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Topics - Mantis
26
« on: July 17, 2016, 08:08 »
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« on: June 21, 2016, 08:03 »
Like many of you I got a VB survey. I filled it out. My main things were "yes I like the 100% commission" and the one thing I don't like is "slow sales". That's probably going to be the tone of the survey. But one question makes me reflect on the old Istock "money doesn't matter" comments. Here is a screen shot of that question. I am wondering if this is a prelude to something forthcoming where VB can claim "money doesn't matter" sometime down the road as a reflection of this survey.
My biggest concern, like many others here, is that they cut the 100% commission but keep pricing at $49. We've been talking about this since VB started....almost claiming it is inevitable that they will cut commissions. This just seems to be a prelude to that.....to me anyway. YES, 100% MATTERS.
28
« on: June 15, 2016, 13:44 »
Wondering if anyone got this email. Looks suspicious as it it is trying to get me to sign up for another payment system. Really? PayPal will be delayed by 3-4 weeks? That's by this seems to smell a little. Thank you for your continued support of MotionElements. For the month of May 2016, we are due to make payout via PayPal for your royalty earnings. However we are facing some technical issues in making the payment out to you via Paypal. These technical issues will result in a 3 to 4 week delay in your payments. We are sorry that you are facing such a delay in receiving your payment. We have also been receiving feedback from various sellers, like yourself, about Paypal. This includes Sellers having to pay multiple charges (Commercial Payment Fee 3.9% + US$0.30 + *Cross Border Fee 0.5%) in order to receive funds from the sellers' Paypal account. We are committed to you, our valued sellers, and have taken these immediate suggestions for you to minimise the hassle with your payments. 1) We are making easier and quicker alternative payment methods available to you. 2) We have appointed 2 other payment partners Skrill and Payoneer for your immediate consideration. 3) When you receive your payments via these partners, your either pay nothing or very minimal charges (US$1 to US$3 per month!) 4) If you would like to change your payout account to Skrill or Payoneer, you can do so via https://www.motionelements.com/account/settings. We are confident, as a result of these actions, that MotionElements will emerge as a more reliable and even more responsive partner than ever before. However, if you would still like to receive payment via PayPal , we can continue do so, but kindly note that it will be done with the 3 to 4 week delays as mentioned - we will advise as soon as payment is made through to you. Please accept our sincere apologies again for this technical issue. Nothing is more important than regaining your trust and all of us here hope you will give us the opportunity to welcome you back to MotionElements soon and provide you the positive experience that you have come to expect from us. We look forward to your reply, in order to set up the smoothest royalty payment option for you. Thanks!
29
« on: April 27, 2016, 19:15 »
I think I recall some people in here saying that they've got a bunch of sales on Video Blocks and then they were refunded. I had 6 video sales last week and all of them were refunded. Now I suspect the person who bought them has my files for free. I know VB no longer comes in here like they used to but it would be nice if they explained what is happening and how they intend to fix it. The files purchased were all different files of the same theme, so the crook has a good cross section to use.
VB if you're listening, you owe it to us to provide some substantive response.
30
« on: February 21, 2016, 18:41 »
I sent them a site mail and they said this:
"First off - many apologies in our delay, this is not the norm and we are working on this but understand this is not good enough.
Please bear with me while I enquire with our tax team regarding this."
Sounds like they don't have their internal tax process set up correctly to support their new "market place model".
I am still waiting. Sent that email on the 16th of Feb. Curious if anyone else in the USA has received their 1099.
31
« on: December 22, 2015, 10:17 »
I am interested in your opinions Image stacking techniques and software options. I did some very basic stuff last night to test Photoshop stacking using the statistics method. And it seemed to work. But being new to astrophotography I am still in a learning mode and am very interested in opinions on quirks, limitations, tricks, other software options that would at least provide a higher quality than PS, if any. Most of what I have read says Photoshop produces the highest quality output, but it can be a lot more work and system draining if you are stacking hundreds of images.
Any thoughts on tutorials, software, general tricks of the trade?
32
« on: December 05, 2015, 16:39 »
A couple of my friends from a club swear by this lens for astrophotography and time lapse. The price is about $350 US compared to the Nikon 14 2.8 at $1850. The Rokinon is manual focus but has "in-focus indication" for most newer Nikons. I have read mostly all raves about it and a few people who got duds that had sharpness issues. Was wondering if anyone has any experience with this lens, good or bad. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769555-REG/Rokinon_FE14MAF_N_14mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_f_2_8.html
33
« on: October 29, 2015, 20:00 »
Today we are announcing new increased per-download royalty payments for our recently released small 10 and 25 download limit monthly subscriptions.
