Structure of briefs- There are eight types of working briefs in structure. There is contractual, negotiated, formal, informal, commission, tender,co-operative and competition.
Contractual: A contractual brief is an legal document that is created by the employee and the client. It outlines the duties that need to be required by the company, and also how the company organised their work. It is a document which states the expectations of the client, the prices that the company agree on, and also the payment terms.
The advantages of a contractual brief is that it gives the company an idea of what the client want them to achieve, whilst initiating a stable price range. The client and the employer will have to agree on a set income with the employer through the contractual brief.
The disadvantages are that the client may require a heavy workload from the employer, which may put a strain upon them, and with advertising, a lot of creativity is required, and this is likely to be hindered if the client desires to receive written work, as opposed to graphical designs.
Formal: A formal brief is where the client provides a company with a brief that indicates what they would like the company to do, to make it a better and improved company. A formal brief is also a contract that lays down all the rules and the regulations for the company to follow, it's normally comes from the client telling what to do. It only gives you the information from the project and nothing else. This is very similar to contractual brief. The reason for this is because both of the client's and the company have to agree on the regulations before they go forward.. It doesn't always cover the legal contracts which may be risky to the company. The formal briefs are also been told to a larger group of people which can be quite useful when getting a project done.
The advantages of the formal brief is that it only contains the information that the company need. The formal brief is also very east to read and it helps the client to understand the different aspects of the contract. It is also similar to the income brief where it is nice and relaxed, which shows the contract isn't complicated to read, which means the client can get the job done quickly and sufficiently.
The disadvantages is that the contract can never be changed and it means that if the company want to buy more resources for the project. the other bad thing is that you will need to pay for the products yourself, and this would affect the companies budget which can be expensive altogether.
Informal: An informal brief is something that has to be done together with the client. It would normally be set out like a meeting so that they can cover most things that is about the project. It doesn't include the contract or any type of document, but the brief has to appeal to the company for them to go forward without the contract.
Advantages: the advantages of informal brief is that it is easy and sets out to be nice environment for the company and the client. These types of meetings can be done quickly as it's just a discussion about what the project should be, whereas a normal contract meeting would be quite long and would go into more detail about all the rules and the regulations of the contract. The other advantage would be that you can change ideas and plans throughout which could make it easier for the client and the company.
Disadvantages: The problem with having an informal brief is that it is just a meeting where it is not written down on a document where it id told by person to person. It normally helps people when it is written down on a written document. It helps people to feel more comfortable knowing they will get paid. Without a written document they might not be paid and the client can get sued. The other disadvantage it makes the company look unprofessional by being told what to do, and might easily forget some of significant factors about the project which might make the product look rubbish.
Co-operative: This is where two or several production companies are employed to operate upon a set brief, which they complete in unison on a team basis. The project has to be completed by a certain deadline, otherwise the client will be extremely disappointed, and will not select the companies in the future.
Advantages: The advantages are that you are working in a team and it helps to build a sense of community within the workplace, whilst adding a social side to it as well, which means that a good form of communication will be featured between the team members. Also having several people working on the project which means that a variety of different ideas will be circulated, which will be in beneficial in completing the project.
Disadvantages: The disadvantages could be that the individuals who are working in the team may disagree with other which will cause the downfall of the project, whilst hindering the growth of it's significantly, due to the conflicting views of the individuals involved over the brief.
Negotiated: A negotiated brief is where two or more companies come together to negotiate ideas about a project. When they have started to negotiating a contract, then they won't stop the discussion until they come up with an agreement that they all agree on. The brief is about going through the contract so that everything is fair between both parties and the client, it will allow ideas to come forward for the project so that it can be the best quality. When they are negotiating they would have to make sure that the ideas they produce are in the legal guidelines, if they broke any of this then they might end up get sued.
Advantages: It helps to let people know what you are doing and what has been improved. For example the theme and the visual aspects of the project. This means both of the companies and the client can really grasp on what they want and what they need. The other advantage would be that if you discuss your plans and ideas with one another then it means that there will be less conflict but strong solutions. When negotiating through the contract, it helps to find new economic deals, this is because if they discuss about the spenditure etc. This might an easier way to save money. Negotiating ideas with the client means that you get to see a wider picture of what they want and have a better understanding.
Disadvantages: the disadvantages of having a negotiated brief is that you can discuss about the certain subjects to much, this can be quite draining and it wouldn't help to get to the bottom of the problem. when both of the parties are negotiating about the contract then they might forget about the best deals that can come from the contract. The two parties just need to agree on an idea because they have been talking to much which means they don't agree on what they want altogether.
Commission: When somebody commission a brief they hire a separate independent media company to create a product for them coming, to formulate there own research, proposals and ideas for the product which is then over seen by the commissioner.
