Working to a Brief LO1

Rachel Kent – purple&

Chloe Smith - blue

Contractual BriefDefinitionThis is where you sign an agreement to complete a specific task, within a specific time

period with a fee that is already set.It is between the client and the employees. AdvantagesThis contract makes sure the company and client stick to it because if they don’t, they

would be going against the contract and so they could face legal action. This means that a product is almost guaranteed at the end of the project, so that the client is certain that their product will be completed and are given the ability to take legal action on anything that is wrong.

DisadvantagesMaking sure you read the contract before you sign it is very important because you

may be signing something that you wouldn’t agree to do with the knowledge of doing it.

Formal BriefDefinitionA formal contract is a contract which is kept short and simple. It is when the client provides the media company with the product which they want creating and will only contain the basic and minimal information. Anything else which you need to know will be gained through conversation and negotiation with the client. It is similar to contractual because both parties have to agree but it may not always be legally binding with legal documentation being used.

Advantages• Easy to read and understand because information is kept simple and minimal.• There is no stress from the company for having to meet a deadline or get tasks done my a

certain date.

Disadvantages• lack of legal documentation means if disagreements occur there is nothing there to state

what is required.• There is no stated deadline meaning the job may take a long time to get finished.• There is not set wage or amount of may, meaning the client may not pay you as much as

what you should gain for your work.

Informal BriefDefinitionAn informal brief is most like an agreement that is decided verbally. There is no

contract or written documentation of the brief. The client and company only discuss the project and agree on it, without writing anything down.

AdvantagesHaving no contract can be an advantage because this means the completion date of

the project can be flexible. This can also make the project and the people involved easier to handle without the written documents.

DisadvantagesA brief without a contract can be risky because without the written documents, the

work that is produced may not be entitled to certain things, and the time the product has to be completed for won’t be fixed, making the completion date possible harder to meet.

Co-Operative BriefDefinitionA co-operative brief is where two or more companies are hired to work together on a brief to complete a project. If a disagreement occurs a negotiated brief has to be submitted to ensure both companies are pleased and neither of them will become angry or drop out of the project.

Advantages• You can split the work load between everyone who is helping with the project to

ensure you do not have to do everything alone.• It creates a strong working commitment and group because everyone needs to work

together in order to get the job finished.

Disadvantages• It can create a conflict between the working members if people disagree on ideas or

methods of working.• It requires the participation of all members. This means if one person doesn’t put in

the work the whole project is at risk of failing or not being completed on time.

Negotiated BriefDefinitionConflicting ideas between two or more companies can cause the brief to be

negotiated. By negotiating the brief, it will be changed to meet all of the parties needs/wants, including the client.

AdvantagesNegotiating the brief means that all if not most of the parties involved in the project

will be satisfied and happy with the way things are going. Also, if the client is pleased the companies involved will have a better outcome when the project is completed.

DisadvantagesEven if one party doesn’t agree with the brief, the project will not continue. Both

parties must compromise. This can stop work flow and also stop the companies involved from being guaranteed work, and possibly money.

Commission BriefDefinitionCommission is where a large company hires in a smaller company or an individual worker to do some of the work for creating the project, e.g. print. This type of brief is negotiated between the different businesses, rather than with the client. The product which they have both made will then be used by the larger company for a client which may have hired them. The smaller company will be paid for their work and could potentially gain part of the products profit each time it is sold, broadcast or published.

Advantages• You are getting help with the parts of the project you cannot do yourself, which

saves you time because you do not have to learn the process in order to do it and complete the production of the product for your client.

Disadvantages• You lose out on some of the profit you make from the product and also some of

the pay which your client gives you for your work because you have to pay the individual media company for their time and work in the project.

Tender BriefDefinitionA tender brief is when a client states that they would like a media product to be made.

After a company creates a brief, proposal and works out a budget, it is then pitched to the client. But there is also competition as other companies may try and secure a place in being involved in the project by sending the client one of their own briefs.

AdvantagesHaving lots of companies wanting your attention can give you a wide choice as to

which company you would like to create your product. This can help you decide exactly how you would like your product to be made and will also help you make good choices on which company is offering the best brief, etc.

Disadvantages

Competition BriefDefinitionA brief is created and then made available for all of the participating production companies. Each company then has to try and complete the brief as best as they can. Once this has been done all of the completed projects will be judged and the best one is awarded with the project or having their project published. The client only has to pay the winning company for their time and work on the project since it is the product they will be using in the end.

Advantages• Gives everyone a fair chance at getting their ideas to the client and working for them on

the project.• Because people are having to compete in order for their idea to be chosen they are

more likely to put in a lot of work and effort in order for it to be really good and the best standard they can get it to.

Disadvantages• Only the chosen company or business gets paid, this means that most people will lose

out on money as they have to pay for all the materials etc. and are not going to be making any money back.

My BriefWhich structure/structures will the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief use? Reference your reasons for choice/choices

Our brief is co-operative because we are both working on it together and creating our own recipe cards, and we are also working as a team with different roles that will all come together to make the product.

Our brief is informal because there are no written documents that make the brief official. This means that we was given the brief verbally. We agreed on the brief and how we was going to create the product without writing anything down.

There are a few other people who are competing and creating recipe cards for the same company. This means that our brief can also be classed as a competition brief.

Reading the BriefWhy is it important you thoroughly read a brief before starting the project?• It is important that you thoroughly read the brief before starting any project

because it will allow you to complete the project whilst fully understanding what is being asked of you.

