Client requirements and audience
Timescales and Constraints
A timescale is the amount of time set for pre-production and production, and it may include a final deadline. For example, a youth theatre group needs a 60-second promo video finished by its opening night on 12 March, so every planning meeting, filming session and edit must fit before that date. Deadlines often come from the client's planned release, broadcast or publication date, such as a launch day or a scheduled episode.
Requirements limit your choices
A requirement constrains planning and production when it removes some of the choices available to you. The brief may limit the timescale, product format, budget, content, style or creative approach. Each limit restricts your creative options, what content is included, the format, the schedule and the cost. You cannot plan as if the limits were not there; you plan around them.
| Limit set by the brief | Choice it can take away |
|---|---|
| Tight timescale (three weeks) | Fewer filming days, so a simpler edit or fewer scenes |
| Fixed format (15-second vertical video) | Long scripts, wide landscape shots and slow introductions |
| Small budget (£150) | Paid voice actors, hired studios and costly music |
| Content rule (family audience) | Scary images, swearing and complicated jokes |
| Style rule (calm and serious) | Bright cartoon characters and silly sound effects |
In the theatre example, the fixed opening night might mean a simpler animation instead of complex special effects. A small budget might rule out hiring a professional actor. A 15-second vertical video leaves time for only one or two short scenes, so the script must be short. Producers who ignore these limits risk missing the deadline or going over budget.
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OCR Creative iMedia · Client requirements and audience