Brief
1.1 START. To kickstart the creative process we require clients to submit details of their proposed project; the purpose of the film, what it needs to communicate, target audience, delivery platform etc… all the necessary information to allow us to fully understand the client’s requirements and expectations and to enable us to meet the brief with a thorough creative treatment, strategy and approach.
Download an example Brief template here:
Treatment
2.1 IDEAS. Once we receive the Brief we’ll get our creatives around the table and come up with a clutch of great ideas and possible approaches. We love this part of the process and we like to think we’re pretty good at it.
2.2 APPROACH. We will then present the creative treatments to the client. There’s more than one way to “skin a cat” (sorry cat-lovers!) so having a selection to choose from is always a great way to identify the right approach. To help we use a “style-guide menu”, allowing clients to view work made in differing styles.
2.3 APPROVAL. Once agreed, we’ll move to the next phase; putting together a detailed budget, scheduling and pre-production planning.
Script
3.1 STRUCTURE. The next step is to work the ideas up into a first-draft script. It is at this point that the film starts to take shape. We establish the film structure and identify what shots are needed as well as on-screen talent, contributors plus voice-over, graphics and effects. The goal is to effectively communicate the client’s intended messages in the most compelling and entertaining way possible.
Storyboard
4.1 VISUALISATION. It is sometimes necessary to Storyboard a film in order to get a detailed visual shot-by-shot breakdown. This is usually done for television commercials (TVCs) where every second is critical to the timing of the film. The storyboard is a great help for both the director and the client as it allows each to visualise the film before the shoot and to speed up the production on the shoot day itself.
We use experienced storyboard artists as part of our production services.
