A reference film is most useful when you can explain what you want to borrow from it. You may admire the interview intimacy, the pace of the opening or the way graphics clarify a process. Identify that feature explicitly so the production team does not assume you want the same story, scale or visual style in every respect.
Choose references after defining the audience and purpose of your own film. Otherwise an impressive example can quietly become the brief, even when it was made for a different buyer, channel or commercial objective. Your film should answer your question, not reproduce another organisation's campaign logic.
Annotate the useful moment
Point to a specific scene or section and describe its effect in plain language. “The viewer understands the product before the logo appears” is more actionable than “make it premium”. Explain why that effect matters to your audience.
Also note what you do not want to copy. A reference may have a suitable interview approach but unsuitable humour or an elaborate location sequence. Negative boundaries help the creative team interpret the reference without discarding the useful element.
Separate style from production scale
Ask which resources create the feature you admire. A calm, natural-looking scene may involve substantial preparation, controlled access or specialist work. Do not assume that an apparently simple reference is inexpensive to reproduce, or that a high-production example requires an identical budget to borrow one modest principle.
Invite the supplier to propose an original approach suited to the actual scope. A reference should open a conversation about the desired effect, not become an obligation to duplicate shots whose practical requirements have not been assessed.
Avoid importing another brand's claims
The reference may use customer results, cultural associations or product evidence that your business does not have. Keep those separate from the stylistic discussion. A similar visual treatment cannot establish the same authority or outcome for a different organisation.
Be careful with distinctive creative elements and third-party assets. Discuss an original treatment and the rights required for any actual material you propose to use. Viewing a public film does not make its footage, music or design available for your production.
Hypothetical example
A fictional service company shares a reference featuring a large cast and several locations. What the buyer actually likes is that the opening presents a recognisable customer question immediately. The original brief simply says “like this”.
The buyer annotates that opening principle and explains that the cast, comedy and location scale are not required. The producer proposes an original interview-led treatment with a concise visual example. The reference now communicates a useful editorial aim without creating an unrealistic expectation of copying the entire campaign.
Send a small coherent set
A few annotated references are usually easier to interpret than a large folder of unrelated favourites. If references conflict, explain the priority: perhaps one guides tone and another guides information design. Ask the supplier to describe how it has interpreted them before approving the creative direction.
For factual claim review, consult ACCC advertising guidance. Explore Live Images services and share the annotated references and actual brief for an original production discussion.
Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images. Planning guidance is general; suitability and production scope must be agreed for your project.