Client wants raw footage to reuse - unsure how to proceed.

M

Magedo

Member
I have a client which just reached out to see whether they could have the raw footage from some interviews and B-roll I shot for them for a project a year ago. I edited everything a year ago and gave them a 5 minute promotional video.

I know that legally, I own the raw footage and all they purchased was the final product. I also had this discussion last time and the client is aware of this reality (we were thinking of reusing footage from their previosu video as well, but I nixed it due to legal concerns) and seems to be understanding that this is how the video industry works.

They are a private school without unlmimted coffers. I've seen articles about charging per second used, etc.

Any tips on pricing or how else to proceed?

Thanks!

--
David
 
I'd ask them what they want it for and if you can do it for them, like a longer or shorter edit. Tell them you want the follow on work and give them a good deal. I guess you could work out a deal for the raw footage but I wouldn't just give it to them.
 
One of the reasons I've been able to be 100% self employed for something like 17 years is by giving really great service to small clients.

And one thing you need to understand - they don't really get the concept of "usage". Do a gig for Macy's or JCPenney? Yep, their AD's know they're buying rights and nothing else. Small businesses assume photos, design, copy, and video are like that case of paper towels they got at Walmart. You can fight this perception, but you'll often be seen as a lower-value supplier. Business is HARD these days, and people want value.

Also, the bigger, critical issue here is "why" they want the footage, not what you'll charge them (at least if this is a full-time business you're trying to build).

In the case discussed here, it "smells" to me like this client has talked to a new supplier - usual story is someone gets introduced or chases their business, disses the previous work, and gets a new gig. (I've gotten clients this way, though any "dissing" I do of existing suppliers is honest and measured and very well explained - I'm very happy to say "that's a great video they did - do you feel like the value was great, was it easy to get it done", etc?). And more often than not, the old supplier is being replaced more due to attitude than ability (not relating that to this thread, but if you're running a small creative business, that's a huge thing to know). That or someone at the client just got Adobe cloud and thinks they're gonna kick all kinds of ass?

So, one thing to do is see if you can find out why they really want the footage. It doesn't bode well for future work with them, though who knows.

I treat this size client differently. I assume they own the footage, and (unless there are usage based factors in the footage, such as models, locations, etc. with time-based usage that needs to be re-addressed a year later) I tell them that part of what they've paid me for is to safely archive their work, which takes an investment in storage and record keeping, and that it'll be $250 to get a raw drive, copy their stuff, and deliver it. Then I usually tell them they've been so great, I'm knocking $75 off, or whatever. (I usually explain archiving in my initial quote though).

These kind of requests can really set off my alarms… but I've had tons of clients come and go, and usually the ones that "go" are the dumb ones that were a pain anyway.

If my sense is correct (and I could be way way off, no info on the "why" in the OP), that they're switching suppliers, etc… you can go for every cent possible to deliver the footage. But I treat these situations as if they're still my favorite client - can't tell you how many have left and then come back after some group or firm has impressed them outta using a one-man-band and back-burnered them, gouged them, nickeled and dimed them to death. Then you have a client for life. And they may remain a good referral source regardless.
 
I had this happen a little while back. An agency asked me for my raw footage, claiming they were just going to put together a couple of low end social media pieces, and said that I was still going to be doing all of their broadcast work. I never do this, but I have known the guys running the agency for a number of years so I trusted them and handed over the footage. BIG MISTAKE! They hired a film student from the local university and brought all the broadcast work in-house.
 
I appreciate all of your suggestions.

I decided to go with Michael's suggestion (consider them a small client and treat them like one) and I just e-mailed them back. We'll see how it goes.

Pricing has always been a bit of a struggle for me, especially since I always try to honest with my clients regarding how they are being charged.

Thanks again!
 
Not sure where you are, as private and public schools reverse in the UK, but if they are budget tight, if I had this question here, I'd suspect they have a good technician who can edit and they want to use the material to produce something in house, with what they probably perceive as 'theirs'. The snag is asserting your rights in a pleasant and reasonable manner.

I would tell them that for storage space reasons, I archive all my material on external drive using a licensed file format. I'd be happy to transfer or license the rights to the material to the school for a modest fee, but as the transferral of the files to an open format will take some considerable time, that side will be quite expensive, taking me perhaps (insert lots of hours) to complete. I'd explain I'm very happy to do this, and could possibly set some time aside to do this in about six weeks. Tell them you're looking forward to working with them again, and wait for no response. If, on the other hand, they're happy to pay this large bill, give it to them.

i never sell the rights myself, what I do is license them to them for a set period, maybe a couple of years, so I still own them to use again. This works brilliantly with music. After a year nobody even remembers the video, so being able to reuse the music again is a good move.
 
Magedo said:
I appreciate all of your suggestions.

I decided to go with Michael's suggestion (consider them a small client and treat them like one) and I just e-mailed them back. We'll see how it goes.

Pricing has always been a bit of a struggle for me, especially since I always try to honest with my clients regarding how they are being charged.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

In the olden days this would be the equivalent to selling your camera negative... never happen without some big bux, relative to what ever the original contract was... in fact, the Wife hated to give out negs and her explanation was she wanted to maintain the quality on the image.

I see no difference on your raw digital footage in concept to The Original Negative.
 
It still is the equivalent of selling camera negatives. I also do photography, and I have never given out a RAW file to any client. Which is why I needed some advice here. I ended up only giving them a license to edit it themselves.

At a family dinner this past year, I spent 20 minutes trying to explain to a distant cousin by marriage why photographers own the rights to their photos and how the photos truly belong to the photographer, but they just couldn't get past the "I-paid-you-to-take-my-photos-so-they-belong-to-me" mentality. No analogy would help.

With my business clients, I try to educate them as much as I can - because a well-educated client is the best client - but at the end of the day, I work in a relatively small niche, so I have to keep a good name out and not appear stingy. It's always difficult trying to find the balance between asserting my rights, continuing to get more clients, and keeping up a positive relationship with my past ones.

C'est la vie.
 
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