Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Has anyone had any success selling stock footage? I tried selling stock photos years ago and had no luck. I saw Doug Jensen's trailer on how to make money selling stock footage and it sounds very interesting. Below is the link to his trailer. I have taken a few tutorials from Doug and they were all helpful. I would like to know if these companies charge an upfront fee, what type of footage do they want and what type of equipment I would need. Also, does anyone know if they are paying different rates for HD vs. 4K? Are they even accepting HD anymore? One last question, if I shoot a painter painting a wall, and I shoot him from behind, do I still need a model release? Any help would be appreciated. I do intend to try Doug's course but I was looking for a little feedback first. Thank you, Bob

https://vimeo.com/groups/canonxf/videos/323480465

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

No up front fee at Shutterstock and Pond5 where I have been selling for a couple of years. I was invited to join both based on content on my Vimeo channel. They want 4k and they make an HD version available at a lower price. Payout is 50%. On clips that contain unidentified people they still want a release unless the clip is for editorial use only. I have received emails from European advertising firms offering to purchase parts of my videos. I did that once and receiving payment was a long and grueling process. Now I refer them to my clips on Shutterstock and Pond5 and will not sell outright. Payment from both stock sites is thru Paypal and I have never had a problem. I don't have a large portfolio but the revenue helps me replace my gear.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Mark, thank you. This is the kind of information I was hoping to get. It sounds like you have had success selling video clips. I'm sure you sell a lot of your nature footage. Bob

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Hey Bob, thanks for your interest in my Stock Footage master class. As I say in my trailer, I can't believe every video professional isn't doing stock footage already. My math says I'm making about $279/hour. Hard to beat that kind of income any other way in this business.

Please use the promo code "DVINFO" to save 20%.
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sellingstockfootage

I cover all your questions in the workshop, but I'll try to answer them here as well.

1) No, there is no charge to sign up with any of the big stock footage sites, and those are really the only ones you want to bother with anyway.

2) The commissions/royalties paid are a fixed percentage of the sales price and the percentage is the same for 4K, HD, commercial, editorial, etc. In other words, the percentage is always the same but the dollar figure may be different depending how much the customer pays.

3) HD is still accepted and outsells 4K by a wide margin. If you have it in the can, upload it. But it would be short sighted to continue shooting HD.

4) A good rule of thumb is that if someone could recognize themselves, then you need a release.

I hope you decide to sign up for the course. I'd love to hear what you think.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Doug, thanks for the response. It all seems easy enough. And thanks for the promocode. I will definitely use it. Is this offer good for anyone? I will start looking through my clips to see what might qualify. Do you include a sample of the model release that you use?

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Hi Bob,

Yeah, that promo code can be used by any DVINFO member who wants to get a head start shooting stock.

I include a a link in the workshop to download several documents in a ZIP file including model release and property release templates. But as I talk about in the workshop my preferred method of handling releases is with an app on my iPad and phone called "Easy Release".

I've decided to cut back on other work and focus more on stock. My earnings so far this month are at $1554.18 and I'm uploading 124 new clips today. I want to keep adding fuel to the fire.

Be sure to let me know how you like the workshop if you decide to take the plunge.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

My stock footage sales for today are already at $315 just at Shutterstock alone. $1869 for the month so far and we still have 12 days to go. I just can't understand why everyone with a pro camera and some shooting skills isn't doing stock.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Doug, that sounds great. I just clicked on the promocode and signed up. Wish me luck! Bob

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Bob, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the workshop whenever you have feedback.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

I just purchased this series. It is exactly what I need. Some time ago I dabbled in stock with a few test clips. Sold a few but realized most of my clips never received a single view. I'm looking forward to Doug's advice.

Thanks for the promo code Doug!

Kind Regards,

Steve

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Is that how much the end consumer has purchased for your stock footage, or you will personally be receiving a check or deposit into your account for $1869+ at the end of the month?

How much did you personally receive in sales in February?

