have to be considered so you project is successful but also fits in with the privacy law
- 8. Negotiating a Brief Amendments you have considered to; The Product In the product you have to consider the copy right issues making sure you work is all original and your own ideas making it unique. In the brief it says to create recipe cards but you can add your own interpretation and create a booklet instead of cards. The Budget Making sure you have a good budget plan well planned is always key and giving yourself enough money to fund your project as it wont always go to plan as you way go over the budget and have to downscale your spending. Making sure you have a backup plan incase this doesn’t go to plan can be key and can save time. Opportunities What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore? Self Development Self development will also be like a new skill as the work being produced is part of a team it will help you explore what you are like as a person working with another member and making sure anything that needs to be negotiated is discussed so there is no issue during the project. Taking into account what your weaknesses are discussed as the other member will find that as a strength. Having good communication skills with the team will lead to a successful outcome or can be development during the process. Learning new skills In this brief learning new skills can be a great advantage as you will be exploring different areas outside your comfort zone for example as a non-vegetarian learning about vegetarians in depth can be a great outcome as we will have experienced a part of their lifestyle. Multi-skilling As the project will be involving team work making sure the work is evened out equally and staying on top of the timing is key, as we
- 9. have to balance the work load so we can work quicker but also not getting behind as it can affect the project as a whole. Contributing to a brief As working part of a team contributing ideas will allow you to explore someone else's view and creative ideas for the project making it more interesting and exciting. Making sure that not just one person does all the thinking is key as 2 minds are greater than 1, all ideas should be discussed with each other and negotiate what will work.
- 10. have to balance the work load so we can work quicker but also not getting behind as it can affect the project as a whole. Contributing to a brief As working part of a team contributing ideas will allow you to explore someone else's view and creative ideas for the project making it more interesting and exciting. Making sure that not just one person does all the thinking is key as 2 minds are greater than 1, all ideas should be discussed with each other and negotiate what will work.