How to write a video brief (that gets you a better video)

A video brief is a one page document that tells your videographer what the video is for, who it's for, what it needs to say, where it'll live, and what you've got to spend. That's it. If yours answers those five things clearly, you're already ahead of most of the briefs I get.

And it matters more than people think. A clear brief means a more accurate quote, fewer surprises on the day, and an edit that lands first time instead of on the fourth round of changes. A vague one doesn't save you time. It just moves the confusion to the most expensive part of the job.

01Why bother with a brief at all?

Because "can you make us a video?" isn't a job yet. It could be a 15 second Instagram ad or a three minute brand film with interviews, drone shots and a voiceover. Those are wildly different days, and wildly different prices.

Over ten years of shooting everything from festivals to product launches, the jobs that go smoothest almost always start with someone who knew what they wanted the video to do. Not what it should look like. What it should do.

02The eight questions a good brief answers

You don't need a fancy template. Open a doc and answer these, in plain English.

1. What's the one thing you want people to do after watching? Book a table, sign up, enquire, remember your name. Pick one. If you pick four, the video will do none of them well.
2. Who's watching? Not "everyone". Local parents? Event organisers? People who already follow you? The more specific, the better the creative choices.
3. Where will it live? Instagram Reels, a website homepage, a paid Meta ad, a screen at a trade show. This decides the shape (vertical or landscape), the length and whether it needs to work with the sound off.
4. What's the key message? One sentence. If you can't write it in one sentence, the video won't say it in 30 seconds either.
5. How long, and how many versions? One 60 second cut plus three 15 second cutdowns is a very different edit to a single film. Say up front.
6. What do you already have? Logos, brand fonts, existing footage, product shots, music you've licensed. Anything reusable saves time.
7. When do you need it? The real deadline, plus any fixed dates in the way: an event, a launch, a shop closed on Mondays.
8. What's the budget? More on this below, because it's the one everyone skips.

03Yes, put a budget in

I get why people leave it out. It feels like showing your hand. But a budget range isn't a blank cheque, it's a shape. It tells me whether to plan a half day with one camera or two days with a crew, a drone and an interview setup.

Without it, I'm guessing. And if I guess high, you get a quote that scares you off. If I guess low, you get a plan that can't deliver what you were picturing. Either way, someone wastes a week.

A budget range isn't showing your hand. It's giving the video a shape.

A range is fine. "Somewhere between X and Y" is far more useful than nothing, and any decent videographer will tell you honestly what fits inside it.

04Show, don't describe

"Modern and clean but with energy" means something different to every person who reads it. Two or three links to videos you like will do more than a paragraph of adjectives.

The important bit is saying why you like each one. Is it the pace? The colour? The way they used real customers instead of actors? The music? "I like this one" tells me nothing. "I like how fast this one cuts and how it never shows a talking head" tells me loads.

And if there's something you really don't want, say that too. A "please, no stock drone shots of the Council House" is useful information.

05What to leave out

A brief isn't a shot list. You don't need to tell your videographer which lens to use or plan every scene. That's the bit you're paying them for, and if you over-specify it you'll often get a less interesting video.

Also skip:

• Your full company history. A couple of lines of context is plenty.
• Ten different messages. Pick the one that matters and trust the rest to other content.
• Vague words with nothing behind them, like "premium", "authentic" or "viral". Show an example instead.

06A quick example

Here's what a tight brief can look like for, say, a small café wanting a winter promo. Made up, but realistic:

• Goal: get locals to come in for the new winter menu.
• Audience: people within a couple of miles who already follow us on Instagram.
• Where: Instagram Reels and a small paid Meta ad.
• Message: "Our winter menu is here, and it's the cosiest spot on the street."
• Length: one 30 second vertical cut, plus a 10 second version for the ad.
• Assets: logo, menu, our usual font.
• Deadline: live by the last week of November.
• Budget: a range, plus a note that we're flexible on length if it helps.

That's under 100 words, and it's enough for anyone to come back with a proper plan and a sensible quote.

07The short version

Say what the video should do, who it's for, where it'll live, the one message, how long, what you've got, when you need it and what you can spend. Add a couple of examples with a reason each. Keep it to a page.

If you want to see what my side of the process looks like once a brief lands, have a look at my services, or if you've got an idea half written already, send it over. Rough is fine. That's what the first chat is for.