Your Guide to a Clear and Effective Location Brief

You’ve written a few briefs before, so you know the drill. But here’s the thing… the best ones are just a few tweaks away from the basic info you’ve probably already got sitting in an email. Take a moment to expand on it, and suddenly your brief becomes WAY more useful.

Dates, hours, crew size and budget are obvious – no one can magic extra parking or squeeze in a day that isn’t there. Then think about the rooms: kitchens, gardens, rooftops, basements. Don’t forget where hair, makeup and wardrobe will go, as a spare lounge, dining room or even a snug can save serious stress on the day.

Location style matters more than you might think. Urban edge, leafy suburbs, countryside escapes? Inside or outside the M25? A few words about the vibe or feel help narrow down the choices faster than a hundred images.

The aim isn’t perfection, it’s clarity. If your brief is clear and complete, the library team can match you with the right location without back-and-forths or guessing games. It’ll make your shoot feel smoother, help you avoid surprises, and most importantly, reduce email traffic and endless phone calls. Oh, and get you a location that actually fits your vision.

So take that email you’ve already drafted, pause for a moment, and flesh it out a little. It doesn’t need to be a novel! Just enough detail for someone else to picture exactly what you need. That’s all it takes to turn a decent brief into a brilliant one. You may not have time to go through our shoot location library, but we promise taking the time to pad out the location brief you do have.

Want to make it even easier? Download our free location brief template and get straight to the point without missing a thing.