Outsourcing video productions can be tricky, especially if you’re hiring a video creator online.

One of the most important things that could get you better results is your brief.

Writing a brief that precisely describes your vision can help you get the results you’re looking for, and could even save you revision costs and avoid a lot of headaches.

For video creators, sometimes it’s just hard to tell what the client wants. Sometimes the client isn’t sure either.

That’s when production chaos ensues, leading to a dissatisfied customer, a miserable production crew, and an overwhelmed director.

The result of such collaboration, or lack thereof, could be disastrous for everyone involved.

If you want to hire a video creator and get better end results, take the time to prepare a clear and concise brief.

7 Things Your Video Production Brief Should Include

Here are 7 of the most important things you should include in your brief and discuss with the video production company or freelancer you’re hiring:

1. Project Summary

Write a summary about your project including all the important details, such as what type of video you want to make, how do you plan to use it, and where would it be displayed.

The video producer you plan to hire will most likely need all these details to give you an estimate. Prepare this information ahead and you’ll be saving yourself a lot of time.

Include details such as expected duration per video, number of videos, and any important dates.

2. Video Objective

Why do you need to make a video? What do you hope it would achieve?

Are you trying to promote a product to increase quick sales or brand awareness, or are you focusing on long-term goals like creating valuable content to increase your brand’s value?

Be precise in describing your objective. Help your video producer understand your needs, and advise you on what’s the best route to take to achieve the results you’re after.

3. Your Details

Whether you’re making a video for your own brand or for a client, be elaborate in describing your business and what it does.

What do you do? What products or services do you offer? What’s your brand’s vision and values?

There’s no reason to withhold this information from your video producer; they’re not your competitors; they’re on your side and want to help you find the best solutions for your specific business.

4. Target Audience

Who will be watching the video(s) you want to make? What’s their age group, gender, and location? What are their interests/problems? How do they use your product/service?

Generally speaking, most video creators don’t include researching your target audience in their estimate. Make sure you’ve done your own research, or expect to pay an additional cost for research.

If you can’t do your own research, clarify that with the production company you’ll be engaging with early on.

5. Budget

Video creators are often flexible and can find creative ways to work with different budgets.

If you don’t give your video creator a budget to work with, they could assume that you’re on a shoestring budget and suggest low-budget ideas for you, which might not live up to the standard you’re expecting.

Instead of fishing for quotes from different production companies to choose the cheapest, define the budget you’re willing to spend on the video, and then contact creators that you like. If you’re paying fairly, you should not have an issue working with your preferred video creator.

If you did choose to negotiate, at least give them a ballpark figure of how much you’re willing to spend (E.g. $500 – $700).

6. References

Do you have a creative direction in mind? A visual style that you like? Competitor’s videos?

Include as many references as you can to give your video creator an idea of your expectations and the type of video you’re looking for.

7. Requirements

Do you have any audio requirements? Uncommon payment terms or delivery formats? A call-to-action you want to include?

Specify important requirements before you engage with a video creator, and include your requirements in your brief.

Once production begins, it could be very difficult to backtrack and make changes to the project’s scope.

Conclusion

Communication is key to smooth production and good results.

Work with the production company or freelancer, and make sure you’re both on the same page from the get-go.