Quote from: SuperPhoto on July 20, 2018, 13:41
pps, what is the direct CEO e-mail?

I wrote to support as well - and not only did they not really read the message - it appears I received the *exact* same carbon copy message

We think TJ's email is [email protected].

Done. Updated petition with email addresses for people who want to email TJ and Videoblocks. For some reason the link in your post was truncated and therefore didn't work. The full link to the petition is https://www.change.org/p/tj-leonard-videoblocks-don-t-cut-people-s-pay-in-half

Well spoken, Noedelhap.

Plainly most people get it. If everyone who reads this thread sends an email or signs the petition and gets friends/peers to sign, then that is a significant number of people pledging to stop uploading or even delete their portfolio. Whether or not Videoblocks actually changes their policy, the point is they'll be made aware that cutting commissions means they will lose contributors, content and their good name. NOT responding to a massive, insulting commission cut sends the message to ALL stock companies that they can cut commissions as much as they want and we won't say a word (which is the more accurate definition of a sissy). By action or inaction, we inevitably MUST send one of those two messages. Seems a simple choice.

The petition link again: https://www.change.org/p/tj-leonard-videoblocks-don-t-cut-people-s-pay-in-half

Quote from: Tyson Anderson on July 18, 2018, 23:36
I also do this for a living.  I just don't think Videoblocks cutting commission from 100% to 50% is a reason to publicly speak out against them and start a petition.  And for anyone else doing this for a living, isn't it a bad business move to burn a bridge with one of the few companies that sells stock footage?  Let's say they do invest this money wisely and sales increase from them doing more marketing... 50% commission from a company that can sell videos is good.  As far as #facts about amateurs underselling for beer money, I know nothing about that.  I do know now that 50% commission from one company is standard, but with another company, it can get a petition started against them.

A company cuts our commissions by 50%, and your response is don't speak against it or you might burn a bridge, you're powerless, just get back to work. That's incredibly weak and self-defeating, if everyone had that attitude we'd be making even less. Don't distort things by blaming this on "outrage culture" or any such nonsense - this is business. If you don't want to stand up for your own economic self-interest, that's your choice.

Quote from: Tyson Anderson on July 18, 2018, 21:32
I'm blown away by everyones response.  $25 isn't enough for an HD sale?  $100 for 4k?  That's way better than all these under $20 4k sales I've had flooding in recently.  People complain about how bad their business model was before, and then complain about it when they make a change... and now a petition?  That's crazy!  It's not like they dropped it to 5%.  It's still 50%!  That's good in this game.  They should have some money to spend on marketing now, which usually creates more sales.  But good ahead and write them off if you want.

Tyson, you don't seem to see the big picture. They're driving down market prices while also massively cutting our commissions, which is bad enough in itself but gets worse if/when it encourages other companies to do the same. We are the suppliers in an industry. When our profit is squeezed - especially in dramatic cases like this - if we do not respond as suppliers in any other industry would, then that is economic suicide. We've seen this play out with stock photography, and plenty of people here, myself included, will do all we can to not have that process repeat in stock footage.

SpaceStockFootage: why would you think there has to be a murder in order to  use words like "betrayal," "back-stabbing," "crap" excuses, etc.? It's a betrayal for a company to market themselves as especially contributor-friendly and then make a massive 50% cut in commissions. And it is crap to paste it over with hollow excuses. Do you really think they're going to increase sales enough to make up that 50%? Do you think even they believe that? Of course not, it's a false hope meant to pacify us. So what do you do when a business partner takes 50% of your money and then gives a BS reason about why he took it?

Let's address the obvious problem. The businesses are strong and centralized, we as individual suppliers are weak and widely dispersed. They're always looking to increase profit and undercut the competition, and to do that they'll always have an eye toward paying their suppliers less. Every single time they make a move in that direction, we owe it to ourselves as business people to take a stand and say no. By not uploading, by deleting portfolios, and especially by then telling the companies that you're taking those actions, we let them know that there are economic consequences to squeezing us. The more unified we are in that, the more powerful the response, then the more economically defended we are in the long term. So please don't shrug this event off. Don't take a "it's not so bad" attitude or a defeatist attitude. Simply take one single minute to sign the petition and share it with your friends. And if you have other ideas to protect our interests, please share them.

Thanks for signing! Yes, it's probably best if people word their emails differently, can be short as saying you won't be uploading anymore (or deleting your port) in response to this pay cut.

I wrote a long, angry email to [email protected] and got a response this morning that largely recycled the lies in TJ's email about building a model that is sustainable so they can grow blah blah. This was my email response:

"Mike, did any employees at Storyblocks take a 50% pay cut so that you can be "sustainable" and "fair"? Are YOU taking a 50% pay cut for the "long term shared success strategy"? Is TJ? If not, then your response is 100% crap. Not 50% crap, 100%.You're stealing from contributors to grow profit and operating budget, and not sharing any of the pain. That's a horrible, insulting way to treat contributors, which is why we won't support you by contributing anymore. We're happy to work with your competition and support them. Your back-stabbing CEO just hurt his own company long-term by betraying its suppliers. That's the truth, and you guys are living in a PR spin zone if you don't see it."

