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Video creative brief and client questionnaire

A creative brief is one page that fixes the film's goal, audience, message, tone, deliverables, decision makers, dates and budget before anyone writes a script. You fill it in from a client questionnaire. Here are both: 15 questions to send before the call, and the brief you write from the answers and ask the client to approve.

By Cutvey · Published November 2, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026

CLIENT QUESTIONNAIRE: BEFORE WE QUOTE
Send this before the call, or ask it on the call. Short answers are fine.

ABOUT YOU
1. Your name, role and the best way to reach you:
2. Who else will give notes on the film, and who has the final say?
3. Who signs the agreement and who pays the invoices? (Name and email for each.)

THE FILM
4. In one sentence, why are you making this film now?
5. Who is it for? Describe one person who should watch it.
6. What should that person think, feel or do after watching?
7. Where will it be shown? (Website, social, paid ads, TV, an event, internal)
8. How long should it be, and do you need shorter versions or vertical cuts?
9. Two or three films you like, with a word on what you like about each:
10. Anything you do not want, in style, music or tone?

THE PRACTICAL PART
11. When do you need the final files? Is that date fixed?
12. Where could we film? Who controls access to each place?
13. Who will be on camera? Are they staff, customers or actors?
14. Do you have brand guidelines, logos, fonts or music we must use?
15. What budget range have you set aside? (A range is fine. It tells us which ideas to bring you.)

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CREATIVE BRIEF
Project: [PROJECT]  ·  Client: [CLIENT]  ·  Written by: [NAME]  ·  Date: [DATE]

OBJECTIVE
[One sentence: what the film must achieve. Example: Make waterfront buyers call Coastal Realty before they call another agent.]

AUDIENCE
[One person, described: Example: a couple in their forties, relocating for work, who have never lived on the water and worry about it.]

THE ONE THING THEY REMEMBER
[Example: Coastal Realty's agents know the water, so you do not have to.]

TONE
[Three words. Example: warm, unhurried, local.]

WHERE IT RUNS AND HOW LONG
[Example: website hero, 2 to 3 minutes; Instagram and TikTok, three 15 to 30 second vertical cuts.]

MUST HAVES
[Example: the marina at sunrise, two named agents, the sales office sign, the logo end card.]

MUST AVOIDS
[Example: drone shots of neighbors' homes, stock music that sounds like an ad.]

REFERENCES
[Links, with what to take from each.]

DECISION MAKERS AND DATES
Notes from: [NAMES]. Final approval: [NAME].
Shoot by: [DATE]. Final files by: [DATE].

BUDGET RANGE
[$ TO $]

SIGN-OFF
Client approves this brief: ______________________  Date: __________

On this page

How to use it Why the brief comes before the quote The question people skip Worked example How Cutvey does this Frequently asked

How to use it

Send the 15 questions before your first call, or ask them on the call and type the answers in.
Write the brief from the answers: one objective, one audience, one thing to remember.
Fill in the deliverables, must haves, must avoids, dates and the budget range.
Name who gives notes and who gives the final approval.
Ask the client to sign off the brief, then quote from it.

Why the brief comes before the quote

Two films with the same running time can cost $4,000 or $40,000. The difference is in the answers to questions 7, 8, 12, 13 and 15: where it runs, how many versions, how many locations, who is on camera and what they have set aside. Quote before you know those, and you either lose the job or lose money on it.

Question	What the answer changes
Where will it be shown?	Music license, delivery formats, captions, broadcast specs
Shorter or vertical versions?	Edit days, and whether you frame for 9:16 on the day
Where could we film?	Location fees, permits, travel, the number of shoot days
Who is on camera?	Releases, casting, talent fees, hair and makeup
Budget range	Which ideas you bring, and whether to quote at all
Who has the final say?	How many revision rounds you will really need

The question people skip

"Who has the final say?" A film approved by the marketing manager and then seen by the owner for the first time at the end is the most common way to lose a third round of revisions you never priced. Name the person in the brief, and put their name on the approval line of the proposal.

Worked example

For the Coastal Realty film, the client's answers to questions 7 and 8 were "website and Instagram" and "the main film plus vertical cuts". That added three cutdowns and a vertical frame guide on the monitor during the shoot. Question 13 was "two of our agents and a real client family", so the producer added four talent releases, a location release for the marina, and a 30-minute buffer for the family to settle in. Question 15 was "around $12,000 to $15,000", which made a crew of three and one shoot day the right plan, quoted at $13,300.

How Cutvey does this

In Cutvey the questionnaire is a form. Send it with the proposal, on its own with one reminder after 3 days, or before or after the client books a call, and the answers land on the client's record and the project. The brief has its own page in the project's Plan, beside the shot list and the moodboard. Send a form shows how.

Frequently asked

Should I ask for the budget?

Yes, as a range, and say why: it tells you which ideas to bring. Many clients will answer. Those who will not often have no budget yet.

Who writes the brief, the client or the studio?

The studio writes it from the client's answers, and the client signs it off. Writing it yourself makes sure it says what the film needs. The client's sign-off makes sure they agree.

How long should a creative brief be?

One page. If it runs longer, the film has more than one goal, and you should ask which one matters most.

Goes with this stage of a job: Win the work. More free paperwork on the templates page, and free tools that work in your browser.

Send the questions with the proposal.

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