How to write a brief for a photo and video shoot

A good brief isn't a creative constraint but a way of avoiding expensive mistakes on set, at the point where re-shooting something at the last minute is impossible or costs twice as much. It fixes the goal and the boundaries, leaving room for creative freedom where it genuinely matters.

Context and goal

• What exactly is being promoted and why the shoot is needed now.

• Who the audience is and what action is expected of them.

• Which platforms the material will be published on.

• The one thing the viewer should take away — a fact, an emotion or a proof point.

• What explicitly cannot be shown or claimed.

Technical parameters

For each placement — Reels, Stories, the website, outdoor advertising — set the frame orientation, duration, resolution and the safe areas where the platform's own interface text won't cover anything important. Establish separately whether a version without text is needed for later localisation, and bear in mind that vertical format requires its own framing rather than a crop of finished horizontal footage.

Script and message

It helps to state one main point in plain words rather than a list of ten messages at once. Break the script into scenes with lines and graphics, mark which shots need sign-off before the edit, and prepare fallback scenes in case of weather or availability problems.

The shot list

• Wide shots with clear landmarks establishing the location.

• Mid shots with people interacting and work in progress.

• Close-ups of the product, hands, interface, details.

• Clean backgrounds and transition shots for the edit.

• Cover frames and vertical versions of the key shots.

Rights and permissions

Agree in advance on access to the location, releases for everyone on camera, music, fonts, stock material and graphics, plus the territory and duration of use for the finished material. Children and members of the public appearing on camera need separate explicit consent.

Accessibility and acceptance

Subtitles for dialogue and important sounds, not conveying meaning through colour alone, a transcript for long material, and versions prepared in the required languages are part of doing the job properly, not optional extras. For acceptance, agree the technical file requirements in advance (codec, frame rate, colour profile), test the material on the target devices, approve the rough cut on structure rather than colour grade, and fix the number of revision rounds and who makes the final call.

If you need help preparing a brief for a specific shoot for a website or campaign, we can put it together with you so the result matches expectations first time.