Re: Raw Footage, No Contract, No Deal

Just for the record what I usually offer sane and civil clients when they ask for master after the fact (not in the contract) is the following options depending on circumstance.

They can send me a selects list from the time code burn in dub I've send them and they can send me back the time codes they want. I charge for doing the edit selects for them

I offer to do a dub/clone (no generation loss in these digital days) and I charge my dub rate. Yes I charge for copying files. This is a service I offer because I can tell them I also have a copy in case anything happens to the tapes/files I send them. This also protects me if they claim that the copy they get is unplayable.

I can sell them the files outright and I have them sign an agreement that they accept them as is and I'm not held responsible for providing any backup support (I retain no copies). This often scares them away from going this route.