Emulate, Don't Duplicate

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

It is immoral and destructive to the stock footage business to duplicate/recreate another producer's top-selling shots and post as your own original stock footage.  However, looking at the top selling shots and emulating those topics respectfully and with your own creative angle can be the single most effective way to shoot stock footage that sells.

In a recent post I talked about ideas on what to shoot as stock footage.  This is a related topic but deserves its own section because there really is a fine line between plagiarism and emulation.  Below are my thoughts on what you should do and NOT do to stay on the right side of the line.

Things TO DO:

• Review top selling video files from iStockphoto.com and other stock footage sites so you know what videos are in demand.
• When you are writing keywords, search for the clips that look like yours and already have a lot of sales.  Use some of their keywords.
• Review top selling photos and get some ideas for shooting video of a similar topic.

Business is always a popular selling theme, this top selling photo would make a good video clip because 

there is an action that the actors can perform. (putting the puzzle pieces together)

• Look through the top selling videos when you have a mental block on what to shoot.  Sometimes you can get inspiration, and new ideas.
• Look at top selling clips to see trends in style. If a lot of the top selling clips are using a tilt-shift lens, maybe you should go rent/borrow a tilt-shift lens and play around with it on your next shoot.
  
  
                                

• Look at the producers that have top selling clips and try to figure out what they are doing with their overall portfolio that helps them achieve such high sales. (one thing you will notice time and time again is that the top producers are ALWAYS posting something new.)

Things NOT to do:

• NEVER try to use footage that you didn't shoot and incorporate it into your video.  You would be surprised how fast these people get caught.  And it's just bad Karma.
• Don't try to copy someone's top selling clip and re-shoot it exactly. Up the ante a little, put your own spin on it.
• If you are going to emulate top selling clips, don't do it often.  Buyers really are looking for unique shots, and they don't want 100 of the same clip to come up when they do a search.

You can create a few great clips by emulating some of the top sellers... still, the vast majority of your stock footage portfolio should be your original ideas and experiences.  Which is far more rewarding.  One of the great things about shooting stock footage is the complete freedom you have to go out and shoot whatever you find interesting, or beautiful, or unique.  It is a creative outlet, that somehow manages to pay pretty well too. (relative to other creative hobbies).

That's all for now, thanks for reading...

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