Most independent artists brief a director the same way they'd describe a video to a mate: "something like that one, but for my song." The director nods, goes away, and comes back with their own interpretation of a sentence that could mean five different things. The gap between what you meant and what gets shot is almost always a briefing problem, not a talent problem.
Four things, in order of usefulness: the track, references, budget, and intent. The track matters more than people think, even a rough mix tells a director the tempo, the energy shifts, and where the hook lands, all of which shape how a video should be paced. References show taste rather than instructions. Budget sets the ceiling on what's realistic before anyone gets attached to an idea that costs three times what's available. Intent, what you actually want people to feel watching this, is the part most artists skip and the part that matters most.
Point at moments, not whole videos. Sending a director five full-length reference videos with "something like this energy" attached to each one means they're guessing which five seconds out of twenty minutes you actually care about. A single timestamped note, the lighting here, the crowd energy there, the way this transition hits on the beat, does more work than a folder of loosely related links. If you don't have a video reference, a photo, a colour palette, or even a description of a mood works just as well as a starting point.
Generally, no, not as the primary brief. A shot list without context turns the director into an operator executing your plan rather than someone solving the actual creative problem, which is translating a song into moving images. The stronger approach is telling the director what the song needs to feel like at each section and what moments matter most to you, the hook, a specific lyric, a visual motif you want repeated, and letting them propose the how. If you already have a strong idea for one specific shot, say so, but frame the rest as intent rather than instructions.
Write one sentence describing what a stranger should feel in the first five seconds of your video. If you can't answer that, neither can your director, and that's the gap a briefing conversation should close before anyone talks about locations or shot lists.
If your concept depends on a specific location, a rooftop, a warehouse, a public space, that location may need council approval that takes ten to fifteen business days. Brief the director early enough that the permit application isn't racing the shoot date. See our guide on hip hop video locations in Sydney for what's actually available without that wait.
Fixating on replicating a single famous video usually produces a weaker result than describing what you liked about it and letting the director find your own version. The videos worth referencing got noticed because they were original, not because they copied something else.
Withholding your budget doesn't get you a better concept, it gets you a concept the director has to redesign once the real number comes out. Stating the range upfront means the treatment you get back is one you can actually shoot.
A good director takes your brief and comes back with a short treatment, a written description of the concept, key visual references, and a rough shot breakdown, before the shoot day, not on it. Read it, push back on anything that doesn't match your intent, and get it locked before crew and locations are booked. Changing direction after the treatment is approved costs time and money that changing it before approval doesn't.
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Use the CalculatorThe track itself (even a rough mix), a short list of reference videos with notes on what you like about each one, your budget range, and any locations or visual ideas you already have in mind. You don't need a full treatment written yourself, that's the director's job, but showing up with references saves an entire meeting of guessing.
Specific enough to point at a moment, not a whole video. "The lighting at 0:45 in this clip" or "the way the camera moves during the chorus here" is more useful than sending five full videos and saying "something like this." A director can build a treatment from three well-chosen reference points faster than from twenty vague ones.
Tell them what the song needs to feel like and what moments matter most, then let them propose how to get there. Directors who are handed a shot list with no context often deliver technically correct footage that doesn't serve the track. The brief works best as a conversation about intent, with the director translating that into the how.
That's normal, and it's still useful information. Tell the director what you don't want, what videos in your genre feel overdone to you, and what the song is actually about lyrically. A good director can build a concept from a clear sense of what to avoid just as easily as from a clear sense of what to chase.
At least two to three weeks if the concept involves a specific location or permit, since council processing alone can take ten to fifteen business days. For a simpler performance-based video, one to two weeks is workable, but locking the brief early always gives more room to fix problems before the shoot day instead of during it.
618 Media is a video production company based in NSW, working with businesses, artists, and organisations across Sydney and NSW on music videos, brand stories, corporate video, event coverage, real estate, social media content, and more.
Every project starts with a conversation about what you want to achieve. We handle everything from concept through to final delivery.
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