Shut Up and Shoot! Free Preview by Andreas Hohl

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

Table of Contents Foreword

How to Use this Guide

Preface

Section One - Introduction

Time Is on Your Side ..................................... 13 The Questions and the Answers .................. 13 What is Stock Footage in Relation to Stock Media? ......................................................... 15 Why is Stock Footage Produced?................. 15 Who buys Stock Footage? ............................ 19 Rules, What rules? The Oxymoron. ............. 20

Old Stuff: VHS, S-VHS, BETA and Actual Film: ......................................................... 36 Newer Stuff: Mini-DV, DVCAM, HDV and the Sort: ................................................... 39 Newest stuff: Look Ma, No Moving Parts!: ................................................................. 40 Choosing your Software .............................. 42 Free Practice for the Sake of Understanding NLE ............................................................... 44 Free Applications for Windows-based computers: ............................................... 45 Free Applications for Apple-based computers: ............................................... 45 Free Applications for Linux-based computers: ............................................... 45 Choosing the right tool (software) for the job at hand. .............................................. 46

The Insecurity Factor (Or Stop Mind_**%&ing Yourself!) ...................................................... 23

Selecting the Right Computer Hardware ..... 51

Section Two - Choosing the Tools 25

Recommended upgrades ............................. 53

The Most Obvious and Minimal Needs ........ 25 Cameras, Camcorders and Boxes with Lenses, Oh My! ......................................................... 26 Do You Only Want to Film Moving Pictures (i.e. Video), Stills (i.e. Photographs) or Both? ..................................................................... 28 Camera Support Mechanisms (a.k.a. “Sticks and Heads” or Tripods) ................................ 32 When Should I Not Use a Tripod? ................ 34 Hardware and Software for the Postproduction Process ...................................... 36 Hardware for Digitizing: Bringing the Imagery in to the Computer....................................... 36

Where to start ......................................... 51 Video – Displays (we used to call them monitors) ................................................. 53 Video – Cards and display drivers ............ 53 Memory – Gigabytes! .............................. 54 Drive Space – Storage for Archiving and Storage for Backups ................................. 54 Software – always upgrade! .................... 54

Section Three - Justification of Doing This 55 A Few Words to the Wise ............................ 55 The bad news first (a.k.a. the cons): ............ 56 Now the good news (a.k.a. the pros): ......... 57

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

Section Four - Financial and Fiscal Aspects to Consider 58

Batch Processing - a.k.a. Time-Saving Bag of Tricks ............................................................ 83

Invest in Yourself.......................................... 58

Raw Footage Data and File Organization. 84

The Fiscal Bottom Line ................................. 59

Raw Footage Data and File Organization Part Deux ................................................. 86

Section Five - Immediate History 63 Long-term Ramifications of Stock Footage .. 63 Know Your Limits, and Lurking Dangers. ..... 67

Section Six - Settle in. Camera rolling. Action! 70 Basic Things to Keep in Mind While Filming Stock Media ................................................. 70 Introducing Some Real World Artists and Their Methods.............................................. 71

Section Seven - Preparing Footage for Delivery 74 What's a CODEC? ......................................... 74 What CODEC Should I Use?.......................... 75 The Most Common CODECs used for Compatibility Today ................................. 75 For Interlaced Footage: ............................ 76 Progressive Footage: ................................ 76 For Progressive Footage with Alpha Channel: ................................................... 76

Batch the Renders or Render the Batch! . 87 Batch Rendering: the Discovery Within Your Software .......................................... 88 How I do it in Sony Vegas Pro (beginning with version 8 up to present versions) .... 88 How I do it in Adobe Premiere CS5.x (and probably future versions as well) ............ 89 How I do it in Adobe After Effects CS5.x (and back to CS4.x) .................................. 89 Uploading â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Geez, do I have to sit here and wait for that too? ..................................... 89 FTP Software to Make Uploading Life a Breeze .......................................................... 93

Section Nine - Working with People 95 Likenesses and Property .............................. 95 A Typical Model Release - Explained ....... 95 Working With Minors .............................. 97 Working With Nudes ............................... 97 Working With Private Property ............... 98

