Seemingly Like Pounding Square Pegs into Round Holes

Crafting Effective RFPs for Video Production:
A Guide for Clients

PART 1:

After receiving countless Requests for Proposals (RFPs) throughout my career, I've noticed a pattern: most organizations struggle to create RFPs that will get them the best results and makes it easier for production companies to respond.

Whether you're new to commissioning video content or looking to refine your approach, understanding what makes an effective RFP can save everyone time, money, and frustration.

The Problem with Mass Distribution

Many first-time video buyers cast a wide net, reaching out to a dozen or more production companies they've found online. While this might seem thorough, it creates three significant problems:

Decision paralysis – Reviewing numerous proposals becomes overwhelming...quickly.
Wasted resources – Multiple companies invest days in detailed proposals, with only one winning the work
Diminished quality – Rushed reviews of lengthy submissions often miss the best creative approaches

The solution? Limit your outreach to three carefully selected production companies. Research their portfolios, check their reputations, and choose firms whose style aligns with your vision. Most qualified companies can deliver quality work—the key is finding the team that understands your needs, communicates well, and has a proven track record of on-time, in-budget delivery.

The Hidden Cost of RFPs

Here's what many clients don't realize: a majority of production companies are small businesses that invest substantial time (sometimes days) preparing comprehensive proposals. These often balloon to 90+ pages due to redundant requirements and unnecessary complexity, particularly with government agencies.

A well-crafted RFP should result in proposals of 5-15 pages, depending on project scope. Review and proof your requirements carefully. Do you really need to know about the production team in five different sections? Narrow in on the ideas and information that matter the most to your organization—cost, ideas, approach, capability. Often, the most important aspect of a production proposal lies in the approach—how a company will plan, film, and cover the idea.

Streamline your requests to respect the vendor's time while getting the information you need.

3 Outdated Practices to Abandon

Per-Finished Minute Pricing – This vestige from the film production era where film was measured and processed by the foot—doesn't reflect modern digital production realities. Even broadcast TV spots and PSAs don’t usually fit this thinking. At a minute or less, they often cost more than a short form video. Just consider the cost of a Super Bowl ad.
Arbitrary Length Requirements – Forget the 30 to 45 minute standard of long ago. Today's audiences prefer concise content—typically 3-10 minutes for most corporate applications. Length should be determined by content needs, and a deep understanding of your audience, not tradition. If you are creating training content, it may be possible that a series of short videos or micro-learning content could reach this run time, but it is not the norm for a non-broadcast program.
Mandatory Storyboards – While essential for feature films and advertising campaigns, detailed storyboards are often expensive and impractical for corporate videos, especially for interview-heavy content. Instead, request a Script Treatment: a one-to-two page document outlining goals, target audience, runtime, key participants, subject matter, and planned imagery. This will help you envision the project without the cost of an artistic rendering. A Treatment also ensures alignment more quickly so the scriptwriter can begin work on developing your video.

Understanding Storyboards' Role
One area where storyboards may be helpful is when drafting short animation sequences or where there is something more complex to articulate. Often our motion graphics designer share comp images to show how it will animate or morph to the next image or scene to gain approval.

Another version of a visual aid that helps include location shots. When developing production schedules and plans for large scale productions, we take location photos and develop camera blocking diagrams to design the number of camera set-ups required and share details with the client, cast and crew.

Next month in Part 2, we'll dig into what makes a good RFP, the essential elements needed, and a criteria for a sensible evaluation.

If you’re looking for a media partner that listens and is flexible, enduring, and ready to move expeditiously – give us a call.

We put ideas into motion.

I’d love to chat with you about your needs and our three decades of success working with major corporations, associations, and government agencies.

clark@vidsol.media | 703.683.5305

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