Your raw clips

There are many different formats you can request your raw footage in. This page breaks down some of the more popular ones, and what some of the advantages and disadvantages are. In addition to what format you want, you must know what color space you would like your clips to be in. This page shows you the options.

Color Space

There are three different types of color spaces you can choose to have your footage in, LOG, Rec 709, and with a custom color grade.

LOG

A LOG color space is for professional applications. It is a very flat image (very little contrast and color) designed to preserve as much data as possible so that it can be re-colored in post-production. Getting your raw footage in this color space is only recommended if you plan on having a professional edit and color your video for you.

Note: Your footage will likely be in a Black Magic Gen 4/5 wide color gamut color space. LOG is not a single standardized color space but rather a form of color space that covers many different standards.

Car on a deserted highway under cloudy skies with distant fog-covered hills.

Rec-709 is a standard color space. It accurately replicates real-world conditions as the camera saw them. Unless you are planning on having a custom color grade, Rec-709 is likely the way to go.

Rec-709

Car on highway under golden sunset with distant fog and mountains

A custom color grade will be sent out in a Rec-709 format with each clip adjusted to make the most out of all the information available. This option is best if you have no plans on having a third party re-color your footage, and if you want to ensure each shot looks the best it possibly can.

Note: This option typically costs more due to each shot needing to be manually adjusted. Price depends on whether a custom grade for each shot is requested in advance and on the number of clips your project has.

Custom

Car driving on a highway during sunset with dramatic orange sky

Formats

H.265 is the most space-efficient format you can get your B-roll in. It is more efficient by removing any details that are not necessary for the final image. If you are not planning on doing any color grading or VFX, then this may be the perfect format for you as additional information will do nothing for you other than fill up your hard drive. H.265 is not compatible with older computers; if you are worried about compatibility, its older brother H.264 may be the better option for you.

Available color spaces: Rec-709 and Custom.

H.264 is a highly space-efficient format. It removes all unnecessary details from an image, though being an older standard, it does so with less efficiency than H.265 (resulting in larger file sizes). If you are planning on doing any color grading or VFX with this footage, I would not recommend this format.

Available color spaces: Rec-709 and Custom.

RAW files are straight off my camera. RAW allows many camera settings, such as ISO, white balance, and more, to be changed in post-production. Because you are actually changing the camera settings themselves retroactively, rather than simply adjusting an image, there is no downside to making drastic changes in post-production. This format can only be used in professional video editing software, and file sizes are quite large, though depending on the shot, it could potentially be smaller than DNxHR. This is the best format if you plan on handing off your clips to a professional.

Available color space: LOG

Note: The format your clips will likely be in is BRAW, which is supported in most high-end NLEs and some lower-end ones with a plug-in.

DNxHR is a professional lossy (nearly lossless) format perfect for heavy post-production work. It is optimized for use in an NLE and retains nearly all details in the picture, especially if you go with a LOG color space. This comes at the cost of much larger file sizes, and it is a heavy cost. You will need to have a significant amount of hard drive space to utilize this format, but it is worth it if you are doing any color grading or VFX. This format is essentially equivalent to Apple ProRes.

Available color spaces: LOG, Rec-709, Custom.

FAQ

  • Yes, so long as you let me know within two weeks of your project ending, clips in LOG and Rec-709 are free. After two weeks your footage will be rolled over to my archive. Once there it is more difficult for me to send it to you, so there is a fee outlined in my contract (typically dependent on how much footage you have) to move it from there and to you. After six months of being in the archive I do not guarantee I will still have your footage.

    TL;DR: it is cheaper and easier for everyone if you come to your decision about raw clips as soon as possible.

  • Not all color spaces are suitable for all formats. For example, you would not want a LOG color space in H.265 clips. There will not be enough data in that clip to recolor it well, and the footage will end up looking pretty bad.

    And because RAW files are directly off the camera, it is not possible for me to output it in any color space other than its original. Though because it is RAW, you can retroactively change the color space the camera was filming at.

  • Nope! Those are only some of the more common ones. If you have a specific format or color space, as long as my programs support it, I can do any format you want.

  • This is largely dependent on how many clips you have, or what is outlined in your contract. Generally, any project over 150 gigabytes, clips will be loaded onto a hard drive or SSD that is (unless specified otherwise in the contract) provided by the client. Anything under 150 gigabytes will be made available online for two weeks' time.

  • Absolutely, three free formats are included with every Ethan Geiger project.