How do I tell the team what video I want (the Brief)?

Open your project and fill in the Brief tab. It is a short form: what the video is for, who it is for, the style, and the length. The team reads the Brief before it edits, so a couple of clear lines here is the difference between a video that matches what you pictured and one that does not. Click Save brief when you are done.

Before you start

• Open a project in the video tab and click the Brief sub-tab.
• You do not need to fill in every field. Even the Goal and Deliverable on their own help a lot.

The fields

Work down the form. Each field has a grey hint under its name.

• Goal. What the video is for and the outcome you want, in a line or two. For example, "A 90s explainer of how our returns work, for the help centre."
• Audience. Who it is for and where it will run. For example, "New customers, on the website and in onboarding emails."
• Source footage. This one you do not type into. It shows the video files already in the project, live, and a file tagged RECORDED is one you filmed in codus. If there is none yet, it says so and offers two buttons: Choose files... copies one or more clips into the project, and Choose folder... copies every video in a folder. You can also add footage by recording it (see How do I record footage for a video?).
• Style. Tone, pace, look, and any brand rules. For example, "Restrained and high-end. No music. Attribute any third-party clip." If you set a brand on the project's folder, the team follows that too.
• Deliverable. The shape of the final file: aspect, length and format. For example, "16:9, about 90s, mp4 1080p."
• Hero beats. The moments that must land, such as a name, a statistic, or your hook. Click + Add beat, put a rough time on the left if you know it, and the beat on the right. The team anchors any graphics to these.
• Notes. Anything else the team should know: things to exclude, things that must stay in, a deadline.

Step by step

1. Type into Goal, Audience, Style, Deliverable and Notes as needed.
2. Add any Hero beats with + Add beat.
3. Make sure your footage shows under Source footage. If it does not, use Choose files... or record it.
4. Click Save brief at the bottom right. A small Saved note confirms it.

If you change your mind before saving, Revert puts the fields back to the last saved version.

Do I have to fill this in?

No, but it helps. If you recorded with Edit automatically on, the team can start with sensible defaults and even fill parts of the Brief in for you as it works. Anything you type by hand is kept, and the team will not overwrite words you are in the middle of editing.

How do I know it worked?

The Saved note appears next to the buttons, and the fields hold their values when you switch tabs and come back. Your footage is listed under Source footage.

Common problems

"Source footage says there is nothing, but I recorded something." The list reads straight from the project's files, so give it a second to refresh, or check you assigned the recording to this project and not a new one. You can always add a clip with Choose files....

"I typed a filename under Source footage on an older project and it shows as a note." Older briefs let you list files by hand. If a listed name is not actually a file in the project, codus keeps it as a note rather than deleting your text. The real files are the ones shown above it.

"Save brief is greyed out." There is nothing new to save. It only enables once you have made a change.