Here is the petition, please sign and share with friends!

https://www.change.org/p/tj-leonard-videoblocks-don-t-cut-people-s-pay-in-half

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on July 17, 2018, 20:48
Here's a fun thread: http://www.microstockgroup.com/videoblocks/videoblocks-footage-marketplace-keep-100-of-what-you-earn/

A quote from Zach at Videoblocks on that thread: "Our goal is to be the most contributor-friendly agency there is, so we will never do anything to jeopardize our relationships."

Quote from: msg2018 on July 17, 2018, 16:19

Quote from: KevinM on July 17, 2018, 15:10
Is anyone able to track down the email for CEO TJ Leonard? I had no luck through Google, hoping someone here has some web sleuthing skills.

email may be:

[email protected]

from page 8 of this publicly available PDF (page 5 on the document):
http://arlington.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?meta_id=164618

Great find!! Thank you!

I will start a Change.org petition and post the link in this thread - AND people should also email the CEO directly, as well as send comments through the contact page: http://support.videoblocks.com/customer/portal/emails/new

Is anyone able to track down the email for CEO TJ Leonard? I had no luck through Google, hoping someone here has some web sleuthing skills.

Quote from: izzikiorage on July 16, 2018, 17:47

Quote from: KevinM on July 16, 2018, 16:41
I think it's dangerous to all of us to let this go unchallenged. This is a massive commission cut. It's also the breaking of a commitment they made to contributors. To allow them to do that to us with no response except indifference and acceptance is not only bad in the short term, it's terrible for the long term. It means they will cut commissions again in the future. And of course other stock companies are watching - if they see that they can massively reduce commissions without any consequences, they may very well follow suit. It doesn't matter if you only have a few or no sales a month there, this is a big move and extremely damaging for us as the suppliers in this industry.

I'd like to hear if others feel the same. There are options we can explore, such as a collaborative response to Storyblocks and their CEO. They're particularly vulnerable to us shutting down our portfolios in protest because for most people they're such a low earner anyway. I think this is a needed time for us to make a stand for the sake of our long-term health and power in the industry.

Agreed completely, how do we go about it. Set up something on change.org, send the CEO some crazy mails, picket . out of them

Glad to see people agreeing that cutting commissions from 100% to 50% is intolerable and a betrayal of Storyblocks' commitment to the contributors it depends on for its existence. Several people saying they will stop uploading to Storyblocks, while some people suggesting that cutting commissions to 75% would be acceptable.

I second the idea of starting an online petition via change.org. Petition would state our grievances and say that signers are pledging to stop uploading content to Storyblocks unless Storyblocks maintains a commission of at least 75% AND makes up the lost 25% in commissions via higher sales.

What do people think of this approach and the terms?

I don't believe at all that cutting our commissions by 50% will be recouped by "driving sales growth" as TJ wrote his email, but if that's the plan then they should be held accountable by us not uploading new content until they've made up the lost 25% in commissions via higher sales. The commission reduction is a stab in the back to contributors who joined because of the good commission structure, and we as the content creators in this industry are long overdue to have some organized response to CEOs who think they can squeeze our paychecks without any consequence.

I think it's dangerous to all of us to let this go unchallenged. This is a massive commission cut. It's also the breaking of a commitment they made to contributors. To allow them to do that to us with no response except indifference and acceptance is not only bad in the short term, it's terrible for the long term. It means they will cut commissions again in the future. And of course other stock companies are watching - if they see that they can massively reduce commissions without any consequences, they may very well follow suit. It doesn't matter if you only have a few or no sales a month there, this is a big move and extremely damaging for us as the suppliers in this industry.

I'd like to hear if others feel the same. There are options we can explore, such as a collaborative response to Storyblocks and their CEO. They're particularly vulnerable to us shutting down our portfolios in protest because for most people they're such a low earner anyway. I think this is a needed time for us to make a stand for the sake of our long-term health and power in the industry.

UPDATE: PLEASE SIGN THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION TO PROTEST THIS UNFAIR PAY CUT, THEN SHARE THE LINK WITH PEERS AND FRIENDS - https://www.change.org/p/tj-leonard-videoblocks-don-t-cut-people-s-pay-in-half

ALSO PLEASE CLICK TO VOTE THIS POST UP SO THAT IT WILL APPEAR IN MICROSTOCK EMAILS AND GARNER MORE ATTENTION AND SIGNATURES.

I opted out. I clicked the link to read more about the program - https://limited-licensing-program.pond5.com/

It's clear from what it says there that the clips will be sold at a lower rate (so lower commission), and I echo the concerns of others that this could be abused by buyers re-using our content or buying there to avoid paying full price. Sounds like a risky program, and there's not much gain. Opt out instructions are on that page:

Can I opt out?
Yes. All of Pond5's incremental revenue programs are fully optional. You can opt out of the program on your Preferences Page by un-checking the Limited Licensing Program checkbox.

