Footage Is Measured in Feet Because Film Was
Footage means recorded video. The word is a measurement: film was sold and counted in feet, and the name survived the physical strip.
Footage is recorded moving pictures, especially raw material before editing. The word is literally a measurement. Cinema film came in reels measured in feet, so a length of film was its footage. Video killed the physical strip and the word carried on regardless.
- Recorded film or video. *Security camera footage.*
- A length measured in feet. *The square footage of the flat.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | footage | Rare footage. |
| Related | square footage | Square footage of the house. |
| Related | reel | A film reel. |
| Related | clip | A short clip. |
| Related | rushes | Watching the rushes. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Police released footage of the incident.Uncountable: not footages.
- There is hours of unused footage.Measured in time now, not feet.
- The listing gives the square footage.The literal measuring sense, common in property.
Words for pieces of film
- Footage — raw recorded material
- Rushes / dailies — the day's footage viewed by the crew
- Clip — a short extract, usually already edited
- Take — one attempt at a shot
- Stock footage — generic material licensed for reuse
From *foot* plus the noun ending *-age*, which measures or collects: as in *mileage*, *acreage* and *tonnage*. Recorded in the film industry from the early twentieth century.
Is footage countable?
No. Say hours of footage or a piece of footage, never two footages.
Why do Americans say square footage?
Because they measure floor area in square feet. The same measuring sense of -age applies.