Should you charge extra for raw footage in UGC?

What counts as raw footage in a UGC job?

Raw footage is every usable clip you filmed for the job, handed over before you cut, caption or add music to it.

That means each take of the hook, each of the talking parts laid out in the parts of a UGC video script, the product close-ups and any extra shots you grabbed along the way. The edited video is one finished piece built from a few of those clips. The raw files are the whole pile, including the takes you would never have picked yourself.

Before you quote, decide what your raw handover covers, because the brand will read the word in its own way. Some people mean every second the camera rolled. Others mean clean, usable takes with the false starts trimmed. Write down which one you are offering so nobody is surprised when the folder arrives.

Why is raw footage worth more to a brand than the edit?

Raw footage is worth more because a brand's editor can cut several different ads from it, each with a new hook, order or length.

One edited video is one ad. A folder of clips is the material for many: a version that opens on a different hook, a shorter cut, a version with a new call to action. Each of those is work the brand would otherwise book you for again. That is the reason to treat raw files as their own line rather than a free extra, and it sits alongside the other add-ons you price on top of a base rate.

Raw files also go further than the edit in a second way: they can be cut into ads long after your job ends. That ties raw footage closely to how long and where the brand may use your work, which is a separate conversation covered in what are usage rights in UGC.

How do you price raw footage without guessing?

Price raw footage from the extra work and the extra use it gives the brand, then show it as a separate line the brand can tick or leave.

• Count the extra work. Sorting, renaming and uploading clean takes takes time, and filming with a handover in mind means more takes per line.
• Weigh the extra use. Ask how many ads the brand plans to cut and for how long, because more cuts from your face means more value from one shoot.
• Pick one way to quote it and stick to it, either a flat add-on per video or a share of your base rate, so your quotes read the same way every time.
• Keep it optional. A brand that only needs the finished video can leave the line off, and a brand that wants the files can see exactly what they cost.
• Tie it to usage. Quote raw files for the same usage term as the edit, so the price covers a set window rather than forever.

Laying out your quote with the base rate first and each add-on underneath makes it easy for the brand to say yes to part of it. Here is one way to set out the raw footage options so the brand can compare them at a glance.

What should you send when you hand over raw footage?

Send clean, clearly named clips in one shared folder, sorted so an editor who has never met you can find each take fast.

• Name each file by its part and take, such as hook take one or product close-up take two, so the editor can match clips to the script.
• Group clips into folders for hooks, talking parts and close-ups, because an editor builds each new ad from those three piles.
• Include a short note that lists every hook you filmed in writing, so the brand can pick one without watching every clip.
• Leave out takes with something you are not free to share in frame, such as another brand's label or a person who did not agree to appear.
• Keep your own copy until the job is paid and closed, so you can resend a lost file.

Filming extra hooks pays off most when the raw files are part of the deal, because each one becomes a new opening the brand can test. How to write a UGC hook that stops the scroll helps you film a few that are genuinely different, not three wordings of one line.

What do you say when a brand asks for raw files for free?

Say that raw files are an add-on you price separately, explain what they give the brand, and offer the edit-only rate as the alternative.

Keep the reply short and friendly, and hand the choice back to the brand. Something like: Hi [NAME], happy to include raw footage for [PRODUCT]. It is a separate line because it lets your team cut more ads from the shoot. With raw files the total is [AMOUNT], or [AMOUNT] for the edited video on its own. Let me know which suits you and I will update the quote.

If the brand still wants the files at the base rate, you can decide whether the job is worth it to you, or offer a smaller handover such as selected takes. Whatever you settle, put the raw footage line, its usage window and the handover date in the written agreement before you film, and check it against how UGC creators get paid so the add-on lands in the same invoice as the rest.