How to complete a video brief
Introduction
Give some background information about the video. This is an opportunity to inform the creative
agencies about the University of Sussex and the school/department/team that this video is being
produced for. You can also mention previous films here if this video is replacing an old one.
Objective
What is the main purpose or aim of the video?
Target audience
Who is the audience for this video? You can list multiple audiences here. Be as detailed as possible.
Constraints
What limitations or restrictions are there? For example, it could be that the video needs to be filmed
on a specific day or must integrate some previously shot footage.
Key Messages
*This is the most important section to complete*
What are the main things you want to communicate in this video? Ideally list these as a series of
clear and concise bullet points.
Style
How would you like the video to look and feel? A lot of this will depend on who your target audience
is. Consider whether you want a voiceover, music, on screen graphics. Do you want an animation?
Are you undecided and looking for a creative response from your supplier? This is also the place to
mention other videos that you like. You can also state what you don’t want it to look like here.
Key success criteria
What will make the video successful in your eyes? How will the success of the video be
measured?
Format
Do not fill in this section. Flavio (Video Manager) will complete this for you.
Duration
Social media videos should have a maximum duration of 1 minute.
We generally try to keep videos for the University website under 2 minutes.
Consider having a suite of videos made at a shorter duration (30 secs, 45 secs, etc) instead of one
video at 2 minutes. It may better serve your purposes and makes better use of your budget.
Videos for special events such as Graduation may have longer durations.
Proposed project timetable
You can be as detailed as you wish at this stage. You should at least have a deadline date for the
final delivery of your film.
Project team
Who are the people working on this film at the University of Sussex? Makes sure to list the job titles
and to give contact details.
Budget
You will need to have a budget in place before considering commissioning video.
If you have a fixed budget, give it here. If you have a flexible budget, give a budget range and
consider asking for a quote based on the brief.