HD vs SD ....................................................... 77

Working With Public Property ..................... 99

.MOV vs .AVI vs .MP4 and then H.264 ..... 78

Working With People on Public Property ............................................................... 101

So What Do I Use?........................................ 79 4K this, 2K that ............................................. 81

Section Eight - Processing and Uploading with a few Dirty Tricks 83

Section Ten - How to get People to Share Their Likeness 103 The Problem of Finding People.................. 103 Taking the opportunity when it strikes ..... 103

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] Scouting for Models that can Act - a.k.a Actors ......................................................... 107

Recording Imagery on Your Camera - The Formats of RAW vs. JPG ......................... 155

If you have a budget: ............................. 107

Section Twelve - Creating Media Stock Creatively 157

So how much should I or do I pay for Actors? ................................................... 109 I have no budget! ................................... 109

Section Eleven - The Art of Capturing Time 116 Shooting Time-lapse .................................. 116 Frame Rates, FPS, NTSC and PAL, not to mention SECAM ..................................... 117 What about that interlaced thing? ........ 119 What about multimedia frame rates? ... 119 Why do I Care About all this Frame Rate Stuff when all I want to do is Time-lapse, anyway? ................................................. 120 Generating Time-lapse Footage - Method 1: Time Crunching the Video Footage............ 121 ................................................................... 126 Generating Time-Lapse Footage, Method 2: Grab a Large Sequence of Stills .................. 126 Formulations, Calculations and Frustrations for Time-lapse, Oh My! .......................... 131 What is ISO ............................................. 134 Introducing the aperture. F-Stop it now! ............................................................... 134 Along comes Depth of Field (DOF). ........ 135 What is Field Of View or FOV? ............... 136

Getting into Graphic Arts ........................... 157

Section Thirteen - Processing and Finishing Sequences of Images Correctly 161 Efficiency is Key.......................................... 161 Sony Vegas Pro (Good) .............................. 161 Adobe Premiere (Better) ........................... 162 Adobe After Effects (most excellent!) ....... 162

Section Fourteen – Titles, Keywords and Descriptions 163 Not Rejected .............................................. 163 Letting Buyers Know What is What ........... 163

Section Fifteen - More Profitable Side-Effects 167 Keeping all the Stuff - Major Side-Effects of Profitability in the Future .......................... 167

Section Sixteen - Marketing Your Stuff 172 How Important is Marketing? ................... 172 Putting You Out There ............................... 172

Section Seventeen - Now That I Know How, What Do I Shoot? 177

Getting Your Time-lapse Sequence Started ............................................................... 138

No Simple Answer...................................... 177

The Accidental Time-lapse Acquisition .. 142

Your Assets ................................................ 178

The More Typical Time-lapse Process.... 145

A Starting Point .......................................... 179

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] Idea and Strategy Number One: Commercials on Television and the Internet .................................................. 179 Idea and Strategy Number Two: TV Programming ......................................... 180 Idea and Strategy Number Three: Leveraging Some Readily Available Tools ............................................................... 181

Section Umpteen - The Other Million Dollar Question: Pricing 197 My Take on Pricing ..................................... 198 The Never-Ending Conversation ................ 199 Proving a Point ........................................... 200 The Cost Reality and how it will Apply to You ................................................................... 200 That's It?..................................................... 203

That's All Folks!

204

Not the conclusion!.................................... 204

Some Resources and Additional Info 205 Agencies ..................................................... 205 Agencies I Currently Use ........................ 205 Notable Mentions .................................. 206 Interesting Reference Material .................. 208 All About Filming, Shooting, Photography and Anything Else You Could do with a Camera ................................................... 208 Learning How to Use Your Software Arsenal ................................................... 208 My Actual Arsenal of Tools - Give or Take ............................................................... 208

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

Shut Up and Shoot! And Make Lightning Strike Twice! How to Become an Out of This World Stock Media Artist

Andreas K. Hohl Shut Up and Shoot! And Make Lightning Strike Twice! How to Become an Out of This World Stock Media Artist by Andreas K. Hohl vader@vadervideo.com Copyright Notice: Copyright © 2011, 2012 Andreas K. Hohl

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Cover image: Portions courtesy of NASA – the rest are shots or frames from actual stock footage filmed by the author.

