Case Study - Roadside Time Lapse

For more information on shooting/selling stock footage check out my other posts:
GETTING STARTED
KEYWORDING
WHAT SELLS?

I've been eyeing this spot for a night time lapse. It's just off of the freeway, on my commute home. A distant view of Downtown Los Angeles through the beautiful hilly city of Eagle Rock.

It can be tricky to get an unobstructed view of an entire city that is accessible and there is a place to park your car. Somehow the stars aligned and I was able to get to the right spot, although I felt a bit like a fugitive in the pitch dark hopping guard rails, ducking through holes in fences all the while worrying I would step on a raccoon or a homeless man at any moment.

I had my camera set up in the car ahead of time so that all I would have to do is level the tripod, turn the camera on, find my shot and click on my time lapse controller. Once I started shooting I glanced at the time. 7:10. I knew I had a little time to kill so I did the math:

My time lapse controller was set up to release the shutter every 3 seconds. One image every three seconds = 20 images / minute. If I stayed for 20 minutes I would have 400 images. 400 divided by 30 (frames / second) means I would have 13.3333 seconds of video. Most stock footage sites require 5 - 30 second clips. 13 seconds is a pretty good target.

There really didn't appear to be a lot of movement in the frame as far as cars driving, planes flying overhead, etc. but sometimes subtle Mise en scène can make for a dramatic time lapse.

Camera Body: Canon t2i
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85mm @ 28mm
F-Stop: 5.6
Shutter: 2sec
Interval: 3sec

Here is a still image from the final time lapse

In processing the time lapse I realized that I made one huge mistake. I want to make a point of this because it can be a common mistake, and can completely ruin your time lapse. The lens I was using has an image stabilize feature on it that MUST be turned off to shoot time lapse shots. The stabilizer is fantastic for shooting video. Without it shooting handheld is nearly imposible. However, during a time lapse it makes subtle movements in the framing and you end up with a jittery time lapse that looks like it was shot with a k-mart tripod during a stampede.

If you have this problem, Adobe After Effects' "stabilize footage" can do a fairly good job of stabilizing your shot after the fact so that it is sufficient for stock footage. However, it can be time consuming and it will NEVER be as good as it could have been with a truly locked frame originally. Don't make my mistake! When setting up your camera for the time lapse, make sure to turn off the image stabilizer.

With that said, after processing this clip a few different ways, I decided to poop-can it. The quality just wasn't what I had hoped for. You can't win them all.

From a business perspective, this clip was not marketable enough to spend a LOT of extra time on, and my time could be better spent on other more valuable activities like shooting new footage, or processing and uploading footage from my back-log of raw footage. From an artistic perspective... I just didn't like it as much as I thought I might.

On to the next one!
Happy Shooting,
HDCineman

What should I shoot?

For more information on shooting/selling stock footage check out my other posts:
GETTING STARTED
KEYWORDING
WHAT SELLS?

What stock footage should I shoot?
The short answer is, shoot anything you want! That is what is so great about shooting stock footage, anything that you find interesting has the potential to make you some money.

IMPROMPTU INSPIRATIONS
In my experience the most successful shots have come almost by chance, I see something in day-to-day life that inspires me to capture the moment. I always have my camera with me and I always keep my eyes open for unique shooting opportunities. Unique in one of two ways, either something rare (not a lot of people can shoot it) or something unique in its aesthetics (looks really cool). All of a sudden something strikes me as unique so I pull over to the side of the road, or stop what I was doing and get my camera out.

Once I identify something I want to shoot I take some time with it. As long as its not a unicorn or leprechaun (in which case I'll whip the camera out and hit record) I will sit for a few minutes and think of the best way to shoot. Here's my mini checklist:
- what is the main subject?
- would the shot be better as a wide or close-up? Or both?
- what lens/focal length should I use?
- walk around a bit, what is the best angle to shoot from?
- is the shot "stock friendly?" (will I need to blur logos, get releases, etc.)
- are there multiple angles I could shoot and have different stock footage clips?
- would it be worth doing a time-lapse shot?
- is the lighting good or would it be way better at a different time?
- will I be able to stabilize the camera properly? (with tripod,on the ground, on a rock, etc.)
- is this shot worth shooting?
- are there other subjects here that I should shoot?

Sometimes I go through the list and realize that the shot would suck. So I don't shoot it, I move on.

CONCEPTUAL TARGETED ACQUISITIONS
Other times I will go out to shoot something specific. I usually set up shots in my home studio or go out with a topic in mind to a location I know I can get the shots. During these types of shoots I can decide ahead of time what my shots should look like, when I should shoot, what equipment I will need to shoot with, etc.

