Briefing diagrams and motion graphics for a project film

1. Give the graphic one communication job

Write the question the graphic should answer. “Show how these areas relate” is a clearer starting point than “make this more dynamic”. The first tells a designer what meaning to preserve; the second leaves the purpose unresolved.

Check whether an existing shot, a spoken explanation or a simple label could do the job. A graphic should have a reason to exist in the sequence.

• Question the viewer needs answered:
• Information the footage or spoken words do not make clear:
• One takeaway the graphic should support:
• Where it would appear in the story:
• What the viewer already knows at that point:
• Simpler alternative worth discussing:

Keep decorative ideas separate from explanation requirements. That lets the production discussion distinguish what the film needs to communicate from a preferred visual style.

2. Identify the source and the meaning that must stay accurate

A reference drawing may contain much more information than belongs on screen. Identify the exact source, its revision and the person who can explain it. A designer should not have to infer which lines, labels or relationships are essential.

Ask the project contact to distinguish factual information from illustrative simplification. If a sketch is only conceptual, the brief should not present it as a measured or construction-ready drawing.

• Source document or approved reference:
• Revision and date:
• Relevant area, page or detail:
• Meaning that must be preserved:
• Elements that may be simplified or omitted:
• Scale or proportion limitations to make clear:
• Technical checking owner:
• Person confirming permitted use:

Do not distribute confidential source material merely because it would be convenient. Agree an appropriate reference or extract with the responsible project contact. Keep unresolved permissions visible in the brief.

3. Decide what must be seen together

List the elements the viewer needs to compare or connect. Then identify the minimum labels needed to understand them. A drawing that is clear on a large monitor may become difficult to follow when reduced within a film.

Use a rough information outline before discussing polished design. This could be a list of elements and relationships rather than a finished sketch.

• Element or area:
• Why the viewer needs it:
• Relationship to another element:
• Essential label and approved wording:
• Information that can remain outside the graphic:
• Potential misunderstanding if simplified:

If the meaning depends on colour, position or a visual highlight, identify that dependency. Discuss the required spoken or text explanation and the project’s accessibility requirements separately. Do not assume a graphic alone communicates the point to every viewer.

4. Give movement an explanatory purpose

If motion is proposed, describe what changes and why the viewer needs to see that change. Revealing a sequence of stages is a different request from moving a title into place. The brief should make that distinction clear without prescribing an unverified production method.

Write one short entry for each proposed step:

• What is visible at the start?
• What changes or appears next?
• What should the viewer understand from that change?
• Which spoken line, if any, accompanies it?
• What must remain visible for context?
• What is the final state?

Ask the production team to assess the treatment, effort and timing. A complex source diagram does not automatically become clear because it is animated. The information may need to be reduced, reordered or explained in more than one part.

5. Work through a fictional brief

Imagine a fictional project film needs to explain how two separate areas connect to a shared entrance. A general request says, “Animate the plan.” A useful brief instead identifies the two areas, the entrance, the approved reference revision and the relationship the viewer must understand.

The proposed sequence might orient the viewer, identify each area and then show their connection. The technical reviewer would check whether the simplified arrangement remains accurate. Production would assess whether a static diagram, a staged reveal or another treatment is appropriate.

The brief should also name anything that must not appear, such as unrelated details on the supplied drawing. This example describes an invented communication problem, not a Live Images project, an offered animation package or an instruction for building design.

6. Separate information approval from visual approval

A reviewer may like the appearance while missing a factual error. Give the relevant people different questions to answer, and confirm when their decisions are needed.

• Information review: are labels, relationships, sequence and qualifications accurate?
• Story review: does the graphic answer the intended question at the right point?
• Visual review: can the important elements be read at the intended viewing size?
• Version review: what needs to change for other agreed formats or edits?
• Approval owner and unresolved items:
• Changes that require a new scope discussion:

For source-file transfer, use the existing material handoff worksheet. It covers what accompanies supplied files; this brief explains what a proposed graphic must communicate.