1. Working to a Brief LO1 Emily and Hayley

2. Contractual Brief Definition A contractual brief is when an agreement is signed by a media company in agreement that they will complete a specific task on a deadline and time period, this is a very secure contract and can be seen as a safer contract than others. There can be legal troubles caused by this contract however as if the contract is breached by either the media company or the client not doing what was agreed they are at risk of facing legal action as a result. This type of contract makes it essential that the contract is read thoroughly and checked through by both the client and company to ensure that everything is agreed by both sides. This is definitely a safer option regarding contracts as it becomes very official and it is hard for either side to back out of the contract without being at risk of legal troubles. Due to this being a safe option it is very common and is chosen by many major companies. Advantages Using a contractual brief is a safer way to sign agreements as it is all on deadlines and signed by both sides. The media company is put under deadlines which can speed up the process of production. The contract may seem more official as the agreement is all documented, meaning if anything is breached by either side they face legal issues. Disadvantages If the contract isnt read in full detail things can go wrong and the project can be ruined as both sides are no longer in agreement of the project. This is very structured as deadlines are put in place, this can mean that people can miss deadlines and can be put at risk of legal issues. Legal action is more likely to occur using this brief as there are lots of rules and if these are breached or if there is a disagreement in ideas it can create legal problems which delays and sometimes stops the project from continuing. 3. Formal Brief Definition A formal brief outlines the information about the product the client is wanting to be made. The brief will only provide enough information that is needed to complete the product and if there is any other information to do with the brief, it has to be discussed during negotiations with the client. The parties involved will formally agree on the project but its not always a legally documented. It outlines the goals that they want to achieve within the project and doesnt contain unnecessary information as it gets straight to the point. It may change during the process due to other requirements but its a very relaxed brief, more than other briefs. Advantages This type of brief is very relaxed and it has been made so it comes across relaxed and it also is made easy to read. This allows the contracted party to create the product more easily and quickly because they can understand it better. The contracted party is more open to add their ideas and explain their issues when looking at the brief and this makes it more creative for the contracted party and then they can negotiate when necessary. Disadvantages The disadvantages of this type of brief is that because its not legally documented, it can create problems such as financial issues within the project or even breech of contract. But the contracted party may also not create the product to a certain standard as there is limited information for them. 4. Informal Brief Definition This is a very casual and relaxed method of briefing as this is in most cases a verbal agreement, meaning they have decided on all things in conversation and dont actually have any factual documentation involved which can potentially cause disagreements. This is very different from some other briefs as there is no timings and deadlines for this as this is another thing this brief is casual towards and they have a vague outline of timings in their head from their previous verbal agreement. This is such an informal agreement which sets it apart from others and makes it something that many people like to do as it avoids involving the law as there is much less chance of having legal troubles like other briefs. As there is no completion date set this can take up lots of time and delay the project getting finished as they never actually agree on a formal setting of the date. This does make the process very risky as they dont have a written contract, meaning that they can have much more disagreements as they could have different ideas of their final product in mind. Advantages Very causal which means there is much less chance of legal troubles. No deadlines means the project is much more relaxed and the product could end up much better than if it was rushed. No contract means there is much less rules and guidelines to follow and it can mean the product can benefit from this as they are more free to explore different ideas instead of having set instructions in place that have to be followed. Disadvantages Only verbal agreement, meaning they may have different ideas and this can cause disagreements as a result. If there are disagreements they have less chance of getting sorted by the law as there is no written agreement made. No completion date set means that the project could go on for much longer than expected. 5. Co-Operative Brief Definition This brief is where two or even more companies will be hired for the project and will work together to complete the project. They are shared by the producers of the project and each producer will be in charge of a different section within the project. There would be a negotiated brief to resolve disagreement in ideas between everyone. You work together and complete the brief and therefore they are cooperating and they all discuss the brief and deliver their own thoughts and opinions in order to put them all into the brief. Advantages The advantages of this type of brief is that there can be more ideas put into the brief and more views on how to create the product and if there is an issue with someone not understanding the brief, there are more people to work with to help view their perspective of it. They can deliver their own thoughts to create a brief that fits the clients needs. Disadvantages The disadvantage of this type of brief is that if there is a disagreement within someone's ideas, this can cause conflict and arguments over different ideas. This makes it unprofessional and more stressful in getting a clear idea between the different media companies that have been employed. It makes the working environment stressful as well and creates tension between the companies so there has to be a negotiated brief which causes time being wasted instead of the product being made. Its not as controlling as the other briefs as it will cause conflict having more people working on the brief with a variety of different ideas. 