Why We Don’t Give You Raw Footage (and Why You’ll Thank Us for It)
After a full day of filming, hours of footage is captured, totalling gigabytes upon gigabytes of data. This collection of video is what we call raw footage: completely unorganised and unprocessed. Think of raw footage as the raw ingredients you’d gather to cook a meal.
Once your project is wrapped, you may wonder why we don’t simply hand over this raw footage. Since it’s in an unprocessed state, we don’t typically deliver it along with the final product. Here’s why we—and many other video production companies—don’t include raw footage with the finished piece.
The Footage Hasn’t Been Curated
Raw footage shot on the day of production hasn’t been curated at all. Mixed in with the highlights of the day are moments that weren’t exactly camera-ready! Additionally, depending on how long the shoot was, there could be hours upon hours of material to sift through. In short, it’s not all “camera-ready,” and handing it over would be a lot like delivering every single snapshot from a photoshoot.
Not everything caught on camera is “camera-ready”
Raw Files Are Really Large
Depending on the type of production, the files captured during filming can add up to tens or even hundreds of gigabytes for just one day’s work. Projects we handle regularly surpass 100 GB for a single video. To put it in perspective: that’s enough to fill up a hard drive faster than you can say “gigabytes!”
This SINGLE video clip is almost 15gb. Now imagine a whole day’s worth of clips!
They Need Processing
When we capture footage, it’s recorded in a way that maximises information and detail. But this raw footage doesn’t look ready for the big screen—open it in your video player, and you’ll see low colour saturation and barely any contrast.
The footage requires post-production to bring out the vibrance, contrast, and clarity. This editing, combined with added graphics and effects, is what brings the final product to life.
In essence, raw footage isn’t part of the final delivery because it hasn’t gone through the essential post-production process. Going back to the cooking analogy, you wouldn’t ask for the raw ingredients used to make the meal you just enjoyed at a restaurant. You went to the restaurant for a delicious, expertly crafted dish. In the same way, you work with a video production partner like us to help bring your vision to life—complete with all the polish and professional touches we’re here to provide.
And if you’d like your next shoot to be super curated - get in touch, and we’ll give you a SAME DAY quote to get your started!