Task 1

Define and summarise the following range of creative production briefs:

Contractual Commission Negotiated Tender Formal Co-operative Informal Competition

In addition, you must also provide a summary of professional self-development opportunities working to each of the briefs would provide for you in the following categories:

1. Communication2. Time management3. Technical skills4. Career progression

In addition, you must gather examples of creative production client briefs and annotate said examples, providing information in your own words under the following categories:

1. Who is the client?2. What media product(s) does the client require?3. What is the timescale to deliver the product(s) to the client?4. Who is the intended target audience the client wishes the product(s) to appeal to?5. What are the legal and ethical issues relating to the production?

What constraints do you have to work within (budget, length of product, format)?

Contractual:

“A contractual brief is a type of brief or contract where a media company is employed by the client in order to complete a project within the brief which is set to specific guidelines which the media company must follow. It will be very important for the media company to follow these guidelines and do exactly what the client states within the brief, if they fail to do so this can result in a breach of contract and the company could face legal actions.” - http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/contractual-brief.html

This brief is set out between two companies which is contractually binding. Both parties will have to sign the contract for it to become legally binding and liability insurance would need to be taken out to assure no legal issues occur. The advantage of this brief is that the company is assured to pay as it will most likely be written into the contract, which the company is legally required to follow. The disadvantage is there isn’t much free reign to do what you think is best with the project as everything must be followed to the letter.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication:A fair amount of communication skills are needed to work to a contractual brief as there will may be a large amount of talking to the employer to see if the product currently being produced fits the clients specifications.

Time management: Time management will be key in this brief as the client will have set a deadline for the project and it is up to you to plan your time accordingly.

Technical skills:During the process of working on the clients brief, you may have to learn new skills to complete the product and have it done to the client’s specifications.

Career progression:A successful contractual brief will impress future employers greatly, as you have shown your ability to work to a deadline and stick to the assigned brief at a professional level.

Negotiated:

“This is when two parties have different ideas from each other but they both have to come to a decision by compromising and making sure that both the parties are happy by the decision.” - http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_negotiated_brief

This brief is where multiple companies negotiate on how the brief will proceed and in order to continue, all parties must agree before any production can begin. This type of brief is usually made over the phone as problems that arise can quickly be addressed between the client and the company they are working for.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication:Communication is the key skill in this brief as communicating your ideas to the other party is crucial and negotiating your ideas is needed in order for both parties to be happy.

Time Management:Time management is tricky for this brief as your schedule may have to change whilst you are waiting for the client or other party to get back to you after you have sent your problems to the other party.

Technical skills:This brief may improve technical skill as you still may have to learn new techniques to complete the product to the client’s specifications.

Career Progression:This brief will also help career progression as it proves to employers that you are able to communicate with them to maybe improve their product or if [problems ensue, be able to voice those problems to them.

Formal Brief:

“This is where a media company is given a brief by the client which outlines the product which they want to be made. This brief is very open and only gives enough information to be able to produce the product, any issues or information that the media company would like to go over can be discussed during the negotiations with the client. Both the client and the company employed by them will formally agree on the project and the brief but it cannot always be legally binding”. - http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/formal-brief.html

This brief is very open and makes the guidelines less strict when producing the final product for the client. However this brief may not be legally binding.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication:Nearly no communication is needed for this type of brief as you are given the outline at the beginning and left to your own devices, also, it is much more open and allows a lot more freedom to do what you think is best, therefore you won’t have to go back and forth between the client over and over again about how you should go about something.

Time management: Time management is a lot easier for this brief as you can completely plan your time around yourself as there is no need for back and forth chat with other parties about how you should go about the product or asking the client how they want each part.

Technical skills:Your technical skills have a chance to shine with this brief with you being allowed to work more to your won specifications as long as they are within the brief guidelines. It also spares you time to research new ways to o about certain aspects of the brief that you previously may not have known about before.

Career Progression:If this brief goes well, this could give you the opportunity to really show off your creativity in your work and may attract future clients with your ingenuity for going about a formal brief so differently and ending up making a brilliant product, still to the client’s specifications.

Informal Brief:

“An informal brief is not documented and is usually of the verbal kind. It is where the client and the company which they have employed simply discuss the requirements for the product they will be making and ultimately agrees upon the project.” - http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/informal-brief.html

For this brief, the terms are decided between the two parties over a conversation typically and discuss the details until both parties agree.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication: A fair amount of communication will be needed as all the requirements and specifications will be made verbally instead of written down. A fair amount of communication skills may develop also with (much like the negotiated brief) all the back and forth between clients these briefs call for.

Time management:An appropriate amount of time management is needed for this brief but not as much will vary in the planning of your time management as the back and forth between the client will be very little during this brief, leaving you with enough time to complete the product to a good standard.

