Raw footage

[Tom Hardwick]

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.

[Langdon Rodda]

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

[Craig Terott]

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.

[Langdon Rodda]

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

[Howard Neill]

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.