Send your brief or RFQ
If you already have a document, email it to info@dreamengine.com.au. We will read it, ask follow-up questions and flag anything that needs a decision before we scope the work.
A practical video production brief
You do not need to arrive with a polished document. Tell us what the video needs to achieve, who it is for and where it will be used. You can write the brief yourself or work through it with your Dream Engine producer.
A clear starting point
A clear brief keeps the project focused on what you need.
It helps us understand what the video needs to achieve, who it is for and where it will be used.
That means less guessing and a clearer basis for recommending the right approach, scope, schedule and budget.
It does not need to be formal or technical. Start with what you know and we will help with the rest.
Brief us in the way that suits you.
Some clients arrive with a detailed procurement document. Others start with a rough idea and a deadline. Both are workable.
Use our quote form
Our Get a Quote form asks for the starting information we need, including audience, content, message, budget, timing and any examples you like.
Talk it through with us
If the project is still taking shape, we can guide the conversation, explain the options and turn your answers into a clear working brief. Contact us to arrange a call.
Start with these three questions.
You can add detail later. These answers give the project direction and help us ask better follow-up questions.
What should the video achieve?
What should be different after somebody watches it? They might understand a process, trust a service, choose a product, learn a task or feel confident about a change.
Who needs to see it?
Be as specific as you can. Tell us who the audience is, what they already know, what matters to them and what questions, concerns or barriers the video needs to address.
Where will they watch it?
A website, training portal, presentation, event, LinkedIn campaign or internal channel can each call for a different length, structure and set of versions.
You do not need perfect answers. Tell us what is fixed, what is preferred and where you would like our advice.
Purpose and audience
Start with why the project exists. A video for new customers has a different job from a training module, an internal update, a recruitment film or a government information campaign.
Then describe the people you need to reach. Avoid saying the audience is “everyone” unless it truly is. Their knowledge, priorities and relationship with your organisation affect the language, examples, pace and people we put on screen.
- What problem is the video helping to solve?
- What does the audience already know?
- What matters most to them?
- How will you judge whether the video worked?
Main message and response
What is the one point the viewer should remember? A clear central message helps us decide what belongs in the video and what will distract from it.
Include any supporting messages, approved wording or factual claims that must appear. Also tell us what you want the viewer to do next, even if the response is simply to understand, feel reassured or discuss the subject with somebody else.
Content, people and locations
Describe what you expect the video to contain. That might include interviews, a presenter, a customer story, a demonstration, workplace footage, an event, animation, archive material or a mixture of these.
Tell us who may need to appear, where filming could happen and whether access or availability will be difficult. You do not need to build the filming schedule. We need enough context to recommend a practical way of capturing the material.
Where the video will be used
Tell us every place the finished video may need to work. This affects duration, framing, captions, graphics, calls to action and the versions included in the quote.
If you need a main website video, shorter social edits and vertical versions, it is best to know before filming. We can compose the shots properly, capture enough supporting material and plan text so it remains readable in each format.
- Main video length or preferred range.
- Website, social, event or internal channels.
- Horizontal, vertical or square versions.
- Captions, languages and accessibility needs.
Timing, budget and priorities
Share the real launch or delivery date, plus any internal review dates that sit before it. We can then allow enough time for planning, filming, editing, feedback and final delivery.
A budget range helps us recommend an approach that is realistic from the start. It is not a test. If the budget is fixed, tell us. If it is still being worked out, “unsure” is a valid answer. We can explain what different levels of production would include and where the money will make the greatest difference.
If the scope and budget do not line up, we will say so and help you decide what to simplify, stage or prioritise.
Approvals, brand and requirements
Tell us who provides information, who reviews creative work and who gives final approval. Several stakeholders are fine, but it helps to agree who combines their comments and who makes the final call when feedback points in different directions.
Share relevant brand guidelines, existing campaign material, legal wording, accessibility requirements, agency specifications and anything else the finished video must follow. Early visibility prevents avoidable changes later.
You do not need to decide how the video will be made.
Tell us what you know about the audience, organisation and practical constraints. We will recommend the production approach.
Helpful information from your team
- The purpose and intended audience.
- Known content, contributors and locations.
- Fixed deadlines, budget limits and priorities.
- Brand, legal or accessibility requirements.
- Who needs to review and approve the work.
- Reference videos and existing assets.
What Dream Engine can work out
- The most suitable video structure and treatment.
- Whether to use scripts, interviews or both.
- The crew, camera, lighting and sound setup.
- Whether a storyboard or shot list is useful.
- The filming schedule and practical production plan.
- Technical delivery details for the intended channels.
If an agency or broadcaster has already supplied a technical specification, include it. Otherwise, tell us where the videos will be used and we will recommend the correct formats.
Copy and use
What to send us.
Copy these questions into an email or document and answer them in your own words. Short answers are fine. If you do not know something yet, write “open to advice”.
Send a completed brief to info@dreamengine.com.au, or answer the core questions through our online form.
Project and background
What is the project and why is it happening now?
Purpose and response
What should the video achieve, and what should viewers understand, feel or do next?
Audience
Who needs to watch it and what matters to them?
Main message
What is the one point they should remember?
Content, people and locations
What topics, actions or stories belong in the video, who might appear and where could filming happen?
Channels and deliverables
Where will people watch it, and what main video, shorter edits or alternate versions may be needed?
Timing
When is the real delivery date and when are internal approvals due?
Budget
What range, limit or spending approval are we working within?
Approvals
Who contributes information, reviews the work and gives final approval?
Requirements, references and assets
What rules, files or existing material should we see? For examples, tell us what you like or dislike about each one.
After the brief
How we turn it into a production plan.
The brief can be short. We ask the follow-up questions that matter and confirm what still needs a decision.
01
Review the need
We check what the video should achieve, who it is for and where it will be used.
02
Ask the key questions
We clarify the details that affect the approach or quote.
03
Confirm the scope
We set out the deliverables, responsibilities, timing and cost.
04
Prepare for production
Once approved, we prepare only the script, questions, storyboard, schedule or shot list the project needs.
Why the detail matters
A clear brief helped one filming day produce a main film and future content.
By identifying the main video, later edits and social cutdowns before filming, a clear brief helps us capture the right material in one day.
Knowing that before filming affects who needs to be available, how the interview questions are organised and what supporting material must be captured. The brief does not just describe the final video. It changes the production plan.
This was part of our approach for Mosaic Private, where a leadership film also needed to create useful topic-led content for later release.
Video briefing FAQs
Do we need a finished brief before contacting Dream Engine?
No. You can start with a finished document, an RFQ, answers in our quote form or a conversation about what the video needs to achieve. We will help identify and fill the gaps.
How long should a video production brief be?
Long enough to explain the purpose, audience, content, use, timing, budget and approval requirements. A clear one-page brief can be more useful than a long document that does not make the priorities clear.
Should we include a budget?
Yes, if you have a range or fixed limit. It lets us recommend a realistic approach and explain where the budget will make the greatest difference. If the budget is not yet known, say so and we can talk through the likely options.
Do we need a script or storyboard at the briefing stage?
No. Bring them if they already exist, but they are not required. Once the objective, audience and approach are clear, we can decide what planning documents the project still needs.
What if several people need to approve the video?
List the people who need to contribute, review or approve the work. We will agree the review stages and ask for one consolidated set of comments at each stage, with a clear final decision-maker.
Have a project in mind but no finished brief?
Tell us what you need the video to achieve, who needs to see it and when you need it. We will help work out the production details and put together a clear plan.
