Selling Stock Video Footage.

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Mark Williams

I observed a strange phenomena with Shutterstock. My 4k, 422, 10-bit clips stay in the review cue for about 2 weeks. However, 4k, 420, 8-bit clips are reviewed within about 2-4 days. Can't figure out why.

That is strange. I never submit 4:2:0 8-bit clips so I can't tell you how long those approvals take, but lately I've been getting approvals in anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days on my 4K 4:2:2 10-bit clips. As far as I know, my clips do not get any special attention or service from Shutterstock.

I'm uploading 225 4K clips right now and I hope to have them all submitted by Friday before I leave for NAB so I'll try to report back how long it takes them to go through. My damn internet is slow slow it's taking 3 days to upload the clips. But at least I don't have to watch it chug away at it so no big deal really.

[Bob Safay]

Great, thanks for the clarification on maintaining all my edited clips. Don't forget to strap that Sony Z280 to the arm of your wheelchair! Bob

[Doug Jensen]

I'll have the orderly do it for me.

[Bob Safay]

Doug, I have been adding video clips to Shutterstock. I have been editing and grading clips, uploading them to Shutterstock, then adding the metadata. Once I have about 5 clips ready and everything looks good I then submit them for review. This method works great for me. Have fun at NAB. Bob

[Doug Jensen]

I submitted 225 clips to Shutterstock on Friday and all 225 were approved today, so that's a pretty good average!

[Bob Safay]

I would say that is quite impressive. I was feeling good because I submitted 13 yesterday.

[Doug Jensen]

Bob, the more you do, the faster you will get. Plus it helps that this batch of mine were all from the same location/event so they could share a lot of the metadata. I'm looking forward to getting home from NAB and shooting some different kinds of shots that I suddenly thought of on the flight out.

Also, don't make the same mistake that I used to do by letting a bunch of stuff stack up in the pipeline. Since the first of the year I have tried to upload new clips within a few days after I shoot them, and that is working so much better. I used to let a few hundred stack up and then it was a real chore to get through them all processed at once a couple of times per year. Plus the sooner you upload, the sooner they can start earning.

[Bob Safay]

Doug good advise. I submitted 13 and 12 were accepted. Not bad for a beginner. Right now I am reviewing stuff I have shot in the Pantanal, Alaska, South Africa, Kenya, Chile, Argentina and several other photo safaris I have been on. I have three road trips (all back roads), planed for the next few months and will be shooting video with a new mind set. Bob

[Doug Jensen]

Yes, that's a very good percentage. I was probably at 50% or less when I started.

[Bob Safay]

Well lets just say I had a damn good instructor. Bob

[Doug Jensen]

Bob,
Just out of curiosity I looked back at my early Shutterstock records this morning. In my first few months I uploaded about 500 clips (from my archives) but I had $0 sales until the 3rd month. Then it jumped to $265, then $345, etc. My point is to keep uploading right now. Don't wait to upload more until if you see results form the first few. Keep uploading good clips with good metadata and the results will come later.

Just food for thought.

[Bob Safay]

Doug, thanks for that information. I am still uploading clips and hope to have the same success as you have. I have lots of time on my hands. As a matter of fact I leave Monday for a week in the Okefenokee swamp to do some videoing. Now I will be shooting with a different mindset.

[Steven Digges]

I just finished watching the last chapter of the course. I am super busy lately so I did it a few chapters at a time over several weeks. First, I want to say thank you for putting so much work and detail into the course. This has got to be the most complete information package I have ever purchased about any subject in my lifetime. A few years ago I opened a Pond 5 account and dumped in a couple hundred clips to test the waters. I sold a few clips over time but considered it chump change compared to my time and effort. I have barely touched the account since then. Now I understand why my test failed! Because of your course I will approach stock with a brand new system to use and a greater understanding of the process.

Doug, I have a couple of questions for you.

I have been to both of your websites and can't find a couple things you mentioned. I could be wrong but I think you said there is a link to set you up as a referral when I open my Adobe and Shutterstock accounts? I am sure it can be done through their process too but I want to make sure it happens?

Did you say there is a way to download some of your forms to use as templates?

I am real big on professional etiquette. Sometimes that means understanding unwritten rules. Can you explain how to deal with the "pick your own price" approach at Pond 5? It seems to me if I am going to submit to three agencies then the price of the clips should be in the same ballpark. Otherwise it could upset buyers if they see my stuff dirt cheap in the cutthroat pond and twice that at Shutterstock. Am I overthinking that? It makes me wonder if Pond 5 is worth the effort because price competition is so tuff there? Editors know we submit to multiple agencies. It is no secret. But each agency uses a different strategy in how they deal with contributors. Now that you have tested the waters over at Pond 5 would you mind sharing your thoughts? I really appreciate your candid approach to sharing information and your experience!

Thank You for the great course!

Steve

[Doug Jensen]

Hi Steve, thanks for the really nice compliments. I can't tell you how happy it makes me when I hear that my training has really made a difference for someone else. That's what it's all about. I wish you great success and I hope you start to see some results. Bet patient, it takes time, but once the snowball gets rolling it is nice to sit back and watch it gather speed without hardly any effort.

Here's my referral link for Shutterstock. Adobe does not have a referral program.
http://submit.shutterstock.com?rid=1113473

Yes, I have a zip file with about a dozen files for you to download. There's some sample database templates and cheat sheets that help when doing metadata. I know I give the link a couple of times in the workshop but I can't remember which chapters. If you send me a private message at Vimeo I can send you the link.

As for Pond5, I purposely didn't talk about them too much in my video because they are still a work in progress for me. As I said, I've had some positive results there and I would love to snap my fingers and have my whole portfolio instantly appear there, but I just don't have the time to deal with it yet. I have done nothing at Pond5 since I produced my video, so there is nothing new to report, It is on my schedule for July, but that may change if something more pressing comes along. I may even decide to do a new chapter for the workshop -- if I think there is enough information/tips to warrant it. We'll see how it plays out.

I'm 99% sure I will not take advantage of Pond5's offer to pay higher commissions in exchange for giving them exclusivity to some of my clips. That is my deal with Getty and I don't like it. I'd rather spread my work around at multiple agencies and hope to make more in the long run. I suppose if I have a bunch of similar clips of the same thing maybe I could give them exclusivity to some of them and send the others elsewhere, but that might be prohibited. I'd not want to break any of their rules about what constitutes exclusivity. I mean, if I have a shot that pans right and another that pans left, technically they are not the same shot, but they might be similar enough to break the rules.

As for the custom pricing aspect of Pond5, I'll probably go for low-ball pricing on my 4K clips. I think 4K is way over priced and I think I'd make more total earnings if customers could buy 4K at just a little bit more than what an HD clip would cost. 4K should only be 10-20% higher than HD, in my opinion. Not double the price. There's no reason for it.

That's my thoughts right now, but I reserve the right to change my opinions when I get deeper into Pond5 and experiment with a few variations! :-)

[Doug Jensen]

I successfully added another 380 4K clips this week to my portfolio at Shutterstock. Review times used to be measured in hours and now it took almost 5 days. I hope that is not a trend.