SF 330 and SOQ video for architecture firms: where video fits in US public-sector pursuits

US public-sector work, federal, state and municipal, is won on qualifications rather than price, and the documents that carry those qualifications were designed for paper. A firm chasing a GSA building, a county courthouse in Kansas City or a school district in Orlando will ask the same question: can video help, and where? This guide covers the federal SF 330 and why video does not belong in it, how state and municipal statements of qualifications (SOQs) and requests for qualifications (RFQs) differ, what procurement staff can and cannot open, how a 30-second project film works as a QR-linked attachment, and what to check before interview day.

Key takeaways

• The SF 330 is the standard federal architect-engineer qualifications form and is a PDF; video belongs at the shortlist interview and on the firm website, not inside the form.
• Federal A-E selection under FAR Subpart 36.6 is qualifications-based, with discussions held with at least three of the most highly qualified firms, which is where a short film can be shown if the agency allows it.
• State and municipal SOQs vary by agency; some accept hyperlinks or QR codes in a PDF response, others prohibit anything outside the page count. Read the RFQ and ask the contact during the question period.
• A 30-second project film reached by a QR code is the lowest-risk way to add motion to a paper response, because it does not change the document and the reviewer chooses whether to watch.
• Treat every link as optional: the response must stand on its own if nobody clicks.

What the SF 330 is, and what it is not

Standard Form 330, Architect-Engineer Qualifications, is the form US federal agencies use to collect a firm's professional qualifications for architect-engineer contracts. It is published on the GSA forms page for SF 330 as a PDF; as of October 2026 the current revision shown there is dated July 2021, and the form is prescribed under FAR 53.236-2(b). Part I presents qualifications for a specific contract and Part II presents the general qualifications of a firm or branch office.

The form is a document. There is no field for a video, no instruction to include media, and the agency's evaluation board reviews it as pages. Selection follows FAR Subpart 36.6, which requires firms seeking A-E contracts to file the SF 330 and directs agencies to evaluate on professional qualifications, specialized experience, capacity, past performance and location, then to hold discussions with at least three of the most highly qualified firms before ranking them. Those discussions are the federal shortlist interview, and they are the first point in a federal pursuit where video can legitimately appear.

So for the federal form the answer is simple: do not try. Do not paste a QR code into Section F project sheets, do not add a hyperlink to a cover letter unless the synopsis invites one, and do not attach a thumb drive. Put the work into clean Section F project pages with strong photography and a Section H narrative that reads well, and save the film for the interview and for the firm website that evaluators may look at on their own time.

State and municipal SOQs: where the rules loosen

Below the federal level, procurement is governed by state statutes and agency procedures, and the formats vary widely. A state university system, a county public works department and a city housing authority in the same state may run three different processes. Most still use qualifications-based selection modeled on the federal approach, and most still ask for a PDF or printed SOQ with a page limit. The differences that matter for video are:

• Whether links are permitted. Some RFQs say nothing about hyperlinks, some explicitly allow them, and some state that any content outside the submitted pages will not be evaluated. Silence is not permission; ask during the written question period and keep the answer.
• Whether a QR code counts as content. A QR code is an image on the page, so it fits within page limits, but the material behind it may or may not be considered. Agencies that evaluate strictly on the page will ignore it; agencies that allow links will usually treat a QR code the same way.
• Whether the response is scored by a committee or by staff. Committee members, often including a facilities director, a board member or a user-group representative, are more likely to click than a procurement officer reviewing for compliance.
• Whether the agency uses an electronic portal. Portals typically accept PDF uploads with file-size caps; some reject video files outright. A link inside the PDF sidesteps the cap.

Agencies in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Austin post RFQs and addenda publicly; read three recent ones from a target agency before deciding what to include. Federal opportunities are posted on SAM.gov, the US government's official system for contract opportunities, and the synopsis there will tell you how an agency wants to receive materials.

What procurement officers can and cannot open

The practical limit on video in a public-sector response is the reviewer's computer. Agency workstations are often locked down: streaming video sites may be blocked, file downloads from unknown domains may be flagged, and plug-ins are rarely installed. The safe assumptions are:

• A PDF will open. Anything embedded in it beyond text and images may not.
• A hyperlink to your own firm's website on HTTPS has the best chance of working; links to consumer video platforms are the likeliest to be blocked.
• A QR code is scanned with a personal phone, which bypasses the agency network entirely. This is the main reason QR codes work when embedded links do not.
• A file attached to an email may be stripped; a video file emailed unsolicited almost certainly will be, and may count as an improper contact during the blackout period.

Design for the worst case: a reviewer who reads a printed, black-and-white copy and never scans anything. If the response is persuasive on paper, the film is a bonus; if it depends on the film, it fails.

