Three working templates for commissioning corporate video, each one the artefact a framework in
the Frame to Funnel Method produces. They
are printed in full below — not summarised, not gated, nothing held back for an email. A template you cannot
read is not a template, it is an advertisement for one.
If you would rather find out which of them you need first, the
Dark-Funnel Video Audit scores your current
video across Pipeline, Stack and Craft in two minutes and names the weakest link.
Framework
The 60-Second Brief
The five decisions a video brief must commit to paper before spend — funnel stage, viewer action, martech trigger, contact record, pipeline outcome.
What it is
The minimum a commissionable video brief must contain before any money is
committed. A brief that names only a look and a runtime buys a vanity object.
This one forces five decisions that make a film accountable before anyone picks
up a camera.
The five decisions
The funnel stage the asset serves — one stage, not a list.
The single viewer action it asks for — one action, proportionate to that stage.
The martech trigger that fires behind that action, confirmed by whoever administers the stack.
The contact record the view is written to — the specific asset, on a named field.
The pipeline outcome it is judged on, agreed with whoever owns that number.
How to use it
Answer all five aloud before writing anything else. If they cannot be said in
sixty seconds, the asset is not ready to commission, whatever else the document
contains. Where a decision genuinely cannot be made in time, write down that it
was not made and what was assumed instead — a brief that is silent on it will be
read as though the answer exists.
Framework
The Pipeline Video Framework
A stage-to-trigger map — every video type matched to the funnel stage it serves and the trigger it should fire, so a commission starts from a destination.
What it is
A map from video type to funnel stage to martech trigger. Most libraries are
organised by format — brand film, customer story, explainer — which is a
production category, not a destination. This organises them by the step they
move a buyer through, so a commission starts from where the asset has to work
rather than from what it will look like.
The map
Stage
What the viewer is doing
Asset that fits
Trigger it should fire
Not in market
Nothing. Not thinking about the category.
Category film, founder point of view, a show
Subscribe or follow — something they will still receive in two years
Problem aware
Naming the problem, not yet shopping
Explainer, teardown, diagnostic
Account-level engagement flag
Evaluating
Building an internal case, comparing
Customer story, technical deep-dive
Alert to the deal owner; asset written to the account
Deciding
Defending the choice to others
Implementation walkthrough, reference call primer
Task on the opportunity record
How to use it
Take your existing library and place each asset in a row. Two things surface
almost immediately: rows with several assets competing for one step, and rows
with none at all. The empty row is usually the one costing you contests you were
never invited into. Fill that before commissioning another asset for a row that
is already crowded.
The rule it enforces
An asset with no row does not get commissioned. If you cannot say which stage it
serves and what fires when someone watches it, the gap is in the decision, not in
the map.
Template
The Vendor Question Set
Five questions to put to a production company before a budget is signed, and what a good answer sounds like — a filter for fit rather than for taste.
What it is
Five questions, asked of every shortlisted vendor, scored on the shape of the
answer rather than its content. A showreel filters for taste, which is the part
a buyer is least likely to get wrong. These filter for whether a vendor will
interrogate your brief, which is the part that decides whether the asset works.
The five questions
“What would you change about this brief?”Good: names something specific and argues for it. Weak: “nothing, it’s
very clear” — either not read carefully, or unwilling to spend credit before
signing. Neither improves afterwards.
“Who actually does the work?”Good: named individuals, staff or freelance stated plainly, and you will
speak to them. Weak: “our team.”
“What happens if the first cut misses?”Good: a described process — rounds included, what counts as a revision
versus a re-scope, who arbitrates. Weak: reassurance that it will not
happen.
“What do we own when it’s finished?”Good: master, project files, music licence, unused footage, with terms and
duration. Weak: vagueness, which is optionality retained by the vendor.
“What have you made that underperformed, and why?”Good: names a project and separates their part from the client’s. Weak:
no failures — either not enough work, or not being straight with you.
How to use it
Ask all five of every vendor, in the same order, and write the answers down
before comparing quotes. Question five is the most diagnostic and the most often
skipped: a vendor that can answer it is a vendor that measures outcomes at all.
Framework, artefact, playbook
A framework is the thinking. An artefact is the thing it produces. A playbook is the instruction for getting
from one to the other. The Method sets out
four named frameworks; this page is where each becomes something you can put in front of a production vendor or
a finance director without rewriting it first.
Nothing here is a template in the usual sense — a document with the thinking already removed. Each one forces a
decision that most video briefs never make, which is why they are short. The value is in what they refuse to let
you leave blank.
The Method's other two frameworks are not on this page because they are not documents. The
CAC-to-Frame Ratio is a calculator
you run, and the Dark-Funnel Video Audit is
a scored diagnostic. Both are live tools rather than things to print.
Where to start
Build with the templates, diagnose with the Audit — but run the diagnosis first. It scores what you already have
and names the single weakest link, so you apply one framework to the thing that is actually broken instead of
rebuilding a system that mostly works.
If the weak link is Pipeline, the Pipeline Video Framework is the fix. If it is
Craft, start with the 60-Second Brief — and
how to write a video
brief is the argument behind it in full. If it is Stack, the problem is
plumbing rather than paperwork, and the
field guide to the dark funnel
explains where attribution usually breaks. Commissioning from scratch starts at the
Buyer's Guide.
Turn the frame into pipeline
Find out which template you need first
The Dark-Funnel Video Audit scores your video across Pipeline, Stack and Craft in two minutes — and names the link to fix before you commission anything else.