What is a brief?
A brief is a written document. In a learning environment it is a written document issued to learners at the start of the assessment process for any given unit so that they know what they are working towards and what to do. In the media industry a brief is a set of wants or needs a client would approach you with in the form of a contract in order to fulfil a work load, i.e. if you were free lance and a company approached you asking you to create an advert for them, they would ask for it to have certain key elements in which you would need to include.
Why is it important?
A brief is important because it guides us, without a brief before work we probably wouldn’t really know what our employer wants from us. It is a clear outline of what needs to be done and is a very useful thing to have to look back on. Without it there could be mixed messages between yourself and the employer of what they want from you and what you think they want from you.
What are the legal and ethical issues regarding a brief?
As there is often a contract that comes with the brief, you are legally obligated to finish it by the given deadline and to a certain level of professionalism, if you fail either or both of these, you could not be paid, the company won’t use you again and your reputation will be ruined and it will be extremely difficult to find work.
What key opportunities are present when you respond to a brief?
Most likely the opposite of the last question, you will be paid, the company will more than likely use you again if you do a good job your reputation will either stay the same or rise to say you have a standard of good quality work. It could open up other business opportunities for you, if the companies happy they will more than likely tell others about you, therefore expanding your business.
