Social media video brief template
One social video is usually several files. This brief names every placement, so the ratios, durations, sound rules and caption needs are written for you before the quote.
For social and content teams briefing Reels, Stories, TikTok, feed and pre-roll.
About 9 questions, mostly taps. Free, no account. About ninety seconds.
Start a motion or video briefThis is what a finished motion or video brief contains, with an example line in each section. Write it by hand from this, or answer the questions below by tapping and the page writes it for you.
The one thing that must not be got wrong
The constraint that overrides everything else. Put it first.
“The product name is Vela, pronounced VEE-la, and it must be said aloud once.”
What we are making
The kind of film and how many, in physical terms.
“One hero film and a set of cutdowns for social, from one shoot.”
Where it plays
Every placement. Each one is a deliverable with its own ratio, duration and sound rule.
“Instagram Reels, Meta feed, YouTube pre-roll. Reels is the hero cut.”
Specifications
Written for you from the placements. Ratio, pixels, duration, codec, sound, safe areas.
“Reels: 9:16, 1080×1920, 30–90s typical, MP4 H.264, sound on. Meta feed: 4:5, plays silent, captions required.”
How it is made
Live action, 2D, 3D, motion graphics on existing material, or not decided yet.
“Live action, one shoot day, with product stills we already have.”
Audience and objective
One person it is for, and one verb they should do.
“For a first-time buyer who has seen the product on a friend. They should tap through to the product page.”
Tone
Positions on three scales, not adjectives.
“Considered rather than energetic. Understated rather than bold. Warm rather than cool.”
References
Work to sit beside, and work to avoid, one reason each.
“Like the Hay spring film for its pace. Not like the Zalando spots; too fast for us.”
What exists
What the client already has, so the rest can be priced.
“Logo files, brand guidelines, product stills. No music licence, no script.”
Budget, dates, sign-off
A band, the live date, and who says yes.
“60–150k DKK. Live 24 October. Two people sign off; Mette decides a tie.”
Open questions
What the brief does not know yet, said plainly, so nobody guesses.
“Music not chosen. Voice-over language undecided: Danish only, or Danish and English.”
You answer the questions. The brief writes these.
- Ratio, pixels and duration per placement
- Codec and container
- Sound on or silent by default
- Safe areas and caption rules
- Minimum production window
- Adaptation count from the hero cut
Social video is where the gap between what you say and what a producer has to make is widest. You say "a video for social". The producer hears four aspect ratios, three duration ceilings, two sound defaults and a set of safe areas, multiplied by however many languages you need. Nobody is wrong. The brief has not translated one into the other yet, and that translation is what this template does.
The document above is a finished social video brief. The decisions below are the ones that change the quote, so they are the ones to get right before you send it.
The decisions that move the quote
Which placements. Instagram Reels, Stories, TikTok, the Meta feed, LinkedIn, YouTube pre-roll. Each has a specification that is not a matter of opinion. Reels and TikTok are 9:16 at 1080 by 1920 with sound on. The Meta feed is 4:5 and plays silent, so it needs captions. LinkedIn is the same. Pick the placements and the brief writes those specifications out, along with the number of files they add up to.
Which cut leads. When placements span more than one ratio, one is the hero and the rest are adapted from it. Decide it in the brief and the shoot is planned for it. Decide it afterwards and something is reshot or cropped badly.
What it looks like with the sound off. Most social video is watched silent, in a feed, with a thumb ready to scroll. That decides three things: captions are mandatory, the first two seconds have to work without sound, and anything that only makes sense with a voice-over will not make sense. If there is a voice-over, say what the film does without it.
How many languages. Two languages doubles the subtitle files and means the text layers are kept separate in the edit. Three placements in two languages is seven files including the master. Say the number.
How it is made. A social set can be motion graphics over existing footage, a 2D animation, or a shoot. The cost range across those is about four to one. "Not sure yet" is recorded as an open question rather than resolved silently to the cheapest reading.
What exists. Footage, product stills, a logo in vector, a music licence, a script. Each unticked item is a line in the estimate.
The brand rule the platform makes hard. The logo that must survive the Reels interface overlay. The product that must be readable at thumbnail size. That is usually the one thing that must not be got wrong on a social job.
Mistakes we see most
“A Reel for the launch, and we will probably use it on LinkedIn too.”
“Placements: Instagram Reels (hero, 9:16), LinkedIn (16:9, plays silent, captions burned in). Two files plus the master.”
LinkedIn is a different ratio and a different sound rule, not an export.
“There will be a voice-over explaining the product.”
“Voice-over in Danish. The film must also work with sound off: the product name and the offer appear as on-screen text in the first two seconds.”
The feed is silent by default. Say what happens without the voice.
“Please keep it on brand.”
“The one thing that must not be got wrong: the logo sits above the Reels interface overlay, in the safe area, for the whole final second.”
A brand rule stated as a placement rule is one a designer can keep.
Answer the questions below by tapping, and the brief writes the ratios, the durations, the sound rules, the caption needs and the file count for you.
What it asks, and why.
- ScopeWhat are you making?
Leave it open and your designer prices the smallest reading of the job. Everything after that is a change request.
- ScopeWhere will it play?
Each placement is its own deliverable with its own ratio, duration and sound rules. Three placements briefed as one film is a threefold deliverable count nobody priced.
- CraftHow is it made?
Live action and 3D can differ four times over in cost. Leave it open and your designer quotes for the cheapest one.
- CraftWhat does this need?only when it applies
A shoot day means a producer, talent means casting, a location means permits. Unnamed, they arrive later as extras.
- CraftWhat kind of 3D?only when it applies
Photoreal 3D built from scratch is a different budget from stylised work on existing models.
- CraftIs there sound?
A voice means a script someone has to write. A commercial track means a territory and a term someone has to negotiate.
- LookWhat exists, and what must appear?
Every unticked asset is a line in the estimate. Skipping this produces the phrase 'we assumed you had that'.
- LookWho is this for?
A film for existing customers and a film for people who have never heard of you are different films.
- PracticalitiesBudget range
A band is a signal about which kind of job is on the table, not a commitment. Without one the designer guesses.
- PracticalitiesWhen does it go live?
A date only means something next to the minimum production window. If they do not fit, better to know now.
- PracticalitiesThe one thing that must not be got wrong
Every project has one. It is rarely written down because it feels obvious to the person who knows it.