Raw footage can mean the usable takes from an approved shot list. It can also be heard as every clip from the camera roll. Do not let one vague noun define the handoff for you.

Fictional brand ping

“Love the concept. Can you include all the raw footage too?”

Clarify what “raw” means here

  • Selection: all captured takes, approved takes only, or a defined clip count?
  • Preparation: untouched camera files, trimmed clean clips, or organized and named selects?
  • Audio and music: clean production audio only, with licensed music handled separately?
  • Project files: editing timelines and working files are not automatically the same thing as raw footage.
  • Transfer: file size, folder structure, delivery method, and how long the transfer stays available.
  • Use: confirm whether the same channel, duration, territory, and account permissions apply to brand-made edits.
Keep separate

Raw clips, editable project files, and permission to make new versions are three different questions, even when the email bundles them together.

A message you can adapt

Creator reply

Happy to scope the raw footage. Do you need every captured take or selected clean clips from the approved shot list? Please also confirm whether project files are excluded and where, for how long, and by which account any new edits may be used.

Why this matters before filming

A raw-footage handoff can change how you plan takes, clear the frame, manage incidental audio, organize files, and protect material that was never intended as a finished deliverable. Clarifying it after the shoot leaves both sides working from different assumptions.

The word is small. The handoff is not.

Check whether this brief fits