As you are all very aware, iStock by Getty Images has undergone a number of significant changes over the last two years: from launching subscriptions, to radically simplifying our credits offering, along with the various improvements to our site experience along the way. This year, weve seen benefits of these changes through new customer growth and more customers downloading more content from us. That said, we remain in an increasingly competitive space with new entrants and a continuous pressure to provide the best kinds of products to the customer.
At the end of August, we began testing a new type of small monthly subscription that we believe can be a powerful new tool to grow our business, attract new customers, and better meet the needs of existing ones. These subscriptions offer customers a small number of downloads per month (10 or 25) at a very attractive price point (starting at $40 for 10 Essentials downloads per month; $99 for Signature). These subscriptions are performing well for us, increasing our new customer conversion and the amount that customers are spending with us. As such, after two months of testing, we now feel confident that these products will be a permanent part of our ongoing product offering and as such, we are announcing a new royalty schedule designed to support their introduction.
These downloads have thus far been generating royalties based on your existing subscription royalty schedule. As such, there has been appropriate discussion and concern about the royalties that are being paid on these new subscriptions. When we began testing them we did so knowing that we would need to make royalty adjustments but due to the limitations of our royalty system, we werent able to execute the changes until now.
The new per-download rates for the 10 and 25 download per month subscriptions are:
Non-Exclusive downloads from $0.28 to $1.00
Exclusive Essentials downloads from $0.34 to $1.25
Exclusive Signature downloads from $0.75 to $2.50
Exclusive Signature+ downloads from $2.50 to $3.00
We will also be retroactively applying the new rates, for any image downloaded by the new products since they launched (August 25, 2015), to your accounts by the end of November.
Given the limitations of our current system, these royalties for small subscriptions will show up in your account in 2 separate areas via two different reports: The existing subscription rate that is already reported in your stats area PLUS an admin adjustment (reported in your CSV) equal to the difference between that rate and the new rates. The admin adjustment will be reported around the same time as your current royalties, but provided as a cumulative amount.
That means that, for now, royalties will appear as any other subscription download at the old rates, except with a lump sum adjustment between the new and old rates for any images downloaded by these 10/25 subscriptions. Longer term, were working on developing an integrated solution to break out these downloads with more transparency.
Please keep in mind that because weve only recently started testing the products they only represent a very small portion of total subscription downloads, so not many contributors will see any impact to their royalties yet. Longer-term, however, we do anticipate that these products will play a larger role at iStock and your royalty payments overall.
The rate schedule will be updated in the next couple of weeks to reflect the amounts set out above for subscriptions with 25 or fewer downloads per month, but please consider this your notice regarding these rate increases.
If there are any questions please let us know. Thanks for continuing to be our partners.
34
« on: September 29, 2015, 20:16 »
35
« on: September 22, 2015, 19:42 »
I am looking for a variable constant light that emits a wide, bright light so I can light backdrops. I have a few 1200 Lumen LED panels but those are really good for my primary subjects. What I want is an even brighter light for backdrops. Right now I use black but that is boring as he!!. Trying to up my game a bit. Seems like everything I see that might work is very expensive. Looking for cool 5500 bright system.
I've done a fair amount of Google work but thought I'd reach out to the forum to see what might work that is in the <$1500 range, less is better but willing to pay a little more to get what I want.
Any thoughts?
36
« on: September 13, 2015, 16:30 »
At the end the balloon bursts and the GoPro plummets to the ground. "It took five friends a couple months of planning to record the perfect GoPro shot. It took two years to get the footage back. Members of the group recounted the amazing journey that took a GoPro camera from the terrain of Tuba City, Ariz., to the edge of space and back in posts on YouTube and Reddit. The June 2013 expedition was designed to capture breathtaking aerial views of the Grand Canyon and its surrounding area via a GoPro, camcorder and Galaxy Note II launched on a weather balloon. After reaching a maximum altitude of about 18 miles, during a flight time of slightly more than 90 minutes, the payload fell to the desert floor where it remained for about two years. The team was using the GPS on the smartphone to track the package, but they encountered a problem during the descent. The problem was that the coverage map we were relying on (looking at you, AT&T) was not accurate, so the phone never got signal as it came back to Earth, and we never heard from it, the user trexarmsss wrote in a Reddit post. The phone landed about 50 miles from the original launch point, nestled in an anonymous patch of sand. TWO YEARS LATER, in a twist of ironic fate, a woman who works at AT&T was on a hike one day and spotted our phone in the barren desert, trexarmsss wrote. She brings it to an AT&T store, and they identify my friends SIM card. We got the footage and data a few weeks later! A video posted on YouTube, shows the ascent and descent. On the way up, the camera gradually changes from a ground view, to a birds view, to a planes and then finally to an astronauts perspective presenting a beautiful glimpse of a huge stretch of Earth from the blackness of space itself. It takes just a half hour for the payload to tumble from the heavens, through wind currents and back to Earth." https://youtu.be/EABQ5psUz70
37
« on: September 10, 2015, 07:52 »
I may be crazy but the stats page has expanded to include referrals. Anyone notice this? I don't recall specifically if this was always on the page or not but it looks visually bigger and I honestly do not remember if referrals was already there but in a smaller graphic. If it wasn't there (it's new) then they must be getting ready to launch a new or refreshed referral program.
