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Who owns raw footage?
A warm Mooooo to all
We finished a small 8 minute project for a non-profit (good cause) and were paid in full. The client is asking for some minor changes and is willing to pay for those as well.
BUT they are also now asking if it would be possible to get the raw footage from us and we’re not too keen to do that.For the 8 minute final product we put in 3-4 two hr sessions of multiple location camera work/lighting and the contract we drew makes no mention of the raw footage one way or another.
Any ideas? Are there any rules of thumb? Etiquette?
Thanks and happy holidays -
56 Replies
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They paid for it, they own it, plain and simple. The only exception is if the contract specifically states that the Production Company owns the footage. This is extremely rare.
If you did the work completely for free on your own dime. You have an argument to say you own the footage.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR
The new Color Training DVD now available from the Creative Cow! -
Hmmmm.
I would say they they paid for an eight minute video cut together from differant location shoots. Thats what they got.
Who said anything about about raw material?
Here in Germany, I own my footage. They customer gets what we agreed he pays for. Raw material costs extra. -
[SRoughan] “Here in Germany, I own my footage. They customer gets what we agreed he pays for. Raw material costs extra.”
That’s completely different than how I have worked for over 17 years in the U.S. and different than anything I’ve heard in the U.S. The client paid for a full production which resulted in the 8 minute final video. This includes all the raw material that was shot to create that 8 minute video.
The Production company does not own the raw footage. The client who paid for that production time owns the raw footage.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR
The new Color Training DVD now available from the Creative Cow! -
This is another shining example of why contracts are so important.
We mostly produce television commercials, and our contracts always include verbage stating that the client owns the final production to air/broadcast/distribute as they wish, but that is all they retain ownership of. We retain the ownership of all raw footage.
To take it a step further, our contracts stipulate that while the client owns the final production, they only own it as a whole and do not own rights to the elements that make it up; i.e., they can’t take it and cut it up, reedit it, or use its footage elsewhere.
That stems from on incident where we saw some of our footage on the air, taken from inside one of the commercials that we produced to make a different commercial. The biggest problem there was that the footage contained several actors, all hired by us for the original production only. Additional agreements with those actors and their agents would have been required for that footage to be used. The client either didn’t know this, or didn’t care. They do now.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Yep, sorry Walther.
What Todd said. We produce mainly commercials too, and they get the end product, and the end product only.
Do you give over your project data as well? Just interested.
Gr -
[SRoughan] “Do you give over your project data as well? Just interested.”
We do not give over the Project Files. Only the raw media.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR
The new Color Training DVD now available from the Creative Cow! -
I’m with Walter on this one. When the client pays for the production (day rate,gear rental,travel expenses,tape stock etc..) it’s understood that the footage belongs to them. I’ve never known the production company to own the footage unless it was stated in the contract. At least not here in Atlanta. CH
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Dorit,
My understanding is quite different than those who have posted replies so far. This same question of
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Back when I was a freelance newspaper photographer, I owned all rights to anything I shot, even if it was on assignment with all expenses paid. The only exception was if there would have been a work for hire agreement. The only time anyone ever asked me to sign one, I talked him out of it.
And this was important at the time, because I made thousands of dollars reselling a shot that had been assigned to by the New York Times.
If you don’t have a contract or other agreement giving ownership to the client, ownership stays with the creator.
Arnie
Now in post: Peristroika, a film by Slava Tsukerman
https://www.arniepix.com/blog -
This thread is getting very interesting.
I don’t have the exact wording of the cotract here right now, but I think we charged per finished minute. No travel, or equipment expenses were passed on to the client.
Might this thread morph into a place for sharing contract forms with others? Would folks feel comfortable doing that? we can obviously toss out specifics and keep it generic.Thanks so much for all the info and good debate
Dorit
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