How to brief a production company: the 7 things we need to quote your project

Most production quotes go sideways for one reason: the brief is missing something the crew needs to price the job. Here is what we ask for on every Rich In Spirit Productions project — music video, commercial, hospitality film or corporate piece — and why each one matters.

1. What the video has to do

Not what it should look like — what it has to achieve. Move a record on release day. Fill rooms in a hotel's slow season. Get a recruiter's email opened. The goal decides the format, the length, the number of cuts and where the money goes.

2. Where it will live

YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, a trade-show screen and an OTA listing all want different aspect ratios and pacing. Tell us every channel up front so we plan the shoot for vertical and horizontal at the same time instead of cropping later.

3. Timeline, including the immovable dates

A release date, an opening, a board meeting. We schedule backwards from the date that cannot move. Two weeks is possible for a lot of work in New Orleans or Los Angeles if we know on day one.

4. A real budget range

Nobody likes giving a number first, but a range lets us design the right production instead of guessing. A $5K brand film and a $50K brand film are both worth making — they are just different films.

5. Talent, locations and access

Do you have the artist, the property, the executive, the venue? Who signs off on locations? Whether we are working in the French Quarter or a Los Angeles soundstage, access and permits shape the schedule more than anything else.

6. References

Two or three links to things you like — and one you don't — tell us more about tone than a page of adjectives. We build the treatment from there.

7. Who approves

One decision-maker on your side keeps the edit moving. If there are three, tell us now and we will plan review rounds around it.

Send those seven things through our Start a Project form and you will get a reply within one business day with questions, an approach and a range.