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

Foreword

When Andy asked me to write the foreword, I was flattered and then... stumped. I’m a cameraman, not a writer! We cameramen make a point of staying behind the viewfinder to help tell the story, that’s what we do, so I suppose in a way writing about the subject wasn’t that far a reach... Stock footage, just exactly what is it? It’s footage, film or video, that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program, sometimes mundane often unique. So what else is it? It’s the shot the editor or producer needs... and they need it now. This book is not for everyone, but it is for the person serious about shooting stock footage. Yes, it’s very much about the camera and the clip, but it covers so much more. If it was easy, everyone would do it. It is however, a very good informative read. Andy has researched and written a unique technical compilation loaded with marvelous links and source material with a dash of his sense of humor. He will take you through the philosophy of stock footage to the technical details in terms that will make sense. But Andy is right, if you’re going to do this, you do need to take it seriously, very seriously. Be prepared to work hard. It’s a rewarding environment to work in and full of exciting, sometimes risky, possibilities. It most certainly is not a hobby. However, there is no greater reward than the satisfaction of working for you. Most unique about this E-Book is that it will be a living document; it will improve as technology changes. Moore’s Law applies in this industry nearly as much as in computers, by making it a living document it will remain up-to-date. I’ve been a professional cameraman for better than 25 years. I had to learn the hard way what constituted stock footage back in the day of videotape, 3-tube cameras and wooden tripods. There were no manuals back then that explained the craft. Stock footage was produced by a handful of Hollywood and New York production houses at great costs. Technology and the internet changed it all. I’ve been shooting stock footage most of my career, and it’s taken me to some interesting places around the world - the tops of volcanoes and mountains, diving alongside six-gill sharks, interviewing world leaders, covering motor-sports, news events, and even finding myself in the middle of disasters. When you’re witness to demonstrations, protests, or the greatest sights that nature has to offer it is safe to say it’ll change your outlook. It changed mine.

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] By the time you’ve reached the end of the book you should have a good idea of what it will take for you to be successful in this industry. Tools, talent, time-lapse, there’s a tremendous amount to digest which is what makes it so appealing. Now, find your niche and shoot! Francois Arseneault , freelance cameraman/editor • •

www.avsdigitalpost.com Artist: stockshooter on Pond5.com

Andy Hohl hits a home run with this book - the perfect primer for a videographer hoping to capitalize on the extremely profitable stock video business. The world has changed dramatically in a few short years - large companies no longer have the market cornered on stock, and that presents huge opportunities for the little guy. Chuck Holton, freelance video journalist, war correspondent and author. • www.livefire.us • Artist: holtocw on Pond5.com

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

How to Use this Guide Understanding that you, the reader, may have a variety of experience from none at all, to somewhat, to expert, my intent is to offer information for all levels. Of course, I understand some of you advanced level types aren't really interested in reading about the basics and want to get right to the meat of the topic that interests you most. Aside from the table of contents, I have put some icons into this guide that allow you to skip and jump around as you wish, as well as some symbols for important messages or notes. (Someday someone will explain to me the difference between symbols and icons. But it sounds really cool in any case.) The keys are marked as follows: (Just when you thought you were going to get icons or symbols eh? I opted for keys at the last minute.)

    

Important Note:

an important side note that you should always read!

Link to the Web: If you click on it, it will take you places. If you are reading the hard

copy of this guide, then you can't click. However, you can always visit  www.stockmediaartist.com and find several links and click from there. But if you are not, and don't ever plan to be on the internet, then fugetaboutit.*

Fast Forward: Yes, this will jump around, usually forward at a very fast pace. It usually

means you can jump to a topic or related topic that usually will offer up more detail of what you just read. Use with caution as if you do this too much, your brain may explode.

Refreshing Rewind: This is really handy if you used the Fast Forward too much and now need to go back to refresh your memory. It is also handy to take you back to parts you skipped because you thought you already knew it all. Action: You will find this when you are asked to actually do something. It will usually be fairly easy, but it will require you to stop reading and actually do the exercise or action. In any case, don't be scared. It won't hurt.

