Raw camera footage or editing project files?

Ask for raw clips, a clean master, or both, unless you have an editor who uses the same software and wants to continue the existing cut. A project file is the editor’s working document and is useful only to the right person.

Two kinds of file, two different jobs

Raw camera footage is every clip as the camera and microphones recorded it. It is not trimmed, coloured or mixed. It is the source of everything else.

An editing project file is the editor’s working document. It records which clips were used, in what order, how they were trimmed, and what titles, music, colour and effects were added. It does not contain the video itself. It points to the clips.

A finished video is the exported film that anyone can play. It is a third thing, and it is the one most buyers actually need.

For what raw clips look and sound like, see what to expect from raw event footage.

When raw footage is the right ask

Raw clips suit most reuse needs:

• A different editor will make a new cut.
• You want a safe archive of everything filmed.
• You need a clip not used in the first edit.
• You want to check what was recorded.

Raw footage is also large and unpolished. If you only want a clean film to reuse, a clean master is often easier to use than a hard drive of clips.

When a project file helps

Project files are useful in narrow cases:

• Your in-house editor uses the same editing software and wants to adjust our cut.
• You expect small changes to titles or timing in the same film.
• The edit is long and complex, and rebuilding it would take much longer.

They are less useful if the next editor uses different software, or if you only need a version with different text. For that, a textless master is often the simpler route.

Limits you should know before asking

• Software. A project file usually opens only in the editing program that made it, and sometimes only in the same or a newer version.
• Linked media. The project needs the original clips, kept in the same folder structure. Missing clips show as errors.
• Fonts, music and effects. These may be licensed for a particular use and might not travel with the project. Ask what conditions apply.
• Size. Raw footage and project media can run to many gigabytes. Check the storage and transfer calculator before agreeing a delivery method.
• Time and cost. Packaging raw files or a project takes time and affects the quote. Whether either is handed over, and in what form, is agreed per job.

An illustrative example

For example, an association films a two-day conference and later wants to make its own short videos for each member state. It asks for the finished film, a clean master, and the raw clips from the main stage only, delivered on a drive.

It does not ask for the project file, because its in-house editor uses different software. Another association with the same software and a long edit asks for the project and media together, so its editor can adjust our cut. This is an illustration, not a past client.

What we confirm for your event

• Whether raw footage is handed over, and whether it is quoted separately.
• Whether you get a clean master and a version without text.
• Whether project files are handed over, and for which editing software.
• The conditions that apply to music, fonts and effects in the project.
• How files are named and delivered, and how large they are.

A deliverables sheet a supplier can price and the archive and handover planner help you put your choices into the brief. For editing of footage you already hold, see event video editing. To compare outputs more broadly, start with the event video selector or our event videography service.