Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic

katemirov · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 32

Well, in the first place hello everyone!

And now, some sad things to say. The SS now is in the top of Google search for stock footage, which means you take this seriously at least at marketing department. So, how come the stock agency known for crazy high quality requirements to still images accepts such (sorry for being harsh) garbage as stock footage? As far as I could see, about 90% of submissions is no more than amateur video with no commercial value, often shoot with still camera (sic!), usage of a tripod is rare exception, sound is mostly horrible, framing poor, exposure off, etc., etc. Should I were buyer, I'd never come back after seeing this once. This means your leadership in Google cause loosing prospective customers every hour, the more are coming, the more are lost - you break your reputation instead of developing it. There is no market for such footage IMO: there is no way to attract pros and every webmaster is capable of shooting his/her cat playing on a dirty floor with a still camera and put this online, no need to pay hundred bucks.
One more note is, the 30/70 split looks unfair too. Already reputable agencies propose shooters between 50 and 80 percent, hence attracting better staff.

Sorry if my post looks offensive; it wasn't meant to be. I'm too interested in getting a good place to market footage, and I'm concerned that you're not going to become popular if you won't change your quality criteria, hire pro reviewers crew and set up clear rules of what is acceptable - as soon as possible.

Good luck anyway!

rolffimages · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 1581 Location: Just to the left

varius · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:05 pm

While you might be right that 90% of the submissions are garbage, I seriously doubt that 90% of the accepted clips are that bad. ;-)

But I do agree that the submission guidelines are lacking - a lot. And that quite a few clips with little or no commercial have been accepted. Use of tripod should be mandatory, at least where a still camera is used. However I would not say that a still camera is generally bad. Depends on what is happening in the clip. When I look at commercials and news clips, at least 50% of the shots are done with still cameras and it works just fine. And most of the rest is done with simple zooms or pan movements from one point.

That being said, it would sure be nice to get some feedback from potential buyers what is needed. Without feedback we're just shooting, what we think might be needed - and we sure could be completely wrong.

So... Any hint what you'd like to see? ;-)

katemirov · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 32

varius · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:25 pm

Wow, ok, misunderstanding there. When you said "still camera" I though you meant a camera fixed on a tripod and not moving at all. What you actually meant was a photo camera as opposed to a camcorder or pro video camera. Now that makes sense to me and I agree completely. The only thing photo (still) cameras are good for in videos is time lapse videos (shot in full resolution with images sequences, not as videos). Or as subjects in front of the lense, maybe. ;-)

Sorry, I have a DSLR that simply doesn't shoot videos - I never would have thought anyone would use the mini mpegs from a P&S to produce videos for stock.

Quite simply put: Photo cameras are for photos, camcorders and video cameras are for videos. With that single exception mentioned above.

katemirov · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 32

fa63yyc · Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 812 Location: Calgary, Canada

Pretty harsh, but then again I haven't look yet at all the submissions. I would like think that the submissions are being graded accurately. I for one am a professional shooter, using a Sony BVW300A camera with a Canon 14x w/2x extender Sennheiser Mic as well as Sony UHF wireless. I do use a tripod, but for some circumstances it is not possible or pratical. That said, I find SS to be the place I've been looking for to sell my stock footage through, thus far I've had one rejection, which I can accept. I take pride in my work. I hope everyone else does as well. What about yourself Kate? What do you shoot with? I wouldn't mind veiwing your gallery.

best regards
Francois

varius · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 5:03 pm

Actually it's "Dmitry Katemirov", not "Kate Mirov" ;-)

katemirov · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 32

katemirov · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 32

varius · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:27 pm

fa63yyc · Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 812 Location: Calgary, Canada

Dmitry,

Nice shots, looks like 720p HD... nice! This is definitely the future of video, the film look, maybe the 720p 1/60 shutter footage will be the benchmark. I've been testing a camera lately, looks like I'll be going that direction in the fall. No insult intended of course! An assumption on my part. LOL!

Rules indeed sometimes are broken; a tripod could be anything, a hood of a car, a tree trunk, a wall of a building etc. If the circumstances prevail, you must do what you have to do to get the shot. Your “insulting” posts are more informative for the those contributing, that said, I think most contributors are pretty careful what the send.

I do agree, photo cameras are not intended to shoot video, just as video cameras are not intended to shoot stills, that is a rule not to be broken, boy now I’ve set myself up!

In time, the customers making the decisions will determine what shots sell, if it’s garbage, then they will decide that. Pretty simple. All in all, I’m enjoying this, I do plan on uploading many shots, at least 1000 by Dec 31. This is serious business! I meant no disrespect, glad you have a sense of humour!

Francois

epixx · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 12:00 am

Dmitry and Francois,
Can I hi-jack this thread, just a little bit? I've been considering contributing footage to SS for a while, but since most of the equipment that I have been able to borrow haven't been of good enough quality, I wonder what to buy. Any idea?

chinks · Joined: 21 May 2005 Posts: 452 Location: Malaysia

I think it's just too new. Guidelines and rules will be finetuned as time goes by. When SS started they were quite laxed on photographers joining and types of uploads too.

I think their position in Google is for the photography and illustration section and their large library of it. The footage section is just in its infancy.

thinkart · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 49