Content Production Playbook
Produces the photography, video and graphic design briefs, the batch shoot-day plan and checklist, the content quality standard and, where AI drafts copy, the AI-assisted production workflow, with East African light and bandwidth defaults.
Use When
- Decide how posts get made each week: who drafts, who designs, who approves and when photo shoots are batched.
- A photography, video or graphic design brief with shot lists, dimensions, lighting and brand elements for the photographer, videographer or designer.
- Plan a batch shoot day so one session gives several weeks of posts, with a shoot checklist and the editing and scheduling that follow.
- Decide how the team uses ChatGPT, Claude or Canva to draft captions and ideas: a brand context block, prompts, checks on AI-drafted copy and an AI disclosure rule.
- Posts look inconsistent; every asset needs a quality standard to pass before it is scheduled.
- Reacting to trends quickly without losing the brand voice or skipping approval.
Do Not Use When
11-content-calendar for the dated 90-day schedule of posts.training-smartphone-video-production for teaching staff to shoot and edit on a phone.caption-writer for writing the captions themselves.- Stop before publishing AI-generated or identifiable customer material without disclosure, consent and the client's approval; deliver the assets for review.
Required Inputs
| Artefact |
Source/provider |
Required? |
If absent |
| Client name, business type and country/city |
Client |
Yes |
Default to Uganda/East Africa; ask for the business type before writing the shot list. |
| Shoot date, location and team members available (names and roles) |
Client |
Yes |
Write the briefs undated and mark the batch plan provisional. |
| Platforms the content is for |
Channel plan or 11-content-calendar |
Yes |
Brief every key scene in landscape and portrait and flag the dimension table not assessed for unlisted platforms. |
| Products or services to feature and any campaign or seasonal moment |
Client |
Yes |
Stop the shot list; request the specific products rather than writing a generic list. |
| Brand colours (hex) and fonts |
Brand guide or 04-brand-voice-intake |
Yes |
Describe colours in words and mark the design brief for brand confirmation. |
| Brand context block, pillars and maturity stage (for AI drafting) |
04-brand-voice-intake, 10-content-pillars |
If AI tools draft copy |
Run brand voice calibration before any AI content is generated. |
Workflow
- Run the intake questions in production briefs and batch shoot; stop if the products or platforms are unknown.
- Write the photography brief: scene descriptions, an 8–12 shot list tailored to the client, East African lighting windows (07:00–09:00 or 16:30–18:00 EAT) and the do's and don'ts.
- Write each video brief: duration target by platform, dialogue option, B-roll list, mandatory captions, CTA spoken and on screen, and branding.
- Write each graphic design brief: platform dimensions, headline of 6 words or fewer, text hierarchy, brand elements and the 10% safe area.
- Plan the batch shoot day (prepare, morning photography, midday video, afternoon behind-the-scenes, post-shoot review, editing and scheduling 2–3 days after) and issue the printable shoot checklist, including written permission from non-team people in frame.
- If AI drafts captions or ideas, apply the AI-assisted production workflow; for trend-led posts, use the real-time content bridge.
- Apply the content quality standard (Share or Solve, six story characteristics, Think Like a Publisher) to every asset; correct and rerun any asset that fails before it goes to the client for review.
Outputs
| Artefact |
Consumer |
Acceptance condition |
| Photography brief with shot list |
Photographer or team lead |
8–12 scene-specific shots tailored to the client's products; both orientations for key scenes. |
| Video briefs |
Videographer and editor |
Complete B-roll list; captions stated as mandatory; CTA spoken and shown. |
| Graphic design briefs |
Graphic designer |
Platform dimensions table and a clear text hierarchy; brand hex codes and fonts named. |
| Batch shoot plan and printable checklist |
Shoot team |
Time blocks add up to a full working day; checklist usable on the day. |
| AI content workflow (where AI drafts copy) |
Content team |
Brand context block, prompts, quality control and disclosure rule present. |
Evidence Produced
| Evidence |
Format |
Acceptance condition |
| Consent record |
Table: person, shoot date, written permission held |
Every non-team person in frame has written permission before use. |
| Asset quality check |
Checklist per asset |
Each asset passes Share or Solve and the six characteristics, or is returned for rework. |
| Dimension and spec check |
Table with source and date |
Each dimension is confirmed against the platform's current help centre or marked not assessed. |
Capability and Permission Boundaries
Read and search only; analysis is read-only. Publishing, spend, live account changes, outreach and personal-data processing need explicit, action-specific client authority. Loading assets into Buffer or Hootsuite is followed by client review before publishing begins.
