Who has right to raw footage

L

LightupChoiceFry

Active member
Hello

I recently directed a film I wrote, where I had a DP shoot it, with my video equipment and his lights.

I also edited the film, which is almost complete.

I was curious if in normal situations, does the DP get a copy of all the raw footage too, or only the finished product? How does this normally work in usual circumstances in this field?
 
So it's okay if he does provide his own hard drive and I were to copy the footage for him? The worry I have is once the raw footage is in another person's hands, the possibility of another edit becomes possible, which I don't want, to suddenly see in two years another cut if I were to suddenly lose touch with them.

A form would hold the footage as mine if I chose to have him sign one, are there suchs forms available? I was curious in professional experiences, if the DP normally just gets the final cut for reel purposes and such.
 
It is a pretty standard clause in a DP's contract to be given a master copy of the final product, raw footage is pretty rare. In the past I have asked a producer to give me a specific shot from the raw footage that I liked that either didn't make the cut or was cut short, but whether they gave it to me was not my choice.
 
This is one of the many things that contracts are for.

Assuming that you were the producer on this project, and that you hired the DP to shoot it, then the footage is yours. If you promised him a copy of the footage, then give it. If you didn't promise that, then you don't owe it. Give him a copy of the final edit.
 
Good contracts make good friends. If you do not have it in writing consider your words to be a contract.

If you never promised him the raw footage then you are clear. If you did promise it to him, give it to him.

Next time put it all down in writing up front. Have everyone read the contract in detail, make sure they understand and then ask them to sign.
 
If you're not paying him, I would just give it up and take this as a learning experience. Otherwise I think you can be a bit more picky.

Maybe you can find a middle ground though and you can just give him a few of the shots in their entirety and not give him every single piece of raw footage. Then again after all of it, just learn from the mistake of not having it in writing beforehand.
 
This is a feature film that you're trying to get distributed?

Giving away the footage with permission to make alternative versions could land you in some trouble, I think. The distributor is going to want control with no surprises. You may be liable in their contracts if something goes awry later on. Etc. Etc.

Do you like the DP better than the film? Is your relationship worth more than this, as yet unspecified, work?

Questions remain.
 
I wouldnt hand over all the shots. If the DP wants shots XYZ to add to his reel, discuss it with him and ask what you can do to help him out. I would guess that this is all he / she is really after. If they turn around and say "No, I want it all". Respond with, "No".
 
The DP certainly doesn't own the raw footage just because they shot it, any more than an actor owns it just because they appeared in it. Giving the DP a copy of the finished film seems polite - for my films, it's the only way i can 'pay' any of my crew or actors...
 
clang said:
The DP certainly doesn't own the raw footage just because they shot it, any more than an actor owns it just because they appeared in it. Giving the DP a copy of the finished film seems polite - for my films, it's the only way i can 'pay' any of my crew or actors...
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You always need to put everything in writing up front. It can get sticky otherwise. If he was hired, and in this case everything was shot on your equipment you should own it. But if it was shot using all his equipment, I think it would be a different story, unless stated in a contract otherwise. There is a legal term called "Keeper of the goods" and is used to settle and assign ownership and copyrights. I got this from my copyright lawyer. The fact that someone owns all the equipment and probably the tapes or disks, and has full control over the material and equipment can make him "keeper of the goods". In other words... He owns it. This is especially true if he also edits the material.. one more step to an ownership claim.
 
Well... it gets sticking not because of the legalities but more so because of the human factor. If it was a low budgeter then most likely the directing is so-so, acting is bad and the edit is not that fantastic either and probably cinematography for the most part is sucky too, but at least there might be a few good shots that will look great by themselves on DP's reel. Now if he's just starting out as a DP he might want to show more then just a few shots and simply cut a few short scenes for his own use - trust me, he doesn't want your film, he just wants those few scenes so he cold BS in the future that he shot this fantasist film.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Well... it gets sticking not because of the legalities but more so because of the human factor. If it was a low budgeter then most likely the directing is so-so, acting is bad and the edit is not that fantastic either and probably cinematography for the most part is sucky too, but at least there might be a few good shots that will look great by themselves on DP's reel. Now if he's just starting out as a DP he might want to show more then just a few shots and simply cut a few short scenes for his own use - trust me, he doesn't want your film, he just wants those few scenes so he cold BS in the future that he shot this fantasist film.
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HAHA that's harsh, but funny.

Yeah there is a lot of bad work out there I suppose, but it has nothing to do with budget and everything to do with lack of experience, planning, and talent. You can make a great film for $100,000 or you can make a really lousy one for $100 million. It happens on a weekly basis. I could give the average person $100M and they would still not know how to make a good film, or I could give Spielberg $100,000 and he'd make something interesting and really good, I'm sure.

Just look at something like "When in Rome." You really wonder how that gets made or something like Cop Out, I can see trailers for this stuff and it's just like seeing a trainwreck in the making. It's confusing how you have an industry with so much talent just begging to get in the door, so many people who could do amazing work, and stuff like that gets made. It really is one of life's great wonders. No other industry is this lucky to have ten times as much talent banging at the doors as they actually need. It's not like this in the medical field, they need every warm body they can get, they never have enough people. It's not like this in engineering or computer science. It's not like this anywhere, except for film, where there are way more talented people than the industry actually needs at any time.
 
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