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Thanks, Steve. I wish you great success.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

I never bother thinking about what the customer has paid for the clips. None of my business, really. I am only concerned with my share of the proceeds. It's difficult to crunch the numbers for all the places I am selling my footage, but Shutterstock is the major one so I will give you those figures:

January: $2481 is what I was paid by check.
February: $1931 is was I was paid.
March: $2190 -- already with 7 days left to go in the month.

In 2018 I averaged $2200/mo. at Shutterstock and $2700/mo. if you add in the other agencies.

But almost as important as how much I am earning is how little time I spend working on it. There's no point in wasting time on something that pays minimum wage. Fortunately, I average about 4-5 hours per week processing footage for uploading. And as of December, I've already earned $279/hour for the time and effort I have put into processing my portfolio of clips -- and those clips continue to sell. But I'm adding new ones all the time so my total earnings are going up. I have set a goal to make $30K just from Shutterstock in 2019 and $40K in 2020. I see no reason why I won't hit those targets.

If you're interested in more detail, I further crunch the number in this video:

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

How many total clips have you uploaded to Shutterstock to date?

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

4900 clips as of December. Then I added 2000 more in Jan.-Feb. but they have not had a chance to start generating revenue. So if you want to judge performance, it should be based on 4900 clips. But because those 4900 clips have generated an average of $24 each, then the 2000 new clips should also generate an average of $24 each over the coming years. Some clips will sell over and over again, and some clips will never sell, but on average, I figure each clip will generate a minimum of $24 in profit over it's lifetime. Probably more, but I can't say for sure how much my average clip will earn because all of them are still earning more and more so I can't put a number on it. All I can say is that it is at least $24 because they have already surpassed that figure.

BTW, all of your questions (and more) are answered in this video that you can watch for free.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

That's quite a leap, especially because it begs to reason that, out of those 4900 clips, you have some that have not sold at all. It could be that the 2000 clips you just uploaded are more of the same as the genre/style/shots that don't sell very well. It's not really a good way to look at it.

Does Shutterstock give you such a breakdown? Or does it just give you a "you sold x number of clips and have made $x dollars"?

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Given the sample size and his increased knowledge of what is more likely to sell, extrapolating future income like he has seems reasonable.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

It is not a leap at all. All of the new footage is of different subject matter, and subject matter that I know is more popular. Plus I am now much more experienced at doing the metadata. If anything, I predict my sales of the new clips will exceed the sales of the older clips but I never count my chickens before the hatch. Besides, the content or quality of the clips themselves accounts for less than half the equation of having successful stock footage business. Furthermore, my newest clips are all 4K which means they will be selling for the next decade.

Gary, for someone who has no practical knowledge of the stock footage business or what I'm submitting or how I am doing it or how Shutterstock works, you sure don't have any shortage of opinions. There are so many aspects of this business that you clearly don't understand. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, but I find your negative attitude kind of insulting. I know my business better than you do. Ask questions, yes, but keep your opinions under wraps unless you can speak from knowledge.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Bingo! That's exactly right.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Nah, I’m the only one here asking you specifics as related to the business, you’re just coming off as exasperated that I won’t just up and purchase your workshop instead. But thinking you can bully me into it is an odd tactic.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Gary, you are completely wrong . . . again. As I said, I'm more than happy to answer questions. But when you start making statements about my business model that are based on speculation and a lack of knowledge, what would you expect me to say? Just ignore it as if whatever you say must be fact? If YOUR experience selling stock footage is different than mine, I'm sure we'd like to hear about the specifics of it and then we could put your statements in proper context.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Gary likes to get a rise out of folks. I learned a long time ago to ignore his posts as they don't add anything meaningful to the discussion. Doug, nice job with your tutorial trailer.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

What are you talking about, Doug? I have pointed out how you are speculating and am asking questions to get a clear understanding of what you are doing. You have a vested interest in selling a workshop to people, 99.9% of whom will not achieve anywhere like the numbers you are giving out. So I want to know what the real details are, not the santatized version. If you cannot relate to me like an equal, then at least give me the respect of not attempting to insult me into buying your course, it won’t work.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

I have never suggested here that you or anyone else buys my course. I didn't even start this thread. So if you have felt that sales pressure, that is in your own mind. Not once have I suggest that you buy my course. Not once. I did suggest you watch my intro video because all of your questions would be answered there (for free) and you could see that I am not giving anyone the "sanitized" facts. But you don't want to bother with that. Fine. I am happy to answer your questions one by one, but when you start telling me how to run my business, well then you have crossed the line.

