How to brief a music video: template and example

To start planning a music video, share the track and its version, your creative direction, references, shoot requirements and the finished pieces you need. Add dates and a budget range if you have one. A finished script is optional at this stage: label unanswered questions as “to decide”.

Prepared by Production Life. Use this brief to start a conversation with your production company and define the scope. Copy the fields into a document, fill in what you know and send it through your preferred channel.

Separate confirmed decisions from ideas

A room you like is still a proposed location until someone confirms access. Mark the relevant details “confirmed”, “idea” or “to decide”. This helps us understand what must stay and where you would like creative input.

Label the audio version too. If you share a demo, say who will supply the final master and whether the duration, song structure or mix may change. Editing to one version of a track can mean further work when the music changes.

A music video brief you can copy

Copy the fields below. Where you do not know an answer, write “to decide” and name the person who can confirm it.

• Project and contact: artist name, song title and the person coordinating decisions.
• Track: link, duration, demo or final master, and when or how the final audio will become available.
• Purpose and audience: what you want the video to communicate, who it is for and where you plan to release it.
• Creative direction: one or two sentences on the concept and mood. Performance, narrative or a mix? What must appear and what should we avoid?
• References: a link and timestamp for each; explain the lighting, movement or editing you like and what you do not want to carry over.
• People: the artist, other performers or extras; availability and confirmation status.
• Shoot: city, type of space, confirmed or proposed access and any restrictions you already know about.
• Wardrobe, props and effects: what you have, what is an idea and what needs development.
• Deliverables: for each piece, its destination, quantity, duration, orientation, titles or captions, and whether it needs a separate edit or a crop.
• Dates: when you need the finished video, the release date and any fixed commitments.
• Budget: range and currency, or “to discuss; please suggest scope options”. State which costs the proposal should cover.
• Rights and permissions: what you have confirmed, what needs checking and who is responsible for each point.
• Approval: who consolidates feedback and who signs off the result.
• Priorities: what is essential, what could be simplified and what you want the production company to propose.

A fictional example of an initial brief

This is a teaching example. It does not describe a client or a Production Life project.

Track: a 3:10 demo; final master and release date to decide. Purpose: introduce an intimate song with the artist at the centre of the video. Idea: start with still shots in a room, then introduce movement as the music changes. The room is an idea; access has not been confirmed.

References: links and timestamps still needed; soft side lighting appeals, without following another video’s story. Requested deliverables: one full-length landscape video and one portrait teaser with its own edit; teaser duration and destination to decide. Dates and budget: open. Participants, rights and the person approving the work still need confirmation.

This gives us enough to discuss creative direction. To develop a production proposal, we would need to resolve the audio, location access and deliverables. Keeping those questions visible prevents anyone from treating ideas as agreements.

Explain what matters in each reference

Instead of “we want something like this”, point to a moment: “At 00:42, we like the side lighting and empty background; we want different wardrobe and a different story.” The timestamp illustrates how to annotate a reference; it does not refer to a particular video. A reference showing what to avoid can help too.

A portrait version may need a separate edit

Define each piece by its use. Cropping a landscape shot can remove a performer or an important detail. A teaser also needs its own opening and ending. Say whether you need a crop of the main edit or a piece with different pacing and shot selection, so we can discuss it before planning the frames.

The number of people, location changes, effects and versions all affect the work to assess. If you have no budget range yet, identify your creative priority and ask about different scopes. This template does not set a price, schedule or included deliverables; the proposal will define those details.

Check before you send

• Have you labelled the track version and the open questions?
• Have you separated the delivery date from the release date?
• Does each piece have a quantity, purpose and format, or a clear question to resolve?
• Do location access and rights have an owner and a status?
• Is one person responsible for collecting feedback?

Production Life creates music videos in Barcelona, Europe and Dubai. Send the track and your brief, including any open questions, to discuss your project.

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