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Microstock Footage Forum => General - Stock Video => Topic started by: Harvepino on October 12, 2018, 05:06

Title: Timelapse - how many versions do you upload?
Post by: Harvepino on October 12, 2018, 05:06
Hi guys,
I do stock images for years, but I'm fairly new to videos, so I thought I would ask some of you more experienced about my dilemma.

I shot some nice timelapses on my recent travels and processed some of them for video stock. The question is: how many versions of each timelapse should I be uploading?
The original files have higher resolution then 4K, so I am able to keep it 4K and still enhance the shots with some nice pan and zoom effects, but then... I can also create HD versions, where I can zoom even deeper, or even focus on just individual parts of the image and still retain required quality. It leads me to a conclusion that from a single timelapse, I can easily create 5 or even 10 different versions with various pan and zooms... but is it the right thing to do? Keywords and descriptions would still be pretty much the same for all versions.

What is your best practice? Do you upload one timelapse, or a couple of versions of the timelapse, or do you upload as many versions as you possibly can create without them being rejected as similars?

Thank you for your thoughts  :)
Title: Re: Timelapse - how many versions do you upload?
Post by: increasingdifficulty on October 12, 2018, 06:04
One.

Maybe revisit in 1-2 years and upload a second version if (and only if) it makes sense for the scene.

You will make much more money with a diversified portfolio (different scenes and subjects) than 3-5 variations of each clip.

Some people even upload versions of every clip with cheesy "night vision" effects or similar, which I believe to be a complete waste of time (and space).
Title: Re: Timelapse - how many versions do you upload?
Post by: spike on October 12, 2018, 09:18
I mostly just upload the static 4k version, the editor will know how (much) to pan and zoom.

I tried uploading some versions with pans/zooms, but they didn't induce any increase in sales.
Title: Re: Timelapse - how many versions do you upload?
Post by: Brightontl on October 13, 2018, 07:14
Personally, if a timelapse really benefits from cropping, zooming, panning or tilting, I would one variation, but not more than one.
70 or 80% of my TL i would only upload once
Title: Re: Timelapse - how many versions do you upload?
Post by: Harvepino on October 14, 2018, 00:10
Thank you for your comments. One, possibly two versions sounds reasonable. I'll consider revisiting after a year or two, depending on the results.

I realised, I already have an experience with selling variations of a video. Years ago, I uploaded a simple HD animation of wind turbines rotating. It became popular, in fact my best selling asset, so about a year later I added a 4K version and more variations with the turbines from other angles. What happened? Nothing. The sales of the original slowly faded away and the new versions produced one or two sales in total.