Just because you know you cannot achieve success with stock footage doesn't mean that others won't be making just as much money as I am, so relax and let others go their own way. Nobody needs a naysayer who has no experience or special knowledge of stock photography pissing on it.

By the way, speculation and forecasting are two different things. If you knew anything about running a business you'd know that every business has to forecast future earnings based on past earnings and other factors. Business101.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Doug, I just finished chapter 8. It really is a great course. Now I have a better understanding of how it all works, of course I am only 1/3 through it. I really enjoyed chapter 7 where you talk about what type of equipment you need. Not what camcorder to buy but rather what features to look for such as built in ND filters, electric viewfinder, XLR inputs etc. It reinforced my belief that with the Canon XF300 (soon to upgrade to 4K) and a flowtech 75 tripod I am pretty much set to go. I am looking forward to learning about mega data. I think that is what messes most people up. Thanks again for putting this together, with your help I am sure I will be able to sell some clips. Bob

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

If you knew anything about running a business, you'd know that claiming you won't count your hours filming as "work" is complete b.s.

You have material you have shot all over the country, so that entails travel and the costs of travel. For instance, you have content that you shot in Yosemite. Why did you go to Yosemite? Did you drive or fly? How much did gas/ticket cost you? If you flew, how much did you have to baggage check in order to be able to capture this footage? For instance, on the job I am currently on, it will be $70 each way for my checked gear. Is that what you paid?

You have footage of Homeland Security during a drill. Did you happen to come upon this? Read about the drill in the news? Were you shooting footage for a paying client and then turned around and reprocessed it as stock? Because, technically, the client in a "shoot for hire" scenario owns that footage. Did you get an agreement?

You have footage from Salinas Valley California. How much did it cost to fly out there? How much was your hotel room? Why are you filming people on private land (where their face is clearly not obscured) and not getting releases? Or did you get releases? (you say in the video you linked twice that you don't have to deal with model releases).

You also have a lot of wildlife shots. I know that filming wildlife involves a lot of waiting and being there for the right moment. You don't show up on site, hit record, and a Pelican immediately starts running across the water towards camera. You spent a lot of time to be in the right moment to get that shot. And you don't count that time? That's completely ridiculous.

And speaking of wildlife, that really requires a lens longer than 200mm, what lens do you have just for wildlife? How much did it cost? When do you use it otherwise other than filming wildlife and rocket launches for your stock portfolio? How big is it? How do you fly with it? Again, you don't count the costs of things you should be counting, which you would be if you knew how to run a business.

Or maybe you're just neglecting this because you're only interested in selling this $153 course, and those numbers just "muddy" things?

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Good questions, Gary.

You are exactly right. If shooting is a chore for you, then there's no point for you to shoot stock. If you never travel for pleasure with a camera, then yeah, you wouldn't like it. If you don't have opportunities in your normal course of business that you can take advantage of to kill two birds with one stone by shooting stock, you wouldn't like it. If you don't have an eye for spying opportunities when they present present themselve, then stock is wrong for you. If you can't tell the difference between commercial images and editorial images and how each can be leveraged, then it's not a good fit for you. If shooting stock footage would be no different to you than digging a ditch or washing dishes, yeah, it will all seem to be work.

So, we are in complete agreement. Stock footage would be a huge failure and waste of time for you. Fortunately, none of that applies to me and most of the people I meet that who have even a modicum of entrepreneurial spirit.

