Behind the Scenes4 min read15 August 2026
How we brief a short film in one page
The single-page brief we send every client before production starts, and why each line of it exists.
MMohsen
Most projects that go wrong went wrong before the first frame was made. So we compress the whole agreement into one page, and we do not start until both sides can read it and nod.
The page
One sentence on what the film is. If it takes a paragraph, the film is not focused yet.
Who it is for. Not "the Muslim community" — a specific person, with an age, a place, and a reason to be watching.
What we want them to do afterwards. Watch the next episode. Share it. Come to the event. Change their mind about something.
Runtime and format. Decided early, because it changes everything downstream.
Three references. Things that already exist that we agree are close. Arguments about taste are much cheaper when conducted over other people's work.
What is out of scope. The most valuable line on the page.
Why one page
Because everyone reads one page. Nobody reads twelve. A brief that goes unread is not a brief, it is paperwork — and paperwork does not stop the conversation four weeks in where someone says "oh, I assumed it would be in Arabic too."