Get Every Project Detail Before You Quote a Single Number
FirstSlate's intake brief system replaces the back-and-forth of client discovery with a guided questionnaire your clients actually complete.
Here's how most projects start: a client reaches out with a rough idea and asks what it costs. You ask follow-up questions over email. They answer some of them. You put together a quote based on incomplete information — and two weeks in you find out the location is three hours away, or they actually need six deliverables, not two, or the deadline was never as flexible as they made it sound.
The problem isn't that clients are difficult. It's that they don't know what information you need. They're not producers. They don't think in terms of shoot days, camera ratios, or delivery formats. They think about what they want the final video to feel like.
FirstSlate bridges that gap with a guided intake brief. You send your client a link — no account required — and it walks them through every detail that matters for scoping a project accurately: goal, audience, budget range, deliverables, timeline, location, and more. By the time they submit, you have what you need to quote with confidence.
And FirstSlate doesn't just collect the data. It reads it. The producer report automatically cross-references the answers and flags anything that doesn't add up — a broadcast-quality deliverable expectation against a budget that won't support it, a same-day turnaround against a full production day. You see the contradictions before you ever open a quote.
How it works
Scene by scene.
Send the intake link
Generate a branded link from your project dashboard and send it to your client by email, text, or however you communicate. They click it — no account, no friction.
Client fills out the brief
The guided questionnaire walks them through goal, audience, budget, deliverables, shoot date, location, and deadline — in plain language they actually understand.
You get the producer report
The moment they submit, you receive a structured report with all their answers organized for review. Any budget-scope contradictions or timeline risks are automatically flagged.
Quote with confidence
You go into the proposal with full information — no assumptions, no gaps. What used to take three emails and a phone call now happens before you write a single number.
Why it matters
What you actually get.
Automated risk flags
FirstSlate cross-references budget, deliverables, timeline, and location. If something doesn't add up, you know before you quote — not after you're already on set.
No account required for clients
Your client gets a link and fills out a form. That's it. No app download, no login, no friction between you and the information you need.
Built for video production
The questions aren't generic. They're built around how video projects actually work — shoot type, location considerations, audio requirements, delivery formats, revision expectations.
You stop doing the detective work
The brief asks the right questions so you don't have to. Your discovery call becomes a confirmation call — faster, more productive, and a better experience for the client.
Everything in one place
The brief answers sit on the project record. Six months later, when a client asks about scope, you have their original responses right there.
Branded to your studio
The intake link reflects your studio name and branding. It doesn't look like a generic form — it looks like a professional part of your process.
Who it's for
Whether you shoot alone or with a team.
Freelance videographers
Stop losing time to discovery calls that could have been a form. Get complete project info upfront and spend your calls on relationship, not logistics.
Small production companies
Standardize how every new project kicks off. Every producer on your team asks the same questions in the same order — and you catch scope problems early.
Studios quoting complex projects
The more complex the project, the more the brief pays off. Multi-location shoots, live events, branded campaigns — the intake brief handles the nuance.
Common questions
Still have questions?
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Ready to try it yourself?
Set up your studio in under 15 minutes. Free to start, no credit card required.