Most guides to writing a video brief tell you what sections to include. What they rarely show is what a strong brief actually looks like when those sections are filled in well. The difference between a brief that moves production forward and one that generates questions and false starts is almost always a matter of specificity. These examples illustrate that difference across three common video types.
Example 1: Product explainer video
Weak: 'We need a video explaining our software to potential customers.' Strong: 'We need a 90-second animated explainer for our project management platform targeting operations managers at professional services firms with 50-250 employees. The audience currently manages projects in spreadsheets and email; they are aware of project management software but sceptical that it will be adopted by their teams. The video should show, not tell — demonstrate the time saved on a specific workflow rather than listing features. Tone: calm, credible, practical. Style reference: Notion's 2023 explainer — we like the minimal animation and the focus on real work.' A brief like this gives the production team enough to make every creative decision without needing further clarification.
Example 2: Brand film
Weak: 'A company culture video that shows who we are.' Strong: 'A 2-3 minute brand film for use on our careers page and LinkedIn, targeting experienced software engineers considering a career change to a fintech start-up. We want to counter the perception that start-ups sacrifice quality for speed. The film should focus on two or three real team members and the specific problems they work on — not staged office life. Tone: authentic, technically credible, unhurried. References: Stripe's engineering blog videos; the Figma team documentary on YouTube. Explicitly avoid: buzzwords, drone footage, stock music, or anyone saying the word 'passionate'.' The explicit exclusions in this brief alone save hours of misaligned ideation.
What distinguishes a strong brief from a weak one
In every strong client video brief example, specificity appears in three places: the audience description (who they are and what they currently believe), the tone guidance (references and explicit exclusions), and the deliverables (exact versions, formats, and platforms). Vague briefs require production teams to fill the gaps with assumptions. Strong briefs give the team permission to make decisions confidently. The client video brief template is designed to surface this level of specificity from even the least experienced clients.
Using examples with clients to improve brief quality
Sharing a video project brief template with examples already filled in is one of the most effective ways to raise the quality of briefs you receive. When clients see what a strong answer looks like — including the level of detail expected in a tone reference or audience description — they tend to meet that standard. Abstract instructions rarely work; concrete examples almost always do. Include one strong example brief in your onboarding materials and reference it when clients are filling out their own.
“The explicit exclusions in a brief alone save hours of misaligned ideation — knowing what a client does not want is often more valuable than knowing what they do.”
What makes a brief strong vs. weak — by section
- Objective — weak: 'explain our product'; strong: 'show a specific workflow and the time saved'
- Audience — weak: 'B2B professionals'; strong: 'operations managers sceptical that software will be adopted'
- Tone — weak: 'professional and modern'; strong: named reference videos with specific notes on what works
- Deliverables — weak: 'a video'; strong: exact duration, platform, aspect ratios, and all required versions
- Exclusions — weak: absent; strong: explicit list of what must not appear
Frequently asked questions
Can you share example video production briefs?
Strong examples are more useful than template structure alone. Look for briefs that include an audience description specific enough to make creative decisions from, tone references with notes on what specifically works, explicit exclusions, and exact deliverable specifications. Both examples in this post follow that structure and can be adapted for your own projects.
What is the most common mistake in a video production brief?
Vague tone guidance. Most briefs include a tone description — 'professional', 'friendly', 'premium' — without the reference examples that give these words meaning. One production team's 'premium' is another's 'corporate'. Named reference videos with specific notes on what works remove this ambiguity entirely.
Should you include a budget in the video brief?
Yes. A budget range — even a broad one — allows the production company to propose an approach that is genuinely achievable rather than an ideal that requires significant descoping. Briefs without budget guidance produce proposals that miss the mark and require multiple rounds of renegotiation.
How specific does a target audience description need to be?
Specific enough to make a creative decision from. 'B2B professionals' is not specific enough. 'Operations managers at professional services firms who currently manage projects in spreadsheets and are sceptical about software adoption' is. The test: could a copywriter write a headline based on this description without asking a follow-up question?
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