Co Production Brief

Co-Production Brief

What This Skill Does

Writes a co-production brief for approaching a foreign broadcaster, streaming platform, or production company as a potential co-financing partner on a documentary project.

When To Use This Skill

• You have a documentary project with international appeal and want to approach a foreign partner about co-financing
• You are attending a documentary market (IDFA Forum, Sunny Side of the Doc, Sheffield MeetMarket) and need a written brief to accompany your verbal pitch
• You have a broadcaster interested in your territory but need a document that explains the project's value to a partner in a different territory
• You are building a financing structure with multiple partners and need a brief that explains what each partner receives

What You Need To Provide

Required:

• Project title and a clear description (subject, approach, main characters)
• Your country of production and production company name
• The target partner's country or territory (helps shape the international angle)
• Format and runtime
• What co-production structure you are proposing (e.g., majority/minority split, broadcaster co-production, co-development)

Optional:

• Budget total and percentage share being offered
• What the co-production partner receives (rights, credits, editorial input, territorial exclusivity)
• Existing financing or attachments already in place
• International angle or connection to the partner's territory that makes this project relevant to them
• Comparable co-productions that set a market precedent

How the Assistant Approaches This

1. Opens with a concise project description that emphasizes the international dimension — specifically what makes this story relevant beyond the producing country
2. Identifies the business proposition clearly: what the partner is being asked to contribute, what they receive in return, and how the co-production credit and editorial structure would work
3. Presents the financing architecture: what is already in place, what gap the partner fills, and why the deal structure is realistic and balanced
4. Addresses the partner's likely editorial question — why should their audience care about this story? — with specific territory-relevant framing if provided
5. Closes with a summary of the project's international sales potential and a clear statement of the next step being requested

Output Format

• Length: 400–600 words (one to two pages)
• Structure: Project Overview → Why This Territory → Co-Production Proposal → Financing Structure → International Potential → Next Steps
• Tone: business-direct and collegial — this is a partnership proposal, not a sales pitch or a grant application
• Written in first person ("we are offering," "we propose") representing the producing company
• Business terms (percentages, rights, credits) formatted as a brief bullet list in the Co-Production Proposal section for clarity

Quality Criteria

• The brief names the specific territory of the target partner and explains why the project is relevant to their audience or editorial priorities
• The co-production offer is specific: percentage, rights bundle, editorial involvement, and credit are stated (even if approximate)
• The financing architecture shows what is already in place — the partner can see what gap they are being asked to fill
• The international potential section is grounded in the story itself, not generic claims about documentary markets
• The next step is concrete: a meeting, a call, a market session — not "we hope to hear from you"

Example

Input

• Title: After the Ice
• Description: A documentary following three fishing communities in northern Norway, Iceland, and Canada's Labrador coast as their traditional livelihoods are restructured by Arctic climate change and shifting fish stocks. The film interweaves three storylines across two years of filming, connecting the communities through shared economic and cultural experience.
• Producing country: Norway
• Production company: Nordvind Film
• Target partner: Canadian broadcaster (documentary/factual strand)
• Format: 3-part series, 52 minutes each
• Co-production structure: Majority Norwegian / minority Canadian co-production
• Budget: €2.4M total · Canadian share: €480K (20%)
• In place: Norwegian Film Institute development support, NRK as Norwegian lead broadcaster
• Canadian angle: One of the three storylines is set on the Labrador coast; Canada holds all North American rights in proposed structure
• Rights offered: All Canadian and North American rights; shared credit as co-producer

Output

AFTER THE ICE — Co-Production Brief A 3-part documentary series · 3 x 52 min · Nordvind Film (Norway)

The Project After the Ice is a three-part observational documentary series following fishing communities in Norway, Iceland, and the Canadian province of Labrador as the Arctic economy reshapes itself around them. The film is not about climate statistics — it is about what happens to a family, a village, a livelihood when the sea that defined three generations of work begins to change faster than any community can adapt. Shot over two years with three cinematographers embedded in each community simultaneously, the series builds to a shared final episode that brings the three storylines into direct conversation.

Why Canada One of the series' three central storylines is set in Labrador — specifically in a small community whose cod fishing history parallels that of the Norwegian communities in the film. The Canadian storyline carries approximately one-third of the series' total screen time, and the Labrador community's story is not interchangeable with an equivalent European setting. It is specifically North American, specifically shaped by the 1992 cod moratorium and its multigenerational aftermath, and it requires a Canadian production partner to tell with full access and credibility. After the Ice is a co-production by design, not by financing convenience.

The Co-Production Proposal We are approaching [Canadian broadcaster] as a minority co-production partner on the following terms:

• Financial contribution: €480,000 (20% of total budget of €2.4M)
• Rights: Full Canadian and North American rights in perpetuity (broadcast, SVOD, educational, theatrical)
• Credit: Co-Producer credit (shared), with Canadian broadcaster credit on the Labrador episode
• Editorial involvement: Review and approval rights on the Labrador storyline; consultation on series cut

Financing Architecture The following is already in place:

• Norwegian Film Institute: development funding secured
• NRK (Norway): confirmed as Norwegian lead broadcaster
• Seeking: Canadian minority co-producer (€480K), plus one additional European broadcast partner (in conversation)

The Canadian contribution closes the minority co-production tranche and triggers the next production phase. The total budget is €2.4M; €1.44M is either confirmed or in advanced negotiation.

International Potential The three-territory structure positions the series for strong international sales: each episode can be presented as a standalone film in markets where series acquisition is difficult, while the full series has a clear international audience in Arctic-adjacent territories (Scandinavia, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Alaska) and broader appeal as a climate-era character documentary. We have a sales agent in preliminary conversation.

Next Steps We are presenting After the Ice at Sunny Side of the Doc in June and would welcome a one-to-one meeting at the market. We are also available for a video call at any point before the market to share the series treatment, director's statement, and development cut (available in May). Please contact us at: development@nordvindfilm.no

Known Limitations

• Co-production treaties and rules vary significantly by country pair; the assistant cannot verify whether a proposed deal structure is compliant with a specific bilateral co-production treaty — this must be confirmed with a media lawyer or treaty administrator
• Specific broadcaster acquisition budgets and co-production policies are not known to the assistant; the amounts and deal structures produced here are illustrative and should be calibrated by the user against real market knowledge
• For treaty co-productions (where both parties receive official co-producer status under a bilateral agreement), this brief is a starting document only — formal treaty applications require additional paperwork
• This skill writes the brief; it does not write a full series bible, treatment, or financing plan, all of which are typically required at later stages of the co-production conversation

Related Skills

• broadcaster-pitch-writer
• grant-proposal-writer
• one-sheet-writer
• pitch-treatment-writer