The quality of your video brief directly determines the quality of your final video. Most brands under-brief and over-correct in post-production, wasting time and budget. Here is exactly how to brief a video production agency to get the content you actually want.
Why a Strong Brief Matters
A clear brief aligns your creative vision with the production team before a single camera is set up. It reduces revision rounds, prevents costly reshoots, and gives the agency the context they need to bring genuine creative value, not just technical execution.
The 8-Part Video Production Brief Template
- 1. Brand overview - Who you are, what you sell, what makes you different. Include your brand guidelines or visual references.
- 2. Objective - What should this video achieve? Awareness, leads, conversions, event coverage? Be specific.
- 3. Target audience - Who is this video for? Demographics, psychographics, what platforms they use.
- 4. Deliverables - How many videos? What formats? (hero film, Reels cuts, YouTube Shorts, ad variants)
- 5. Tone and style - Share reference videos. Describe the mood: cinematic, energetic, documentary, premium, playful.
- 6. Key messages - The 2 to 3 things you want viewers to remember or feel after watching.
- 7. Logistics - Shoot location, talent (your team, models, or actors), props, any access requirements.
- 8. Timeline and budget - When do you need the final assets? What is your production budget?
Common Briefing Mistakes to Avoid
- Being vague about the objective (avoid: make us look good)
- Sharing too many reference videos with conflicting styles
- Leaving budget unstated and expecting the agency to guess
- Forgetting to specify platform formats upfront
What Happens After You Send the Brief
A professional agency will respond with a pre-production deck: a creative treatment, shot list, production schedule, and proposed deliverables. This is your chance to align before anything is shot. At The Lost Project, we treat this stage as a collaborative strategy session, not just admin.
Once your video is produced, the next step is distributing it effectively through social media marketing and ensuring it fits within your broader brand identity.
Ready to Brief The Lost Project?
Explore our video production packages to understand what each tier delivers before you brief us. Or contact us directly and we will walk you through the process from the first call.