6. Negotiated Brief Definition Negotiating the brief means that if anything went wrong or if anything was disagreed by the media company or client regarding the project they then have to have a meeting and organize and negotiate the things they have disagreed on until they compromise and have a final idea in mind. This method of briefing means that the project may be changed several times in order to suit both client and company, this means the product can be completely different than what was first planned in planning. However, if the product is changed several times in order to appease both parties, they have to still ensure that it still fits in with the legal requirements and doesnt over step legal/ethical boundaries otherwise this can cause trouble for the project. This kind of brief is all about compromising and negotiating as the product can change several times in order to come to a final decision. This can make it slightly risky as someone's initial idea for the product could be completely changed for the final look of the product meaning disagreements can occur. Advantages There are boundaries and some guidelines to stick to, in order to ensure that all requirements are met and they dont breach laws. Change in ideas can be really positive for the final result of the product as it can end up being better than first expected. Compromise is essential for this brief which ensures that both the client and company are really happy with the end result. Disadvantages The end result could be very negative and cause disagreements as all the compromise and negotiating can completely change the product. Negotiating brings the risk of crossing legal and ethical boundaries as they can change ideas so frequently. Lots of disagreements involved due to conflicting ideas about the final product. 7. Commission Brief Definition A commission brief is when a larger company wants independent media companies to create them a product. For example if the BBC wants a program for their schedule, they will employ independent production companies to create this for them. The brief is negotiated between the two media companies instead of an external client and then the product thats been made can be used by a larger media company thats for an external client and they will pay the independent company for making the product and they can get a cut of the royalties as well. Advantages The advantages of this type of brief is that the larger companies dont do most of the work that is harder to do and leave it to the independent companies. They can send the work that is in the brief to other companies and then the companies will both receive money for the work they have put in to the final product, this is when they sub-contact the work. Disadvantages The disadvantage of this type of brief is that it leaves all the work down to the independent companies and this can make it very stressful and as there is two different companies working on the product it can cause conflict and issues being raised and there is no negotiated brief with it and this means that the end product might not be to the clients wishes. 8. Tender Brief Definition This is when the client is in need of a media product and their way to move it in to production is through publishing this idea that they need this product to be made. If a production company likes the concept and is interested in creating this they can then create a proposal for the client, a budget is set and it is pitched to the client. The client may have to sit through many different proposals from the production companies, they will then have to choose which they have found most suitable and fitting for their media product and then have to inform the company of this. Once the client has offered this project to the media company, the company are free to accept or decline this, if accepted the production process can continue. This method can be very useful as it allows clients to explore lots of different ideas from the pitches they receive from all the production companies, this means they have options and it isnt so limited. Advantages The client gets to receive lots of different pitches from the companies, meaning they have many more ideas. This isnt as structured and allows a longer time frame to search for the right idea from the production companies. The clients idea stays in tact and isnt changed too much by the production company as they only have to make it, unlike other briefing methods such as negotiated as there is much more compromising. Disadvantages Production companies loose out as some of them are declined by the client. Possible negative changes could be made by the different companies. This process can take a long time as they may find it hard to find a production company that they want to work with. 9. Competition Brief Definition A competition brief is where a range of different companies complete a brief that is set and available to all participating production companies. The projects are then all judged and the winning brief is awarded the project and gets it published. They can be seen as free competitions which judge companies on their final products and this is judged by the client who sets the brief. Then the client has to pay the company that wins or sometimes doesnt have to at all. The brief can only be accessed by the different companies that are participating. Advantages The advantages of this type of brief is that it is a very cheap process for the client as they will only need to pay for the winning company and in some cases they dont need to pay anything at all. Also by having a wider range of companies making the product, it gives the client the freedom to chose the best one that fits the clients brief best and they can chose the one that they feel will be more successful than the rest. Disadvantages The disadvantages of this type of brief is that the other companies who dont succeed will be missing good opportunities for work and money and this could effect them mentally as well. It will mean them searching for other work elsewhere. 10. My Brief Which type of brief is being used in the recipe card project? Explain your response. The brief we have been given is most like a formal brief, this is due to it being all written down and fully explained of what they want from the media production company, however they leave some leniency as they dont give strict guidelines to follow and only ask certain rules are followed as it is vegetarian food and that we stick within the legal and ethical laws that there are. The brief we were given gave some guidelines that we should try and stick to such as, using FSC approved 100% recycled paper, as this is something they commonly use in their work. They have also said to try and push for vegan approved recipes also if possible as this would be better than just vegetarian. This shows it is a formal style brief as they havent specified everything and havent given strict rules, however they have given guidelines that you could use to improve your final product as formal briefings only give the necessary information to help the company create the product. The brief we received has been formally agreed, yet it isnt legally binding like the other brief styles such as contractual as with this brief a contact is signed and agreed on and if breached you can face legal problems. The style of brief we have been given is very clear and simple to follow as the nature of the brief is easy to understand and we have found that this is a nice way to brief when producing a media product. The demands of the brief we were given are fairly straightforward as we have been given a vague outline of what text to include on the recipe cards, such as, Serves 4, Preparation time 10 minutes, Cooking time 15 minutes, Can be vegan. These kind of outlines help when designing the actual cards as we now the kind of information that should be included due to the brief. The demand of the time limit wasnt included in the actual brief as this has been given by college and our deadline from college has been the only one set, we also havent been given a number of people that they would like working on the project which means it could be however many people. As there is only two of us going to be producing this media product we are going to be sharing out each of the tasks and ensuring that we both agree on all of the ideas and the final idea. Working in a pair has its advantages as this means that there is only two of us that can bounce ideas off each other instead of a large group that may not agree at all with each other. 