BidFrame Pre-award bid intelligence

is easy to get wrong.

Turn the brief into a bid you can defend.

Drafts from the brief, then shows its work. Every rate traced to its source, every gap surfaced before pricing, every call left to you.

Request private pilot See the review

For line producers, executive producers, and production managers

BidFrame / Review

Base scenario · Producer review · All changes saved

Brand campaign bid

$418,620Draft total

USD scenario

Budgetagainst the stated client ceiling$7,200 over

Savings Move the camera package to a weekly rate

Five daily rentals price cheaper as a weekly. Closes $4,200 of the gap.

Reversible

Needs actionanswer or fix before export2

Labor 14-hour shoot days, no overtime budgeted

Crew hours past 10 trigger 1.5x and 2x. One of the most common overruns.

Before export

Post Missing finishing lines for 9:16 and 1:1

The brief lists all three ratios. Only 16:9 is priced in the draft.

Scope gap

Rate source tags Your rate card Industry rate BidFrame rate From brief

Brief or intakeEither path can draft a first pass. Templates remain manual.

Drafted rates show source statusYour rate card, industry rate, BidFrame rate, brief, or estimate.

Open decisions stay visibleBudget, missing scope, rights, and rate questions in one review.

AICP-structured handoffCover totals and line items mapped into AICP section categories.

The workflow

Get the bid right before it's out of your hands.

BidFrame separates the scope review from the priced draft, then keeps the remaining producer decisions visible through export.

Bring the brief or intake

Upload PDF, Word, PowerPoint, text, or Markdown, paste the brief, or answer the structured intake.

Confirm the scope

Review deliverables, locations, usage, schedule, budget signals, open questions, and any setup conflicts before generation.

Inspect the priced draft

Select the lines you want, adjust quantities and rates, and see the source status attached to drafted rates.

Resolve and hand off

Work through the Review Rail, export the required format, and lock the delivered baseline before revisions begin.

What the review catches

The omissions that become real overages.

BidFrame checks the priced bid for work the scope implies but the line items do not cover. Three sentences of scope, read the way the review reads them.

Scope excerpt · one-day brand shoot

One shoot day⁰¹ on a stage in Senoia, Georgia⁰⁴. A basic rented lighting package⁰¹ and two union principals⁰³ on camera. Deliverables: a :60 anthem, three :30 cutdowns, and nine social versions⁰² across 9:16 and 1:1.

One day on set, two days of gear. Pickup and prep land the day before the shoot. The package is priced, that labor day is not.

Crew coverage

Thirteen finished pieces on two post lines. Reframes, conform, QC, and captions for nine social versions, none of it priced.

Post coverage

Session fees do not buy the usage. The scope never says where these spots run. Until it does, usage fees, 13-week holding cycles, and pension and health on all of it stay unpriced.

Talent usage

Georgia is an incentive state and the bid never says so. The flag attaches the program terms, 20 to 30 percent transferable, and the caution producers skip: audit-contingent, slow to pay, never cash flow.

Tax incentive

Rate provenance

The source stays attached to the rate.

Amounts stated in the brief stay as stated. For drafted roles with a match, a selected company rate card takes priority. Uncovered roles fall back to BidFrame rates, and estimates remain labeled for producer review.

Shop setupImport or enter company rates, save fringe and markup defaults for future bids, and start from a production template when the job calls for it. Each new scenario keeps the rate and markup setup it was built with.

RoleApplied valueSource status

Executive ProducerCompany / daily

Saved company rate

Your rate cardNorthstar Commercial

1st Assistant DirectorDGA minimum / daily

$1,280 minimum

Industry rateDGA Commercial Agreement · effective Dec. 1, 2025

Art DirectorLA union / daily

$1,200

BidFrame rate · HighModeled benchmark with source context

Location feeClient stated / flat

Brief amount

From briefClient-stated amount preserved

Known-figure talent feeNegotiated / flat

EstimatedQuote required · no sourced amount inserted

Per diem · NYC 10001M&IE / daily · May 2026

$92

Industry rateGSA FY2026 · locality and date resolved

Scenario alternates

See where the money moved before the bid goes out.

