If you think raw footage is just as good as its finished and final video product, you’re wrong. Read further to learn more about what RAW footage is, its advantages and disadvantages, and how an ordinary video can become a great one, starting from the raw footage into its final, perhaps virally entertaining form.

What is Raw Footage?

As the name suggests, raw footage is the ‘uncooked’ and ‘unflavored’ media that your camera produces. As a content creator, Raw footage gives you the latitude to push the footage in whichever creative direction you choose, in terms of color, white balance, and ISO

However, raw footage is precisely that --- it is media that is supposed to be edited. Raw footage is not meant to stay that way and is intended to undergo editing before turning out into the final product.

Types of RAW footage

There are numerous types of RAW footage, and to go through each of them in detail would be time-consuming and counter-productive. Instead, let us start with the process involved in creating that video for you or your client. Video creation involves two procedures, and they are acquiring your footage and post-production.

A videographer’s work is always cut out for them, no matter what the client wants. What we can tell you is that from shooting the RAW file footage to the finished product, it is quite an interesting process. When you are ‘finishing’ a video, the raw footage will need editing or undergo a post-production treatment.

Here are some RAW format examples:

• Blackmagic Raw (.braw)
• CinemaDNG (.dng)
• ProRes Raw (.mov)
• ARRIRAW (.mxf)
• REDCODE RAW (.r3D)

Those are by no means all-encompassing and comprehensive, but the idea is to give you a hint of just how many formats are out there. The camera sensor’s RAW footage data is named because the output is not yet ready to be produced. The footage will need color correction, among others before it is considered to be the final product.

Advantages of Shooting Raw

RAW footage is not cheap, to put it mildly, as the cameras that can shoot this type of footage can range from the 10K and up. It is only recently that cheaper cameras became capable of shooting RAW footage. The expenses pile up as soon as the footage begins its post-production journey, into the final product delivered to the clients.

It is important to note that raw makes a lot of sense, especially in terms of quality. Looking at it from the perspective, editing a video from the source footage is the only one that can deliver quality. Below are some of the advantages of shooting in the RAW format:

• Quality / Flexibility - As soon as you load up a RAW file format it is immediately noticeable just how much more data is encoded into the file. For comparison, the level of manipulation you can do to a RAW file format versus any other video file is almost infinite. Think of it as the lossless form of videos for editing.

• White Balance / ISO - Perhaps one of the most useful aspects of shooting RAW footage is that it gives you the option to change the white balance and the ISO later in the editing stages. Many of the decisions that occur when filming are no longer hard-coded into the footage, leaving the minute adjustments for post-production. Being in the RAW format means that one can make changes to multiple areas, such as the white balance, the ISO, contrast, among numerous other parameters.

• Visual Effects and Green Screen - Because RAW format footage can be manipulated in infinitely more ways than a processed video file cannot, it is ideal for visual editing effects. Imagine being able to pull details out of shadowy shots, all without having to retake the scene just because you have the file in RAW.

Disadvantages of Shooting RAW

There will always be two sides to every story, and RAW file footage can also have some things that can be considered as drawbacks. Processing such a file requires beefier machines than usual in terms of computing power, and your old MacBook may not be able to cut it. Let us take a closer look at some of the challenges with RAW file footage:

• File sizes / Storage - Considering the amount of data that RAW video footage can hold, the file sizes involved are just enormous. The massive amounts of data storage space that a RAW file size requires means that you will need to upgrade your storage as well, and they never come cheap. It is not just the capacity that needs an upgrade, but the read/write speeds of your drives as well.
• Computationally Intensive - Another caveat is the massive computational power needed to process the information contained in the footage. Your computer system will require serious processing and graphics power if you render raw footage into a masterpiece of a product. With that said, you will need to upgrade your computer when you do upgrade into a RAW footage-capable camera.

The RAW Workflow

As far as the process of getting that perfect video goes, it is pretty straightforward. Using an enabled camera, you shoot raw footage into the memory card. The software then edits the file, produces the fit for the consumers, and uploads it to various platforms.

The ability to process RAW footage in-camera is a game-changer for video creators or content creators in general. RAW footage is extremely helpful, a game-changer, and is never meant to be a crutch for artists. Consider the RAW file footage as a tool that paved the way to make even more amazing videos in the process of content creation.

Researching to get the best outcome? Read ”H.264 vs H.265: Which Is Best for Video?” to learn more.