Short-form video editor brief template

What goes in each field

One line per field is enough. The example below is a brief for a coffee brand's gear review.

1. Goal

   One outcome, not three. If you cannot say it in a sentence, the video is not decided yet.

   Example: show that grind consistency beats price

2. Where

   The platform decides the pacing, the safe zones for captions and the aspect ratio.

   Example: Reels and TikTok, 9:16

3. Length

   A range is fine. Without one, the editor picks, and that is the first thing you will send back.

   Example: 35 to 45 seconds

4. Audience

   Who watches, and what you can assume they know.

   Example: home baristas who own a machine, not a grinder

5. Hook

   Write the opening as it should play: what is on screen and what is said. On short-form, the first seconds decide whether anyone sees the rest.

   Example: two shots side by side, "One grinder cost ninety dollars."

6. Beats

   The order of what happens. If there is a script, attach it and write "see script".

   Example: same beans, same dose, cheap one pulls evenly, payoff

7. Style

   Name the feeling and the caption style, then show it: one or two reference videos, and what exactly to take from each. "Make it like this" without a reason gets copied wholesale.

   Example: calm, hands only, no face. Small white captions. Pacing like [link], not the music

8. Must

   The non-negotiables, so they do not get cut for time.

   Example: both shots pulled on camera, timer visible

9. Hard no

   What must not appear. One line here can save a full round.

   Example: no brand names on screen, no price comparison table

10. Voice

    Who speaks, where the voice-over file is, and what the music should do.

    Example: Jess, VO in the folder, no music under the first line

11. Material

    Where the footage lives and which takes are the good ones. Unsorted footage costs the edit time before it even starts.

    Example: Drive folder "grinder", takes 3 and 7 for the pour

12. Deadline and rounds

    When the first cut is due, when it posts, and how many rounds of notes are included.

    Example: first cut Oct 17, posting Oct 20, two rounds

Which fields do people forget?

The hook, the hard nos and the number of rounds. They are the three that turn a brief into a decision. Without the hook, the editor guesses the most important seconds. Without hard nos, you find out what you did not want after it is cut. Without a number of rounds, a quick change turns into an open-ended back-and-forth.

How long should a video brief be?

One page. If it does not fit on one page, the video is usually not decided yet, and the editor is being asked to decide it. Long explanation belongs in the script; the brief is the frame around it.

What do you send your editor with the brief?

The brief, the footage location, the script if there is one, the voice-over file and your references - in one message or one place. When the brief is in a voice note, the footage in a Drive folder and the posting date in a spreadsheet, the editor stitches it together and guesses the rest.