Advantages: The advantage about a commission is that it works well for the independent company because they are getting paid doing there job as well as the chance to have a share in the profits made by the company meaning they are ending up with a healthy profit. The company works well for them too because it means that they have the time to work on other projects at the same time as they don't have to be in so involved in projects.
Disadvantages: The disadvantages would be that the company doesn't get such an active role in the decision making for the product and so they could end up with something very different to what they expected. They may also share out profits with other investors and share holders in the business meaning the profit that you get is a lot less than what you might have first expected.
Tender:Tender is similar to advertising a job advert, where the client publishes an advert showing that they need a media product to be made, where by a number of production companies may pitch or send in there brief and adaptions to what the client is wanting to try, showing the estimated cost and how the product may be produced and get the bid and secure the project, it is then left to the client to decide upon which proposal they feel fits there needs and has to answer the brief in the best way as possible.
Advantages: The advantages is that the type of brief is the client has access to a number of different ideas that they may not have first thought of, and then they can choose between them or have the opportunity to build in aspects of these different briefs to create a product that you want.
Disadvantages: the disadvantages would be that the type of brief could be for the companies that are wanting the project because not all the of these companies that have applied will get the job.
Competition: A competition brief is where the brief is left open to any company to take part in any participating production companies. Each of the company has the opportunity to complete the brief, which can be judged and assessed on there suitability for it's end use, the chosen project is then published by the company. This type of brief is seen as a very similar to a tender brief as the same elements are applied with the fact that any people can apply for this project role.. Similarly to our own product is the fact that we have been set a brief to create a set of recipe cards, as as well as competition within the group to get the recipe cards printed, which will be chosen by the client who set the brief for this project.
Advantages: The advantages for the company is that most of the time these types are projects become available through competitions or advertising and the winning idea is given a prize or paid in cash which can work out cheaper for the company than any other way. The fact the company can take on other work on the side meaning they are making more money as the business is expanding.
Disadvantages: The disadvantages are that all the work put into each production company only one will get chosen and p[aid meaning the others have made there projects for nothing without prizes or being paid.
Reading a brief- Reading to a brief is important because it is important to read though the brief that you have to set because it will express what the client wants, and so with this information you are more likely to create something that is appropriate for it's purpose. You will be bale to make notes on what is needed such as for the recipe cards that express how they want these recipe cards setting out using metric rather than imperial measurements, numbering the method and the ingredients in order.
Negotiating the brief- If there are any problems with the brief then it can be sorted out before the production starts. If you have started a production and you've not understood the brief properly, then you can produce a product that isn't right. If the product doesn't fit the brief then the employee won't get paid. It will be a waste of money and time.It's also discussing your ideas with your client and see if they have something in mind. If the client likes your idea then you'll be on the right track to making a successful production.
If the information is very vague and is left for your own interpretation then it can mean that you have freedom with what you produce. you have to make sure it fits perfectly with the parts of the brief that is set but if the parts are very vague then you can interoperate them yourself which means that you have a lot more freedom with your ideas and your product.
If your client interoperates with the brief in a different way then they can refuse to pay you since you haven't met the needs of brief portray. it is important that you don't change parts of the brief or your work won't be accepted or published.
Opportunities- The opportunities that will allow you to explore the brief are self-development, learning new skills, multi-skilling, and contribution to the brief.
Self-development: The brief will allow you to work on the team work, discussion and negotiation skills within the group, it also means that you will be able to develop your skills in the aspects of work, which is required from graphic imaging, writing, photography, image editing etc.
Learning new skills: It is notable that when a company or an individual completes a certain project, they will gain a new set of skills, in which they did not in habit beforehand. This is useful as they can utilise it in the future and for other projects to take on, as well as presenting their new skills into their advertisement, which will initially promote their business as they may utilise photoshop, which they have never used before.
Multi-skilling: It is likely outlining the brief of the project, the client will demand that the company perform several types of skills that will be needed in order to complete the project for example utilising photoshop, as well as complex writing style. The company is required to pander the wishes of the client, which produces a high quality pieces of work, which have been established due to the fact that the company have used a variety of skills, which would have significantly improve the overall worth of the project.
Contribution to the brief: In the formal brief, it is notable that the company has been assigned to complete the specific project for the client, and adds of their own views and opinions to the brief, so that the client realises that they are required a compromise, as opposed to letting the client dictate the final outcome of the project through the stated brief. the client of the company has to come to a final agreement over the terms of the brief, which will enable both of them to initiate a mutual understanding, where the requirements of the project, which will be outlined with the opinions of both of the client and the producer and will be included within se of the brief.