Go to Account, then Preferences. Limited License Program is now listed there.

A public thanks to SpaceStockFootage! His AE settings were just the ticket, came out much cleaner than FCP X. Very much appreciate the help!

I appreciate the kind offer, SpaceStockFootage, thank you! I do have After Effects 6, so I could key using that. I've uploaded a snippet to Dropbox and will PM you the link.

Thanks for the reply. I had the same thought. But when I key it in FCP X and test it by placing it over a plain black background, I'm clearly seeing outlines on the person - not green outlines but more whiteish (if I use a white background instead of black, everything looks perfect). Maybe I'm just not good enough at keying to do this method? Or is FCP X a crap program for keying? 

How do folks here process their green screen video footage for stock clips?

I recently shot some green screen clips on a pretty clean, even green screen. Now editing in FCP X to create stock clips, and can't decide if I should leave the shots "as is" or if I should key them to remove subtle variations in the background on full body shots, and then add a new green background. Either way, the buyer will have to key the footage. If I do a key while processing and add back a green background, it makes for a uniform background that I think adds a subtle appeal for buyers. The downside though is that I'm simply using the "Keyer" effect in FCP X and I don't know if this will make it harder for buyers when they key it a second time themselves. Maybe it's best I leave the footage "as is" and let buyers key it for the very first time when they purchase?

I'm not great at keying footage myself, so not sure of what process will ultimately be best for buyers. Appreciate hearing from people with experience in this!

Usually I've had to wait days, a week or more for SS to process video uploads. Was shocked today when they processed 19 clips in under an hour, and with only one rejection (they can be very inconsistent and random on what they reject). So there's some good news - if you have clips to upload, now's the time apparently.

Quote from: MarcvsTvllivs on October 25, 2016, 11:29
It's legalese for "our customers don't have to give you attribution when they use your video".

Nothing to see here, move right along...

Exactly. Without that clause, we would have the right to demand that anyone who uses our clips must attribute us and may not alter the clip in any way. In other words, our clips would be unusable.

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on August 31, 2016, 20:23

Quote from: KevinM on August 31, 2016, 19:18
I shoot all my stock stuff in 4K. Even though 4K sales are rare, it's future proofing and also allows cropping in editing for a 1080 image.

5DM4 fails for me in that the 4K is only 30P max. Me and my 5DM3 will wait another 3-4 years for Canon to quit screwing around and make an affordable 4K/60P DSLR. Love the Canon look, but until that day I'll have to lug around my Sony FS7.

AFAIK, 30P is plenty.  What does 60P get you?  Or is it that you want to do slo-mo at 4k?  I bet that comes in a firmware update.

As others mentioned, 60P is for slo-mo. Lately half or more of what I shoot is slo-mo. Sony FS7 is a great camera, but it would be nice to have a more portable 4K/60P DSLR from Canon. I'm not a fan of the video image quality from Sony's DSLR cams, but really like the look from my 5DMIII.

I shoot all my stock stuff in 4K. Even though 4K sales are rare, it's future proofing and also allows cropping in editing for a 1080 image.

5DM4 fails for me in that the 4K is only 30P max. Me and my 5DM3 will wait another 3-4 years for Canon to quit screwing around and make an affordable 4K/60P DSLR. Love the Canon look, but until that day I'll have to lug around my Sony FS7.

Craig is a real piece of crap. When he was spinning his sob story in his blog, many contributors were frankly too nice, saying, "Don't worry, we're with you, pay when you can." But it made no sense that he was collecting revenues yet paying out NOTHING. I raised a stink in the blog comments and got the few hundred he owed me. I really do hope people sue to get the rest of what he owes, he deserves the lawsuit.

I too have seen low sales prices from DP, as well as many "returns" due to customer fraud that wiped out the sales. So I stopped uploading to them. No time to fight a bad system, I just move on.

Over the last month, every single stock video sale I've had at Depositphotos (11) has been reversed. I get an automatic email that I've had a sale of a clip and here's my commission. But then a day or two later I log into Depositphotos and that sale has vanished from the records. After this happened with several sales from one day, I called Depositphotos. The Eastern European woman on the other end said she'd look into it and email me. I later received this email from "Stacey":

My name is Stacey. I am writing to you further to our phone conversation.
The amount of sales can be changed since some of you sales were returned. The payment was not authorized. Bank notified us it as a fraud. That's why we had to refund the payment and all the purchases were returned.
Kind regards,
Stacey

I guess that can happen... once. But it has continued to happen. Every single video sale gets reversed after a day or two. I have to wonder if this is a company scam, a way for them to keep all the money from a sale by telling me they had to cancel the sale but really they're keeping everything for themselves.

Is this happening to anyone else?

I publicly shamed Craig by posting a comment on one of his blogs a few months ago, which resulted in me finally getting paid the $200 he owed me. I had 1 or 2 sales since then, so he owed me $20 or $40. What a piece of crap person he is for taking in money over the last couple years and not paying contributors. I'm not going to start a class action lawsuit over $20 but I'd certainly join one.