Design and Photography Highlights

High demand and downloads doesn’t always translate or mean higher prices when selling your video or photos online. This isn’t like the stock market where the hot IPO creates major demand and then price soars on the first day of trading. So what happened to the basic laws of supply and demand that we all slept through during Economics 101 and how it is used to determine price? Obviously a bidding war over the latest Britney Spear’s outrageous photo or a video of the 9/11 attacks can increase the value based on the exclusivity or the sheer uniqueness of a shot. But does a high number of downloads or purchased licenses mean a higher value? Not always but it can change from case to case from what we have researched here at Cutcaster.

We found that, when looking at how to price your media, the value can decrease the more times people license or buy your content for use in advertising, film-making, publishing or graphic design. That makes sense. For example, an advertiser can’t have the same images or photos that a competitor has used to promote a similar product. Exclusivity. Imagine if you saw a similar images in an advertisement for Crest toothpaste which was the same as one you saw for Colgate. For this industry and market, once used content has become somewhat worthless to others based on exclusivity. However, a documentary film maker can re-use images or footage that the advertiser used and the content shouldn’t lose its value from one work to another. The first example with the advertiser is an interesting occurrence and one that goes against basic laws of supply and demand. So how do you determine and keep the value of your content, whether its footage, photos or any other digital content or maximize the life and value of the content?

Some helpful tricks:

1. Update your work- You can always go back and tweak your content. Re-work an old project.

2. Find new clients and offer it in new markets. The Internet has made it easier than ever to find new clients and new markets where your content is fresh and still has a high value. Try locating advertisers in Japan, China or India if you have relevant content

3. Find new uses in different fields. If your content has been used in an advertisement, maybe it can be used in a film or a corporate project for example.

4. Cut up or increase the amount of content you offer. For example, if you have a clip that is 2 minutes try breaking it up and selling off pieces of it to interested parties or vice a versa.

5. Use Cutcaster’s dynamic algorithm (subliminal marketing )

6. Shoot different variations of the similar selling content. If shots of cars winding around cliffs by the ocean are selling, use different types of cars, different types of lighting, different seasons, different angles etc.

7. Bundle the content in volumes that you have prepared or in “lightboxes” you can sell. Lightboxes are designed to help you get organized and are used to batch images or footage that you like or are similar together.

There are a few other tricks that we have analyzed for our Cutcaster algorithm that will help with pricing and take out a lot of the guessing game and work for those who would rather shoot then worry about how to offer their content.

What are some other good factors to look which can adversely affect the price of a piece of content or increase it?

If you have footage, photos, animations or motion graphics similar to the examples below and you own the rights to them, upload the content and help satisfy some of the needs we have come across when reaching out to potential buyers. These topics and niches have been requested by our growing list of buyers.

Footage and photos that we want (in alphabetical order):

Animations: 3D background animations, 3D/2D motion graphics, background for text in DVD projects and menu systems, web graphics, promotional images and characters, etc.

Action Shots: People eating, working, playing, driving; things in motion or transit

Commercials: Spec commercials, pre and post roll ads, 15-30 seconds in length. All subject matter is welcome and will be listed under short film.

Concept Stock: Deep Hidden Meanings (DHM), images that represent emotions

Corporate Footage: Office shots, conference room shots, presentation shots, people in their work environment, etc.

Documentary/Short Films: All issues and topics

Geographic: Video and images of people and places around the world past, present and future; reels of specific locations, domestic and international

Healthcare: Administrative footage, imagery of healthcare providers and staff attending to administrative tasks in hospital/office settings, images of prescriptions such as pills, medicine, etc.

Historical/Archival: Images and video that capture a moment in history, archive footage

Journalism: News worthy images or video content of relevant issues around the world; local, national and international

Photography: Portraits, still-life, abstract, aerial shots, architecture, motion photography, photo journalism, satellite photography, infrared, cityscapes, travel photography

Rare Artifacts: Footage in King Tuts tomb, an archaeological digs, findings, etc. The more rare, the more downloads.

Religious/Spiritual: Footage of rituals, festivals, representative imagery, sermons, etc.

Specialty/Niche Footage: For example, firefighting, extreme fighting, extreme weather reels, hard to find captivating footage

Sports: skateboarding, Squash, mountain biking, ping pong, beer pong, soccer, karate, billiards, Championship ceremonies and shots (i.e. the winning shot), etc. Remember you need your releases.

We are building a high definition library and seeking HD or HDV footage or photos for almost any subject. If you have this content our buyers are interested. Please upload it to the marketplace for review.

Do you need a particular image or video? Post your requirements in the Project Request Forum! Cutcaster offers royalty free images, stock photos, stock footage and stock photography for advertising, publishing or web design.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I_tWfKM8ik&rel=1]

Because every strike needs a good rap.

Enjoy this for a Friday break and have a great Holiday weekend with your families and friends.

Written and Performed by : Writer Boi

Directed and edited by : David Schlussel

Shot by : Robert W. Swanson

Fotolia has debuted what it’s calling the “Infinite Collection.” This is a set of 15,000 agency-distributed photographs that would normally be found on expensive stock photography sites but are now being sold for as little as $20 on Fotolia. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Will this force higher end stock photography sites to lower their prices? Is this a form of price discrimination because Fotolia won’t list the collections they are getting the photos from? Are the photographers whose photos are being sold aware that they are being sold this way by ?

I’ll be watching this development closely to see how well they can incorporate this offering into their business model and client base.

Just received this letter from Sharmeen Obaid, who has been doing some unbelievable work around the world and is married to an Exeter and UPenn guy. Two schools close to my heart

Dear Friends

Many of you have expressed interest in the upcoming elections in
Pakistan….As i mentioned earlier i will be writing for PBS Frontline World
throughout the month…

My next Dispatch is up:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/2007/12/pakistan_the_ot.html

Also if you haven’t voted for the International Museum of Women’s
Imagining Ourselves Project, please do so when you have a minute- There are
some fantastic stories out there:

http://imaginingourselves.imow.org/pb/Conversation.aspx?id=94&lang=1

All my best,
Sharmeen