Canvassing the stock footage community, SHOOT sought feedback on not only industry trends but also new offerings that would be of interest to advertising agency creatives and producers relative to commercials as well as other forms of sponsored content.
On the trendy front, we asked for observations on how the use of stock footage has evolved this year in spots. Respondents were also invited to provide an example reflecting that trend or trends.
As for what’s new in the stock market, there’s a wide range of new fare now available. And the relevance of that content to the ad industry coincides with some commercialmaking trends, a prime example being the coming into prominence of documentary-style work. As reflected in our recent Directors Issue, Fall edition (10/24), documentary directors figured prominently in both profiles of established helmers as well as up-and-coming directorial talent.
Appropriately enough, new stock footage offerings also register on the documentary scale. For instance, Corbis has just made available imagery from Maysles Films, the production house launched in 1962 by lauded documentarians Albert and David Maysles. While David passed away in 1987, Albert keeps on going strong, having recently signed with Nonfiction Unlimited for commercials and new media advertising projects. Albert Maysles was profiled in our earlier alluded to Directors Issue.
Among the work cited in Corbis’ listing of the Maysles collection are such celebrated documentaries as Gimme Shelter, Meet Marlon Brando, With Love from Truman, Salesman and Grey Gardens.
Additionally, our rundown of new recent stock offerings includes the natural wildlife and kingdom documentary-style content from the acclaimed Oxford Scientific Films (OSF).
The OSF menu, which includes time lapse photography capturing nature, has become available via Photolibrary Group.
And for those with a hankering for classic newsreel documentary footage, consider The March of Time newsreels of the 1930s-’50s, which have recently become part of the HBO Archives.
Here’s a sampling of the responses we received relative to notable trends and new offerings:
BBC Motion Gallery Jan Ross, senior VP: Amongst all of our footage, we find that what sets BBC Motion Gallery apart from the rest is the variety of clips showing real life and real people. These collections are of growing interest to agency clients. Wieden + Kennedy recently licensed for a Nike spot from the BBC programs Human Body: Brain Power, Human Brain: The Self, Brain Story: Mind’s Eye and various sports clips. The clips were used for a campaign based around the Olympics in Beijing. The TV spot celebrated the 20th anniversary of the “Just do it” campaign by showing a collage of inspirational sports imagery. Michael Jordan kissed his NBA championship trophy, Lance Armstrong defeated cancer, and over 30 different athletes from 17 different countries were featured. The display of real moments created a compelling and inspirational message to celebrate the brand’s milestone.
New offering: BBC Motion Gallery represents one of the most diverse selections of HD footage in the world. Pristine, stunning images that range from spectacular aerials and location shots to those hard to find shots of people living their lives and doing their jobs. This HD collection is beautifully mastered onto D5, 1080/24p. The masters are available either in HDcam or D5. This material is brand new, never-before-seen footage, originally shot on 35 mm. The subjects include long aerials, various American landscapes, Tanzania wildlife, Bhutan and Nepal landscapes and cultural images including Buddhist monks, Moon, sunsets, clouds, Flowers blossoming, Caribbean and Hawaii coasts and beaches, and freight trains.
HD footage from the BBC series Galapagos was recently made available, as was HD aerial footage from renowned cinematographers Brian J. Terwilliger and Gary Kauffman.
The Blacklight archive collects images from Europe, Africa, Americas and Asia; covering nature, people, lifestyle and locations. Clips include aerials, time-lapse, fast and slow motion. Collection focuses on portraits of people and animals; landscapes, skyscapes and waterscapes; plants; culture; leisure and work.
URL: www.bbcmotiongallery.com
Corbis New offering: Maysles Films
Description: Recognized for making some of the world’s best known documentaries and character studies including Gimme Shelter, Meet Marlon Brando, With Love from Truman, Salesman, and Grey Gardens, the Maysles brothers have captivated audiences around the world for more than 50 years.
New offering: Ron Chapple Aerials
Description: Stunning high-definition aerial footage capturing non only some of the most iconic spots in the Western U.S. but also difficult to reach desert locations.
