You’ve probably heard it a lot as a couple searching for a wedding videographer.

Purchase the raw footage! Ask about raw footage!

And it’s true — many publications, blogs, wedding planners, etc. will tell you that you absolutely need to purchase the raw footage from your videographer. But, when it comes time to receiving it, couples get confused as to why they just received a USB drive with tons of clips on it or what raw footage even is.

So — what exactly is raw footage?

Think of it as the ingredients for a dish you’re making. Your final film will be the final product, with everything edited. The raw footage is all the individual ingredients that could eventually make it into the dish. Raw footage is going to be different for every videographer. Some just put all of the clips from their camera on a USB drive, some don’t offer it at all, and some videographers put all of the clips, unedited together and make one big video out of it.

Our raw footage that we offer is like the last option. Over the years, as cameras have gotten better, video files have gotten bigger. So, when we first started out, we would just put all of the clips on a hard drive and deliver that to our couples. But now, most people’s computers cannot process the clips by just clicking on them — they need special software. We decided to make our raw footage into three separate videos. One of all of the pre-ceremony clips, then the ceremony clips, and the reception clips. All of these clips are straight from our cameras and are not edited whatsoever meaning there isn’t any color corrections or cutting.

Why would you want or need raw footage?

Since the footage you’ll receive isn’t edited, what’s the point? How we like to explain it to our couples is raw footage is for you if you want to see even more of your wedding day. With the raw footage we offer, you are getting everything we film from the day in three convenient and easy to watch videos. Meaning you’ll be able to get to see many things that didn’t make it in your final wedding film.

What are some of the cons?

One thing that’s important to know is that raw footage isn’t polished. So when you’re watching it, you will see us moving around causing shaky footage. You’ll see the footage go in and out of focus or be too bright and we’re adjusting the exposure.Another thing that could be a con of raw footage is that we only include the audio captured by our cameras, and not from our recorders. So if you purchase raw footage in hopes of watching your ceremony, you may not be able to hear everything so clearly.

We think the pros definitely outweigh the cons though if you’re interested in purchasing a raw footage add-on to your wedding film package. You’ll be able to look back at moments that you may have missed, see more of family and friends enjoying your day, and you’ll be able to really relive your day with the raw audio from our cameras as well.

Interested in purchasing a raw footage add-on or having us film your day? Click here! We’d love to chat.