filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and

video production Video production is the process of producing video content. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard drives, SSDs, ...

, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a

movie camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either onto film stock or an image sensor, in order to produce a moving image to display on a screen. In c ...

or recorded by a digital video camera, which typically must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip,

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

, or similar completed work. Footage can also refer to sequences used in film and video editing, such as special effects and

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

material (for special cases of this, see stock footage and B roll). Since the term originates in film, footage is only used for recorded images, such as

film stock Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent pl ...

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...

s, or digitized clips. For

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television where all viewers watch the same stream simultaneously, rather than watching vide ...

feeds, the signals from video cameras are instead called ''sources''.

History

The origin of the term "footage" comes from early 35 mm

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

, which is traditionally measured in feet and frames. The fact that film was measured by length in cutting rooms, and that there are 16 frames (

4-perf Negative pulldown is the manner in which an image is exposed on a film stock, described by the number of film perforations spanned by an individual frame. It can also describe whether the image captured on the negative is oriented horizontally ...

film format) in a foot of 35 mm film (518.4 frames/meter), which roughly represented 1 second of screen time (

frame rate Frame rate, most commonly expressed in frame/s, or FPS, is typically the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (Film frame, frames) are captured or displayed. This definition applies to film and video cameras, computer animation, and moti ...

) in some early silent films, made footage a natural unit of measure for film. The term then became used figuratively to describe moving image material of any kind. In recent years, neutral terms such as "recorded material" are becoming more popular, especially in English-speaking countries other than the United States, although footage is still widely used.

Types of footage

Film footage

Sometimes film projects will also sell or trade footage, usually second unit material not used in the final cut. For example, the end of the non- director's cut version of '' Blade Runner'' used landscape views that were originally shot for '' The Shining'' before the script was modified after shooting had finished.

Television footage

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

footage, especially news footage, is often traded between

television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...

s, but good footage usually commands a high price. The actual sum depends on duration, age, size of intended audience, duration of licensing, and other factors.

Amateur video footage

Amateur footage is the low-budget hobbyist art of

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

practised for passion and enjoyment and not for

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

purposes. Amateur video footage of current events, for instance from camcorders, smart phones or closed-circuit television, can also often fetch a high price on the market – scenes shot inside the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 attacks were reportedly sold in 2001 for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

45,000 ().

Stock footage

Stock footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock footage is called a "stock shot" or a "library shot". Stock footage may have appeared in previous productions but may also be outtakes or footage shot for previous productions and not used. Examples of stock footage that might be utilized are moving images of cities and landmarks, wildlife in their natural environments, and historical footage. Suppliers of stock footage may be either rights managed or royalty-free. Many websites offer direct downloads of clips in various formats.

Footage brokers

A footage broker is an agent who deals in footage by promoting it to footage purchasers or producers, while taking a profit in the sales transaction.

References

External links

Running time calculator according to gauge, length and frame rate of the film
{{Film editing Film production Home video supplements Film and video terminology Television terminology