Example
Let's say I want to capture "relaxing at the beach." I have a unique opportunity to shoot this topic because I live near some of the most beautiful beaches in the world (Manhattan Beach, Huntington Beach, Santa Monica). I wouldn't say the beach is rare, but it isn't accessible to most stock footage producers like a freeway, or a kitchen might be.

I know around sunset I will be able to shoot some great silhouette shots that obscure people's faces and I know there are all kinds of subjects to shoot down at the beach along the topic of "relaxing at the beach" here are a couple of shots I have from the beach.

SHOOT ON DEMAND
Sometimes you can drum up some ideas for what to shoot by researching what topics are in demand.  So, how do you find out what topics are in demand?

Google it. One way to get some leads on what stock footage will be popular and translate to sales is to look for the "Top Searched Terms" on Google.  If you can generate footage that relates to the top Google searches then your footage is likely to get a lot more traffic which will translate to more sales per clip.

I found a list of "Top 5 most popular topics searched on Google" from a site called SEO Desk that have given me some ideas on topics to shoot.  The 5 topics from that list are:

1) Technology
2) World Events
3) Celebrities
4) Sports & National Events
5) Regional Results

Many of the obvious shots that would relate to these topics may not make good stock footage, however, if you are creative in the way you use this list and other information from the web you can come up with some successful stock shots and increase your sales.

These are some of the ways I go about coming up with ideas on what to shoot as stock footage.  Hopefully by sharing my thoughts you will have some new tools in your idea toolbox for the next time you go out shooting stock footage.

Happy Shooting!
HDCineman

Quick Tip - Search for your clips!

For more information on shooting/selling stock footage check out my other posts:
GETTING STARTED
KEYWORDING
WHAT SELLS?

Shooting stock footage is a great way to have some supplemental income, but shooting the stock footage is only half the battle. A huge part of your stock footage business has to be dedicated to selling your footage. If you work to improve the visibility of your footage to potential buyers your stock footage income will increase dramatically. There are some very simple things you can do to improve your stock footage visibility.

Searching for your clips is a great way to make sure you have effective keywords, and to make sure that potential buyers will be able to find your clip.

Lets say for example you have and account with iStockphoto.com, you have uploaded a looping shot of 3 candles burning in a black void. Finally the clip has been accepted so you try searching the term candles to find your clip. Obviously if a buyer types in candles, the chances are they won't find your clip because there are a million shots of candles on iStockphoto.com. Try typing in something more specific and see if you can find the clip.

If I try typing in "Dark Looping Candles" then I am able to find my clip on the second page. Ideally you want to create keywords and search terms that will find your clip near the top of the first page. Which is sometimes easier said than done, nevertheless, searching for your clip is a great way to ensure that you are using effective keywords, and may help you come up with some keywords you hadn't thought of before. Most importantly, it ensures that a potential buyer will be able to find your clip. If you are able to type in a potential search term and find your clip then it is just a matter of time before the money finds you.

Happy Shooting!
HDCineman

Cultivate your eye for stock

For more information on shooting/selling stock footage check out my other posts:
GETTING STARTED
KEYWORDING
WHAT SELLS?

After shooting stock footage for a few years you start to see the world a little bit differently when you go out on a shoot. Often times you go out to a specific location, or looking for a specific shot and the most valuable shots that you come back with have nothing to do with your original subject. Be opportunistic, and tune your eye to look for unique shots that you would never think to shoot. Go out to shoot your Sunset Timelapse shot, but while you are waiting for the right time to start, look for other opportunities to get good shots. Maybe you turn around and there's a grungy golf ball rolling down a gutter. Or a mouse peaking out of a sewer. Quality is very important, and you should plan subjects and shots. But if you go out to shoot 5 specific shots, you should be getting 10-15 opportunistic shots to really maximise your shoot. More often than not, one of the shots you didn't plan ends up making you more money than most of the shots you do plan.

Here's a tip to help cultivate your eye. With the smart phone revolution upon us, most of you have a high quality phone camera on you at all times. Use this camera everywhere you go! Practice shooting things that interest you, weird angles, things that don't make any sense at all, get creative. Just SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT! You won't be able to use it as stock, but the more you push that button and analyze the result, the deeper your bag of tricks will be when it comes time to shoot some quality stock footage. Practicing with your iPhone or droid will train your eye to shoot more unique, opportunistic, PROFITABLE shots on your next shoot.

To make it more fun, take advantage of some of the fantastic iPhone/Droid photo Apps. Hipstamatic, Instagram, iTimeLapse, and 8mm are some of my favorite Apps on my iPhone and they have really kept things fresh and fun.

Here are some of the things I shoot for fun.

www.flickr.com

Happy Shooting!
HDCineman