Founder note
What should you send a video studio?
Send the product link, the one thing viewers should remember, the screens or features to show, the length and formats you need, your deadline and the name of the person who approves the film. A short, clear message gets a faster and more accurate quote than a long one.
A studio can only quote and plan well from what you send. Most quotes that come back late or far from the budget started with a brief that was missing a few basic facts. This note lists what to send, so your first message gets a useful answer.
This is our own guidance from working with software teams, not a study.
The essentials
- Your product link. One address the studio can visit to see the product as it is today.
- The one thing viewers should remember. A single sentence, in plain words.
- The screens or features to show. Two or three, not the whole product.
- The length and formats. For example, a 30 second widescreen film for your website, and a vertical version for social.
- Your deadline and launch date. The date the film is needed, and what it launches with.
- Who approves it. One named person, and how many rounds of changes you expect.
Optional, but helpful
- Any script or key lines you already have
- Brand colours, fonts or a logo file, if you have them
- Examples of films you like, with a sentence on what you like about each one
- Anything the studio must not show, such as unreleased features or customer names
Why a clear first message saves time
A studio that has the basics can answer in a day with a plan and a price. Without them, it has to ask questions first, and each question adds a day or more to the start. Sending the essentials in one message is the quickest way to get a quote you can compare with others, and a plan you can approve.
Ask each studio to answer the same questions, so the quotes can be compared fairly. If one studio asks for something you did not send, check whether it is needed for the price or only for the plan.
What to leave out at first
Do not send a long feature list, a long company history, or a finished script before you have agreed the plan. Those can all come later, once the studio has confirmed the basics. Our brief template lists every field in order, if you want a checklist.
For the full set of questions to ask a studio, see questions to ask before hiring a video studio.
Frequently asked questions
Should I send a script with my brief?
Only if you have one. A brief that says what the film is for is enough to start, and the studio can write the storyboard from it. If you do send a script, say which parts are fixed and which the studio can change.
Is it better to send a long brief or a short one?
A short brief that answers the key questions is better than a long one that repeats itself. Studios need the facts, the goal and the deadline. Extra detail can come later, once the plan is agreed.
Keep reading
A product video brief template you can copy
A free product video brief template with the questions a studio needs answered. Fill it in once, then send it to any studio or use it as your own plan.
Questions to ask before hiring a video studio
The questions to ask a video studio before you hire it: process, approvals, what the price includes, who owns the files, and how changes work.
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