Why We Don’t Keep It Forever and What That Means for You

Keeping raw footage is like keeping a closet full of clothes you “might wear someday.”

It takes up space, gets out of hand quickly, and you’re constantly debating whether it’s worth keeping around. For us, raw footage isn’t just files on a hard drive—it’s hours of captured video, data, and creative potential. But managing that footage comes with real challenges, which is why we’ve established a clear policy for archiving and handling it.

The Challenge of Archiving Raw Footage

Storing raw footage isn’t as simple as dragging files into a folder. Here’s why:

1. Massive Storage Requirements:
   High-quality video files are huge. A single project can consume terabytes of space, which adds up fast when we’re working with multiple clients.
2. Ongoing Costs:
   Storing raw footage securely—whether on hard drives or in the cloud—comes with ongoing expenses. Hardware needs replacing, cloud services charge recurring fees, and maintaining backups is a must to prevent loss.
3. Organizational Overhead:
   Raw footage isn’t like a final video file you can simply search for and share. It requires meticulous organization, tagging, and indexing to ensure it’s accessible if needed later.
4. The Risk of Obsolescence:
   Video formats and storage media evolve rapidly. Keeping raw footage compatible with future technology requires careful planning and, occasionally, migration to new formats or platforms.

Our Policy on Raw Footage

To balance these challenges with client needs, here’s our policy:

• We Archive Footage for Two Years:
  After a project wraps, we store the raw footage in our secure archive for up to two years. This gives you plenty of time to decide if you’ll need it for future projects.
• Clients Own the Deliverables, Not the Raw Footage:
  While you fully own the final videos we create, raw footage remains the property of our studio. This is standard industry practice because raw footage is an incomplete creative product—it lacks context, editing, and polish.
• Footage Can Be Purchased:
  If you decide you’d like to keep the raw footage, we can transfer it to you for 30% of the overall project budget. This fee covers the time, resources, and infrastructure required to manage and deliver such large files. Rest assured, no footage leaves our doors until it meets our quality standards. That means we’ll color grade it and process it so it’s immediately ready for editing.
• Footage Is Deleted After Two Years:
  We’ll notify you of the pending deletion of your footage to free up space for new projects. At this time you’ll be offered the option to purchase the footage. If you decline, the footage will be deleted permanently from our archives.

Why We Have This Policy

Our approach is designed to meet your needs while respecting the realities of managing raw footage:

• Creative Integrity:
  Raw footage is like raw ingredients—it’s not the final product. The magic of your video comes from the editing, storytelling, and creative decisions that bring it to life.
• Sustainability:
  Storing and maintaining raw footage indefinitely isn’t feasible. By keeping it for two years, we provide a reasonable window of opportunity while ensuring we can manage resources effectively.
• Fairness:
  Transferring raw footage requires time and labor—from organizing files, to color-grading footage, to syncing up audio, to packaging for delivery. The cost ensures we can provide this service without impacting other projects.

What If You Need Footage Later?

Planning to revisit or repurpose footage? Let us know within the two-year window, and we’ll work with you to make it happen. Whether it’s pulling selects for a new project or transferring the entire archive to your team, we’ve got you covered.

In Conclusion

Archiving raw footage is a balancing act. Our policy is designed to provide flexibility for our clients while ensuring we can maintain high-quality service and efficient operations. If you have questions or need help deciding what to do with your footage, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help!