I have to post my frustration here. Just about at the end of the rope here for good!  I have 7,038 video files on Getty. In Oct. I sold 28 of those 28 18 were sold for 20bucks or less!  I think the future is curation with higher prices coming from hard to get unique content. I am formulating Plan B.

Greetings, I may be getting people mixed up, so I apologize up front either way, but didn't you report within the last month or so how pleased you were with how many sales you were getting and the amounts you received for each sale? Not trying to call you out or anything, like everyone, I'm just trying to move through this minefield we find ourselves in as safely as possible. And yes I fully understand your frustration.

The last half of this year is very slow I did have one month in the summer that was decent. I am down around 12k on the year and frustrated. If I have a good month I post that as well. I only hope things turn around. I have been exclusive in video at iStock since 2006. I know this business and you can call me out anytime! Several changes at iStock has me worried and I do not want to be in a race to the bottom. I think curated sites like Stocksy are the future for serious full-time producers. This is not a hobby or side job for me so when I have several low months in a row durning high buying season it is a concern.

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on November 21, 2015, 10:52

My sales with 4K at $199 are few and far between.

4k seems to be a bit of Field of Dreams scenario at the moment. I don't have a lot of it myself but I just don't hear of many sales of 4k at an any price.

Yes someone will jump in next post and tell me they have their BME because of 4k sales but I'm still sceptical.

indeed -- the entire 4K thing may either be a flop altogether, or it's at least way-premature to "push" the market in a direction that is neither supported nor warranted by surrounding technology.

Take a 4K video on YouTube, for example: does this stuff ever play well, does it play well on any (other) site on the Net, period? I don't think so, haven't seen it yet, and am not overly eager to do so because we ought to be a bit more down to earth with our resources and how we allocate them... And I am using a 100MBits/sec fiber optic line (that falls back to 10MBits/sec, but that is still way enough for playing all sorts of HD 1080 footage).

4K-supporting internet bandwidth for every rubbish, seriously? I mean, we are watching TV in 480x640 or similar stuff. And, no, don't get me wrong: I am not totally against all 4K, it may have its niche, and it may or may not develop from there in in the future -- but this is FUTURE not now. HD1080 is wayyy-sufficient for most everything, including stock, unless you dream of selling to IMAX-style productions or similar. (And even then you may be better off increasing the frame rate than the overall resolution -- and file size...)

As HD1080 is a big leap forward from mass-market TV, this should be sufficient for the time being.

So the 4K mania should be reserved for off-line DVDs or off-line feature films, and demo reel DVDs -- but these are not microstock. Of all these, there are not so many...

Conversely, this seems to be reflected in numbers and sales for 4K -- as in LLLOWWW.

We have in our neighbourhood a video store. One of those good old fashioned ones that has all the new releases for  you to rent. I like the place and support it when I can. The thing is, it's greatest amount of shelf space is still dedicated to DVDs, not Blu Ray. Maybe it's the cliental or something else. But the far majority don't even bother to rent on BluRay.

Remember 4K isn't just about what's transmitted to your TV or computer over the internet - it's just as much about the added versatility editors get, even if they're working on HD productions. There's a lot more you can do with a 4K video clip.

My HD sales still far outweigh my 4K sales and I anticipate that to be the case for the next couple of years. But it's been a pleasant surprise to see my 4K material being licensed in larger quantities than originally expected, so soon and at a good price. If and when 4K becomes mainstream my aim will be to have a full stocked portfolio of 4K shots which surpasses the competition.

I'm certainly thankful I didn't jump on the 3D bandwagon and invest in that direction 

Great port...are you a news cameraman?

Why shoot HD when you can shoot 4K. It is future proof. All my port is 4K since 2013.

Quote from: Zeus on November 22, 2015, 20:57

We have in our neighbourhood a video store. One of those good old fashioned ones that has all the new releases for  you to rent. I like the place and support it when I can. The thing is, it's greatest amount of shelf space is still dedicated to DVDs, not Blu Ray. Maybe it's the cliental or something else. But the far majority don't even bother to rent on BluRay.

The difference between DVD and Blu Ray wasn't enough for most people but 4k takes it to another level.  Blu Ray will lose out, people will probably go from watching DVD's to streaming 4k, if the internet can cope.

I actually hope you're right but have my doubts. Program viewing is a pacifier to most people. Good 3D starts to fade as anything unique by mid movie. I make a point of seeing the regular version over 3d now. I remember thinking with Avatar how cool the 3D effect was but honestly couldn't see it anymore after a while. I guess I see 4k similarly. Yes everyone goes "wow this is so cool" but it's always about the content first.

I think 4k is much more appealing than 3D.  No glasses required, it doesn't hurt your eyes and it looks great.  With so many 4k video cameras out, I think it has to take off.

You are probably right, the cameras are everywhere now from consumer level to pro.  Might be a slow take off though due to all the other upgrades needed including storage, storage is a problem, those files are huge and upgrading is not cheap.

Quote from: Zeus on November 22, 2015, 20:57

We have in our neighbourhood a video store. One of those good old fashioned ones that has all the new releases for  you to rent. I like the place and support it when I can. The thing is, it's greatest amount of shelf space is still dedicated to DVDs, not Blu Ray. Maybe it's the cliental or something else. But the far majority don't even bother to rent on BluRay.

The difference between DVD and Blu Ray wasn't enough for most people but 4k takes it to another level.  Blu Ray will lose out, people will probably go from watching DVD's to streaming 4k, if the internet can cope.

I disagree.  The difference between standard and HD is huge.  The current resolution is enough that I can't see the pixels from my couch.  Adding more pixels won't change that.

All I can say is what I see when I walk into Costco or Target and see the demo sets.  Looks like slightly clearer HD.  Not the miracle difference between HD and standard.

It is not a revolution, just an evolution. And 8K is next.

I don't know for America but in France or Korea, I haven't seen a DVD for years. And Blu-ray had no chance to replace it. People just want VOD or streams and those are HD for quite some time ago already.

The last half of this year is very slow I did have one month in the summer that was decent. I am down around 12k on the year and frustrated. If I have a good month I post that as well. I only hope things turn around. I have been exclusive in video at iStock since 2006. I know this business and you can call me out anytime! Several changes at iStock has me worried and I do not want to be in a race to the bottom. I think curated sites like Stocksy are the future for serious full-time producers. This is not a hobby or side job for me so when I have several low months in a row durning high buying season it is a concern.

Not sure if you do video or stills or both but you can come to videoblocks and get 100% commission and also Pond5 which does photos and video and lets you set an appropriate price for your work as opposed to agencies that sell it for next to nothing and give even less to the contributor.

I am on three sites, P5, VB, SS and thinking about a 4th but my goal is to get all of my content on three sites but I can tell you that my record sales and revenue are coming from VB and P5. 

When I say record I don't mean I am getting rich and out of debt in a month but I have seen a huge turnaround, cautiously optimistic but I have to keep the pedal to the floor, not out of the woods yet.   

Something I noticed when I raised my prices to a more middle-tier pricing on P5 was my clip views dropped in half but my sales and revenue went up by double.  I am wondering if at low prices we get more buyers browsing but less actually buying, at the higher prices maybe more serious buyers coming through the door?.