• Reading a brief before starting any project or job is also important because it enables you to understand the practicality of the work and ensures you are able to carry out the work without it costing you too much or you losing out on money.

• Everything you need to know about a job and the work required of you is stated in the brief so it is crucial you understand the brief fully so that you do not miss anything out or do something wrong due to lack of understanding.

• The project brief will also state your budget for the work which is important because it tells you how much money you are able to spend on the project and still be able to make a profit. It is the set amount which the client gives you for the project or that you are allowed to spend and you need to ensure you can afford everything required without going over your allowed budget.

Reading the BriefWhat is the nature and demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief?

We have been asked by a company to produce 8 recipe cards for vegetarians. They wish to see unique and creative designs with a matching theme across the cards so that it is easy to distinguish that they are a set. Basing the theme on a certain ingredient in the foods you produce or the food found in a certain country will give the recipe cards a more definite theme and will make them more interesting, and hopefully more appealing.

Negotiating a BriefWhy is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production?This is important because you need to be on an even level with your client to ensure you both fully understand the job at hand and no disagreements will occur later on. Discussing the brief with your client gives you the opportunity to raise any concerns or ask questions if there is something you do not fully understand. It also gives you as a company the chance to offer the client some of your own ideas and initiatives and to see what they think and whether they’ll approve or not of your own ideas.

Negotiating a BriefWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief?

Employing discretion lets you add things to the brief that you think may be interesting or something that you would like to try. If you wish to do this, make sure what you want to add does not conflict or go against what has already been briefed. You can add ideas to the brief where the information supplied is already quite vague. Sometimes the brief will allow for your own interpretation of what has been asked which means you can be more creative with your project. However, since we are being told to make vegetarian recipe cards, we will not use discretion and we will not choose to add meat to our food.

Negotiating a BriefAre there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed product?An ethical issue that may come with this proposed project could be that since these recipes are al vegetarian friendly, they have to be meat-free since they think eating meat is morally wrong and that animals should not be bred to be slaughtered. They believe animals should have the same rights as humans do and that they deserve a chance at life just as much as we do. This could also cause issues with dieticians who say you need to eat meat to gain the protein from them and stay healthy and keeping up a well balanced diet. Another problem with vegetarian foods would be that due to the lack of meat you are not gaining enough iron. Although there are no legal definitions for the terms ‘vegetarian’ and ‘vegan’ there are legal acts which may concern them. One of these would be the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 which prohibits false or misleading trade descriptions. One of the main legal requirements is that the term ‘suitable for vegetarians’ should not be found on any product which has been derived/made from animals which have died, been slaughtered, died from being eaten or any animal meat/body part. The term animal includes poultry, game, fish, crustacean, molluscs etc. Any vegetarian product to be found containing any of these products will most likely be sued and be done for false advertisement. Manufacturers should ensure their food is never cross contaminated. Food which has been presented as being ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ should not have been contaminated by any form of meat or non-suitable food products during preparation, storage, cooking and displaying.

Negotiating a BriefAmendments you have considered to;The ProductWe could improve our product by strictly sticking to ingredients that are vegetarian friendly,

which will hopefully draw more people in and encourage them to make the recipes. We will also make sure that our product does not break the regulations of The ASA.

The BudgetWe will aim to not be wasteful with the food that we use because this can affect the budget

(buying more than you need). Also, by restricting the amount of resources we use and being careful with our money, we will see that we do not exceed or spend an over the top amount of money.

The ConditionsIf we were paid too little or too much for our work, the conditions would have to be amended

because otherwise we may not be able to get the money that we deserve for the work we have done if the project overruns its original deadline or if we need more resources to complete the project.

OpportunitiesWhat opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?

Self DevelopmentSelf development is developing the skills you already possess and becoming stronger at them. It is taking the things you are good at and putting them into practice in order to become stronger. You are developing yourself and your skills in order to become better. Self development would give me the chance and opportunity to improve the skills I already possess and become stronger within them so that I am more experienced and have a stronger chance at getting the jobs I want to work on. Learning new skillsThis brief would help you learn new skills because it requires you to do a variety of jobs and take on different tasks to what you would normally be used to doing. The tasks for the brief vary from graphic design and photography to maybe having to cook and prepare the foods ourselves. It will allow me to develop new skills which will in the future open up more pathways and chances at different projects I would have not been able to work on before. An example of this may be that I am a qualified food photographer but by developing the new skills I can also cook the products I intend to photograph.Multi-skillingMulti-skilling is similar to learning new skills because you are developing what you already know and are doing tasks you would not normally do but multi-skilling is putting them into practice and becoming more experienced at them through doing them. Multi-skilling will give me the opportunity to put trial and error into place and work towards developing new skills at the same time as practicing and developing current skills at the same time. I would be able to for example photograph a food source and then use Photoshop to enhance it or learn hat the various tools do in order to create various manipulations I didn’t know how to do before hand.Contributing to a briefContributing to a brief gives you the opportunity to ask any questions for things you are not sure of and also allows you to put your own ideas for the project forward and voice them to see if anyone will agree with you or if they are feasible. It will allow me to voice my opinions and ideas on various projects and be able to have my say in things. By doing this and speaking up I will be benefiting myself because my ideas will be listened to and possibly used but doing this will also allow me to improve my confidence and become less shy.