It depends. I’m Jason Monroe, owner and operator of highway 61 films in Chicago. We’ve been making wedding films since 2009. So raw footage is something that some couples want, some couples don’t want. Generally, it comes down to whether or not you want all the extra footage that didn’t get edited into your film. In it does include footage that did get edited into your film, but the stuff that you won’t see if you don’t get the raw footage is extra shots of details during getting ready, extra shots of the bridesmaids and groomsmen during getting ready, or shots that really didn’t work out for the photo tour. Like, they’re almost good enough to make it into the final edit, but maybe a photographer got in the way, or maybe a cyclist rode by, like on a photo tour or something. So some of the things we would just cut out because we feel like they wouldn’t help inform or support the narrative and help moving the story along the way. We would categorize the raw footage is by the camera that shot it and to what part of the day that it was from, whether that be getting ready ceremony, photo tour, or reception. So do you want your raw footage? If you do want to watch two to three extra hours of footage that is sometimes slow motion, sometimes real time, sometimes with and without audio, then it is for you. Some people like to sit down on their anniversary with a bucket of popcorn and watch through all of it, or scrub through some of it sometimes, or just relive some of the moments of the footage that didn’t make it into the final edit.

Do you need raw footage? Yes and no. Hi, I’m Cindy from Harborview Studios. I co own Harborview Studios with my husband, Sean. Yes and no. A lot of times, people just misunderstand what raw video is. Raw raw files are literally just that. They’re just the raw files that come out of our cameras. A lot. People mistake them for what’s often termed as documentary films, which are the full edits of a particular event. So your full speeches, your full ceremony, and what raw footage is, is it’s thousands of files that come out now. They’re usually uncolored. They’re not synced to audio. It really depends on how your videographer is recording them. But most professional videographers, everything’s going to be separate because that’s the best way for us to retain all of the data. It’s a weird way to explain it, but in any case, that’s what raw files are, and they come to you on a hard drive. I always tell our couples, one of the things that you’re going to find in raw footage is just like a lot of the goofy stuff, the stuff that didn’t come out perfect. And if you are that person who is okay with things not being perfect, raw video could be great. You can find some really unexpected gems because we’re not going to know everything that’s completely significant to you. And there are some moments that are just going to be completely endearing. I like to tell a story about how my husband used to film all of these family events and just random, dumb moments. And just his mom going out of frame like this, being like, oh, cheerios. It just looks like she’s going to go and eat the cheerios off the floor. Ends up being our favorite thing. Completely dumb, insignificant moment. Would anybody think of it? But it’s our favorite thing in the world.