The Short Answer

A good motion design brief answers ten questions: what the video must achieve, who it is for, the one message it must land, where it will be used, length and formats, style references, the script or key points, brand assets, timeline and budget. With those, a studio can give a fixed quote instead of a wide estimate, and the first draft lands closer to what you imagined.

The Motion Design Brief Template

Copy these sections into a document and fill each one in a few lines. Short and specific beats long and vague.

  1. Objective: what should change after someone watches it? More demo bookings, fewer support tickets, a clearer launch.
  2. Audience: who watches, what they already know, and where they are when they see it.
  3. Key message: the one thing they must remember. If there are three, pick one.
  4. Placement: website hero, product page, ads, social, App Store, sales deck, events.
  5. Length and formats: main length, cut-downs, and aspect ratios (16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5).
  6. Style references: three to five links, each with a note on what you like.
  7. Script or key points: a draft script, or the points to cover in order.
  8. Brand assets: logo files, fonts, colours, guidelines, product UI or 3D files.
  9. Timeline: the date it must be live, and any fixed review dates on your side.
  10. Budget range: a range, not a single number, so the studio can propose options.

The Questions a Studio Will Ask

Expect questions about voice-over, music, who approves each stage, and how many revision rounds you need. Answering them in the brief saves a call and makes quotes from different studios comparable.

  • Is there a voice-over, and in which languages and accents?
  • Licensed music, original music or none?
  • Who signs off the script, the storyboard and the final cut?
  • Will the video need updating when the product changes?

Why a Good Brief Lowers the Quote

Studios price uncertainty. A vague brief gets a padded quote to cover rework, or a low quote followed by change requests. A clear brief removes the guesswork, which is why it usually produces a lower, firmer price and fewer revision rounds.

The same principle applies to websites, covered in our website design brief template.

Briefs for Specific Motion Work

For an explainer, add product access and the user flows to show. For a logo animation, add the logo's construction files and the story behind it. For social motion, add the posting rhythm and the templates you want to reuse. Our guides to explainer video costs and logo animation costs show how each item affects the price.

Send Us Your Brief

Kalex makes explainers, product films, logo animation and social motion in 2D and 3D. If you have a brief, or half of one, see our motion graphics service or send it over and we will reply with a fixed quote or the questions that stand between you and one.