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Stock Footage has been around since the dawn of the film industry with studios and broadcasting corporations reusing certain footage to minimise the costs associated with shooting additional footage. Before long, stock footage was seen as an additional revenue stream and was made available for purchase. However, it was only recently with the advent of the internet, digital video and reduced storage costs that stock footage became readily available to all.
So, you're a film maker. Why would you want to use stock footage? Well the majority of times the reason comes down to cost. You're based in London and you have one scene that's set in an office in Paris. You can either fly all your cast and crew to Paris, get permits to shoot, sort out equipment, accommodation etc at a cost of thousands. Or, spend a couple of hundred quid on some footage of Paris and film the rest on a sound-stage. The audience will be none the wiser!
But not only is stock footage a way to reduce costs for the director on a budget, it's also a way to make some money! As long as your footage is of a good quality (See below) then there's no reason why it shouldn't be accepted by one of the several websites selling stock footage. A good example is Video Hive, part of the Envato Group. Artbeats is also good but can be difficult to get into as they require a library of footage from you, and iStockPhoto, who specialise in Photos (Hence the name!) but have a steadily growing video offering.
Most sites work on a percentage split system whereby you get anything from 20 to 70% of the sale price and the website takes the rest. Not the most generous of deals, but some do offer a sliding scale depending on how much you sell. Best to shop around.
The best thing though is that the person is (Usually) buying a licence to use your video, not to own it. That means that people can buy the file over and over again as you watch the commission roll in. Some people make thousands from one single 10 second clip! The type of licence you are selling, which is normally set by the site, can vary (In scope and in price), so best to double check before hand. Once you have registered with such sites, usually taken some form of tutorial and passed a test (On the minefields of copyright issues!) you are ready to start uploading. But what to submit?!
Well you can pretty much guarantee that whatever you decide to submit, there will be someone in the world who is willing to buy that footage. However, they might be the only one and they might never visit the appropriate website! Therefore, you want to make sure your footage will appeal to as many people as possible. Aerial shots over cities are always popular, as are traffic, lanscapes, clouds, space etc.
Always try and think of cost versus benefit though. How likely is it that the cost and the effort you put in will get a return? If you already shot the footage for another project then that's fine upload away. But if you're specifically filming to sell the footage then you have to decide carefully. A 20 second close up of a slug in your back garden may not get many sales, but it was quick, easy and inexpensive.
Take a look at what is selling well on stock footage websites and draw your inspiration from there, but try and make sure your footage stands out from the crowd. Unless you own a Steadicam stick to using a tripod, make sure the shot isn't over/under exposed and try and shoot in HD as your footage will be worth more.
I've just signed up to VideoHive myself. I've only got one file on there at the moment, but I'm uploading another as we speak. I'll stick some links on here shortly. The signing up process is relatively simple as is the uploading, although I did have to upload my first file twice, which was slightly annoying as it took over an hour! Apart from that it all seems pretty good and they have a referral scheme as well so feel free to click on the links!
And don't forget that not only is there a market for stock photos, videos and audio; there is also a growing supply (and demand) for stock 3D models, vectors, webpages, wordpress templates etc. Take a look at some of these for example....
So grab your camera, get out there and start making some money...
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