Here's a secret from the production side: the videos that go most smoothly are almost never the biggest or the most expensive. They're the ones that started with a clear brief.
A good brief doesn't need to be long or fancy. It just needs to answer the questions your production team will ask anyway, so everyone starts on the same page. Do that well and you'll get better ideas, a more accurate quote and far fewer surprises along the way.
Here's what we look for when a brief lands at DKC, and what we'd suggest including in yours.
1. Why are you making this video?
Start with the goal, not the format. "We need a two-minute explainer" is a format. "We need new customers to understand how our app works, so fewer of them call support" is a goal.
The goal shapes everything: the tone, the length, the style and how you'll know it worked. If you can, finish this sentence: "After watching this, we want people to…"
2. Who is it for?
"Everyone" is never the answer. Be as specific as you can about who you're talking to:
- Are they customers, staff, partners or investors?
- What do they already know about you, and what do they care about?
- Where are they? Which countries, which languages?
- Where will they watch it? On a phone between meetings, on a big screen at an event, inside a training platform?
A video for new hires watching on their phones in three countries is a very different job to a launch film for a conference screen.
3. What's the one thing they should remember?
Most videos try to say too much. If your audience only remembers one thing, what should it be? Pick it, and let everything else support it. If you've got five equally important messages, you probably have five videos (or a short series), not one.
If your audience only remembers one thing, what should it be?
4. Where will it live, and in what versions?
Think about every place the video needs to work before the shoot, not after. It's much cheaper to plan versions up front than to rework footage later. Let your production team know if you'll need:
- Different lengths, for example a 90-second main video plus 15-second social cutdowns
- Different shapes: landscape for YouTube and websites, vertical for Reels, TikTok and WhatsApp status, square for LinkedIn
- Subtitles or voiceovers in other languages
- A version without music or branding for internal use
5. What does it need to look and feel like?
You don't need to be a creative director to answer this. Share a few videos you like (and a few you don't), and say what it is about them. "Warm and human, not corporate" tells us a lot. So does "fast and energetic, like a sports ad".
Also include the practical stuff: your brand guidelines, logos, fonts and any must-haves or no-gos. Are there people or places that need to be in it? Things you legally can't show or say?
6. What's the budget and the deadline?
This is the bit people feel awkward about, but it's one of the most useful things you can share. A budget range doesn't mean we'll spend every cent. It means we can suggest the best idea for what you've got, instead of guessing and quoting for something you can't use.
The same goes for deadlines. Tell us when you need it and why. "We launch at an event on the 14th" is far more useful than "ASAP", because we can plan backwards from a fixed date.
7. Who signs it off?
Nothing slows a project down like a surprise approver. Before you start, agree:
- Who gives feedback, and who has the final say
- How many rounds of changes are included
- How feedback will be shared (one consolidated list per round works best)
One person collecting all the feedback and sending it in one go will save you days.
A simple brief checklist
Copy this into your next brief:
Goal: after watching, people should…
Audience: who, where, which languages, on what device
One key message:
Versions: lengths, shapes, languages
Look and feel: examples you like and don't like, brand guidelines
Must-haves and no-gos:
Budget range:
Deadline (and why):
Who gives feedback, and who signs off:
Don't worry about getting it perfect
A brief is the start of a conversation, not a contract. If you don't know some of the answers yet, say so. A good production company will help you fill the gaps. That's part of the job.
What matters is that you share what you know, honestly and early. Do that, and you'll get a video that does what you need it to do.
Got a project in mind? Send us your brief, rough or polished, and we'll come back with an idea, a plan and a price.