Important note to all readers: There are many hot-links () throughout this guide. You should be connected to the Internet for this purpose, to be able to make use of the full features offered. Of course, if you just want to read, and check out the links later, you may do that as well. I promise that no electrons were harmed in the creation of this guide.

It is also important to understand that as time passes, or has passed, many things have, or will change. Over the course of the year that it has taken me to write this masterpiece, many things did change. Change is sometimes good and sometimes bad. But to keep up to date on such changes, I highly encourage you to visit http://www.stockmediaartist. com for updates and additional information. The intent is to keep this masterpiece a living and breathing thing. When I refer to change, it usually has to do with change in technology and/or software. The fundamentals never change.

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] All third-party trade names, trademarks, logos and copyrights belong to their respective owners and are under full copyright protection. They are included in this document for reference only and are considered to fall under the "Fair Use Guidelines" found under sections 107 through 118 of the copyright law (ď žtitle 17, U. S. Code)

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

Preface I remember the first time I had a creative thought that actually stuck with me. I was just a kid, about ten years old, using my dad's Edixa Reflex 35 mm camera to take a picture of a Lion at a Swiss zoo. I thought to myself, if this comes out really nice, I could probably sell it to some magazine and make enough money to buy some model The "Infamous" Lion trains. I loved trains, particularly the Swiss trains. My dream was to become a locomotive engineer one day, and drive them over the Swiss Alps. I actually followed through on that dream, by returning to Switzerland several years later to study mechanical engineering, with the intent of driving those trains. I even graduated. However, the train-driving dream was squashed, as there were simply no job openings at the time of my graduation. That was in the late 70's, with the threat of a recession looming on the horizon. I soon returned to the US, without much hope or joy. I jumped from job to job, not really excited about much, until I began selling encyclopedias door-to-door. Now that was a real wakeup call. I hated it! There was something about it, however, that interested me greatly: I wanted to be the man in the boss's chair. Why? Because he was sitting at the top, while the rest of us were generating the money. He had what I later learned was called residual income, but even more important than that; he had one of the first VCR's to hit the market. This was a whole new world. You could literally rent a movie for about $12 to $15, after you joined an exclusive club for $900 per year. He made a remark that stuck with me forever: "Think about all the repeating revenue created from just one movie! Now that's the kind of residual income that I like and can live with!" I had that job for one year and quit. I knew I had to find something that could generate that model of income. The problem was, I still wasn't sure how to go about it. Not long afterward, a girlfriend coerced me into taking a class at the local community college with her: Introduction to Computer Science. I was in heaven. I immediately realized that software was the medium I was searching for. Create it once, sell it lots of times, and then get 'em again with upgrades. It was a great idea, with lousy execution. Oh I created software, all right. Some of it was even usable. But I was soon on the burnout path; I knew I needed to change something â&#x20AC;&#x201C; something was missing. I thought about television, the movies, and the video rental thing many times. Of course, cameras at that time were still unbelievably expensive, and I was now a married man with responsibilities. So, I bought one anyway. A JVC S-VHS. It was a big, clunky, cool-looking camera, and it weighed a ton! I filmed with it cautiously, as VHS tapes cost a small fortune then, batteries didn't last long, and oh yeah, it weighed a ton. Editing was still linear: tape-to-tape, and then again to tape. This all required a couple of VCRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, of course. But it was cool. I had some pretty interesting experiences, but nothing of value...or so I thought. My dream was not yet realized. I did many other things for several years in the tech sector until finally, gradually, a new era began: the age of the Internet. I was one of the first to embrace this thing we called ÂŠCopyright 2011,2012 - Intuitivethot-VaderVideo - Andreas K. Hohl | 3BPreface

