Hi guys, do you guys include raw footage on your packages. If yes how much do you guys charge. i usually don't include any raw footage with my packages but i have a bride asking for one on mini dv. thx

Hi Kiflom

In the old days I used to just give the brides the MiniDV tapes as a marketing ploy (full raw footage backup on MiniDV tape). Nowdays with card I try to not offer the raw footage!! What happens if they attempt to edit your footage and do a really bad job and your wedding is all over YouTube?????
If they DO ask for "raw footage" I rather give them a DVD of my MPEG2 files so all the wobbly bits are cut out and at least A and B camera edits are done!! I normally charge a minimal $50.00 for the DVD.

If you are shooting onto MiniDV still, I guess you can supply the tapes but I really cannot see any non-videographer being able to sync footage from 2 cams. If you are shooting HD then I doubt whether they will have the NLE to edit it.

Before going any further I would respectfully ask why???? If it's purely as a backup then that should be OK... if they want to re-edit I would rather give them "pre-cut" footage

Chris

Kiflom, this subject has been discussed a lot on this forum - have you used the search facility to read up on it? If the bride's insisting on the raw then you might have to do a real rough 'n' dirty edit of the genuine raw, otherwise she'll be thinking, 'look at all this cr@p he filmed! Did I pay for this??' And when she bought her kitchen table, did she want all the offcuts, bent screws and sawdust?

What I do is charge enough money for raw footage to sway most brides from purchasing it, but enough to make it worthwhile for you if they do. That price happens to be $600 with us. So far I've only ever had 1 taker.

I do the same thing as Andrew. I charge $150 to put it on DVD which pays for removing the really bad parts, but it's good to give them because they get to hear all the audio that comes with it, but I never push them to get it. Everyone who sees the price tag has always told me, "You know, we don't really need it." That is true, they don't need it. They just want to feel like they are getting more for the buck. Don't go into the reasons why you charge so much, I just tell them that is the rate.

Thank you guys, like always you guys came through. (*_________*)

I nip a little bit off here and there and then I put it on DVDs free of charge.

For my Basic Documentary package of $1195, the raw footage is not included. If the bride or groom wants it on a DVD, I usually charge about $100.

For my more expensive packages that start at $2495, I include the raw footage, and it's usually a big selling point.

"raw" footage is included with all my packages, I believe it's not that they want to feel they get more for their money, it's just a sense of security in case my editing crap, they still have a chance to make it look good, it is a good selling point,
but how do you put it on one DVD, or you burn 10 of them, I usually request hard drive from my clients, on average "raw" is about 60-80 Gb, or you just charge them for the compressed mpeg?

I put no more than an hour and a half of footage per DVD, and I don't include what my helper shot that night. I put my footage on as many DVDs as it takes.

I give the original miniDV tapes and use the 'security' methodology and tell them to put it in a lock box in case their house gets robbed or burns down etc.

It keeps the clutter down around the studio. Previously we never gave the raw footage out and had hundreds of tapes stored in these plastic slidout desktop drawer things we bought at wal-mart.

I think a customer who asks for raw footage actually wants raw footage with a view to having a bash at making their own little version of events. Not sure a compressed version of it on DVD would be much use to them.

I include all of the raw footage on blu-ray as part of my package. I switched over to a one package approach this year that has a 25 min edited version and a separate disc of all the raw footage. I will do a quick rough cut on the raw to take out any glaring issues. To answer your question, I would be fair with them on pricing your raw footage on mini dv. This will not be a request that you get a lot, so do not overprice it and give them them a negative vibe.

Hi guys, do you guys include raw footage on your packages. If yes how much do you guys charge. i usually don't include any raw footage with my packages but i have a bride asking for one on mini dv. thx

We never include raw footage. (without a really big price tag) :)

i just got asked for raw footage form my last weddings , she said not to bother after i said its £400

Its not a true representation on my work.

Luke

The harsh reality is that it's a very highly accurate representation of your work, Luke. What it doesn't show is what a good editor you are.

Hi all,

I shoot a lot of footage (I think) at each wedding, usually between 4 and 5 hours - which in our case gets cut down to a 35-40 minute edit. That leaves a lot of footage from the 'most important day' of the couple's life that didn't make the cut because it was less interesting than other bits, and because we keep our cuts pretty short so the energy of the DVD doesn't falter.

After 20 years, how much of that edited-out footage of the couple's family and friends will become valuable and enjoyable for them to watch? My guess is, probably most of it. (I only film stuff that I think is of some interest anyway). So, like some others in this thread, we include the uncut footage because we think it'll be of value to the couple one day (I'd certainly want it if it was my wedding being shot).

We warn the couples that it'll be rough-as-guts in some parts before we even film the wedding. And we've never had anything but very positive comments about the uncut footage from couples.

Langdon
Life in Motion | Real life videography for real life Weddings - Home (http://www.lifeinmotion.net.au)

Photographers don't do it. They delete most of their mistakes right in-camera during the shoot. "DELETE/TRASH" ...and presto ...they are a better photographer than anyone will ever know. Think about that next time you decide to put all your goofs on display. Don't provide raw video. ALWAYS do some sort of clean up.

Hi Craig,

Interesting that there are so many strong opinions on both sides of this.. I'm not sure what you mean by 'goofs' - it's not like with photographs where it's a problem when people blink. In Life in Motion, we shoot documentary-style (that's another whole conversation I guess) and our couples understand that we're there just trying to record the day as it happens... therefore anything that's in the uncut footage is there because it was a part of their day. If by 'goofs' you mean technical stuff like the occasional color balance issue or a shot that starts a bit dark before the iris is opened properly... I have no problem with couples seeing this. Most of the time I'm getting shots within 1 second of seeing something that's worth filming, so it's inevitable that some parts won't have perfect exposure etc. If anything, I think it makes couples more appreciative of the work that goes into recording their day, how hard I've worked to record as much of the real spontaneous stuff as possible.

Langdon
Life in Motion
Life in Motion | Real life videography for real life Weddings - Home (http://www.lifeinmotion.net.au)

Our clients can buy the raw footage, if they want to. We don't advertise the fact. If they ask, they can pay for it.