Questions Answers RFQ 251778J Studio Supplemental Crew .pdf

Questions for CMS RFQ 251778J for Studio Supplemental Crew

1. Attachment 4 – the business quote template only lists project manager, make up artist, audio engineer and camera operator (total of four (4) positions) for pricing, however Attachment 2 – Labor Categories and Performance requirements lists a total of eight (8) positions. In addition, Attachment 1 – the SOW, under remote broadcasts, lists two positions (audio technician) that is not in either the business quote template or the labor categories document. There’s also a position of project manager listed in the SOW (Attachment 1) as well Business quote template (Attachment 4) but is not listed in the Labor Categories document (attachment 2).

Please review the revised Attachment 2- Labor categories document dated 9.11.2025.

2. Questions:

a. Is pricing for only positions listed in the Business quote template needed or should vendors provide pricing for the other positions listed in Attachment 2 as well? Pricing is only needed for the positions listed in the Business Quote Template.

b. If pricing for only positions listed in the business document are required, how will pricing be handled for the other positions listed in the Labor Categories and performance requirements document? Pricing is only needed for the positions listed in the Business Quote Template. Please see the revised Attachment 2.

c. Should vendors use the quantities listed in the SOW (Attachment 1) as the quantities for the business template? Yes

d. Can you provide a position description for the Audio Technician, or define how this differs from the Audio Engineer listed in the SOW? Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW and Attachment 2- Labor Categories document.

e. Can you provide a position description for the project manager? Please see the revised Attachment 2- Labor Categories and Performance document.

i. Is the project manager expected to be on site at each remote broadcast or is this just for general coordination purposes? This would be on a case-by-case basis. Not all projects require the project manager since some will just be B-Roll shoots. These shoots would be done with guidance beforehand via a CMS Project Manager/Producer.

f. Is the Videographer in the Labor Categories document the same as the Camera Operator in the business quote template? Please see the revised Attachment 2- Labor Categories and Performance document.

3. Page 4 – Section 2b of SOW - Some of the formats listed in this section are not prevalent any longer. Is shooting in 4K or standard HD formats (ie: using Sony FX9 or similar camera gear) acceptable? Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW.

4. Can you confirm that the quantities listed on page 7 of the SOW should be used for the Labor categories in the business quote? Yes

5. The business quote contains a tab for travel, however the SOW states (page 1 – Section II , third paragraph) “A network of video production contacts from around the country is helpful to meet the needs of this contract.” Can you confirm that vendors can quote using crews inside of each of the cities listed on page 7 of the SOW or is it expected that vendors will travel the positions listed from their home city? A crew inside the area of the remote broadcasts is helpful but not required.

Should the offeror not have crew in that area, then travel would be necessary. If travel would be necessary, please include this in your offer.

6. Can you confirm that the ODCs in the business quote should only include the equipment packages needed to support a single camera ENG/EFP set up (ie: single camera and lighting gear for the Camera Op or videographer, 2 microphones and mixer for the Audio engineer or Technician)? The SOW notes potential for much larger (possibly two, three or more cameras needing a wide variety of support gear) and potentially live transmission (requiring satellite, fiber or LiveU) where there can be numerous options depending on the particular set up, that would also require personnel beyond those listed in the Summary (labor) tab. Please confirm if vendors should supply ODCs for just ENG/EFP set up or other setups as well. If pricing for other setups are needed, please provide additional information about what those set ups are. Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW.

7. Evaluation criteria outlines a 10 page limit for the technical quote which includes demonstrating Personnel Experience as well as Prior Experience.

a. Can you confirm that only personnel listed in Attachment 4 – Business quote template are required for this section or should vendors provide Personnel experience information for all the positions listed in Attachment 2 – Labor Categories and requirements? Please review the revised Attachment 2- Labor categories document.

b. If Vendors are providing resumes to support the Personnel experience section, do these count towards the page limit or can they be counted additionally (ie: as an appendix)? Resumes will count towards the page limit. Appendices will not be evaluated.

c. If vendors have full Past performance write ups available to support the Prior Experience section, do these count towards the page limit or can they be counted additionally (ie: as an appendix)? We will be evaluating prior experience not past performance. Please see revised Attachment #3 dated 9.11.2025

8. Can you provide samples of productions previously produced by DMS that are closest to the type of work anticipated under this contract? This work consists of basic news style productions and b-roll shoots.

9. As this solicitation is listed as “Studio Supplemental Crew” can you provide additional information and detail about what is being supplemented? Is this a supplement to Federal supplied labor or is there another studio contract with a different vendor that is on-going? Can you provide information as to what positions are included in either of those scenarios that we would be supporting? We currently employ 5 federal workers who generally complete this work. The is a contract that supplements the federal crew with additional crew and positions we do not possess on an as needed basis.

10. Does work under this contract interact at all with or support work being done under the CMS NEC IDIQ or is this totally separate? This is separate.

11. We recently saw a similar RFQ from CMS posted on eBuy. Questions:

a. Was that RFQ cancelled? Yes

b. How does this RFQ relate to that one? The requirement was updated to better define what is needed. It is also no longer a set-aside and is open to all vendors.