The 30-second project film as a QR-linked attachment

Where links or QR codes are allowed, a short project film is the right thing to put behind them. Thirty seconds is long enough to show a completed building moving through its day and short enough that a reviewer will finish it. The film should match a project sheet in the SOQ: same project, same name, same photography, so the reviewer sees motion added to a page they have already read.

Host it on a page on your own domain, not a social platform, with the project name, the client, your role and the completion year in text above the film. Arch2Video is one way to make such a film: six finished-project photos of one building become a 30-second 1080 × 1920 vertical film with an original soundtrack and an optional studio logo. Because the motion is AI-generated, review it before you link it and keep it for completed work; renderings of a proposed design should be labeled concept work, and in a qualifications submission the point is what you have built. If a committee member is likely to watch on a laptop, a horizontal film from a videographer may read better; a vertical film is right when the QR code sends them to a phone.

Place the QR code on the project sheet it belongs to, at a size that scans from a printed page, with one line of text under it: "30-second film of the completed project: [URL]". Print the URL as well, so a reviewer reading on screen can type it. Test the code from a printed copy and from a PDF displayed on a monitor, with the phone camera, before you submit. For the detailed interview rules, including quiet rooms, time limits and what some agencies prohibit, see video in architecture RFQ shortlist interviews.

A do and don't table

Interview day: how video fits a shortlist presentation

The shortlist interview is where federal discussions and most state and municipal processes finally allow a presentation, and where video earns its place. A few points apply almost everywhere:

Time. Interviews are often 30 to 60 minutes including questions, and agencies penalize overruns. A 30-second film costs a minute with the setup sentence. Two films cost two. Rarely is a third worth it.

Position. Open with the team and the agency's problem, not with a film. Use the film when you reach the comparable project it shows; it replaces three slides of stills and lets the team breathe.

Sound. Many interview rooms are quiet, shared spaces, and some agencies ask for no audio. Make sure the film reads without sound, and bring a version with the soundtrack removed if your tool offers one.

Honesty. Say in one sentence what the film is: "a 30-second film of the Denver library, finished in 2024, made from our completion photography." If the motion is AI-generated, say so when asked; most committees are curious rather than hostile, and a plain answer ends the question. For the formal commitments some agencies expect, see a one-page AI policy template for architecture firms.

The public meeting that follows. Once selected, the same film often reappears at a planning commission or city council presentation where the project is being approved. Those rooms have their own rules, covered in rendering video for planning commission meetings.

Interview-day checklist

• The RFQ and all addenda, with the interview rules highlighted: time, room, equipment, audio, number of attendees.
• Films as local files on the presenting laptop, plus a copy on a USB drive and a copy on a phone.
• A no-audio version of each film.
• Adapter for the room's display connection, confirmed in advance with the agency contact.
• The slide deck with each film placed on the slide for its project, not in a separate "media" section.
• A printed one-page leave-behind with a QR code to the film pages, if leave-behinds are permitted.
• One sentence per film explaining what it is and how it was made.
• A rehearsal in which the Wi-Fi is off and the films still play.

Frequently asked questions

Can I attach a video to a federal SF 330 submission?

No. The SF 330 is a PDF form published by GSA, prescribed under the FAR, and evaluated as a document. There is no provision for media, and content outside the form is not part of the evaluation. Put the video on your website and bring it to the discussions that FAR Subpart 36.6 requires agencies to hold with the most highly qualified firms, if the agency's interview instructions allow presentations.

Are QR codes allowed in state and municipal SOQ responses?

It depends on the agency and the specific RFQ. Some permit hyperlinks and QR codes, some say nothing, and some state that only the submitted pages will be evaluated. Ask in writing during the question period, keep the agency's answer, and design the response so that it is complete without the code. Where permitted, place the QR code on the relevant project sheet with the URL printed beside it.

Should a public-sector project film be vertical or horizontal?

Match the way it will be watched. A QR code sends a reviewer to a phone, where a vertical 1080 × 1920 film fills the screen. An interview-room display is horizontal, where a vertical film sits in a column; it still works for a 30-second insert, but a horizontal cut from a videographer looks more natural on a projector. Many firms keep a vertical film for the QR code and the website and a horizontal version for the room.

Does using AI-generated video hurt a qualifications submission?

Not if it is disclosed and used appropriately. A short film made from your own completion photography shows a built project in motion and is a presentation choice, like a drone shot or a rendering. Problems arise when generated motion is presented as documentation or when a rendering-based film is presented as built work. Say what it is in one sentence, label concept films as concept work, and keep the drawings and photographs as the record of what you built.