Thoughts?
38
« on: September 08, 2015, 20:39 »
After months of traveling for fun and work I was finally able to use my GH4 in the studio. I have two LED 1200 lumen continuous lights and a couple of smaller Fiilex spot lights. I was shooting some food in bowl and had both LED lights set up fairly close to the food and a spot light on the front of the food. This was the first time I've had a chance to shoot the GH4 in the studio but I have used my Nikons a lot. When I was shooting, the light in the camera flickered making the footage useless but the light on the subject was smooth and consistent. I thought maybe it was the frequency settings in the camera. I was shooting Cine V mode but the frequency was set to 59.9 hertz. Cinema modes usually require 24 hertz, so I have read. So I switched the frequency on the GH4 to 24 hertz and the flickering stopped, but the output of rotating food was jittery. So not useful. Cine V is very sharp on video output but if I put the GH4 in normal mode the video is horribly soft (I have no clue as to why). On normal mode I would shoot in NTSC hertz 59.9 if I could get sharp output.
Does anyone have any guidance they can offer that could solve this issue?
39
« on: September 07, 2015, 08:32 »
I am seeing Bigstock slowly fade into nothingness this year. I am on bridge to BS so I have added hundreds of images in 2015. I suspect that BigStock is losing its buyer base, but this is based on my single experience. Anyone else seeing the same/different trend? This is for YTD 2015.
40
« on: September 06, 2015, 09:16 »
Kudos to IS for getting PP started so early in the month.
41
« on: August 25, 2015, 08:05 »
I have tried over and over to upload video via FTP and the 123RF site won't accept the files. It uploads the entire file then starts all over again on the same file it just uploaded. I have contacted them via their contact form and still have not heard anything back. I noticed that some of the links on their site do not work, either. 123 has the appearance that something else is going along the lines of not enough resources or they are giving up, who knows.
Has anyone had any recent response from them?
42
« on: July 09, 2015, 16:59 »
Video Contributor Announcement - ESP now accepting 4K content!
The next step towards full 4K implementation is here! The iStock ESP (enterprise submission platform) is now accepting 4K content. Here are the details:
This stage is for mirroring of 4K content to Getty Images only. This means we will accept 4K content, but not sell it via iStock.com until later this summer when that product is released. All 4K will be mirrored for sale at gettyimages.com until that time. You will NOT have to resubmit the 4K file when the product option becomes active on iStock.com. The 4K file will be stored on iStock.com and activated at that time.
Similarly, 1920x1080 HD file will be created from the original 4K file and will be available for sale via your iStock account. Similarly a 1920x1080 HD file will be generated from the 4K file on gettyimages.com.
4K will be accepted with the same frame rates as regular HD content.
3840x2160, the preferred frame size, will be accepted with the Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) and Apple ProRes 4444 codec only.
4096x2160 will be accepted with Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) codec only.
IMPORTANT: During this initial phase of 4K ingestion into the iStock ESP portal we will be maintaining a 2.0 GB limit on 4K files. This is a temporary file size limit only. At a later date we will be announcing an increase in file size.
We have two discussion threads on this topic started. One is present on the soon-to-be closed iStock site forums, the other is visible on the new Contributor Community Site. Either thread will work for you in the event you have any questions, concerns, or trouble uploading your 4k submissions.
We hope you are as excited as we are!