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] "the Web.” As a matter of fact, I, from what I was told at the time, was the very first instructor to teach the language (HTML) to a business class back in the mid-90’s. There was, literally, only one small paperback book published that even could be considered as a guide or textbook for this purpose. (Thanks to my programming years, the language was a simple thing to comprehend.) As interesting and new as it was, it still left me wanting. Then, at last, I discovered a road to residual income. I became an Internet website hosting company. How cool is that? People were paying me every month for a service. I felt as if I had just cracked the secret of every phone company out there, and I was at the top. Not too long into that game, however, the "Dot Com" or what I liked to call the "Dot Bomb" era happened. Again, I was left wanting, perhaps this time out of necessity. I looked at many opportunities over time, but just couldn't quite seem to put my finger on what was missing. My life had taken so many paths, and I had neglected the whole video thing for so long, that once more, it took a wake-up call. A friend happened to be talking about just how much film landed on the cutting room floor at all the studios in Hollywood. I began to wonder, if I could get access to that trash, what could I do with it? Of course, it wasn't as if I could just walk in and tell them to give me all their dropped film. So what was the next best thing? Create it myself? Could someone buy it someday for use in a movie, perhaps? The era of non-linear editing on computers had begun; in fact, was a few years old already. New cameras that didn't weigh a ton were available. Wow! It was time for my next adventure! Mini-DV, or really, really, small VHS tapes, I thought. Super crisp imagery too! Nice colors and no degradation from camera to computer. This was very exciting! And it didn't weigh a ton. Although the Internet had really taken off, the whole multimedia thing was still in its infancy. It was a real problem trying to stream large pieces of footage over a dial-up connection. Technology still had a way to go, but we all saw a future. Today, we know what we called the future back then is simply multimedia content. From movies to television to the Internet – nearly everyone uses it, enjoys it and now, more than ever, needs it. We have come to the era of a gazillion channels on TV, high speed Internet, and portable devices that smoke the computers from just a few years ago. Smart phone anyone? However, all of these toys need content. The content is quite simply, multimedia. I made a conscious decision several years ago that I wanted to be part of this revolution, or generation of generators of multimedia. It fit everything I ever dreamed of: it is creative; it has no rules to speak of; it never dates itself; the demand will continue to grow. And last, but not least, it is the perfect mechanism to generate residual income! I look at stock media, which is a part of multimedia, as something that one can grow, retain, and sell over and over again. Hence, it is a true asset. Just as a piece of property is considered an asset, so is a library of stock media. It does not lose value. On the contrary, as time passes, much stock footage gains value. It has historical value from the minute it is created. It is a tangible asset by every definition of the word. It can be passed down to your offspring in the same manner as cash, stocks, and bonds. It can accumulate wealth. It has a value. It is probably one of the few assets in this world that you, as the ©Copyright 2011,2012 - Intuitivethot-VaderVideo - Andreas K. Hohl | 3BPreface

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] owner of the copyright, can manage in order to meet your demands, goals and ideas, and always grow and control 100 percent! This type of industry allows anyone, from any walk of life, and at any age, to participate, provided you understand the business, the technology and the market. That's what this book is all about. It’s a guide. It’s a reference. It’s a "save-you-a-ton-of-research-and-hard-knocks-elimination tool", if you will. You will learn quickly that this is the type of process that allows you to invest your time as you see fit. This is the type of business that, no matter when you begin, will enable you to eventually realize a residual base of income. This is the type of business that I encourage anyone who is young and ambitious to invest his or her time in, sooner rather than later. This is a business that one can easily pass on to sons and daughters. It's as simple as that. The only thing needed to be successful in this business is patience, persistence, and yes, probably the insider information you get in this book. You control the time, the effort and the growth, not to mention the style, the art and the opportunity of your – what some people might call – nest egg. So, no matter whether you are in high school, college or working as a janitor, are female or male, you are offered the most level playing field of opportunity right here, right now. I encourage those of all ages, all walks of life, to consider this as a possibility. Not just as something to do, but as something to build for your future. I guarantee you will have the best time of your life. “I dream for a living." - Steven Spielberg With that thought, I absolutely must thank my wonderful wife for not only putting up with me for all these years, but also for holding that umbrella over the camera during those intense lightning storms. Love the hairdo, Honey! And of course my youngest son who, every once in a while, makes me stop and look at things a bit differently; particularly when I am uploading large footage files and eating up all the bandwidth he wants for his online gaming. Many thanks to all the fellow "shooters", models and creative idea people that have made this endeavor the hardest thing I have ever undertaken. Damn you all! And I mean that with all of my love. ;-) A special thanks to Linda B, for fixing my unique grammar, English and all that, to make this thing more readable. I do hope that you, the readers, achieve great success, and I look forward to meeting many of you, along with your stories, in the near future. Now, get to it and start something big! "Just $hut up and $hoot!" - Me (It also happens to be the main title of this guide.)

