How to brief a corporate video shoot

“A video about our company” leaves a lot unresolved. A prospective customer and a prospective employee may need to see the same business from different angles.

For a customer audience, the film might explain a service and show the team doing the work. For a recruitment audience, it might describe the role, working environment and people a candidate would join. These are planning examples. The right subject depends on the film’s actual purpose.

Write one sentence naming the audience and what they should understand after watching. If the brief needs to speak to several unrelated audiences, discuss whether one film is the right shape for the work.

List the points the business wants to make, then choose the one the film must communicate. Use the remaining points to support it. A film with several competing introductions is hard to brief and hard to review.

A useful message is specific enough to test. “Show what our team does on a project” gives the shoot something to capture. “Make us look innovative” still needs a subject, an explanation and visible evidence.

Ask what a viewer unfamiliar with the business would need explained. Names and processes that are obvious to your team may need a short introduction. Keep that context in the brief so the film does not assume the viewer already knows the work.

For each point, identify the people, activity, place or detail that supports it. If someone will talk about how a service works, the shot list should include the parts of that work the viewer needs to see.

Distinguish an available subject from one you hope will be available. A project under way, a finished site and a team gathered together may have different dates and access requirements. Flag those constraints before settling the shoot plan.

Do not build a claim around footage that only looks related. The work shown should match the explanation. Where an example cannot be filmed or used, decide whether the message needs a different example or should be left out.

Choose participants because they know the subject they will discuss. A person doing the work may have a useful explanation that is different from a company introduction.

Share the topics ahead of time and ask participants to think of concrete examples. A list of talking points gives them room to speak in their own words. If wording must be exact, identify it separately and explain who will confirm it.

For a service film, useful prompts might ask what happens first, what the customer needs to prepare and what the team does next. For recruitment, they might ask what the role involves and how the team works together. Keep the questions tied to the audience named in the brief.

List the participants, locations and the person coordinating each one. Check when the people and activity are available, how the crew will get access and whether an interview needs a quieter setting.

Ask the person responsible for the location to identify access conditions and anything that must stay out of frame. If the work is on an active construction site, arrange the required access with the site contact before the shoot is agreed.

A Melbourne office and a project in the South East may both belong in the same story. The plan still needs to account for travel, setup and the availability of the people at each location. Put those details in the brief rather than leaving them for the shoot day.

Name the places the film will appear. A website film, presentation and vertical social edit may need different framing, length and on-screen wording. Discuss the intended versions before filming so the shoot captures what the edit needs.

Confirm who checks facts, names and any words on screen. Nominate one person to return consolidated feedback, and make the final approver clear. If several people need to review the film, include their availability in the timetable.

Give the production team the date the approved film is needed and explain what that date is tied to. Ask them to confirm the scope and schedule, including the agreed edits and review arrangements. A desired launch date is not an agreed turnaround.

Our video production service covers filming and editing for Melbourne businesses. If you need an ongoing series, the recurring production brief is the place to discuss how the shoots and edits should fit together.

Answer these points in plain language. An unresolved item is useful to flag before the shoot; it does not need to be disguised as a finished decision.