Technical skills:With this brief, the same technical skills will apply as the others although much like all the other briefs, skills may develop and new ones may bloom in the software, applications or engines you may use.

Career Progression:Briefs like this, much like the other briefs, add to your portfolio and show possible clients your abilities and experience, however taking these types of jobs are risky as with nothing written down and no legally binding contract, the employer can sometimes not pay you.

Commission:

“This brief is where a large media company will employ another independent media company to create and produce the product for them, and after the product has been made the larger company may go on to be use the product for an external client who will pay the independent media company for making the product and they could even get a cut of the royalties too. The brief is not negotiated between the company and the client, however is negotiated between the two media companies.” - http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/commission-brief.html

This brief is where a large company contacts a smaller, independent company to create the product for them. Once the product is finished, it is sent to an external client where the company will be payed and depending on what the product is used for, receive royalties.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication:Even though you aren’t speaking directly to the client, a fair amount of communication is still needed with the other media company involved in the commission.

Time management:A good amount of time management is needed for this brief as depending on what the other client wants for you to produce for, deadlines may vary, for example if they are making a game and want to offload some work by employing you, they might need you to work as quickly as possible in order for them to implement it or use it.

Technical skills:With this brief your technical skills will be well used as usually when a client or company hires you, they could be from the same profession and they know what to expect and will probably hold a high level of expectations for the final product.

Career progression:Commissions are very good for career progression as if the client is working on a game and you outsource some of the work for them, there’s a chance your name or company name will be in the credits, not to mention it will like brilliant on your portfolio.

Tender:

“This is where a client will advertise their brief and a production company will bring together a proposal that they will pitch to the client, there could be multiple pitches to the client from many different companies, so the client will then get the chance to choose the proposal that they think best suits their brief and offer the job to that production company.” - http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/tender-brief.html

In this brief, the company pitches to the client their ideas for the project, however, multiple companies can also pitch their ideas and the client gets to pick the best one that suits their interests.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication:Communication could be pretty vital to this brief as with other companies being able to pitch their ideas to the client, you really need to sell your pitch to the client in order to stand out amongst the rest.

Time Management:Time management can be fairly tight with briefs like this as if it takes too long to make the product, the client can refuse you and urn to a quicker solution and find someone else.

Technical skills:Your technical skills will have to be pretty up to par and you may have to learn new techniques In order to produce the product to the client’s expectations, especially when your pitch is picked out amongst other people.

Career Progression:These briefs are great for career progression as with each of these you complete, you become more appealing to other tender brief clients, as they can see you experience with these briefs.

Co-Operative:

“Within this type of brief there are usually two or more companies that are hired by the client to work to the brief they have written for the specific project they want to be completed. After both companies have received the brief they can then proceed to work together to produce the product. If there is a disagreement or conflict in ideas there can be a negotiated brief in order to resolve these issues.” - http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/co-operative-brief.html

For this brief, two companies work together to produce the product for the client. The companies work very closely together and if there is a disagreement, there can be a negotiated brief that will hopefully fix any issues.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication:The level of communication between the other company and yourself is vital in order for this type of brief to be complete as there is no way to know at what stage the other company is at otherwise and therefore may provide problems with making your own work.

Time Management:Time management is also going to be quite vital in the process of this brief. If any disagreements arise and a negotiation may have to be called

for, Time planning may change and you will have to plan accordingly for such changes.

Technical skills:Your technical skills will have to be on par with the other company’s skill level depending on the type of product you are producing. However, the other company may also teach you something and vice versa.

Career progression:Co-Operative briefs are fairly good for career progression as they prove you are able to work in a team effectively and produce a joint product to a professional standard.

Competition:

“This is where a client can put their brief out so it can be accessed by all of the different production companies that are participating. It can sometimes been seen as a free competition as each production company will complete the brief and the client can then judge which company has the best project and as an award they have it published.” - http://creativemediaatjt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/competition-brief.html

For this brief, the client puts out a pitch to any company wishing to apply, that outlines the guidelines of the project. Many companies can apply and it is up to the client which one to pick and have their work published.

Possible provided self-development opportunities:

Communication:Communication may not be too vital as most of the time all the specifications are posted under the competition description and the only time you may actually talk to the client is if you win.

Time management:Much like the other briefs, managing your time will be important but won’t be too difficult as you only have to produce the work to the deadline date for the competition.

Technical skills:Your technical skills will be useful and may improve as you research and figure out new ways to produce the client's product, much like the other briefs

Career Progression:A competition brief can be good in some circumstances for career progression as if the competition is being run by a large company, getting your work published by them can really give you a step up. However, you could produce a large body of work for them and not even win, making your all your work for nothing.