The brief arrives. It says: "Make it punchy. Something like that Apple ad from 2019. Upbeat but also emotional. Around 90 seconds, but 60 if possible. Let's see a first draft by Thursday." The editor stares at it. Three revision rounds and two weeks later, everyone is frustrated and the client is still not happy. This is preventable.
Why most briefs fail.
Video editing is a communication problem before it's a technical one. When a brief is vague, the editor fills the gaps with their own assumptions — and those assumptions almost never match what was in the client's head. The result isn't bad editing. It's editing in the wrong direction.
The three most common failure modes: no reference footage, no clear audience definition, and conflicting goals ("emotional AND punchy" is not a direction, it's two directions).
The framework that actually works.
We use a five-point brief template for every video project. It takes twenty minutes to fill out and saves an average of two revision rounds:
- Goal in one sentence. "Drive ticket sales for the March event" is a goal. "Showcase our brand" is not.
- Audience in two sentences. Who are they and what do they already believe? This determines pacing, music, and tone.
- Three reference videos. Not for copying — for understanding taste. Ask the client to explain why each one works.
- Non-negotiables. Brand colours, legal disclaimers, must-include footage. Put them here so there's no ambiguity.
- Success metric. How will you know the video worked? Views, conversions, shares — pick one primary metric.
“A twenty-minute brief is worth three rounds of revisions. Most clients learn this the hard way. The good ones learn it from you.
On reference footage specifically.
References are the most valuable and most underused part of any brief. When a client says "cinematic," they might mean slow motion and long lenses. Or they might mean dramatic colour grading. Or they might mean an orchestral score. "Cinematic" alone tells you nothing.
When someone shows you three videos they love, ask them one question: "Which part, specifically?" That question does more work than any brief template. It forces precision. And precision is what separates a first draft that lands from one that gets sent back with a note that says "it's just not quite right."
The last thing.
Send the brief before you start, not after you've already cut the first version. It sounds obvious. You would be surprised how many people skip this step and then wonder why the first round of feedback feels like starting over. The brief is the project. Everything else is execution.
