How to Give a Production Company a Great Brief
Like anything, event success comes down to planning and preparation.
One of our biggest challenges as a creative technical production company is helping clients brief us in the right way. While there isn’t a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way, there is a way of briefing us so that together we can make the whole process as seamless as possible.
So, we decided to do something about it. We’ve mustered our resources to pull together this handy guide of top tips and suggestions.
While every creative brief is different, each covers the following broad aspects of event delivery. Check it out…
Audience
Firstly, it’s important to think about how you want your audience to feel – they’ll be the ones enjoying the event after all. The best events and experiences are not about what you say, but how you make people feel. If we’re going to inspire people, we must go beyond taking a message from the eyes to the brain, we must take it to the heart.
So, what does that mean? Well, event success is unlocked when you start by thinking about who your event is for and what you want the outcome to be.
Logistics
Next, let’s straighten out the logistics side of things.
Before we start working on an event, it’s always useful to know a few things about the operational aspects. This will help us to provide clients with a better idea of what’s achievable within the space, time-frame, and budget, as well as help us to come up with some seriously creative concepts.
Understanding the type of event and who it’ll be for always makes life a little easier and helps set you up for event success. It means that together we can help brainstorm ideas that will hit the mark with your audience
Knowing the location for the event is a great bit of info to start off with. Do you want it to be an outdoor event or indoor? Do you know the venue yet? Do you know the city yet? How many people will be there? These are just some simple starting points to get us going.
Next, it’s useful to know about timings and dates. To ensure we can get your event booked in, it’s helpful to have a date ready, even if it’s just a pencil, and if you’re wanting to run rehearsals the day before, it’d be great to know about that too.
Whenever you plan to have a production at an event, it’s always best to check how long is required to build and how long it will take to take down before finalising contracts. Some events can take many hours to build and its better to factor this in right from the beginning, rather than causing panic and stress.
Once a venue is sorted, we’ll contact them so we can really understand the space. This is where we find out details such as ceiling heights, access for trucks, power, rigging capabilities, etc.
Whilst your budget doesn’t really matter to us, it’s always something that we need to consider so we can ensure you’ll get the most bang for your buck. Budget will drive the creative steer on an event. There’s no point in us putting something in front of you that’s unaffordable, yet at the same time, if you want to make a big impression, we shouldn’t hold back.
AV and Tech
When it comes to the tech, it’s best to give us an overview of what you want to happen and how you want to use the space. We’ll take it from there advising you as to what will work best. This way, we can provide you with an accurate estimate of what’s needed, and nothing will get overlooked or forgotten on the big day – nightmare!
Our recommendations will factor in details such as screen size and number needed. This sometimes doesn’t matter too much for some events, but if you’re hosting a conference, with presentations, have a think about the content in your slides and how it’ll translate onto the big screen.
If you’re opting for minimal text and big slogans, selecting a couple of big screens should be enough, but if you’re going text heavy, you might be better off dotting a few smaller ones around the venue to help people see the content. If possible, it’s always a good shout to come to us with an idea of what the content may be to ensure we get it absolutely right.
Expert Opinion
We often get clients who have a brief idea of what they want to achieve, but no clue as to how to do it or how it’ll work/look, and this is absolutely fine!
Be confident enough to come to us with an idea, however small, and we can help suggest ways of bringing it to life, making your event a true success. There’s no point bogging yourself down with the technicalities, that’s what we’re here for. Just let us know what you want to achieve, and we’ll do it.
At On, we’re the experts. We can give you the guidance you need to create truly memorable events and experiences. Setting you up for event success.
Give us a call to set up a meeting. We’ll pop the kettle on…