A useful corporate video brief does not need a finished script. It needs enough information to decide what the film should say, who can say it and how the production will work inside your organisation.

That is different from writing a list of shots. A beautiful office sequence cannot fix an unclear message, and a busy interview schedule cannot fix a missing decision-maker.

Use the questions below as a starting point. Leave unknown details open. If you want something to share with your team, download the editable text brief. It is free, with no signup required. Nothing is sent to Lucid Lab when you download it.

1. Name the audience and the job

“A video about our company” leaves too much unresolved. Identify who will watch and what they need to understand afterwards.

For example, a prospective client may need to understand how your service works. Staff watching a strategy launch may need to connect a new direction to their everyday work. Those audiences need different questions, examples and edits.

Complete this sentence:

After watching, our audience should understand _____ and be ready to _____.

Give the main film one clear job. If different audiences need different messages, discuss separate versions rather than trying to make one edit do everything.

2. Choose people with something specific to say

Choose participants for the perspective they bring. Someone close to the work may explain it more clearly than the most senior person available.

For each possible interview, note:

  • Their role and the part of the story they can explain.
  • A concrete example or experience they can talk about.
  • Their availability and any language or accessibility requirements.
  • Whether they are comfortable appearing in the agreed channels.

You do not need to write everyone’s answers. Agree the subjects and plan questions that let people speak in their own words. If the message needs a precise scripted statement, identify that before filming.

3. Identify what the camera can show

Supporting footage should help viewers understand what the interview describes. List real places, tasks, interactions or details that could make the story visible.

Then check the practical limits. Can the crew access the location? Can normal work continue during filming? Are customers, children, confidential screens or restricted areas likely to be in frame?

Include participant permissions and location access in the production plan. Flag sensitive material early so the producer can plan around it. You can describe restrictions in the first enquiry without sending confidential documents.

4. Separate filming dates from delivery dates

The day the video must be finished is not the day it should be filmed. Preparation, editing, review and finishing also need room in the schedule.

Tell the producer about fixed events, participant availability, site access and the people who must approve the work. If a launch date cannot move, say so at the start.

Avoid promising an internal screening before the production schedule has been agreed. The quote and schedule should reflect the actual scope and approval requirements.

5. List the outputs before the shoot

Write down where the work will appear and what each placement needs. A website film, internal presentation and vertical social clip may share footage, but they are different finished outputs.

For each version, list the audience, channel, approximate length if known, aspect ratio, captions, language and call to action. Note whether you need a clean version without titles or other agreed variants.

See the guide to planning horizontal and vertical video together before assuming every format can be created by cropping the main film.

6. Make feedback manageable

Name the person who will consolidate comments and approve each stage. They may need input from brand, leadership or subject specialists, but the editor needs one resolved set of feedback.

Agree when people will check story structure, factual claims, names and titles. Changes to the main message after the edit is approved can affect more than a single shot.

Ask the proposal to specify the review stages, included revision rounds and how additional work is handled. There is no universal number of revisions that suits every project.

7. Give the budget some context

If you have a budget range, share it. That lets the producer recommend an achievable combination of preparation, filming, crew, editing and versions.

If you do not have a range yet, explain the priority and the fixed requirements. Compare proposals by the work included: shoot days, locations, travel, crew, graphics, captions, music licences and delivery outputs. Confirm final-file and source-material arrangements rather than assuming they are the same.

See the approach in published work

Plunket’s Kotahitanga strategy film brings kaimahi and board members into the story of the organisation’s new direction. Our Whakapapa uses a different approach: a heritage story connecting the organisation to its origins.

These are examples of different communication jobs, rather than a template every organisation should copy.

Explore corporate video production with Lucid Lab or send Charlie what you know about the project. The audience, message and deadline are enough to start the conversation.