URL: www.corbis.com
Getty Images Danielle Leeper, global product marketing manager: Stock footage is still an invaluable resource for clients to produce a quality project within tight budget and time constraints; however, the depth, breadth, quality and accessibility of today’s stock footage has moved its use into the forefront of the creative process for many customers. The evolution and growth of the Internet and other new media platforms, with the shift in advertising now being spent towards these new mediums, now means that stock footage is utilized beyond the traditional commercial format.
A prime example is a commercial created by the Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., for Al Gore’s organization Alliance for Climate Change. The clips were used for the TV spot and this message was also placed on the web for a viral web campaign.
New offering: one80
Description: a unique rights-ready collection filled with surprising, conceptual footage created with high production value, relevant subject matter and exceptional creative direction.
URL: www.gettyimages.com
HBO Archives
Max Segal, director of HBO Archives: This summer HBO Archives made available High Definition clips from the classic The March of Time newsreels of the 1930s-50s. The March of Time uniquely shaped the way America saw the world and how the world saw America.
HBO Archives has selectively accessed original 35mm films to both restore and transfer to HD. HBO Archives reports clips were particularly popular during the election season, notably iconic Washington DC and the Statue of Liberty, as well as key issues promoted by Special Interests relating to race, global warming, financial challenges and religion.
Classic 1940s-50s vintage Americana imagery was also licensed recently for a commercial for the Kohl’s department store chain.
The footage from The March of Time has a natural ‘storytelling’ feel. Once the decision was made to make available this one-of-a-kind footage in high definition, the demand for this unique collection increased.
Our website now features footage and text online searches, as well as low-resolution video downloads, free research and screeners.
URL: www.themarchoftime.net
Photolibrary Group Glenn Parker, CEO: Over the past six months at Photolibrary we’ve noticed some advertising agency and production clients are stretching their budgets by choosing stock footage as an alternative to original production, especially when the subject matter or locations will be more expensive and difficult to obtain.
Production companies also seem to be doing more work directly with corporate clients for site-specific video projects in addition to their regular television commercial work with the ad agencies.
And we’re seeing a lot of footage being used for mood reels as agencies are pitching for new work.
New offering: Photolibrary’s Oxford Scientific (OSF) collection remains a popular choice for coverage of the natural world, time-lapse cinematography and other specialized material that is commonly incorporated into all forms of advertising.
The OSF collection is offering new HD/Standard definition footage from the new breed of digital H/S cameras such as the Phantom HD which shoots up to 1000fps at 2K resolution. Many of the new shots have a more naturalistic feel that the older, usually studio-based material. Very popular with commercial clients!
URL: www.photolibrary.com
Shutterstock New offering: Royalty Free Footage Subscription Service.
Description: Shutterstock Footage now offers video clips through a variety of affordable subscription plans, with a choice between high definition or non-HD.
All clips are royalty-free and can be used forever. The footage library contains in excess of 75,000 clips and grows daily.
URL: www.shutterstock.com
Thought Equity
Kevin Schaff, CEO: It’s clear the emerging media explosion has changed the way agencies view stock footage. No longer “filler” footage used to fill gaps in a commercial production, today agencies rely on pre-produced footage to create advertising for the web, digital networks and mobile phone applications.
To compete, advertising agencies know they must embrace emerging media and that means smaller budgets, tighter timelines and trialing unproven formats and platforms.
With emerging media growing faster than the overall advertising market, the demand for high-quality content that is quickly accessible and affordable will grow.
Local and national ad agencies alike are tapping stock footage to power emerging media projects.
New offering: The Storyline Collection. We set out to provide agency producers with a solution that was anything but stock when we produced our Storyline Collection. We began by talking to advertising agency creatives, listening to what was most important to them — high-production value content captured in HD and entire shot sequences that can be leveraged across an entire campaign.
We’ve accomplished our goal in developing a collection that fits the way ad creatives work, while allowing them to unlock the value of using pre-produced content.
This week we wrapped our sixth custom on-location Storyline Collection; in 2009 we have a shoot a month slated because the response has been overwhelming. The Collection caused a shift in how producers use stock footage — moving from clip-based to project-based purchases.
Producers can now choose to create using stock without having to sacrifice production quality.
URL: www.thoughtequity.com