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

Section One - Introduction Time Is on Your Side As I write this first line of text, I am also rendering the next batch of masterpieces that will be available for sale as stock media, or what is also known as b-roll in the film industry. I predominantly deal with stock footage, and so will this guide. However, many topics in this guide can apply to diverse products in the multimedia world; the rules, if any, apply equally. I have found that limiting oneself to one type of market can be counterproductive. As an example, if I were to deal exclusively with stock media in the footage sense, then I would miss out on the potential stock photo market for the advertising world, vector graphics in the design world, or many other names it would take forever to cover. It is truly a very diverse industry, so keep an open mind to the endless opportunities that are available. This guide will focus on one opportunity for a reason: It is a very large topic, and it is not my intention to fry your brain. Okay, I lied. I want to fry your brain. I will touch on some of the other topics as well. What I am doing at the moment is what some may call true multitasking at its finest! We’ll come back to this throughout the guide many times, as I intend to start you on the right track as quickly as possible so you can become super creative, as well as enjoy monthly revenues from various agencies in the process. So without further procrastination, let’s begin. I suppose I could have written "Without further adieu" or "Without further ado" – but people seem to get those confused all the time. The first makes no sense as it really means "without further good-by". The second one would be correct.



The Questions and the Answers It is said that time is our worst enemy. This may be true for some, but how you leverage and make use of your time will potentially undergo a drastic change, particularly if you have a brain that likes to go a million miles per hour, constantly creating. Then there are those who pose a zillion questions: “I am not a creative person; can I even get into this?” “What is he talking about?” “Is this another one of those, geez, let’s get motivated and make a ton of money angles?” “Is this multi-level marketing?” “Does the sun set in the east now?” And last but certainly not least “Why is the sky blue?” All of these questions are valid, and the last one, believe it or not, has a very legitimate answer as well. Really! I kid you not! But first, I will answer these questions in order: ©Copyright 2011,2012 - Intuitivethot-VaderVideo - Andreas K. Hohl | 4BSection One Introduction

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] “I am not a creative person; can I even get into this?” – Yes. Absolutely, yes! “What is he talking about?” – People have said, “If I knew the answer, I would share it with you.” That’s what this guide will do. “Is this another one of those, geez, let’s get motivated and make a ton of money angles?” – Motivation? Yes! Make a ton of money? Maybe, but you only get out of it what you put into it. Hence, a little four-letter word called work comes to mind, and I can almost see you wrinkling your nose. You would be wrong! It’s not work! It’s fun! It’s creative! It’s something that can be done free time. But I must forewarn you, it can become addictive. “Is this multi-level marketing?” – Absolutely not! I don’t like MLM’s; too much B.S. for very little return. (I am sure I will hear about that comment from some out there.) “Does the sun set in the east now?” – No, it still sets in the west. However, it never really sets now, does it? Our planet just happens to rotate too much. With experience you can make it set in the east, or at least make it appear as if it does. (Hint: Play a sunrise backwards.) “Why is the sky blue?”

 – And the answer everyone’s waiting for: blue sky is the best color for keying an alpha channel when it comes to manipulating clouds or anything else you might find, particularly when the sky is the background during daylight hours. This may not mean anything to some of you, and a whole heck of a lot to others, but not to worry, this will be covered in detail later. Whether you are a novice or an expert, there are always little “golden nuggets” of information to learn. We will get into that within this guide, I promise.

Actual frames used for “keyed” cloud footage.

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

What is Stock Footage in Relation to Stock Media? Let’s get started with a simple explanation of what this is all about, or better yet, what it could be. This type of media offers quite a list of terminology. Depending on whom you ask, it may be called: Stock footage, B-roll, 2nd unit footage, pick-up shots, time transitions, transitions, CG, FX, parts, fillers, lower thirds, bugs, stingers, and the list goes on and on. You want more? Read on: (I hijacked this from a fellow artist by the name of "Stockshooter". Thanks for letting me use your list, Francois!)

