What is Raw Footage and is it necessary?
I decided to write this blog because I get asked for Raw Footage a lot. It’s not every couple but I would say it’s 65%, and that is still a pretty good number of people. Now unlike Raw Vegetables, Raw Footage may not be as good for your health. And sometimes it is. Stay tuned until the end and I’ll tell you why.
1) Lots of Individual Clips
True Raw Footage is totally unedited. So now the question may be, “What does unedited actually mean?” Well…I’ll tell you what it means to me and some other wedding videographers. And I emphasize “some” of us. For me, it means that you will receive 150 or more clips from your wedding day. Some of those clips such as your ceremony and speeches will be very lengthy, maybe up to an hour long, and then others may be as short as 10 seconds long. This is because we might be shooting something like a close up of rings or a bouquet, and that only requires a few seconds of footage. Maybe there is a shot of the couple stealing a kiss while they wait for their meal to arrive during the reception and that moment only lasts 20 seconds or so. Or perhaps there is a beautiful clip of the Bride’s mother helping her put on a necklace which lasts fifteen seconds, but is followed by another 2 minutes of the videographer’s shoe because he/she accidentally forgot to stop recording.
2) Difficult to watch
In my opinion true Raw Footage may be difficult to watch because of the errors noted above, but then also add that there might be problems including, but not limited to, shaky footage, focus, brightness and color. This is pretty much a guarantee when footage is left unedited.
3) Difficult to hear
Honestly I am not sure which is worse, the visual problems or the audio problems. This is especially apparent during the ceremony. Sometimes there will be that baby or babies crying in the audience, sometimes there will be airplanes flying above, or speed boats on the lake, or any other number of things creating background noise during a ceremony. On top of that add to the fact that you and your partner, may not be accustomed to talking in front of people, so you whisper your way through your vows. And why not, you are talking to each other. You are pledging your vows to each other, not your audience. As a result, the cameras that are 25 or more feet away from you are not capturing your audio clearly, but the microphones are. However, they are not typically put into Raw Footage because that would require editing.
4) True Raw Footage may not play on your computer
“Ahh life is good. We got a highlight video for a great deal and we got all this wonderful Raw Footage to sift through.” That’s what you’re saying to yourself until the footage is impossible to open.
Because many of the video files we record to are in formats that only play in editing software, so when you try playing the file on your computer, it simply will not open. You will need third party software to play it. Not impossible to deal with in some cases, but still annoying.
6) Weird Dull Colors
Some us also shoot in color profiles that are extremely dull and ugly to watch called log. I won’t bore you with the specifics but it allows us to add some unique colors to your video. It’s almost like having the ability to add an Instagram filter after we are done editing. Normally these issues would be resolved during editing, but they aren’t necessarily resolved if you are simply given “Raw Footage,” or is it?
And then there is Raw Footage that really isn’t Raw at all
Yeah it’s kinda crazy, but I am starting to notice that some videographers are using the term “Raw Footage,” but what they are referring to is a Full Length film of your entire day. It certainly is not “Raw.” The footage is color corrected, there is professional audio from mixers and microphones dubbed in, and there is even added music to certain scenes. Add to that, it is arranged for you in chronological order. To me, this is not what is meant by “Raw Footage,” but to others it is. I believe that some videographers are simply giving the couple what they want. They want something short and sweet which is normally a highlight that is anywhere from 4 – 10 minutes in length, and they also don’t want to miss anything, so hence the “Raw Footage,” is provided. It’s not “Raw,” it is really edited footage. It’s edited, so you don’t have over 200 clips to go through, so you don’t have to see a bunch of terrible shaky shots, or shots of the ground, but it is not “Raw.”
Conclusion
And there it is. So in summary, not all Raw Footage is created equal. Be sure to ask your wedding videographer what is meant by Raw Footage. Maybe you actually want the unedited footage, maybe you want edited footage, or maybe something in between, but just make sure you understand what you are getting.
And never forget, this what I do for a living, so if you are interested in a videographer for your wedding, please fill out the form using the link below. And if you are interested in Raw Footage…we’ll discuss it.
