Thought Equity Motion, Denver, Colo., a motion imagery licensing firm, announced the results of a survey of advertising professionals that confirms the prevalence of pre-shot motion imagery in new media applications.
According to the survey, 44 percent of 150 professionals at small and medium-sized ad agencies said they are using pre-shot motion imagery more than ever with the growth of new media. More than 60 percent of ad agency professionals are using it more often, with 38 percent saying it’s the most valuable tool in creating new media advertising campaigns and 72 percent using it at least occasionally.
In an era when YouTube and other consumer-oriented sites are featuring pre-shot videos, pre-shot imagery can also be used by advertising agencies and corporations to create a variety of new media content. Everything from PowerPoint presentations from corporate CEOs to TV commercials can use pre-shot motion imagery.
“In today’s world, we have three primary screens instead of one TV: the computer screen, the mobile device and the TV,” said Kevin Schaff, CEO of Thought Equity Motion.
“Creatives are doing more projects and putting videos in more places, from plasma screens in lobbies to cell phones,” he said. “Pre-shot motion imagery can be used to create content for all these applications.”
Much new media content is repurposed, which is “an industry shift that forces people to use existing material instead of creating from scratch,” Schaff said. “In order for people to compete, they have to repurpose content and maintain production quality, which they can do with the use of pre-shot motion imagery.
“It’s a critical piece of the new media puzzle that enables creative and production professionals to rapidly obtain and integrate high quality shots into their campaigns without incurring the expense, both monetary and time, of footage shot.”
The survey revealed that the top two reasons advertising professionals are using pre-shot motion imagery are its ability to turn around new media ads more quickly (57 percent) and to reduce costs (67 percent).
Schaff said entire TV commercials can be filmed twice as fast at a fraction of the cost with pre-shot motion imagery. His example was the production of a national TV spot that featured scenes from the Himalayas that used pre-shot motion imagery to avoid travel expenses. “It saved time and reduced production expenses by 95 percent,” Schaff said.
Survey Says
The Thought Equity Motion survey also found:
• 34 percent of ad agency professionals believe email/instant messaging link videos that can be forwarded are the most effective method for video-based new media advertising
• 81 percent say the length of a new media ad must vary per medium, with 15 seconds and 10 seconds the most popular lengths for new media campaigns
• 44 percent said the biggest challenge in creating new media ads is finding the budget to extend the campaign
• 33 percent said the most common use of pre-shot motion imagery is new business proposals and pitches
Obstacles to using pre-shot motion imagery are a perception of lack of quality and a complicated licensing process, Schaff said. But footage is available from production companies like Sony Pictures Entertainment and HBO, with companies like Thought Equity Motion offering previewing and selection “as simple as two clicks of the mouse, he said.
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