"My vision", decided

The vision is written as "I", in the present tense, with every decision already made.

Write the vision in the director's voice: "I", present tense, decided. Never "maybe", "could", "we propose" or "option". Every mood word is followed at once by the concrete decisions that define it [proven]. A mood word on its own means something different to every reader.

Two examples, written for this guide:

• Comedy: "I want this lunch to play like a stand-off in a western: the camera stays at the height of the dining chairs, nobody raises their voice, and the only music is the rattle of the old unit until the new one silences it."

• Emotional: "I want the flat to feel quiet, not lonely: one floor lamp, the television on mute, and the blue glow of a phone that is the only cool colour in a warm room."

Sources

• Gabriel Moses, D&AD 2026 Direction jury president, on working inside the brief's constraints with your own style (D&AD Annual); Hannah Lehmann on starting a treatment from a feeling (LBB).