Brief

The short document that sets the problem before anyone reaches for a solution. A good brief is a constraint disguised as a gift.

A brief converts a wish into a problem. The wish: make us a film. The problem: convince this audience of this one thing, within these constraints, by this date. Writing it is the client's hardest contribution, which is why weak briefs outnumber weak solutions.

A constraint disguised as a gift, because constraint is where ideas come from; the blank page has no purchase. Our rule on receiving one: find the single sentence that must be true of the solution, and read everything else as context. A brief that cannot be reduced to that sentence is a mood board with a deadline.