Boards, treatments, bids and the creative brief

Before a single light is set, a commercial or music video has passed through several documents: a creative brief, a script or song, storyboards, a director's treatment, a bid, a shot list and a schedule. Each document makes promises that the cinematographer will have to keep. This lesson explains how to read a brief and storyboards with a camera department's eye, how to contribute to a treatment, how a bid is built and where camera costs live in it, and how to turn approved boards into a shot list, lighting plan and schedule that a crew can execute in a day.

Reading the creative brief

The creative brief is the agency's statement of what the commercial must achieve. It usually includes the objective (launch a product, change perception, drive sales), the target audience, the single most important message, the tone, mandatory elements such as the logo or legal lines, and the media where the work will run. For a music video, the brief may be a short note from the label with the track, the release date, the budget range and the artist's wishes.

From the cinematographer's point of view, the brief answers several practical questions.

• What must the audience remember? If the message is "the coffee is rich and smooth", the hero shot of the pour and the crema deserves more prep and time than anything else.
• Where will it be seen? A spot for cinema needs a different level of detail from a six-second vertical clip seen on a phone.
• What are the brand rules? Many brands have guidelines on colour, typography, the way the product is shown and even lighting mood.
• What is mandatory? Packshots, legal supers and logo positions affect framing, especially in vertical and square versions.
• How many versions are needed? A brief that lists a sixty-second, a thirty, a fifteen, a six and vertical cut-downs means coverage must be planned for all of them from the start.

Reading storyboards like a cinematographer

Storyboards are drawings, frame grabs or simple renders that show each planned shot. Agencies present boards to clients, so they are often the most detailed record of what the client expects to see. A cinematographer reads boards for information that the drawings may hide.

• Lens and perspective. A wide drawing of a car in a city may imply a long lens compressing the background or a wide lens close to the car; the choice changes the location, rig and safety plan.
• Camera height and movement. Arrows on boards indicate moves; the cinematographer translates them into dolly, crane, gimbal, motion control or drone.
• Lighting conditions. A board that shows a golden sunset in every frame implies a narrow shooting window or a lighting solution that can hold a sunset for hours.
• Product scale and position. Packshot boards show exactly where the product sits; matching them requires the right lens, height and often a locked-off camera.
• Impossible frames. Boards sometimes show physically impossible combinations, such as a macro view and a wide room in one shot. Identifying these early allows the team to plan a composite, a split-dioptre or a different solution.
• Effects requirements. Clean plates, tracking markers, high-speed elements and green screen show up as small notes on boards but drive major choices.

An animatic, a moving storyboard with temporary sound, adds timing. If a board shows a two-second pour, the cinematographer can calculate how much slow motion is needed to stretch a real pour that lasts half a second, a calculation covered in Lesson 4.

The director's treatment and the cinematographer's contribution

When directors pitch for a commercial or music video, they write a treatment: a document, usually illustrated, that explains how they would make the film. A strong treatment has a clear concept, a description of the story or performance, casting ideas, a visual approach and references. The visual approach is where the cinematographer often helps.

• Reference frames from films, photographs and art that show the intended light, colour and composition.
• A lighting philosophy, such as soft and natural daylight, hard sunlight with deep shadows or coloured practical light.
• Lensing choices, such as anamorphic flare, vintage softness or clean modern spherical lenses.
• Camera movement ideas, such as long gliding moves, handheld energy or precise motion control.
• Special techniques, such as high-speed, in-camera effects or LED volume backgrounds.

The cinematographer must make sure that what the treatment promises can be achieved with the budget and schedule. A treatment that shows five locations, a car chase and a robot arm in a one-day, small-budget music video is a recipe for disappointment. Gentle realism at the treatment stage protects everyone later.

Building the bid

The bid is the production company's detailed estimate of cost. It is built from the boards, the treatment and the schedule. In the United States many companies use the AICP bid form, which groups costs into standard sections such as pre-production and wrap labour, shooting crew labour, location and travel, props and wardrobe, studio rental, set construction, equipment rental, media and storage, miscellaneous costs, the director and creative fees, talent and talent expenses, and post-production if included. Canadian production companies use comparable categories, adapted to Canadian payroll, union and tax rules.

For the camera department, the main lines are crew labour (director of photography, operators, assistants, digital imaging technician, grips, electricians), equipment rental (camera, lenses, support, lighting, grip, specialty items) and media or data. Specialty tools such as a high-speed camera, a motion control rig or a crane with a technician have their own lines because they are expensive.

Crew day rates, kit and overtime

Commercial crew are paid by the day, with a base number of hours included, often ten or twelve depending on the agreement and the market. After the base hours, overtime is paid at a higher rate, commonly time and a half and then double time. Pre-light days, travel days and prep days may have different rates. The exact rules come from the union agreement or the crew member's deal memo, so a bid must use the right ones.

Payroll costs add a significant percentage on top of wages: employer contributions, union pension and health payments, and the payroll company's fee. Producers often add a "fringe" percentage in the bid to cover them.

Kit fees, packages and negotiation

Rental houses quote equipment at a daily rate and often offer weekly rates equal to three or four days of rental. Production companies negotiate discounts, especially for repeat customers. A cinematographer who owns some equipment, such as lenses or a camera, may rent it to the production as a "kit fee", but should be careful that the rate and insurance are clear.

When the equipment wish list exceeds the budget, the cinematographer and producer look for trades. Can a smaller crane do the move? Can the motion control day be limited to the packshot? Can a pre-light day reduce overtime on the shoot day? These conversations happen during the bid and again after the job is awarded, when the budget is locked.

From boards to a shot list

Once the job is awarded, the director and cinematographer break the boards into a shot list. Each shot has a number, a description, the lens and camera support, the frame rate, any special equipment and notes for effects. The list is ordered for efficient shooting rather than story order.

• Group shots by set-up and lighting state so the crew does not relight repeatedly.
• Shoot talent-heavy shots while the talent is fresh and before overtime starts.
• Schedule product and packshots, which do not need actors, at the end of the day or on a separate table-top day.
• Put any shot that needs a specialty tool together, so the robot or high-speed camera is booked for the shortest time.
• Identify the "must-have" shots that make the commercial work, and the "nice to have" shots that can be dropped if time runs out.

The schedule and the pre-production meeting

The first assistant director builds the schedule from the shot list, estimating time for each set-up. Commercial set-ups can take from fifteen minutes for a simple reframe to several hours for a complex lighting change. At the PPM, the cinematographer may present the look, show test images, explain unusual equipment and confirm that approved boards can be achieved.

Testing before the shoot

Commercial and music video work rewards testing. A test day or even a few hours with the camera and product can reveal problems that would cost a fortune on the shoot day.

• Product tests: check label reflections, colour accuracy and how the product looks in the planned light.
• Skin and wardrobe tests: check how the chosen fabrics, colours and make-up read on camera.
• Lens tests: compare lenses for flare, sharpness, distortion and character.
• Look tests: build a monitoring look with the colourist so that the client sees something close to the final grade on set, a method from CINE-310.
• Specialty tests: rehearse high-speed timing, motion control moves or vehicle rigs.

Test results go into the PPM presentation, so the client approves a look based on real images rather than guesses.