Creative Brief Template
The exact brief structure that eliminates vague requests and gives creatives what they need to start.
See what’s inside →Your creative team doesn't need more tools. It needs a system
StoryOps AI is a creative operations consultancy that helps in-house creative and video teams eliminate friction, reduce rework, and scale output by redesigning how work moves.
13+ years in video production, creative strategy, creative operations, and brand storytelling.
Across entertainment, CPG, DTC ecommerce, and B2B tech in the US, UK, and Canada.
60+
Annual video assets managed
100+
Commercial & narrative projects delivered
40%
Faster localization turnaround
Sound familiar?
This isn't a talent problem. It's a systems problem.
Tool Chaos
You bought six tools. Your team uses three of them, differently.
Vague Briefs
Briefs are vague. Feedback conflicts. Nobody owns the decision.
Rework Cycles
Your team ships work, then redoes it. Scope changes mid-project are the norm.
Demand vs. Headcount
Content demand keeps climbing. Budget and headcount don't follow.
StoryOps AI™
Creative Ops
Friction Index
Measure where creative energy is being lost due to structure, not talent. Takes 2 minutes.
Brand Storyteller+Video Production Leader+Creative Ops Architect
Meet the founder
I’ve worked on set and in the spreadsheet.
I’m Neriah Kharece, founder of StoryOps AI. For more than 13 years, I’ve built the stories brands are known for and the systems that make them possible. I started behind the camera, directing, shooting, and producing for brands like BET, PepsiCo, and HGTV, with films distributed on Amazon Prime and recognized with a Best Director award.
From there, I stepped into leading the operation behind the work. I’ve produced in high-volume digital media, shaped performance creative for DTC brands, and built an enterprise customer stories program that grew content output by 150% while bringing structure to vendors, stakeholders, and markets across the US, UK, and Canada.
Great creative teams rarely fail for lack of talent. They stall when the structure around them can’t keep up. I founded StoryOps AI to change that, pairing a storyteller’s instinct with an operator’s discipline so your team can do its best work, faster and at scale.
13+
Years in creative production
150%
Increase in content output
10+
International markets supported
25%
Faster campaign time-to-market
Brands I’ve created work for
Short Films distributed on Amazon Prime
I’ve not met anyone as organized, prepared, gifted, and professional in the video industry. You understood my language and vision, an insane skill to have.
Very professional, efficient and insightful. A team player and calm soul on set. Never saw her ruffled! Brings solutions, not problems.
I love how she likes to plan things so when we shoot, she is ready to go. Most don’t want to be involved every step of the way, causing the vision to get lost. That won’t happen on her watch.
Probably one of the best I‘ve had the pleasure of working with to date. Her quality is superb and the attention she pays to detail is always noteworthy. We have worked together multiple times now and each experience is a great one. No matter the project, give Neriah a call. She’s worth it.
Festival recognition
20+Festival laurels and official selections
- Best DirectorKalakari Film Festival · Ashes
- Best Web SeriesKosice International Film Festival & Urban MediaMakers · Ashes
- Best ActorPrague International Film Awards · Catharsis
- Best HorrorKosice International Film Festival · Catharsis
- Award WinnerTake It Easy Film Festival · My Talk With Shelly
- Festival JudgeDeKalb County Student Film Festival, 2023
Featured in
Four phases. One system. Then we leave.
A bounded, phase-based transformation designed to build internal capability — not a retainer trap.
01
Surface
Diagnose
We map where creative energy is being lost — through interviews, audits, and Friction Index scoring.
02
Structure
Architect
We design end-to-end workflows, ownership models, and automation — tailored to your team and tools.
03
Stabilize
Enable
We train your team to run the system through workshops, walkthroughs, and operational education.
04
Release
Exit
Ownership transfers. We leave on purpose — with a playbook, named owners, and a failure-mode forecast.
We work with your tech stack
Monday
Asana
Adobe CC
Figma
Slack
Google Workspace
Heap
Brandfolder
Wistia
Dropbox
MS Teams
Frame.io
Airtable
Notion
Trello
ClickUp
Miro
Loom
Zapier
Jira
HubSpot
Salesforce
Make
Canva
Vimeo
Clear scope. Fixed phases. No surprises.
Every engagement is bounded, documented, and designed to end with your team running the system independently.
Entry Point
Creative Ops Sprint
$
8
K
$
15
K
3–4 weeks
For teams who need a clear diagnosis of what's broken and a roadmap to fix it — without committing to a full engagement.
Friction Index diagnostic
Bottleneck & breakdown map
Tool stack assessment
Priority recommendations
Flagship
Most popular
Creative Ops Reset
$
25
K
$
50
K
3–6 months
The full transformation. We diagnose, architect, enable, and exit — leaving your team with a documented creative operating system.
Everything in Sprint
Full workflow architecture
SOP & ownership playbook
AI automation setup
Team training & handoff
Ongoing
Ops Advisory
$
3
K
$
6
K/mo
3-month minimum
Post-engagement support for teams who want ongoing strategic guidance, quarterly tune-ups, and system optimization.
Monthly advisory hours
Quarterly ops tune-ups
System upgrade sprints
Async support
Standalone or add-on
Video Partner Vetting
I search for, interview, and score video production partners for you, then recommend the best fit with the evidence to back it up.
5
Adding this to a Sprint or Reset?
How many countries?
1
Your price
$6,250
Standard search
- 5 vendors vetted
- 1 country
- About 36 hours of work
- Typical timeline: 8–12 weeks
Bundle with a Sprint or Reset to save
Book a Free Diagnostic CallEstimate. Timelines depend on vendor availability, time zones, and negotiations. We’ll confirm everything on a free diagnostic call.
