Stock video footage - what is it?

Stock video footage - what is it?

Stock footage, stock video, b-roll, stockshots or stock video footage are common terms for the moving images that are used in a film or video production, but not shot with that particular production in mind. Typical productions where stock footage is commonly used are documentaries, television series, news programmes, independent films, commercials, sports reviews and movies.

While most historical stock footage tends to be on film or tape, more and more footage is finding its way to disk in various digital formats and compression codecs. Due to the large amount of footage available today, both from a wide range of analogue footage archives and online digital footage marketplaces, the footage industry includes a large number of licencors and researchers/consultants. Such researchers and consultants are especially invaluable when it comes to identifying unique historical footage content.

There are two main types of licensing regimes offered with regards to using video and stock footage, RM (rights managed) and RF (royalty-free). Licensing rights managed footage often implies having to pay to use the footage according to the number of screenings, distribution channels and countries the final production is set up for, as well as its purpose. Use for commercial purposes would normally be more expensive, and use for editorial purposes less expensive. Use for editorial purposes usually implies use in a documentary or newsworthy setting.

Royalty-free video, on the other hand, is usually less expensive to use and often constitutes a one time payment to use in a single production for as many screenings you like, wherever and for as long as you like. RM is commonly used where rights issues are complex and need a human touch, whereas RF is used where ownership and rights issues are either cleared or easier to handle.

There are many reasons why using stock footage may be a good idea. It is often used to simply bridge two scenes, it may be used to plug a hole (you really needed rain for your shots, and the drought just kept on for the entire production), it could be used to supply the opening shots to set a scene (like an establishing shot of Champs Elyseès to set the scene in Paris), it could be used if you need unique material (like from a particular incident during WW2), it could be used to illustrate a principle or a concept (like melting ice in the Arctic to illustrate global warming), or it could be used more freely and creatively, like in short films, commercials, art films or indiefilm productions.

Entire storylines can be built using stock footage, and the costs associated with productions based partly on stock footage are often lower compared to those where all the content is produced in-house, especially so long as the footage is of a contemporary and not so much historically unique nature.

If you wish to learn more about the nature of stock footage, you may browse the pages offered through Footagelist.com, or read on from any of the following links:

The Ethics of Archival Use: A Roundtable Discussion (by Ken Rabin)

Thriving Archives Blog (by David Seevers)

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