Is this a replacement for that or supplement to it? This is a replacement the RFQ on eBuy was cancelled.

c. If the eBuy RFQ was cancelled, how is the work that was listed there, but omitted here, being handled? None of the requirements of the SOW have been omitted. The requirement was revised to better define what is needed.

12. Is this a new requirement or a renewal or continuation of an existing contract?

Renewal

13. Who is the incumbent for this work? Winvale

14. If no incumbent, what vendor(s) has CMS/DMS been working with over the past 3 years for similar services? Please refer back to Question 12.

15. What has been the total annual dollar value of the contract(s) that cover similar services for CMS/DMS for each of the last 3 government fiscal years? This is outside of the scope of this Q&A.

16. Are there any personnel currently working under contract at the DMS that CMS would like to see continue in their roles? No. If so, can you identify which positions?

17. Is an SF-1449 or SF-30 required to be submitted with vendor proposals? No

18. Are you anticipating a single award or multiple awards as a result of this RFQ? Single

Award.

19. Given the time needed for the government to review and respond to questions and vendors to incorporate updated information into their proposals, can the government extend the deadline for responses to NLT 10am Monday 9/22? The Proposal due date will be extended to 09.18.2025, NLT 10:00 EST.

20. Please revise the Price Quote Template to add an additional line for Make Up 1/2 Day to differentiate from the Full Day. The assumptions list that 8 hours is considered a full day and 4 hours are a ½ day. The make-up artist hours can be combined into one row as we will be paying based on actual hours worked.

21. For Remote Broadcast Breakdown, it states that "Positions for the Remote Broadcasts could include but are not limited to the following"...then lists Audio Engineer, Audio Technician(s), Camera Operator(s), Project Manager and Make Up Artist(s). Yet in the Price Quote Template, Audio Technician is not listed for the four cities. Should the Audio Technician be removed from the requirement or should the Price Quote Template be revised to include it? Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW.

22. Given that this is a LPTA decision, unclear terms such as "could include but are not limited to" make it difficult to have a fair and level playing field for evaluation. Is it possible to give us a specific number of days/half days per labor category, per location and have those numbers placed in the Price Quote Template by you? Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW. The offeror will fill out the price quote template.

23. The pluralizing of Audio Technician(s), Camera Operator(s) and Make Up Artist(s) suggests that we may be providing more than one of these positions in the four remote cities. Can you be more specific as to the actual number of each labor category we will be providing in each location for pricing purposes? Given this is LPTA, we feel this is a fair question to ask. As in question 5, we suggest you actually include day and half day amounts in the Price Quote Template so all bidders are proposing identical level of effort. Please see the revised Attachment

1- SOW.

24. The SOW document still mentions postproduction and editing, but no editor is mentioned in staffing needs. Will we be asked to provide editors at CMS? If so, should Editor be added to the Price Quote Template? Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW with a full day of editing (8 hours) to be used for pricing.

25. Attachment 2- Studio Supplemental Labor Categories and Performance Requirements 9.04.2025 lists labor categories that are not in the Price Quote

Template (Producer Level 1, Producer Level 2, Videographer, Teleprompter Operator, Video Director, and Video Editor). Please clarify if we need to provide pricing for the categories that are not in the Price Quote Template, or if we need to provide descriptions of our crew members for those categories in case they are needed during the term of the contract. Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW.

26. The Project Manager and Camera Operator lines listed in the Price Quote Template are not included in Attachment 2. We imagine that most likely Project Manager is identical to either Producer 1 or Producer 2 and Camera Operator is equal to Videographer. Please clarify. Please see the revised Attachment 1- SOW.

27. Is the primary intent of this contract staff augmentation to support CMS-led productions, or a broader engagement where the contractor provides end-to-end production services? This contract is for supplemental crew. CMS maintains a staff of videographers, producers, and editors, but at times we are understaffed or unable to travel.

28. Will CMS provide creative direction, or should the contractor be prepared to lead on scripting, concepting, and editorial decisions when requested? CMS will provide direction and editorial decisions.

29. What is the anticipated volume of production requests (e.g., average shoots per month or year)? 12-16 requests annually.

30. How often should the contractor expect to support simultaneous multi-location productions? No, this has not happened historically.

31. May we propose blended/cross-skilled roles where appropriate, or must personnel align strictly to the listed labor categories? Yes, cross-skilled roles are ok.

32. Does CMS expect the contractor to maintain an on-call bench of staff for short-notice requests (e.g., 6–24 hours)? No. Generally 1-2 weeks’ notice.

33. Which production and post-production equipment will CMS provide, and what does CMS expect the contractor to furnish? CMS will not provide equipment.

34. For remote productions, does CMS anticipate contractor-supplied satellite/uplink trucks and streaming infrastructure, or are those only as-needed capabilities? This would be an extremely rare case and has not happened historically. We do, however, need to be able to furnish a live event if leadership requests. Notice for this type of event would be far out.

35. How will technical merit vs. price be weighted in the evaluation of quotes? This requirement will be evaluated using the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable method.

36. Will CMS accept relevant commercial past performance examples, or is federal experience required? CMS is only requesting prior experience and not past performance.