What would the perfect video stock site be like, if you could pick any features from any other stock site?
I would like:
fast / approvals ( like in 24houres)
2 min. limits on clips
Easy key-wording / auto key-wording (I hate key-wording! )
The problem with your dream site is the cost of operation. Working backwards from 2 minutes in length, the size of the files would mean huge storage and bandwidth issues for the site. The time to review a 2 minute clip is obviously 4 times the current standard, requiring at least 4 times the staff to get to your fast turnaround time. Never mind that many video artists upload endless variations of everything they shot, which just makes it harder for the editor to judge. As for keywording, that requires the ability to look at images and create words that reflect what is happening, what the clip is literally showing as well as what the clip is about, or the feeling it communicates. The human brain is the only computer able to do that at the present. Without carefully created keywords, the ability to find your clip in the pile of videos is not there.
I would argue that SEO is the most important aspect of preparing a file for sale- it it can't be found it can't be bought.
Finally, you must be realistic about how these videos are being used. No one is interested in a 2 minute epic, they are using quick clips. No one is going to stay on a scene for 2 minutes.
Of all the video sites, I think pond5 does the best overall job, but SS is close behind and getting better. Istock could have owned the business but chose to make it a closed club, with independents subject to absurd review times and then put at the back of search results. Unfortunately for Istock, this is slowly killing them.
As storage costs and bandwidth costs fall, longer clip lengths may be accepted, but you will always need careful curators for the collection. Otherwise, you end up with youtube. Have you ever tried to find something on youtube?