Two ways to run your search
Best-fit partner
I compare the strongest vendors side by side for one need, all within the same budget and quality bracket, so every vendor is measured against true peers.
Tiered vendor roster
I match partners to your budget and quality needs, so every type of content has the right vendor at the right cost.
- High fidelity · larger budgetsBrand campaigns and flagship moments
- Mid fidelity · mid-range budgetsCustomer stories, product demos, and sales enablement
- Low fidelity · lean budgetsFAQs, how-tos, explainers, thought leadership, and quick social content
What’s included
↑ Updates with your calculator selectionYour search: 5 vendors in 1 country, about 36 hours of total work
- 1Discovery and program brief
We define what you’re producing, where, how often, and at what budget levels.
2.5 hrs - 2Custom criteria and weighting
Seven weighted criteria tailored to what your program needs most.
2 hrs - 3Market research and sourcing
Longlist research across industry directories and award lists, plus any vendors you’d like considered.
~1 hr per vendor5 hrs for your 5 vendors - 4Outreach and scheduling
Consistent outreach to every shortlisted vendor, with calls booked and briefs shared.
~30 min per vendor2.5 hrs for your 5 vendors - 5Structured scoping calls
A 30-minute interview with each shortlisted vendor, using the same questions for every criterion.
~1 hr per vendor5 hrs for your 5 vendors - 6Scoring and documentation
Every vendor scored against the same criteria, with notes and a summary.
~30 min per vendor2.5 hrs for your 5 vendors - 7Finalist rounds
Deeper follow-up calls with the top three, then a final round with the top two.
4 hrs - 8Reference checks
Calls with past clients of your top finalists, plus a full-length portfolio review.
3 hrs - 9Recommendation and readout
A final report with scores, tiers, red flags, a primary pick, and a backup, presented to your team.
5 hrs - 10Rate negotiation and contract review
I negotiate rates and terms that fit what you actually need, and review the contract and statement of work before you sign, so you don’t pay for more than your program requires.
4 hrs
Why it’s worth it
$408K
average cost for a brand to run a full agency search
1 in 3
marketers whose day-to-day work was disrupted by the search
1 in 4
brands that delayed a launch during the search
Source: 4A’s and ANA, “The Cost of the Pitch.” Large-brand agency reviews.
Flat fee, paid only by you. I never accept fees or commissions from vendors, so every recommendation is completely unbiased.
Backup partner commitment. If you’re not happy with your partner for any reason within 6 months of their kickoff, I’ll onboard your backup at no cost or rerun the search at 50% off.
What’s not included in the price?
- Travel: If you want me there in person, you cover my flights and hotel at cost, approved by you first.
- Test shoots: If you test a vendor with a small paid project, you pay the vendor directly. My time to manage it is quoted separately.
- Extra countries: Each extra country is 75% of the first country’s price. The calculator includes this.
A documented creative operating system your team runs independently.
Clear ownership and accountability across every workflow
Fewer bottlenecks, decision loops, and rework cycles
Faster output without burnout or headcount increases
AI integrated into workflows as a force multiplier, not a gimmick
— The thesis behind every StoryOps AI engagement
Our Blogs
Jul 30, 2026
The Real Cost of Rework: A Framework for Quantifying Creative Operational Waste
What StoryOps AI is not.
Not an agency
Not a fractional hire
Not execution-for-hire
Not a tool vendor
We are a Creative Operations Transformation Studio. We enter, diagnose, architect, systemize, educate — then exit. If you're looking for someone to "help with production," this is not the right fit. If you want to fundamentally redesign how your creative team operates, we should talk.
Free Resources
Tools for creative leaders who fix things themselves.
No fluff. No paywall for the basics. Use these to start improving your ops today.
Intake Form Template
A ready-to-use intake form that standardizes how work enters your team’s queue and kills Slack chaos.
See what’s inside →RACI Ownership Matrix
Map who owns what across your creative workflow. Eliminates ‘I thought you were handling that.’
See what’s inside →Video Production Partner Scorecard
Score video vendors on seven weighted criteria and pick your partner with evidence. Includes a scoping call guide.
See what’s inside →Common questions
How long does an engagement take?
The Creative Ops Sprint takes 3–4 weeks. The full Creative Ops Reset runs 3–6 months depending on team size and complexity. Every engagement has a defined end date. Ops Advisory is optional, time-bound support after a Reset, not an open-ended retainer.
Do you replace our team?
No. We make your existing team operationally self-sufficient. We design systems, build workflows, train your people, and leave. The goal is independence, not dependency.
What tools do you work with?
We’re tool-agnostic. We work with whatever your team already uses — Asana, Monday, ClickUp, Jira, Airtable, Notion, Frame.io, Figma, and more. We optimize how you use your tools, not sell you new ones.
What does ‘AI as a force multiplier’ mean?
We integrate AI into your existing workflows to automate repetitive operational tasks — brief generation, reporting, intake routing, cutdown planning. AI handles the admin so your creatives can focus on creative work. We don’t replace people with AI.
What if we’re not sure we need a full reset?
Start with the free Friction Index assessment — it takes 2 minutes and tells you exactly where your friction lives. If your score suggests you need help, we’ll discuss whether a Sprint or a full Reset makes sense. No pressure either way.
Friction is structural. Structure is fixable.
Book a free 30-minute diagnostic call. We'll identify the top friction points in your creative workflow — whether or not we work together.