Customer wants footage for use in another project

Hi guys,

I need your advice here. Last year I've done a video for a corporate customer. I shot it and edited and delivered the video which they are happy with and have started using.

Today they've asked me if I could send them the raw footage of the shoot, in order to use it in another video. There is also a weird pretext that they need to apply color correction to it to fit their brand image. It's not very clear.

Obviously they have changed supplier in the meantime, which is their right. I'm wondering though about the ownership of the footage.

Is it common practice that they "own" the original footage? Or is it normal that they ask for it ? Is what is happening to me "unfair" or completely part of the business ?

I'm not planning to make any trouble but I'm wondering if I can avoid this kind of unpleasant situations in the future.

Thank you!!

Normally this is work for hire, and they own the footage. No it's not normal for the client to ask for. Make sure you're fully compensated for all work and materials, hard drives etc, before you deliver the raw footage. If you have camera archives deliver those (not FCP camera archives).

Thank you Tom. What do you mean by being compensated for all work and materials ?

They have already paid for the full editing of the previous video. Now I can only charge for the price of the harddrive, right ?

For the hard drive and the time to prepare the materials.

Thank you Tom.

If you have been storing that footage for a significant period of time, you can charge storage fees, also.

Now, I've known lots of videographers who charge extra to deliver raw footage. So that is not unusual. Either way is "normal". I always have a contract that states these things clearly, and I do not deliver raw footage unless a fee is paid for it. I also clearly state in my contracts if I'm storing it, or trashing it, as per the client's wishes. If I store it, I state up front what the delivery fee is, and what storage fees are, which increase over time. Lots of folks do this. I wouldn't say either way is normal. Depends on the contract. Did they pay for raw footage, or does the contract state they paid for a finished product, with delivery and storage fees for raw footage later?

They only paid for a delivered product.

There was nothing in the contract about storage fee or raw material.

After reading a bit about it, my understanding is that I am the owner of the raw footage. The rest is business negotiation I guess.