Are you thinking of working with a composer for your game, film or commercial? If so, it will be really helpful for both you and them to create a clear brief to work together from. This will help to ensure that you are thinking along the same lines, are both working from the same set of information and it may also help to clarify your thoughts.
Here are a few things to make sure you include in your composer brief:
Information about your project
Include details and background about you and your project.
What is it called?
What is it about?
Who is it for?
What are you trying to do with it?
What are your plans for it?
What does it look like?
Make sure that you include everything that is important to you about the project, where it comes from, your vision for it and anything else that comes to mind.
Where you are at with your project
How far along are you in your project and what is left to do? It can be really helpful for a composer to have an idea of what sort of a timeline you are working with and where you are in your overall project.
Music requirements
Give an indication of what you're hoping for musically.
How many tracks?
How long should they be?
What music style do you have in mind?
Include examples and reference tracks
Where does the music fit into the project exactly?
How you plan to use it?
Deadlines and budget
It is often helpful to give an indication on what your budget is or any budgeting constraints you have to work with, and also what sort of timeframes and deadlines might be coming up for you or that you have to work within.
This will help the composer to manage their time, their work and to establish upfront whether or not they can work with you and within these constraints or not.