Assignment 5.1
In this assignment I will be explaining how to work towards a brief in the creative media sector. I will also comprehensively explain the requirements of working to a brief with elucidated examples. A brief is to give someone detailed instructions or information, these usually have strict rules and can be completed in some sort of a checklist manner.
A Contractual brief is quite easy to identify, this is because unlike the other briefs you will actually have to sign it. A contractual brief is descriptive, it describes in great detail what is required from you. A contractual brief is also a legal document, which is created between the employee and a client. The typical layout of a contractual brief is very easy to read, which allows the client to be able to follow the tasks without confusion. A contractual brief also outlines the duties that will be required by the company. A contractual brief is legally obligatory and what is prescribed and outlined must be followed at all costs unless the contract says otherwise.
For example, in the contractual brief I provided as an example there are 13 points and when signing this specific contract it means you agree to follow all 13 points. "I agree that it is my responsibility to know when and where rehearsals will take place by visiting VirtualCallboard or by consulting the stage manager" is the very first point which takes away any excuses of you not knowing what time or location the rehearsals are held at.
The biggest advantage of having a contractual brief would probably be that it is very detailed which usually results in no negotiating what so ever which is great for saving time. However, one of the biggest disadvantages of a contractual brief would have to be the fact that it could massively damage a reputation if the points are not met exactly word by word.
A formal brief is usually when a company is given a brief by the client which includes the details of the service that they want provided. The actual content of the brief itself is typically agreed between both parties beforehand and the details of what is wanted within the service. Sometimes a formal brief can be negotiated upon which makes it more desirable to be used. A formal brief does provide a number of advantages for both parties involved, for example, it is much easy to understand than other types of briefs which could be related to the fact a formal brief is usually written in formal language so both parties would be able to fully understand what is going on.
A formal brief can also be beneficial to both parties due to the fact it isn't complicated at all to understand, which means it's easy to form and when the contract is signed by both parties nothing from that contract can be negotiated or changed which saves time for both parties as nothing needs to be dragged out.
However, while a formal brief has many advantages there are also quite a few disadvantages. For example, a formal brief doesn't cover any trace of legal issues which can mean it's very risky for both parties to enter the contractual agreement if one party can easily infringe it's legitimacy and bring the other party huge consequences. Another disadvantage is how the contract itself can't be changed or negotiated once it's agreed, this would mean that if either party starts to feel like the contract isn't up to suit to what they want it would be impossible to change it if it is signed, this is an issue because that party would not be able to meet the requirements of the contract which is stated must be met in the contract itself.
A competition brief is a brief that is opened to the entire public, this type of brief means it allows for a large range of different people to create a product or service based on the brief for free. However, because it is a competition brief only selected winners will get a prize or reward, this is a large advantage of competition briefs as this means that overall a lot less money would be spent on a product or service and you would be able to have the privilege to pick from a variety of entries to choose from. A disadvantage of a competition brief is that anyone who isn't rewarded may feel like they have been robbed of their time and effort as they would leave empty handed.
As an example, I used the Sundance London Film and Music Festival 2012 as seen to the right. The brief includes a variety of information regarding the background of the event and the competition itself and later goes on to list the actual brief itself and the dates for when the competition itself is active and when it closes. The brief also lists how the winner will be chosen which in this case is via a judging system and even lists the criteria the judges will be looking for.
A negotiated brief is usually discussed and negotiated upon by both the client and the company. This allows both parties to put forward their own personal ideas and makes it easier to come to a conclusion which both parties are more likely to be able to agree on. Usually in a negotiated brief there will be meetings that are spent negotiating every little detail until a final brief is decided and both parties agree and then that brief will be signed by both parties before the brief is active.
A negotiated brief of course has it's advantages, one of these being that a negotiated brief usually will reduce any chance of conflicting opinions as both parties will be able to negotiate which each other until they're both satisfied that the brief reaches their demands. However, a disadvantage of a negotiated brief is that you could find it taking a large amount of time to actually negotiate a deal which would make both parties happy and this could all be time that is spent actually working with one another instead of negotiating the brief.
A commission brief is a brief that typically a large media company will use to employ more independent client who will be willing to help produce the product or the fulfill the service they need doing. After completing the task the client was asked to do they will then be paid by the larger company, typically it is advised that the client asks for the pay first but if the client is much smaller then the company then requesting such things may result in the deal falling apart and may not be worth the risk.
