Working to a brief

A brief is a set list of instructions for someone who is interested in the task/job at hand, this means they have to look at the brief and respond in a way which is appropriate. The brief we were given, was to create a professional video and to ensure that they follow all criteria (target audience, created FOR the product). Commission means you pass the responsibility for something onto someone else. In the media industry, one of the biggest commissioning broadcasters in the UK is Channel 4. (Hence E-Sting). When talking about the media industry, 'tender' is basically when a company offers you a fixed price for you to complete the brief they have set for you. You could respond to a brief in various ways including, interpreting the instructions and creating what is requested in the first place.

When given a brief, you have to be prepared to meet required deadlines and regulations. The E4 Esting brief is an excellent example of this as they are commissioning people to make estings. When we were given the brief, we had to respond to it in a way that would allow us to be creative but follow the regulations and the criteria that were stated in it. This is a good example of showing deadlines and following criteria because if they are not followed, you may get disqualified. When I got given the brief, I felt that there was a lot of room to be creative with it. I could pick our own idea, choice of music, style of the ident, background etc; I could explore a bit more in detail and give an impressionistic view on things. It was a very nice brief to work to, you just needed common sense. (Make sure the target audience was correct, not allowed to go over the time limit etc) There were very few restrictions that would affect my creativity with the project, which is nice.

Although it was a nice brief to work to, not all briefs would be like that. There might be some legal problems which could affect your work, for instance; copyright music or plagiarism. However, I did not have this problem and the only problems we had to face were ethical issues and regulatory problems which may occur. When making the proposed final product with my partner, the first shoot didn't go too well because of location issues and mis en scene. However, we over came this and shot it twice. In the media industry the company who is giving out the brief may give a larger budget, better locations, props, costumes, characters, equipment as they want their product to be the best and they will do anything to get it that way.

People respond to briefs in different ways, depending on the amount of creativity it allows and the amount of constraints they might face. Overall, responding to a brief is naturally easy, just follow the instructions and have fun with it I guess! They can respond to a brief for business, media industries, anything; but it is also a great opportunity for self development and earning a potential new job, by outsourcing more opportunities and commissioning people to work for your brief, to get your business known! Overall, I have felt this project has made me self aware on how to respond to different kinds of briefs and how I work towards achieving the product at hand.