BTW, your suggestions of how or why I shot certain clips in my portfolio are quite comical when I think of the reality behind them . Hilarious really that you think you have some kind of insight into how, where, or why I have shot my clips. Wow.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Bob, thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it. With your can-do attitude you are assured of success. All that my video can do is point you in the right direction, give you a road map, and a kick in the ass to get moving. It is up to you from there and I can tell you're already on your way to success.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

That’s ignorant, Doug.

This is too. I could say that, “If you hate spending time with your family, get into shooting stock footage on vacations!” Do you hate your family, Doug? If you think that’s a stupid thing to say, you’d be correct. It would be, and as equally so as those two statements.

Then you could describe such a scenario from the questions I posed to you.

Except you damn well didn’t answer my questions that I asked, now did you? Why didn’t you, Doug? Is it because the answer isn’t quite far off the mark? Better to just act like it is and hope you don’t get called out? Well...oops?

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Gary, whatever I say will just churn up your anger and animosity even further. Nothing to be gained for me to waste my time on this "conversation". Or is it an interrogation, I'm not sure? I happy to answer questions, but I don't have to answer to you or explain myself. Come to your own conclusions, because I know you will anyway. Have a good day.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

I already made $123 today for doing nothing. $91 yesterday and $112 the day before. Yeah, I must be doing something wrong.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Your wasted attempts at bullying don’t make me angry. Instead, it helps me form an opinion as to your character.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

And here we go with more personal attacks. Nicely done, and predictable.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

This has become a classic Gary Huff polluted tread. Gary has a long history on this board of useless posts that contain no worthwhile information. Not only are they worthless they are often arrogant or even combative. He is always an angry dog looking for a fight. A true troll in my opinion.

Doug Jensen on the other hand has many years of valuable participation in this community. He has made over 2,700 posts on this board. I have personally read almost everyone of them. I read them all because he has put great time and effort into sharing his vast technical knowledge with other members of DVINFO.net. He is a valuable contributor of advanced and detailed technical knowledge. He is not here to pitch products. However I do know of many members who have gladly purchased his video training classes and been very glad they did. His reputation is impeccable. In fact, now I am one of those people. I purchased this stock video course and am thrilled with it so far.

Public forums can be a tricky place for someone with something to sell. So called internet gurus have come and gone here many times. They are guys looking to build a reputation of their own to sell something or increase there youTube hits for monetization and paid reviews. They all have one thing in common, all they do is pitch something and go away. They come back when they have a new review on their channel or website and go away again. You never find them participating in meaningful conversations sharing their knowledge for free. Doug Jensen is not one of those guys.

I am not writing this to defend Doug. If you know who he is and his background you know he needs no defending. I am writing this for the sake of other readers that may not be aware of his valuable history here at DVINFO and his many years of successful work in our industry. Unfortunately you know what they say about crowds "there is one in every crowd" Gary Huff is the one in this crowd.

Kind Regards,

Steve

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Wrong button.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

This aggressive and poor behavior by Gary is doing nothing but driving people away from dvinfo.net. It is not conducive to learning and sharing ideas which is why I came to the site in 2002.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Gary's attitude causes me to remember the saying, "Those that can do, those that can't bitch".

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Thank you Steve, Mark, and Bob for your very kind words. I appreciate your thoughts. You didn't have to post those comments but you did, and I am humbled, to say the least. Thank you.

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

Doug, when uploading do they prefer 24, 25 or 30 fps as it's not like you can change this in post?

Re: Selling Stock Video Footage.
 

That's a very good question that nobody really has an answer for. I've grilled the top people at Shutterstock and Adobe on this point several times and they pretty much shrug their shoulders. Personally, I've settled on 29.97 as my default frame rate for various reasons that I talk about in my video. 23.98 is my second choice and I do use it sometimes, but 25P should be avoided if a person cares about USA sales -- which they should. 60P and 50P are a waste of data that will double your file sizes for no benefit in sales.