Client wants to see raw footage - solutions?

Tom Knight

Tom Knight

Active member
Hi,

I've been doing music videos, and my last three clients all wanted to take the raw footage home and view it, to pick the best moments of a two hour concert. I finally figured out a way to do it - ask them to bring an external hard drive, and I transfer it over. Then they can look at the footage in Quicktime.

Anyone else have this problem with clients? And is this the best solution?

- Tom
 
Depends on your contract...Technically anything you record on their time is theirs unless you state otherwise in your contract. I just dump the raw files on a customer-provided hard drive that's it....maybe charge them a few hundred for the effort.
 
I have been through this battle several times with various projects, and there are a few things to consider, for anyone thinking of doing it before post production commences. This is from my personal experience, and do not state these as common facts.

#1. Make sure you have already drawn up a contract stating that you were hired to work on and complete the job. Also make sure you were paid a deposit of 25-50% of the total rate you gave them so you cemented yourself. Otherwise, the client has the ability to take the footage and play with it themselves or hand it to another independent contractor and drop you out of the picture. It is their product, after all.

#2. Compatibility issues. Viewing video files between a Mac and PC can be difficult if the client does not have the proper equipment. Several times I have given raw files to clients or even finalized cuts and they were not able to view them on their computer, no matter what I suggested. I always try to avoid doing IT work on client's computers to make it work as that takes time. It all depends on what kind of computer they have, the speed of it, and whether they can view Quicktimes with whatever codec the footage is processed in. Most of my experiences involve your average joe, unfamiliar with computer technology, with an HP laptop at home.

The best solution in my experience has been a burned DVD with embedded timecode or for me to sit with them and watch it. It all depends on the client's knowledge of the process and giving them the right information so they don't get confused. It also depends on how much footage you have and how much they want to see.
 
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Thanks for your input. I gave the raw files to a client recently, and haven't heard back from him yet. It will be interesting to see if he is able to view the files.

Contract - now that is a good idea. I'm still new in the business, and haven't actually created any contracts yet. Everything has been via email or verbal agreements. I think it's a good idea to get the contract thing going now.
 
Phil1076 said:
Technically anything you record on their time is theirs unless you state otherwise in your contract.
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Only if you have a contract that states it was a work for hire, or if you're actually an employee of the company (meaning they give you a regular paycheck and they withhold your taxes). Otherwise, if you're a freelancer or a vendor, copyright resides with you.
 
Anytime. Emails are good because they are written proof of your agreements, which is like a contract. But yes, draw up a real contract for every and all jobs. I even draw up contracts with my friends if I do serious work with them. Better safe than sorry.

Tom Knight said:
Thanks for your input. I gave the raw files to a client recently, and haven't heard back from him yet. It will be interesting to see if he is able to view the files.

Contract - now that is a good idea. I'm still new in the business, and haven't actually created any contracts yet. Everything has been via email or verbal agreements. I think it's a good idea to get the contract thing going now.
Click to expand...
 
This is a standard practice in the industry.. at least the post production professional industry for client viewing. It has been done as mentioned for years and years.

Jimmy said

The best solution in my experience has been a burned DVD with embedded timecode or for me to sit with them and watch it. It all depends on the client's knowledge of the process and giving them the right information so they don't get confused. It also depends on how much footage you have and how much they want to see.
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This is exactly what is the best way to do it for many reasons.

1. Everyone has a DVD player. (or do a QT file with a Burn In)
2. Timecode will help them view and note exactly when in the file.
3. Give away your footage on a cloned drive is ... dumb dumb... clients tend to have friends who know they are working on a project then... friends might say they'll edit it for them... then all the client has to do at that point is give the drive they now have to the friend and you've lost the job. Giving out footage too is a security concern too.
4. they can watch it in the comfort of their couch and sit with a notebook for laptop / ipad and note it.
5. Better to do a DVD (or it can be a long quicktime file with burn ins) Another reason is if you give the footage just as is you have to trust your client to go through all the files, correctly make notes of the correct file names, time codes from those files while going through various files on the drive. Anything can get screwed up.


Another thing I would add is there is a plugin that lets you burn time code and file name onto your footage in the sequence. File name is important too.
 
OK, so how do you make a TC DVD? I have four hours of footage for a concert (2 hours x 2 cameras). As far as I can tell, it would take me a long time to export the files, and then compress them onto a DVD (or multiple DVDs). What would be your workflow for this?

Also, what is a Quicktime file with burn ins?
 
In Final Cut, Just lay down all the footage on a sequence. then Nest that Sequence in a new Sequence, go to effects, Video, then use TimeCode Generator, not the reader. export to DVD. your prob looking at a few DVDs by the time your done.
 
What BLahey said. Time comes with the job. I also make sure I keep those sequences in the project file for reference and make sure I select the correct frame rate from the Timecode generator. I resize the timecode before placing it in the second sequence so that it is big enough to see, but small enough not to be intrusive. I place it on the bottom right hand corner of the frame, within the Title Safe.

If you have software like Roxio Toast, that suites me the best. No menu, insert disc and play. DVD Studio Pro, the files have to be compressed prior to the initial burn, and if you're not familiar with it, there are a lot of simple DVD actions that you have to adjust manually. Using iDVD you'll have to adjust the quality, but that should not be an issue. I always explain to the client that this is not how the footage actually looks, if the quality ends up being poor because I'm barely squeezing 2 hours onto a single DVD.

I also make sure I explain very clearly how to format the notes so I can understand them. If they do not attach a timecode to a note, I will not be able to understand their note. Example - "Love this close up of the frontman - 00:42:15;22 - 00:43:18;10", versus "20 minutes into the DVD, there's a close up of the frontman I love". The timecode tells me the exact point in which they are referring to.


 
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