11. Reading the Brief Why is important to thoroughly read your brief? Its important to read a brief because it is important that we know what is being asked in the brief and what the main points are wanting to be met from the project. The brief is there so we can follow it and see what they want and what they dont want to be included within the project and final product and it also gives key elements that we have to consider in the project. So to understand all of these aspects within the brief, we need to make sure we constantly refer back to the brief and make sure that we keep following their instructions given. By following the brief and reading It properly, it allows us to see what the demand and the nature of the brief is. The nature of a brief is about the expectations of the final product and includes exactly what were being asked to do in the brief and if we dont read the brief properly we wont understand what the client is asking us to do and we could get the whole final product wrong and not to their standard because we didnt read it properly. The demand of a brief is the little specific things the client wants for the production of the brief. This includes the deadline of when the client wants the product completed by and it can also be all the staff she wants hiring and the size of the production team. The brief that we received from our client hasnt given us specific people that we need for our production team and we have received a deadline from college so we are working to finish the final product by the deadline from college. If we didnt read the brief then we wouldnt know how big of a team we need to help with the project and we also wouldnt know when our deadline is which is important so we dont leave the client waiting and annoyed that we havent finished it on time. 12. Reading the Brief What is the nature of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief? The nature and purpose of this brief is all about creating recipe cards that are suitable for vegetarians, there are rough guidelines that we are given to stick to whilst creating the cards that can help us to match the bief more accurately. Some of the guidelines include things such as using recycled paper and even having the option of using a vegan recipe to open it up to a wider audience. The key feature of this brief is that the recipes have to be suitable for vegetarians and this is the whole basis of this brief, this is something that when creating the recipe/searching for the recipe we will have to check and ensure that the recipe fits the requirements. We can check the recipe by looking at the vegetarian society's will tell us what we can induce and is best to be left out as there are certain things that vegans cannot eat even if vegetarians can, so thi will definitely help us and ensure that our recipes are appropriate for the tas we have been set. We have also been given an outline of information we could possibly include as this could help the design and improve the quality of the recipe cards so it includes timings, temperatures and ingredients which is essential information that would have to be included in the recipe cards. The nature of the brief we have been given is quite straight forward and gives clear instructions of what is expected from us, which makes it much simpler when we have to design the cards. What is the demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief? The brief we have been given does not include too many harsh demands an is very clear when explaining what they want, but still leaves the creative side to the client, the demands given aren't too strict are simple and easy to do, these demands include things such as using recycled paper for the cards, and using clear instructions, and also possibly using recipes that are suitable for vegans also as this helps to open the range of potential audience up to more people. Although the demands given arent too specific an there aren't many given, this helps us to design the cards to a higher standard to ensure that they are exactly what the client wants. We will check that the recipes are checked on the vegetarian society website by checking all the ingredients, to ensure that the food is safe to eat by vegetarians, this makes the cards at a higher standard as they are much more accurate for the brief. 13. Negotiating a Brief Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production? It is important that we go through the brief with the client before we go into production and start designing the product. It is an important part of negotiating the brief because this gives us the chance to discuss any problems that we have with it and offer our suggestions that we think would work for the final product. We need to make sure we defiantly discuss any issues we have before we decide to voluntary add our ideas to the final product without having the ideas green lighted by the client. This is because when the client green lights the ideas we have, it means we can go ahead with the ideas we have come up with. If we just voluntarily go ahead with the ideas we have thought of without letting the client know or without having discussed it with them, it means we might not get paid for the product because the final product would not match the brief they have given us because we have gone ahead and changed part of the brief without their consent. We will have to make sure that we raise any concerns that we have from reading the brief when we meet up with the client because then if we change it they will not accept any changes made that we have done. For example, in our brief the client has mentioned about having a clear theme throughout the cards and it could be a certain ingredient or it could be a country that has a series of vegetarian foods. If we wanted to change that idea and bring up some new ideas to do with having a theme throughout the cards we can discuss it when we meet up with the client and then we can discuss any other of the ideas we have and see if we can come to an agreement and then at least we wont be going against their ideas and we will still get paid for the product and not going against their brief without them knowing. 