selling RAW footage
 

I know some people choose to NOT sell the raw footage...but for those that do, what format do you give them?

Meaning do you give it to them as files that they can then use and edit themselves, or do you present it in a menu format (as in Tape 1, Tape 2 etc) simply for viewing??

This is assuming that that they also hired you to provide them with a FULLY edited wedding video, complete with Highlight video etc, and that they just also requested to purchase the raw footage.

Thoughts?

Since some months I render a 1440x1080 mpeg2 file of the highlites with a 25mbs bitrate (from my xh-a1), when I deliver a weddingvideo I take the mpeg2 file with me on an external hardrive and copy it on a harddrive they provide (laptop or ext harddrive)
In this way they have a high quality back up and can go to blu-ray or another HD format in the future. I don't charge extra for this.
In the past I would write everything back to tape and safekeep it myself but stopped doing this as it was to time and space consuming. After I handed everything over to the couple I keep the original project on my harddrive for about 2 months and then erease everything exept for a iso file that I keep for max 1 year. If I don't get a request for a copy by then that is being ereased as well.

when it does happen (not often) I drop in onto a DVD uncolor corrected, no audio sweetening, no nothing.

Thanks guys!

A client wanted the raw footage from their wedding so I put it onto the FCP time line and cut out all the real rough bits and then sent this to compressor, render out mpeg 2 and then burnt DVD's with no menus.
This had no, colour correction, audio or anything else done to it.
At first I thought the edit would take for ever but it was easy.

Hi Kelsey,

We used to include the raw footage in every one of our packages but now sell it separately. We provide it to our clients on DVD only so it's not a high-quality editable format, but is perfectly fine for the couple to just watch on their own. We're all tapeless now but in the past when we recorded on miniDV we would NEVER give them those source files. You never know which client is a budding videographer (or has a brother or sister who is a budding videographer) and I've always felt that giving clients the actual tapes you filmed their wedding on is potentially asking for trouble.

Hope that helps!

I charged $500 for all raw footage on BluRay. If they provided a harddrive, it will be $400.

I give my clients the footage if they request it free of charge on a hard drive they supply. I'm hired to film 'their' wedding it's their footage. Many of my clients are editors and videographers themselves, I enjoy working for clients that's in the video industry I don't feel threatened nor give a s*** what they do with my footage, some want the raw video for archiving others like to edit it themselves. Raw footage looks s***, I tell them that, if they want to edit it then they have to deal with the raw element. You're only good when your fellow videographers respect you, the general public is a weak measure.