Clone the current bid, test another approach, and compare it against the baseline. BidFrame shows the total impact and the section and line-item movement behind it.

AlternateStart from the reviewed bid without changing the baseline.

HandoffLock the version you deliver. If scope changes later, BidFrame compares the revision against that baseline and prepares a change order showing what moved.

Scenario comparisonUSD

BaselineDirector approach A

TargetDirector approach B

Grand total delta−$32,380

Scope movement

Shooting crew−$8,900

Locations and travel−$14,200

Post and finishing+$4,600

Calculation impact

Markup, fee, and contingency−$13,880

After deliveryChange order 01

Against locked baseline+$12,600

1 location day · 1 post round · revised project total $431,220

Sample bid

The bid looks normal. That's the point.

A defensible bid reads like any other bid. The difference is the review behind it.

Before this bid went out Bondo · Brand Anthem

✓Schedule question resolved with a producer noteResolved

✓Weather hold added to the bidAdded

✓Two crew travel days added · $4,800Added

✓Applied rate sources reviewed before deliveryReviewed

✓Delivered scenario locked · later changes compare against this baselineLocked

Review state is saved with the scenario. It survives reloads and carries into clones.

AICP-structured exportProject details, line items, fringes, and totals are mapped into AICP section categories. Available as PDF, HTML, or static XLSX.

Client bid · PDF / HTML AICP-structured export · PDF / XLSX / HTML Bid letter · PDF / HTML Internal workbook · XLSX / CSV

NORTHSTAR PRODUCTIONSJUL 12, 2026

Bid contact · A. Reyes, Executive Producer

CLIENT / PROJECT
BONDO ATHLETICS · BRAND ANTHEMPREP / SHOOT / WRAP
4 / 2 / 1 DAYS

B · Shooting crew

DescriptionQtyUnitUnit costLine total

Director of Photography2Day1,9003,800

1st Assistant Director2Day1,2802,560

+ 14 more lines

Section subtotal · $118,650

Raw subtotal$318,050

Fringe$26,120

Overhead$22,260

Producer Fee$31,810

Contingency$20,380

GRAND TOTAL$418,620

Producer-reviewed scenario · client-facing export

Questions producers ask

What BidFrame does, and where it stops.

Clear answers before you bring a live brief into the workspace.

Does BidFrame replace the producer?

No. It prepares the first pass, calculates totals, and organizes the open decisions. The producer checks the scope, changes the numbers, and approves the bid.

What if I don't have a brief?

You don't need one. Describe the job in the structured intake: deliverables, schedule, locations, and usage. BidFrame drafts from that. Or open a starter template for your production type and build the bid directly. Intake answers are kept separate from parsed brief facts, so nothing you typed gets treated as something the client said.

Can I use my company rate card?

Yes. Exact role matches from the active company rate card take priority. BidFrame baselines can fill uncovered roles, and estimates or quote-required costs remain labeled.

Does it support union and non-union bids?

BidFrame supports union, non-union, and mixed productions. Published scales, sourced floors, jurisdiction, and organization settings inform the draft. The producer confirms the agreement and final rates.

What can I send to a client?

Client-facing bids and one-page bid letters are available in HTML or PDF. AICP-structured exports map project details, line items, fringes, and totals into AICP section categories and are available in HTML, PDF, or static XLSX. Internal CSV and XLSX exports keep working detail separate.

Does it replace production management after award?

No. BidFrame stays focused on bidding and bid revisions, including change orders against a locked delivered baseline. Keep production management, actuals, timesheets, invoicing, and client approvals in your existing tools.

Private pilot

Bring a real brief. See what the first pass gets right and what it asks you to verify.

For independent producers and commercial production teams who want less blank-sheet setup and a clearer record of where each number came from.