Important note: The examples throughout this guide use my favorite agency known as Pond5.com. There are several agencies worldwide, however, for presentation purposes, but because I happen to like this agency the best, I will always refer to Pond5.com. This could be a hint for you to decide where and with what agency you want to start. Hint. Hint.

Establishing shots, macro or extreme close-ups, opening shots, everyday life shots, aerial, humor, funny, POV (Point of View), military, motorsports, industry, transportation, nature, wildlife, landscapes, oil industry, corporate & business, time-lapse, crashes & wrecks, surreal and abstract, fire, explosions, crime and justice, environmental, sports, food & drink, agriculture, energy, weather, medicine, political, science, religion, technology, travelogue, recreation, and lifestyles. If you want to expand on this list, add different angles and shots of each of these and you will have lots to shoot. Satisfied? Happy? No? Okay then, you can include music, sound effects, and last but not least, project tools for creating even more such, of what I like to call eye candy fodder. If you prefer that other explanation of exactly what it is, you can read all about it at Wikipedia.org under the term “Stock Footage”.

Why is Stock Footage Produced? The first and most obvious answer would be to sell to a buyer. It’s all about money. From a buyer’s standpoint, it’s about saving money to get a production done. Just think about that for a moment. Your moment is up! I will explain by example: How the heck would a production company be able to go out and film a full lunar eclipse, in time lapse, right when they needed it for any given production? Answer A: They hold up the production for several years and wait for the next eclipse to happen. NOT LIKELY!

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t]

My Definition of stock footage is film or footage that is created “on the fly” or “whenever the heck you feel like it.” It must have some significant production value so that any potential production company will need it or can make use of it at any given time. It is unusual or notso-unusual footage, and relatively inexpensive footage, so production companies can acquire it without having to send out entire teams to get “the shot”. They can have it at their fingertips from me. Oops, I meant to say, from people like you and me. The reason they can get it from the likes of you and me is simply because we were there, and we had our cameras rolling. They (the production company), on the other hand, were not there. They would most likely need to build expensive sets, make the sun appear in perfect position, and get all the re-enactors to perform perfectly to recreate the scene. This doesn’t take into account the need to feed the crew and actors while setting up and filming. Food is not cheap.

Answer B: They could have a CG (Computer Graphics/Computer Generated) house recreate it. This can be very expensive, but it can be done – It may even look realistic, too. Answer C: They can’t, unless they just happened to have thought about it on December 21st, 2010, and just happened to be in an area of our planet that showed the event’s full beauty, and the weather was cooperating – no cloud cover. They are basically out of luck if they didn't have the foresight or a reason to film that event. So now what? They need that footage. Where, oh where do they get it? Well, they could, for example, buy it from my collection here (2010 December Full Lunar Eclipse time lapse):

 The 2010 Full Lunar Eclipse! (Go ahead and click on it.)

Of course, when they find this clip, they will see many similar ones as well, presented in the description, which in turn gives them variety. Not just that, but they will also find several of my Public Media Bins that contain this particular video, which in turn makes it easy to find similar or related clips. Go ahead, click on the image or the link and see for yourself.

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Note: (Web page presentation subject to change without notice; and it does, has, and most likely will again.)

[How to Become an OUT OF THI$ WORLD $tock Media Arti$t] Or perhaps they need a super handsome actor to make a cameo appearance in one of their shots. If so, the shot needs to be pre-keyed with an alpha channel!

Pre-keyed Humor - A man pops into frame from the bottom right

Pre-keyed with an alpha channel? What the heck does that mean? When you see a clip with transparency, you will see a checkerboard pattern.1 Like this:

 This simply means the entire area that is showing a checkered pattern is basically transparent. This clip now can be composited over any other footage, like this:

You now have a very small taste of the possibilities. Further ahead in the guide all the crazy buzzwords, terms, acronyms, and lingo will be explained in more detail.

Not all stock agencies offer or facilitate this feature or accept footage that is pre-keyed. Check with the agency(s) to see if they accept such footage. There are alternative ways to submit footage for such use. This will be covered later in this guide. ©Copyright 2011,2012 - Intuitivethot-VaderVideo - Andreas K. Hohl | 4BSection One Introduction