In this guide 9 sections

1. Start with the audience and outcome
2. List the outputs the team must deliver
3. Define what your agency will handle
4. Separate fixed dates from open decisions
5. Explain budget, usage and language
6. Name the people who approve each stage
7. Check your inputs and copy the template
8. Check the proposal against your brief
9. Quick answers before you enquire

Start with the audience and outcome

A Japan video production brief should let a local team understand the campaign, propose the work required and explain its estimate. Use the copyable template below for your first enquiry; you do not need a final script. Begin with one objective and the audience, then record the outputs, responsibilities, timing and decisions still open. For example, introducing a product to overseas distributors calls for a different explanation from promoting a venue to visitors.

Then describe the people who will watch it. Give the target markets, languages and level of familiarity with the subject. A Japan-focused campaign for domestic viewers may assume knowledge that an overseas audience does not have. Conversely, a film intended for Japanese customers may need a different explanation from the existing English campaign.

BRIEF QUALITY / BEFORE & AFTER

Give the producer something they can price and plan.

TOO OPEN

“A cinematic Japan video, plus some social clips.”

• Audience unclear
• Outputs unspecified
• Responsibilities open

MORE ACTIONABLE

“One 90-second landscape film and three 20-second vertical clips for overseas partners. Two office interviews; our agency edits. Please propose the local filming team and equipment.”

List the outputs the team must deliver

Describe each output, its purpose and its destination. A landscape brand film and a vertical social clip are separate deliverables, even when they share a shoot. List the expected length, aspect ratio, language, subtitles and graphics. If a specification is still undecided, write “to be proposed” instead of leaving it invisible.

These numbers are an example for briefing. The right specification depends on the campaign. If you need footage, edit project files or separate audio elements, include them in the request so that their delivery conditions can be discussed. Do not assume they are included in a finished-video quotation.

DELIVERABLE DESIGN / TWO COMPOSITIONS

Plan the frame before you shoot.

16:9 / LANDSCAPE

Room for context

Keep room for the setting, a second person or explanatory graphics.

9:16 / VERTICAL

Keep the subject readable

Plan subject placement and text space; ask which scenes need separate vertical takes.

Define what your agency will handle

State whether you already have a concept, script, storyboard, director, talent and editor. If your agency owns the creative development, explain which local production tasks you want supported. If you need a complete production, say which decisions the partner should propose.

Use these as discussion categories, not fixed packages. Agree the actual responsibilities in the proposal. For instance, “interview filming with location coordination; editing by our agency” is much clearer than “production support.” It also helps the partner identify the information they need from you.

Separate fixed dates from open decisions

Give the preferred filming date or date range, the first-cut deadline and the final delivery deadline. Mention any contributor, event or venue time that cannot move. A film needed for a fixed event date must have a review plan that works backwards from that date.

If you have locations in mind, include addresses or reference links and the current access status. Use clear labels such as “client-owned office, approval pending” or “visual reference only.” A production team needs to know whether it is planning a confirmed site, checking an option or finding a suitable alternative.

KIKKAKE has its headquarters in Fukuoka and a production base in Tokyo, with projects across Japan. Include the actual filming destination in the enquiry. If the base is still open, explain which contributors and visual elements are fixed so that location options can be discussed.

Explain budget, usage and language

A budget range helps the team propose an appropriate approach. State whether it needs to cover travel, locations, language support, editing and other known items. If the amount is not approved, say so and ask which scope could be developed for review.

Describe where the assets will be used, the intended markets and the planned usage period. Mention paid advertising, client websites, social channels, events or other uses relevant to the project. These details help the team discuss contributor, music, stock and other usage arrangements for the actual deliverables. Final terms belong in the agreed project scope.

Specify the language of meetings, scripts, interviews, on-set direction, subtitles and feedback. If an overseas director will attend remotely, explain how they expect to give notes. Interpretation, translation and an English-speaking contact are different needs; list the relevant requirements rather than writing only “English support.”

Name the people who approve each stage

Name the people who approve the concept, filming plan, first cut and final delivery. Choose one person to consolidate feedback from the agency and client. Conflicting comments are easier to resolve before they are passed to the editor.

Agree what each review is intended to settle. The concept review addresses the story and approach. The filming-plan review settles scenes and practical arrangements. The edit review addresses the agreed assets. If the brief changes after a stage is approved, ask how that affects the estimate and delivery date.

• Who can approve an on-set change?
• Who sends consolidated edit feedback?
• What is the response window in each time zone?
• How many review rounds are included in the proposal?
• What happens if new scenes or outputs are requested?

Avoid relying on informal availability. If the client is overseas, schedule review times that both teams can use. A written approval path can be short, but it should identify who makes the decision and when.

APPROVALS / FOUR CHECKPOINTS

Make the next decision clear.

1. 01Concept

   Story and creative approach.

2. 02Filming plan

   Scenes and arrangements.

3. 03First cut

   Consolidated edit feedback.

4. 04Final assets

   Acceptance and handover.

Check your inputs and copy the template

BEFORE YOU ENQUIRE / SIX INPUTS

What does your brief already cover?

Select the information you can include

Objective and audience Outputs, formats and versions Agency roles and support requested Dates, locations and fixed constraints Budget range or approval status Decision-maker and delivery deadline

0 of 6 key inputs covered. Mark open items “to discuss” in the template; you can enquire before every decision is final.

This checks the inputs you select, not the quality or feasibility of a production. The selections are not submitted or stored by this tool.

You can send this as plain text and attach the current references. It is fine to mark unknown items as “to discuss.” The goal is to give the production partner enough context to ask useful questions and identify the assumptions behind a proposal.

Check the proposal against your brief

Look for a proposal that reflects the objective, defines responsibilities, lists deliverables and explains the schedule. It should make the estimate’s assumptions visible and identify matters that still need confirmation. If something in your brief was interpreted differently, resolve it before commissioning the work.

Ask the team to explain its role in relevant examples. On KIKKAKE’s project pages, Google Search Coach is credited as filming, while Huis Ten Bosch creative includes strategy, planning, filming and editing. Those distinctions help frame a conversation about the contribution your project needs.

Ready to discuss the brief? Visit our page for overseas agencies and producers, or send the current project information through the English contact form. Meeting and on-set language arrangements are agreed for each project.

Return to the same brief when two proposals look hard to compare. A supplier can reasonably propose a different approach, but the difference should be visible: another filming day, fewer versions, an alternative location or a different editing responsibility. Ask the team to explain that change before deciding whether the proposal meets the campaign need.

Quick answers before you enquire