Footage on hard drives for clients. Their drives or mine?

Chris Santucci

Chris Santucci

Veteran
I've been providing footage to clients on my own portable hard drives and am starting to think maybe they should be providing me with the means with which to give them shot footage. I'm getting tired of having to chase down drives and having to wait for return.

What would be most reasonable?
 
I always budget both the cost of a client drive AND the cost of long-term in-house archiving into every estimate for a client. If they're not willing to pay for it, they don't understand the importance of secured backups, and they're likely not the kind of clients I want.
 
If I am just DPing for the client I will let them use one of my drives. I have half a dozen small drives with my Business card attached to them. Otherwise I charge them for it but its not itemized on the proposal I just mark up a few hundred dollars for storage.


The reason I have found the loaner drive a good method is it gives me a legitimate reason to call up the client a week or 2 later to retrieve the drive. If they are local I swing buy and get it and every time we end up talking about the next project. It has been a good way to stay top of mind with a client.
 
For me, it depends on the relationship I have with the client (I have a few that I work with regularly that I would let borrow anything because I know, 100%, that it will come back to me in a timely manner)... new clients or ones that I'm not sure about I make very sure to let them know that they must supply storage for shoots, etc... these are also the clients that I do not keep back ups for as well.
 
Why not offer them a choice? If they're willing, you can bill them for the cost (well, cost plus) of the drive on their final bill, and you no longer have to chase them for the return of the drive. If they're not willing, they should provide you with a drive.
 
I offer a choice. They can use their drive or I send a Mini G-Drive they can buy or send back. Most prefer to use my drive then send it back. Good reason to have 6-8, 200GB Mini G-Drives.
 
Some I bill for an external drive, some I provide one of my own to. I guess each situation is different and requires a different approach.
 
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