How do you brief a videographer so you get the video you want?

Why a brief matters more than the quote

Most disappointing videos aren't the result of bad filming, they're the result of a videographer guessing what you meant. A brief removes the guessing. Club Aftercare, one of the businesses I've filmed for, put it simply afterwards: “Fast turnaround, clear communication, and the final edit was exactly as the example we provided.” That result started with a clear reference before filming, not a correction during editing.

The one-page brief: what to include

Keep it to one page. A videographer can ask follow-up questions, but this covers the essentials:

• Goal: what should someone do after watching? Book a table, request a quote, trust you enough to enquire
• Audience: who you're speaking to, in a sentence. New customers browsing Google are different from existing clients you're trying to keep
• Key message: the one thing you want people to remember. Not five things, one
• Where it will be used: website homepage, Instagram, a pitch deck, paid ads. This changes length and format
• Length: roughly how long, in seconds or minutes
• Formats needed: widescreen for the website, vertical for reels and stories, or both
• Deadline: the date you need the finished video, working back from any launch
• Budget: even a rough range saves both sides time

Reference videos: the fastest way to be understood

Words like “modern” or “premium” mean different things to different people. Two or three reference videos fix that instantly. They don't need to be in your industry: send a link and say what you like about it, the pace, the music, the way it's shot, the colours. A videographer can match a feeling far more reliably than they can match an adjective.

Must-have shots and people

List anything that absolutely has to be in the final video before the shoot, not after. If the owner has to appear, if a specific product or dish has to feature, if a manager needs a line to camera, say so upfront. It's much easier to plan time for these on the day than to arrange a second shoot because something was missed.

Be specific about people too: names, roles, and whether each person is comfortable on camera. A nervous team member often needs a bit more time and a warm-up take, which is worth knowing before filming starts rather than discovering it while the clock is running.

Practical details that keep the day on schedule

The brief should also cover the boring but important logistics: the location and whether it needs permission, who's on site and available to be filmed, parking and access for kit, and any dates that don't work. None of this affects the story, but missing it is what makes a filming day run late.

Common mistakes that weaken a brief

A few habits quietly undo a good brief before filming even starts:

• Listing five key messages instead of one, which usually means the finished video says none of them clearly
• Describing the style in adjectives only, “professional”, “fun”, with no reference video to show what that actually looks like
• Leaving the audience vague, a video trying to speak to everyone tends to land with no one in particular
• Sending the brief the same week as the shoot, leaving no time for questions or a reference to be found
• Forgetting to mention a deadline, which is often the detail that most affects how the project gets planned

A brief you can copy and use

Paste this into an email and fill in the blanks:

• Goal:
• Audience:
• Key message:
• Where it will be used:
• Length:
• Formats:
• Deadline:
• Budget:
• Reference videos:
• Must-have shots or people:
• Location and access notes:

From brief to fixed quote

Sending the same one-page brief to two or three videographers makes it far easier to compare their quotes properly, since you're comparing answers to the same questions rather than whatever each of them happened to ask you. It also tends to get you better answers, a videographer working from a clear brief can quote accurately first time, instead of guessing and adjusting later.

Send it alongside a couple of reference links and most videographers, myself included, can turn it into a fixed quote within a day or two. If you're also trying to work out what to prepare before filming starts, how to prepare your business for a video shoot picks up where this leaves off. My contact page is the quickest way to send a brief through.