43
« on: July 08, 2015, 15:43 »
Welcome to the Getty Images Contributor Community Site! Below you will find your temporary login credentials. After you first login you will be prompted to change your password. Please keep these details somewhere safe as they give you access to confidential information. The website address is: https://contributors.gettyimages.comYour username is: Your password is: What is the Contributor Community Site? The site is made just for our Getty Images contributors! It's designed as a place where our artists can locate documents & instructional guides, read important announcements and become an active participant in the contributor community! For your use the site provides: up to date legal information and FAQs about licensing your imagery creative research to inspire you and help you target your production step-by-step instructions for preparing and uploading your content information and news on the changing landscape of our industry FAQ pages & contact information for your questions information about royalties and invoicing We encourage you to explore the site and let us know what you think! If you have any suggestions or queries regarding the site please do not hesitate to contact us at: [email protected]. Thank you, Content Manager Contributor Relations Team Getty Images
44
« on: July 07, 2015, 20:57 »
I just don't know what else to say. "When you are truly passionate about helping out your fellow contributors and serving your admirers with your best work, you can make easy money online and get past reviewers without looking like a devil. Not believable? Consider a situation where you helped a contributor through the forums. The contributor added you as a favorite. A buyer visited that persons profile and saw your profile listed in his favorites list and decided to take a look at your profile feasible and highly likely, is it not? What if you are on the lists of favorites of a hundred popular photographers?" http://blog.dreamstime.com/2015/07/05/microstock-photography-the-winning-strategies-part-ii_art42604
45
« on: June 16, 2015, 01:55 »
Has anyone else noticed a horrible day with subs today, Monday? I usually get 30-50 on weekdays and today it shows none, but one OD and two peanut SODs. If thisnis real, and not a bug, something very bad has happened.
46
« on: May 24, 2015, 08:50 »
http://nofilmschool.com/2013/10/5-dollars-per-hd-stock-clip-dissolveFrom the end of article posts from Dissolve: "Hi Irving, thanks for the feedback. We believe that with the explosion of high-quality footage being shot right now that older, lesser-quality, or easy-to-shoot stock is being rapidly devalued. (Parallel to what is happening in music, publishing, and other media.) Only premium visual content will merit high prices, and the bar is always being raised. We intend to carry a range of clips within this new pricing pardadigm.
We agree our selection is somewhat limited now but we are signing new contributors every day. Stay tuned.
As for footage being cheaper on those other sites - note we always provide the high-resolution HD file for our prices, which puts us far ahead value-wise in many cases."
Dissolve only pays 30% as it is. But from the post above (from the link provided) they clearly are making decisions around asset value. Can you imagine uploading clips that you believe will get you a $24 commission and you find that you get $1.50 instead? It's just amazing how these companies think. Big stock, of course, is also on that same cheap bandwagon. So for $5, customers get a high resolution clip, it's not downsized. That's a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Maybe this has been posted before but I couldn't find anything in the Dissolve category.
47
« on: April 30, 2015, 20:12 »
I just updated my Final Cut Pro software and it completely changed everything. One of the changes removes the color board from your video editing screen. You have to click the drop down menu and select color board. Ok fine. But once I make an adjustment and arrow back to the main editing screen, the arrow to go back to the color board does not work. I have to click the drop down menu again to reselect. Anybody using this and find the same thing? Or perhaps a work around? I HATE IT when Apple does this.
Here is a screen shot. I should be able to click the color board arrow and advance to the color board. Just sits there.
Ok I just selected "revert to original" in the window menu and that took care of it.
48
« on: April 01, 2015, 21:30 »
The site does not recognize my log in credentials. Anyone else have this issue?
49
« on: March 26, 2015, 21:31 »
I've been playing with the menu with my new GH4 and the Metabones adapter and it's not as easy as it looks. But I am chugging along. I was wondering what people do for 4k settings. I have the option to set to cinema quality at 24mz to get 4096 rez. Otherwise it's 3840 or less. Does anyone have any feedback on the difference other than size? The manual says that certain frequencies might not play back well depending on where you are located.
What I don't like about the Metabones is no AF and I cannot see what F-stop I am shooting at. That sucks.
In any event I am still in set up mode and trying to figure out the basics of the system. The frequency the GH4 came set at does not let me choose 4096. I'd have to change that so I was curious what insights/experiences some of you GH4 shooters can share.
50
« on: March 07, 2015, 20:35 »
I thought I'd start a thread to discuss tripod heads. I am in the market for a new tripod. Some specifics: My budget: I'd be willing to spend up to $750 for a good head. What I shoot: This will be used mostly for landscape work. With my Nikon and heavy lenses, al;on with my panning unit, the head would have to comfortably support 10 lbs but more is better. I will be also wanting to do some manual panning so a fluid head is probably the direction I would go, or one that is VERY FRIENDLY for manual panning. The tripod itself will also be purchased but I am not looking for a carbon fiber one as I will be doing long exposures in breezes and carbon is typically flimsier than steel/aluminum. Couple of ones I have been eyeing http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/683559-REG/Manfrotto_504HD_504HD_Fluid_Video_Head.htmlIf ya'll want to buy me an early Christmas present: http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/Shop/Video-Support/Fluid-Head-Pkg-Mid-Sized.html
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