Degraded Mode
Without the shoot date, platforms and product list, return the narrowest qualified result and mark the affected checks not assessed. Brief templates, the lighting windows and the shoot checklist can still be delivered for the client to complete.
Decision Rules
| Condition |
Action |
Failure or risk avoided |
| A content item lacks source, owner or approval |
Hold it out of production. |
Untraceable or unauthorised publishing. |
| AI tools (ChatGPT, Canva, CapCut) draft captions, ideas or repurposed posts, or AI output contains an unsupported claim or generic filler |
Apply the AI-assisted production workflow: brand context block, core prompts, six-check quality control and hallucination gate; return failing output to evidence and editorial review. |
Fast production of generic or misleading AI content. |
| An outdoor shoot is planned in Uganda/East Africa |
Schedule 07:00–09:00 or 16:30–18:00 EAT; avoid 10:00–14:00; shoot video indoors or in shade at midday. |
Harsh equatorial shadows and blown-out highlights. |
| A person who is not a team member appears in frame |
Obtain written permission before the shoot or exclude them. |
Using identifiable people without consent. |
| An asset neither solves a problem nor is worth sharing |
Do not publish it. |
Content that only shows the brand exists. |
| A platform dimension or duration is taken from the table |
Confirm it against the platform's current specification before briefing. |
Assets cropped or rejected by the platform. |
Quality Standards
- The photography shot list has 8–12 scene-specific shots tailored to the client's product or service, not a generic list.
- The video brief has a complete B-roll list and states captions as mandatory.
- The graphic design brief has the platform dimensions table and a clear text hierarchy.
- Batch workflow steps carry realistic time blocks that add up to a full working day.
- Platform dimensions are current and accurate at the time of briefing.
- Lighting guidance is specific to equatorial sun timing and golden-hour windows in EAT.
- The shoot checklist is formatted for printing and use on the day.
- All content uses British English; no American spellings.
Anti-Patterns
- Shooting one orientation and assuming it covers every platform. Fix: shoot every key scene in landscape (16:9) and portrait (9:16 or 4:5).
- Checking images only on the camera display. Fix: review on a laptop or large screen before the team disperses.
- Publishing video without captions. Fix: add captions through CapCut, YouTube auto-caption (checked and corrected) or an SRT file.
- Stiff posed group photos and stock-style imagery. Fix: direct real team members and customers to do the thing naturally.
- More than two font families or off-palette colours in a graphic. Fix: use brand fonts and palette; seek approval for exceptions.
- Using AI to answer a reputational incident. Fix: route to
playbook-crisis-communications; no AI drafting there.
References
- Production briefs and batch shoot: read when running intake, writing photo, video or design briefs, checking durations and dimensions, planning a batch shoot, printing the checklist or applying the quality standard.
- AI-assisted production workflow: read when AI tools draft captions, content ideas, hashtags or repurposed posts, or when staging a client on the AI content maturity model.
- Real-time content bridge and voice contract: read when producing timely content through the listen/verify/adapt/approve/publish/measure bridge, or keeping several contributors in one intent-led, distinctive human voice.
11-content-calendar: read when confirming which content the next 4–6 weeks need.caption-writer: read when writing the captions for the finished assets.training-smartphone-video-production: read when staff need to learn phone shooting and editing.- Anti-AI-slop production gate: read when AI has drafted any copy.
- East African English standard: read when checking spelling and tone.