One of the biggest advantages of using a commission brief is that the larger company doesn't actually have to do any work which could be key if there's an issue regarding the amount of staff or if they need something being done but aren't willing to recruit someone for a full time job. Another advantage is that both parties would benefit equally, the smaller party would be paid for their work and the larger party may use the smaller party more frequently in the future if that specific commission went smoothly and was successful.
However there are some disadvantages that come with a commission brief, the biggest and most common disadvantage is that both parties may have the same goal overall but will go different ways to produce it, during the commission both parties may not keep in contact and this can lead to the client receiving work that's not to their standards and since it's already been produced depending what was included in the brief the client may have to pay up regardless of it they are happy with the commission or not.
A tender brief is when a client will try to advertise their own brief and then a larger company will come together to try and pitch an idea to the client, there is a possibility that the client could have multiple pitches from different companies so then the client would have the choice of choosing the company which not only suits their brief but also who they think they would get on with the most.
An advantage of a tender brief is that because the client may receive a variety of different offers it would mean the client can look at many different ideas that each company is prepared to bring and would enable the client to find a company who will be able to produce the product to the highest level. However, a disadvantage is that if the brief ends up being turned down by the client then the company may have wasted unnecessary time that they could have been using on a successful deal somewhere else and in that time wasted, other companies may have picked up potential clients.
An informal brief is usually a short email or text message which requests that the person can do some work for you. While a written informal brief is very common among text messages and emails an informal brief can also be verbally which a simple request such as "Hey John, can you buy that video game we were looking at yesterday? Need it within the next few hours if possible".
One advantage of an informal brief is that the communication between both parties tends to be a bit more laid back into each others comfort zone, this could help build the relationship between both parties which is a great benefit. Another advantage is that because there is more verbal communication involved, both parties will be able to gain a better understanding of what both of them are hoping to get out of the brief. However a disadvantage of an informal brief is that when it's verbally there's no written document or contract to prove anything that may have been said by either party, because of this it means that either party could go back on their word and there wouldn't be any evidence to prove otherwise. Also, if it is done verbally then any deadlines become harder since it's all based off of memory and it may not be completely clear.
A Co-operative Brief usually involves multiple different companies that may have been hired by the client to work on the brief that they have written up. Once all of the companies involved receive the brief they can then start planning to work together to be able to complete the task the brief has set them. If any sort of disagreement occurs then you can resort to using a negotiated brief which should help solve those issues.
An Advantage of a co-operative brief is that it enables more perspectives to the actual creation of the product that is requested by the client, this means that more of the brief could be understood and completed faster instead of if there was only one company working on it. However, a disadvantage of a co-operative brief is that it's more likely to be prone to disagreements and any conflict in the ideas from the companies that have been employed by the client.
Overall, a brief will always have a list of instructions to follow no matter what. However, among each brief there will always be differences and some briefs will be more useful for certain situations then others.
 |
| Example of an Contractual brief |
For example, in the contractual brief I provided as an example there are 13 points and when signing this specific contract it means you agree to follow all 13 points. "I agree that it is my responsibility to know when and where rehearsals will take place by visiting VirtualCallboard or by consulting the stage manager" is the very first point which takes away any excuses of you not knowing what time or location the rehearsals are held at.
The biggest advantage of having a contractual brief would probably be that it is very detailed which usually results in no negotiating what so ever which is great for saving time. However, one of the biggest disadvantages of a contractual brief would have to be the fact that it could massively damage a reputation if the points are not met exactly word by word.
 |
| Example of an Formal brief |
A formal brief can also be beneficial to both parties due to the fact it isn't complicated at all to understand, which means it's easy to form and when the contract is signed by both parties nothing from that contract can be negotiated or changed which saves time for both parties as nothing needs to be dragged out.
However, while a formal brief has many advantages there are also quite a few disadvantages. For example, a formal brief doesn't cover any trace of legal issues which can mean it's very risky for both parties to enter the contractual agreement if one party can easily infringe it's legitimacy and bring the other party huge consequences. Another disadvantage is how the contract itself can't be changed or negotiated once it's agreed, this would mean that if either party starts to feel like the contract isn't up to suit to what they want it would be impossible to change it if it is signed, this is an issue because that party would not be able to meet the requirements of the contract which is stated must be met in the contract itself.
 |
| An example of a Competition brief |
A competition brief is a brief that is opened to the entire public, this type of brief means it allows for a large range of different people to create a product or service based on the brief for free. However, because it is a competition brief only selected winners will get a prize or reward, this is a large advantage of competition briefs as this means that overall a lot less money would be spent on a product or service and you would be able to have the privilege to pick from a variety of entries to choose from. A disadvantage of a competition brief is that anyone who isn't rewarded may feel like they have been robbed of their time and effort as they would leave empty handed.
