How to Write a Brief for a Corporate Documentary

So, you’ve decided to make a corporate documentary. You’re planning to commission this project out to a film company, but you want to make sure they create something that is truly your vision for your company. How do you convey your ideas and expectations?

This document is called a Brief. It is an essential document when outlining an agreement between a client and supplier. It ensures everyone is on the same page and helps the supplier provide the best service they can.

There are a lot of possibilities regarding what you could include in a brief, but here are our recommendations.

Background

Start your brief with background information on your company. Include specifics about what department you are in and the employees/executives you wish to have involved in your corporate documentary. It can be helpful to include links to your website.

Vision

Provide an overview of your vision. Include details about what type of film you’re looking for. Do you want a 3-part series, or a one-off? Are there events you wish to include? Testimonials? Or a talking-head interview? Are you considering animation? These are all things to be thinking about when writing about your ideal corporate documentary.

Audience

Include details about your target audience and the method through which they will be watching your corporate documentary. Are you aiming the documentary at children? Or stay-at-home-moms? The finance sector? Pensioners? Will it be a television ad? An ad that goes on social media, such as Facebook or Instagram? Is this a website campaign? All of these details will factor in to what the film company may recommend.

Message

Talk about your key points. What do you want the theme of the corporate documentary to be? Do you want to showcase your excellent customer service? Or show how dedicated your employees are? Or would you like to explore how your company is ‘going green’? The message should be clearly expressed so your supplier can be sure to shape the film around it.

Style

If you have ideas towards style or imagery, include sample videos. Research other corporate documentaries and include URLs to ones you like. Consider length: How long would you like your video to be? Will there be multiple ones?

Deadline & Budget

Include a tentative budget. This will give the filmmakers a better idea of what they can realistically achieve, and how they can best use your money.

Will there be time constraints on your corporate documentary? Is there an executive with a busy schedule you’d like to feature?

It’s important to remember that 9 times out of 10, a the first draft of a brief will never be the final one, but it gives both client and supplier a good place to start negotiations.

Something else to keep in mind is that it is called a ‘brief’ for a reason: this is meant to be the step after your brainstorming. Keep your ideas succinct to avoid any confusion.

In summary, these are the details you should include in your brief:

• Company background

• Documentary vision

• Target audience

• The message(s)

• Film style

• Deadline & Budget