How to write a great video production RFP

An RFP for video production should make proposals comparable without pretending the buyer has already solved the creative. We need the business job, deliverables, fixed dates, locations, approval path, and commercial constraints. We also need the supplier to identify assumptions and propose the crew and production approach that fit the work. A list of camera specifications cannot substitute for those decisions.

Luma Creative’s PACT project shows why scope details matter. The team developed a product-explosion sequence using the client’s CAD file and delivered a 60-second hero film, 30-second and 15-second cutdowns, and photography. Those are separate scope choices. An RFP that says only “one product video” would not describe the same job.

What belongs in the RFP

For San Francisco and Bay Area shoots, give the actual location or candidate neighborhoods, whether filming is on a corporate campus, access and freight rules, parking/loading needs, public-space footprint, and who controls permission. Do not assume every camera setup needs the same permit. Our San Francisco permit guide helps identify the authority to check.

Copyable video production RFP outline

The template below is a buyer working document. Replace every bracketed field before sending it. The downloadable Word version keeps the same fields for internal circulation.

1. Business job

• Organization / project owner: [ ]
• Why this project exists now: [ ]
• Primary audience and one action or understanding the film should support: [ ]
• Internal or external use, channels, and launch date: [ ]
• What success can reasonably be evaluated after launch: [ ]

2. Creative and production scope

• Approved concept or creative direction: [ ]
• Decisions open to the production partner: [ ]
• Script, storyboard, casting, location scouting, interviews, animation, VFX, and photography needed: [ ]
• Participants, product access, and assets we will provide: [ ]
• Candidate shoot dates, locations, site restrictions, and travel: [ ]

3. Deliverable matrix

Specify whether captions mean a caption file, burned-in text, translated versions, or a combination. The W3C’s guidance on prerecorded captions is a useful accessibility reference; your internal accessibility owner should set the project’s requirements.

4. Commercial and operating conditions

• Working budget range or ceiling: [ ]
• Price breakout requested: creative / pre-production / production / post / versions / travel / rights / optional work: [ ]
• Included review rounds and change-request method: [ ]
• Music, talent, location, archival, and footage rights needed: [ ]
• Supplier onboarding, security, insurance, and contract path: [ ]
• Who consolidates stakeholder feedback and signs off: [ ]

5. Bid response and decision

• RFP questions due / responses due / decision date: [ ]
• Required response: proposed approach, named project lead, relevant work with role disclosed, schedule, assumptions, itemized scope, exclusions, and price: [ ]
• Evaluation criteria and weights set before bids arrive: [ ]
• Requirements that are pass/fail rather than scored: [ ]
• Contact for clarification: [ ]

Our Vendor Evaluation Scorecard PDF can help the buying team set weights and record evidence before the first proposal arrives. It is a companion to this RFP, not a substitute for a complete brief.

A weak request and a comparable one

Weak: “We need a polished company video by next month. Send a quote.” One supplier may price a one-day interview and edit; another may include concept development, multiple locations, licensed music, photography, and five versions. The totals tell the buyer almost nothing.

Comparable: “Our communications team needs a film for the next employee meeting, plus two short internal cutdowns. The executive and two employees are available at our South Bay office during the agreed shoot week. We need interview planning, on-site sound and lighting, captions, and one consolidated reviewer. Please price the base scope and list any assumptions about facility access, review rounds, footage rights, and additional versions.” The scope in this example is illustrative, not a Luma project or quote.

The RFP should leave room for a better solution. Ask each bidder to name a material assumption and one alternative that would change either the result or cost. Compare those alternatives separately from the base scope. Our guide to choosing a San Francisco video production company covers partner fit; the proposal anatomy guide shows how to compare the responses.

For a complex approval or supplier path, see enterprise video production and the enterprise procurement checklist. If the brief is a corporate film, our corporate video production page shows the service scope and work. Contact Luma Creative once the requirements and decision owner are clear.

William Cook is Founder and Executive Producer of Luma Creative and author of The Enterprise Video Production Playbook. About William Cook.

Last reviewed: September 29, 2026. Method: Luma Creative’s published PACT project and RFP/proposal guidance, the book’s brief and vendor-evaluation frameworks, and the W3C caption reference. The request example is illustrative.