# AI video production brief

ReelStack · version 1 · 7 October 2026
Planning guide: https://reel-stack.com/learning/topics/ai-video-production-brief/

Use and adapt this worksheet for your project. Replace the bracketed prompts.
Keep confidential assets in an appropriate private sharing system.
This is a production planning aid, not a contract or a price quotation.

## 1. Project and outcome
Project: [working title]
Audience: [who the film is for]
Goal: [what viewers should understand, feel or do]
Primary message: [one sentence]
Where it will run: [platforms and intended use]

## 2. Deliverables
Main edit: [runtime, aspect ratio, resolution, file format]
Additional edits: [cutdowns and alternate formats]
Sound: [music, voiceover, sound design]
Captions and languages: [requirements]
Delivery deadline: [date and time zone]
Required handover files: [final exports, source files or other agreed assets]

## 3. Approved assets and references
Assets supplied by us: [links and owners]
Assets the filmmaker should create or source: [list]
Visual references: [links]
What each reference demonstrates: [camera, lighting, pacing or another feature]
What to avoid: [specific elements]
Who approves asset use: [owner and approval process]

## 4. Requirements versus preferences
Non-negotiable details: [product geometry, label text, identity or other details]
Acceptance check for each requirement: [how the reviewer can judge it]
Creative preferences: [looks or ideas to explore]
Fallback approach if a requirement fails: [discuss with the filmmaker]

## 5. Shot plan
Shot 1: [purpose, action, framing, motion, duration, continuity requirement]
Shot 2: [purpose, action, framing, motion, duration, continuity requirement]
Shot 3: [purpose, action, framing, motion, duration, continuity requirement]
Transitions and end card: [duration and content]
Total planned runtime: [check the arithmetic against the deliverable]

## 6. Representative test
Hardest production requirement: [one constraint to test first]
Representative shot: [the shot that exposes that constraint]
Pass/fail conditions: [observable requirements]
Decision after review: [continue, revise the approach or change scope]
Who pays for and approves this test: [agree before starting]

## 7. Scope and quote
Budget range and currency: [range, not a promised quote]
Included work: [preparation, generation, edit, sound, finishing, handover]
Included revision rounds: [number and scope]
Work excluded or priced separately: [options]
Assumptions that could change the quote: [list]

## 8. Review and delivery
Brief and shot-plan approval: [reviewer and date]
Representative-shot approval: [reviewer and date]
Rough-edit review: [reviewer and date]
Final review: [reviewer and date]
Feedback deadline per milestone: [time allowed]
Contact and approval owner: [private project contact]

## 9. Permissions and intended use
Intended commercial/editorial uses: [channels, territory and term to discuss]
Source-asset permissions: [who checks and supplies them]
Music, voice and likeness permissions: [owner and checks]
Tool/model requirements to confirm: [current plan, licence or other restrictions]
Agreed rights and handover: [confirm separately in the project agreement]

## Before starting
- Are all deliverables and non-negotiable details explicit?
- Do shot durations, transitions and the end card fit the required runtime?
- Is there a representative test for the hardest constraint?
- Does one person own approvals?
- Are scope, revisions, asset permissions and payment milestones agreed?

Next steps:
Shot-planning guide: https://reel-stack.com/learning/topics/ai-film-storyboarding/
Filmmaker portfolios: https://reel-stack.com/creators
Private project enquiry: https://reel-stack.com/find-ai-filmmaker