Send everything, sorted once
Selects are useful, but a full set of footage with a sensible folder structure is better. The moments a creator dismisses on set are often the ones that make the edit work, and hunting for a missing file costs more time than reviewing an extra hour of material.
Two minutes of context saves two days
- What this video is meant to do
- Anything that must stay in
- Anything that must never make it out
- A reference, if you have a style in mind
A brief is not paperwork. It is the difference between one revision and four.
Feedback with timestamps
Notes like make it punchier cost a round of revisions. Notes with a timestamp and a reason are actionable immediately. Two rounds is plenty when the notes are specific, and painful when they are not.