14. Negotiating a Brief What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief? Occasionally when given a brief, if it hasnt been very specific and given clear instructions of what they are wanting and expecting from their designer or production team, then the concept and idea can get mis read and the client can be left disappointed by what they are given by production as they use their own interpretation of the brief and design it using their own discretion and design it in a way they feel is best suited to the products. The advantages of using discretion with a brief would be that it allows you to use your own initiative and design the product how you feel is best, allowing you to use your creative ideas and design the product in a way that shows that creativity. This also allows you to take your own interpretation of the brief you have been given and design it in a style that you think the client is going to prefer. Using your own interpretation can mean your ideas are really individual as you can take it in very positive way and the client could possibly really like this cncet you have designed and like it more than the idea they had originally planned in their heads. However there are some disadvantages to employing discretion with a brief as you could potentially interpret a brief in a completely different way to what the client had planned for and wanted from you, meaning they may not actually like your concept and idea for their product. Employing discretion with a brief can work well or ruin the product and can result in the client not wanting to use them as their production team if the brief has been completely misjudged and they dont like their idea. 15. Negotiating a Brief Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the Vegetarian Society briefs proposed product? Before we start our recipe cards, we need to make sure we stick to certain ethical, legal and regulatory rights while making the cards so that we avoid any issues and concerns from people and so we dont offend people. The legal issues that can be raised during this project is that we need to make sure if we get a recipe off the internet and its copyrighted, we need to make sure we ask the permission from the person who has the copyright if we can use their recipe because if we dont ask copyright and just take the recipe then we will be in the wrong and breaking the law. Also this works if we take any stock images from the internet then we need to ask permission to use them as it may come with a slight cost or some people wouldnt want them to be used for commercial use. But for our project we will be taking our own images but we need to still consider this if we do take images from the internet as it will be breech of copyright. The ethical issues are that we need to make sure we are not offensive with any material or products we use in the project and make sure we use products and materials that others deemed to be right. We also need to make sure that we dont include meat as we are making vegetarian recipes for a vegetarian company so using meat would go against their rights and this would offend some people and be a serious ethical issue towards people. We also need to make sure that the ingredients and the products used during this project is suitable towards others. The regulatory issues that we need to consider is making sure we keep things the same during the project. So this does link to the meat issue and as its a vegetarian dish we cant put meat in it as we need to keep it the same. Keeping the theme the same throughout the projects and the designs that we use instead of changing ideas throughout is a priority we need to consider too. 16. Opportunities What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore? Be specific with your responses. This brief is quite different to others you have come across and offers lots of new experiences. Check the unit overview to help you with this. Self Development We will be able to look at different parts of the project that we might not be as confident on and we can build it up by working on the are to improve and by using each other to build our own self development. We might gain skills that are essential in this project and this will also gain our self confidence. Learning new skills As this is a new topic to us, we will be learning new things as we go along. We could learn how to use different equipment and different skills from each other to complete the brief. We will have to learn how to stick to the clients needs and we may learn different techniques. For example when we are designing the recipe cards we will have to use different ways on making them. Multi-skilling There is only two of us in our team and we wont be using a big production team. This means that we will have to adapt different roles within this project and use different skills we have gained in different areas to help get the project done. For example, we will have to combine photography skills, graphic design skills and our writing skills to bring the product together and meet the deadline. Contributing to a brief We will have to add our own ideas to complete the brief. We will have to create different ways of expressing our ideas. For example mind maps and mood boards and different ways of expressing our ideas. But we need to do this without going off topic from the brief and make sure it states what the client wants. 17. Negotiating a Brief Amendments you have considered to; The Product The actual product doesnt come with too many demands that we have to include and the ones we have been given can help us with our design and also help to improve the quality of the cards. However something that may need to be amended is the fact of the recipes being suitable for vegans as this makes it much harder to find a recipe that suitable for both. We may also have to think about copyright laws as this could potentially be problem as we arent creating our own recipe meaning that we have to take someone elses which can breach copyright laws if they are in place, however this can be sorted by checking with the owner of the recipe. The Budget In many cases the budget has to be amended to enable the production team to continue to design and make the products as it could be that the cost is too high for the price they have available to them, meaning they have to re design and cut things out to lower the cost of production. With the brief we have bengven it doesnt appear that the budget will be high as we are doing everything ourselves meaning we don't have to pay for a full production team which can take up a lot of the budget. The Conditions This is basically all about the price the production team are being paid for their work, this can sometimes have to be amended and negotiated as the brief could be expecting a lot from production and not be paying enough for it, or it could be the opposite and they are paying too much if the brief isnt asking for a lot and the production team dont actually have to do that much for them.