As an example, I used the Sundance London Film and Music Festival 2012 as seen to the right. The brief includes a variety of information regarding the background of the event and the competition itself and later goes on to list the actual brief itself and the dates for when the competition itself is active and when it closes. The brief also lists how the winner will be chosen which in this case is via a judging system and even lists the criteria the judges will be looking for.
 |
| An Example of a Negotiated brief |
A negotiated brief of course has it's advantages, one of these being that a negotiated brief usually will reduce any chance of conflicting opinions as both parties will be able to negotiate which each other until they're both satisfied that the brief reaches their demands. However, a disadvantage of a negotiated brief is that you could find it taking a large amount of time to actually negotiate a deal which would make both parties happy and this could all be time that is spent actually working with one another instead of negotiating the brief.
One of the biggest advantages of using a commission brief is that the larger company doesn't actually have to do any work which could be key if there's an issue regarding the amount of staff or if they need something being done but aren't willing to recruit someone for a full time job. Another advantage is that both parties would benefit equally, the smaller party would be paid for their work and the larger party may use the smaller party more frequently in the future if that specific commission went smoothly and was successful.
However there are some disadvantages that come with a commission brief, the biggest and most common disadvantage is that both parties may have the same goal overall but will go different ways to produce it, during the commission both parties may not keep in contact and this can lead to the client receiving work that's not to their standards and since it's already been produced depending what was included in the brief the client may have to pay up regardless of it they are happy with the commission or not.
 |
| An example of a tender brief. |
An advantage of a tender brief is that because the client may receive a variety of different offers it would mean the client can look at many different ideas that each company is prepared to bring and would enable the client to find a company who will be able to produce the product to the highest level. However, a disadvantage is that if the brief ends up being turned down by the client then the company may have wasted unnecessary time that they could have been using on a successful deal somewhere else and in that time wasted, other companies may have picked up potential clients.
An informal brief is usually a short email or text message which requests that the person can do some work for you. While a written informal brief is very common among text messages and emails an informal brief can also be verbally which a simple request such as "Hey John, can you buy that video game we were looking at yesterday? Need it within the next few hours if possible".
 |
| An Example of an Informal brief |
A Co-operative Brief usually involves multiple different companies that may have been hired by the client to work on the brief that they have written up. Once all of the companies involved receive the brief they can then start planning to work together to be able to complete the task the brief has set them. If any sort of disagreement occurs then you can resort to using a negotiated brief which should help solve those issues.
An Advantage of a co-operative brief is that it enables more perspectives to the actual creation of the product that is requested by the client, this means that more of the brief could be understood and completed faster instead of if there was only one company working on it. However, a disadvantage of a co-operative brief is that it's more likely to be prone to disagreements and any conflict in the ideas from the companies that have been employed by the client.Overall, a brief will always have a list of instructions to follow no matter what. However, among each brief there will always be differences and some briefs will be more useful for certain situations then others.
References
Bonely, V. (2015). https://prezi.com/p7qr3kj8o4ph/contractual-brief/
Cameron, G. (2016) https://camerongregorymedia.wordpress.com
Sam, T. (2016) https://padlet.com/sam_taylor369/negotiated
Jamal, V. (2013) http://jamalcwc.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/working-to-brief_14.html
Sharon, P. (2012) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/competitive-contract-36607.html
Samantha, K. (2011) https://www.website-contracts.co.uk/commission-contracts.html
Pete, Z. (2013) https://www.contractology.com/commission-agreement.html
Rebecca, C. (2017) https://prezi.com/m9qn6-cjmur2/copy-of-unit-5-working-to-a-brief-in-the/
Sharon, P. (2012) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/competitive-contract-36607.html
Samantha, K. (2011) https://www.website-contracts.co.uk/commission-contracts.html
Pete, Z. (2013) https://www.contractology.com/commission-agreement.html
Rebecca, C. (2017) https://prezi.com/m9qn6-cjmur2/copy-of-unit-5-working-to-a-brief-in-the/
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