A great VFX result begins long before the first frame is rendered. It begins with a brief that actually helps instead of hides questions. Too often briefs are vague hopes, rushed emails, or a folder of mismatched references, and the team spends more time guessing than creating.
Client Briefs Demystified: What VFX Artists Need (and Don’t Need)?
A great VFX result begins long before the first frame is rendered. It begins with a brief that actually helps, rather than hiding questions. Too often, briefs are vague hopes, rushed emails, or a folder of mismatched references — and the team spends more time guessing than creating. At Vorton Studios, we treat the brief like a map: the clearer the map, the faster and truer the journey.
Below is a step-by-step breakdown of what VFX artists truly need from client briefs — and what they don’t — so teams can move from confusion to craft more efficiently.
Step 1 — The foundation: a short project summary.
Every brief should open with a one-line elevator pitch and the project’s objective.
Example: “A 90-second branded short that blends live action and subtle CG to convey product nostalgia for Instagram reels.”
Why it matters: it orients creative choices (subtle vs. flashy), helps prioritise shots, and prevents scope creep.
What VFX artists need (the essentials)
Clear deliverables and priorities
Which shots need VFX and which are optional?
What’s mandatory vs. “nice to have”?
Why: Scope is the single biggest driver of time and cost.
Locked edit / editorial state (or % lock)
A locked cut or a clear timeline for editorial changes.
Why: VFX is timing-sensitive — every cut change reverberates through tracking, sims, and renders.
Target formats & exhibition
Resolution(s), aspect ratio(s), colour space, final codecs, and where it will be shown (theatre, web, phone, broadcast).
Why: different deliverables change render settings, safe areas, and framing.
Schedule & milestones
Final delivery date + interim milestones (first pass, revised pass, final review).
Why: let studios size teams and pipeline capacity.
Budget range or envelope
Even a ballpark helps prioritise quality vs. quantity.
Why: it shapes technical approaches (crafting one hero shot vs. many modest ones).
Reference materials with context
Timestamped references, moodboards, concept art, and notes like “use this lighting, not that motion”.
Why: saying “make it cinematic” is less useful than “match the warmth/tone of Ref A at 0:32–0:36”.
Source assets and technical plates
Original camera plates, EXR sequences if available, lens, camera make/model, focal length, shutter, frame rate, raw/ProRes files, and any HDRI or on-set light probes.
Why: accurate integration depends on knowing the source.
On-set/production notes & contact data
Who was on set, any improvisations, VFX supervisor contact, production stills, and the person we ping for approvals.
Why: saves hours of forensic guessing.
Legal & rights information
Releases for people/props, music clearance notes, and ownership of created assets.
Why: avoids rework due to rights problems.
Acceptance criteria
How will we know the shot is “done”? Client examples of pass/fail or a short checklist (e.g., tracking within 2px, no visible seams, matches reference).
Why: reduces revision rounds.
What VFX artists don’t need (and why)
Vague wishes without references
“Make it feel epic” without examples is unhelpful. Give a reference or say what “epic” means: scale? color? sound?
Late, unscoped creative micromanagement
Repeated stylistic changes mid-pipeline sink schedules. Define voice early; small tweaks later are fine, wholesale restyles are expensive.
Technical prescriptions for unknown reasons
“Use software X” or “render with engine Y” unless there’s a pipeline reason. Let the vendor choose tools that fit the budget and pipeline.
Contradictory references
Five references that point in different directions without hierarchy force the team to guess. If you include many refs, rank them.
Overly subjective feedback without frame references
“This feels wrong” is OK, but better: “The tear looks glossy at :12 — make it drier like Ref B :02.” Actionable feedback saves iterations.
Unrealistic “overnight” turnarounds
Complex shots need time. Expecting a hero CG integration in 24 hours is a recipe for disappointment.
Step 2 — If the brief is thin: the VFX artist’s extraction checklist (what to ask next).
- Confirm the exact shots and priority order.
- Request editorial temp or the latest cut.
- Ask for camera metadata (lens, sensor, frame rate) and original plates.
- Get references with timestamps and short notes on which elements to copy/avoid.
- Clarify deliverables (resolutions, color spaces) and hard deadline.
- Verify rights and any legal constraints.
- Identify the approval workflow — who signs off and in what order.
- When you must ask, be concise and batch questions — one structured email beats ten fragmented chats.
A One-Page Brief Checklist (Use This as a Starter).
- Project one-liner + objective
- Final delivery date + milestones
- Budget range (ballpark)
- Locked edit status (% locked)
- Shot list with priorities
- References (URL + timestamp + why)
- Source plates & camera metadata provided? (Y/N)
- Target resolutions/aspect ratios/codecs
- Exhibition platform(s)
- VFX contact + approval pipeline
- Legal clearances (people/props/music)
- Acceptance criteria/pass checklist
Red Flags to Watch For.
No budget or timeline, but “feature quality” expectations.
Contradictory references with no priority. “Just make it like [copyrighted sequence]” without rights or ref details. Constantly shifting “must-have” vs. “nice-to-have” lists.
Closing — a Simple Promise.
A clear brief is not bureaucracy — it’s creative fuel. It saves time, reduces friction, and lets VFX artists do what they do best: turn ideas into believable images that serve the story. At Vorton Studios, we treat briefs as living contracts of trust: the clearer the ask, the bolder and more confident the creative reply.