How to brief a video production company (with a template)

The cheapest way to get a better film is a better brief. Most disappointing videos do not fail on the day of the shoot. They fail weeks earlier, when nobody wrote down what the film was supposed to achieve, who it was for, or what it could cost.

A brief does not need to be long or clever. It needs to be clear. This guide gives you the twelve things to put in it, a template you can copy, a worked example, and the questions to ask the production company in return. If you are still deciding who to hire, read what a creative agency in Cape Town actually does first.

What a brief is for

A brief does three jobs. It lets the production company tell you honestly whether they are the right team. It lets them quote against something real instead of a guess. And it gives everyone on your side a document to point at when opinions change halfway through. A one-page brief that you and your approver have both read is worth more than an hour of enthusiastic phone calls.

The twelve things a video brief needs

1. 01Background. Two or three sentences on the business, the product or the moment the film is for.
2. 02Objective. The outcome you need, stated so you could tell afterwards whether it happened: bookings, sign-ups, recruitment applications, store visits, awareness among a named audience.
3. 03Audience. Who exactly is this for? "Women aged 25 to 40 in Cape Town who already buy online" is useful. "Everyone" is not.
4. 04One message. What should the viewer think, feel or do after watching? Pick one. A film that tries to say four things says none of them.
5. 05Where it will run. Which platforms and formats: a website hero film, Instagram and TikTok vertical video, YouTube, in-store screens, events. This decides lengths and aspect ratios.
6. 06Deliverables. What you expect to receive: one hero film, shorter cutdowns, vertical versions, stills, captions.
7. 07Tone and references. Three examples of work you like and a sentence on why, plus anything you do not want.
8. 08Constraints. Locations you must use, people who must appear, legal wording, brand rules, anything that cannot be shown.
9. 09Timeline. The date the film must be live, and the dates you can give feedback. Work backwards from the launch.
10. 10Budget range. A figure or a range. See below for why this matters.
11. 11Usage. Where the film will be shown, for how long, and whether it will run as a paid ad. This changes the price.
12. 12Approvals. Who signs off, how many people, and by when. Too many approvers is the most common cause of delay.

A brief template you can copy

Paste this into a document and fill it in. Keep each answer to a few lines.

• Project name and your name and contact details:
• Background:
• Objective (what must be true when this is over):
• Audience:
• The one message:
• Where it will run (platforms, formats, lengths):
• Deliverables:
• Tone and three references (with why):
• Must-haves and no-gos:
• Key dates (launch date, feedback dates):
• Budget range:
• Usage (where, how long, paid or organic):
• Who approves, and how:

A worked example

This is an invented example, to show the level of detail that works.

• Background: A Cape Town coffee roaster is launching a new single-origin blend and opening a second shop in Woodstock.
• Objective: 500 sign-ups to the launch-day tasting list within two weeks of the film going live.
• Audience: Cape Town coffee drinkers aged 22 to 35 who already buy beans online or visit independent cafes.
• One message: This roaster is local, careful and worth a visit.
• Where it will run: The website home page, Instagram Reels and TikTok, and a paid push on Instagram for two weeks.
• Deliverables: One 60-second hero film, three 15-second vertical cutdowns, eight stills.
• Tone: Warm, unhurried, real people. References attached. No stock-footage look and no voiceover.
• Must-haves: The Woodstock shop interior, the head roaster on camera, the launch date on screen.
• Dates: Live by 14 February. Feedback within two working days of each cut.
• Budget range: Stated, with some flexibility if the idea is strong.
• Usage: Website and social for 12 months, including paid on Instagram for two weeks.
• Approvals: The owner and the marketing manager. Final sign-off by the owner.

What to ask the production company in return

A good production company answers a brief with a short treatment and a quote. Before you say yes, check these:

• Treatment. Do they describe the idea, the look and how each shot serves your one message, or just list equipment?
• What the price includes. Crew, locations, talent, edit, sound, music licensing, colour grade, subtitles and versions for each platform.
• Revision rounds. How many rounds of feedback are covered, and what a change beyond that costs.
• Schedule. Pre-production, shoot days, first cut, feedback and delivery, against your launch date.
• Usage and ownership. Where you may use the film, for how long, and who holds the raw footage. See usage rights explained.
• Payment terms. The deposit, the milestones and what happens if the shoot moves.
• Who you will deal with. One producer or a different person each time.

Common mistakes

• Briefing a format instead of a goal. "We need a 90-second film" tells them what to make, not why.
• Briefing too many messages. One film, one message.
• A brief that arrives after the deadline is set. If the launch date is fixed, say so on the first page.
• Surprise approvers. The person who has not seen the brief will have the strongest opinion about the cut.
• Forgetting versions. Vertical, square and short cutdowns are cheap to plan for and expensive to add afterwards.
• Leaving usage until later. A film cleared only for organic social cannot simply be turned into a paid ad.

NCA makes brand films, recruitment and positioning films and social-first video in Cape Town. You can see how that works on our video production page, or send us a brief and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right team. If the idea itself still needs shaping, our copywriting and concept service starts there.