"If you could find someone to write an indepth tutorial on how to create stock footage animation that would be very helpful.  I can't find anything doing an internet search and I'm a duck outta water with it."

I know the market is very competitive, as lots of footage seems priced around 20 - 10 dollars. Pro sellers I speak to sell on volume, as they have to compete with all the stock backgrounds and animations dumped my the large corps, big houses who once sold by the disc. Not my area of expertise at all. You might think about going into the forums on some of the stock sites and asking for some direction from sellers. Usually, you'll get a response if your header and question are specific. Good luck!

"If you could find someone to write an indepth tutorial on how to create stock footage animation that would be very helpful.  I can't find anything doing an internet search and I'm a duck outta water with it."

I know the market is very competitive, as lots of footage seems priced around 20 - 10 dollars. Pro sellers I speak to sell on volume, as they have to compete with all the stock backgrounds and animations dumped my the large corps, big houses who once sold by the disc. Not my area of expertise at all. You might think about going into the forums on some of the stock sites and asking for some direction from sellers. Usually, you'll get a response if your header and question are specific. Good luck!

Everytime I've asked on the sites I'm on it's like this huge guarded secret for some reason.  Very hush, hush very annoying IMO.  Thanks anyway.

It's not hush hush.  It's because you're asking something like "How do I make my own car?".

1. Figure out what you mean by "stock footage animation" (try google)
2. Buy software that can accommodate that end result
3. Learn software (I'll help - check out the best AE tut site: http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/)
4. Develop concept
5. Animate something to illustrate concept
6. Upload

There is nothing separating "stock footage animation" from any other kind of animation.

I've got AE but it's way before CS so hopefully it'll still work.  And thanks for the link.  I never ran across that site in my Google search from a few weeks ago.  All I could find were tutorials on manipulating digital video which is something I can't do, well, not with the cameras we have that can do video P & S not pretty.

Thanks again,

Anita

"Have you heard the saying "those who can't teach", or in other words if you're so good at creating saleable stock footage why aren't you doing it instead of "helping" others. It's a bit like taking advice from a reviewer on what makes a successful stock shot!
If I want advice or help on stock video I want it from someone that's successful at doing it, but of course the successful ones don't tend to bend over backwards to help complete strangers - hence they're successful."

If you spend some time evaluating the sites content, you may have a different take. Take a pot shot at any page, that would probably be more productive than attacking my commercial viability. I invite you.

It has been fun and challenging creating it. I am a risk taker. No risk, no reward. That's the great thing about selling stock, you can stop and do something else for a month and the cash keeps coming in. It has also sharpened my sense of how to do this business - which is probably more valuable in the long run that churning out stock clips the majority of which don't sell - which if we admit it, is the pressing issue.

"You are probably correct that the trend will be down on pricing of commodity images. Anything easy to produce is easy to copy. I'm too new at this to get a feel for where the clients are and where the sweet spot is, but using all the sales channels helps me get a feedback for who is buying and what they are looking for. I wish I could follow the sales chain a little further along, but the nature of these sites locks you out of that data. That's one important difference with running your own site, which I see in my still work. The chance to follow up and get real time information on the needs of the client is extremely valuable. I wish photoshelter had a video solution."

I agree with the comment. If you look at the agencies (where you can set the price) clip display pages now - which come up on the default search where the contributors are competing side by side - you can see the good shots, unique in content and high in production value, command reasonable prices. Shots anyone can do, anyone does - and you see those contributors compete on price. Understanding the search engine decision tree I think helps decode what can be seen on those pages (and in my sales, non sales), downloads, views and what's coming up first and what goes to the end of the line. The three angles, contributor, agency, buyer are all impossible to see directly. So we wind up creating content and feel like we are just rolling dice.

So from someone who has shot stills stock for a while and who is just investigating video stock, bravo for starting this and there are actually people on your side here.

Well, of course you're on his side.  You have something to gain from it.

Hi Terry,
i do like Your site. I don't think that You are revealing personal "secrets" as there is only one:"shoot, upload, repeat".
I do mostly 3d animations exclusively in istock and so far i am quite happy.