In need of marketing advice/suggestions

[chromatophore 0]

Hi Wetpixel! Ok Ladies and Gents, I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I managed to get some pretty outrageous footage recently and am completely confused as to how I should proceed. I've got about 30minutes of misc. dolphin behavior, from cute and serene to aggressive and active. All shot in 1080HD/60fps using the raw WB capture settings with a Hero3. There's only one video I've ever seen that's even similar (see below) and I'm excited, but nervous. I know that if I put it up on the web it will garner a lot of views, but it'll be less attractive for someone looking for exclusivity and originality. Does anyone on here know any stock agents that they would recommend/trust to see this end up in the right hands? I've attached a screenshot from the clip, but with a 1000kb limit its a pretty poor representation. I'd love to see this end up a part of a much bigger ocean project or documentary, and it'd be great to make a little coin to kickstart the next adventure/project. This is clearly a wild shot in the dark, but there are some of, if not the most talented UW artists on the planet on here and I'm hoping someone would be willing to steer me in the right direction. From what I've heard, there's a $2,500 licensing cap with GoPro, so that may not the best avenue. Thanks in advance for your consideration and time,

 

Jim Ward

 

 

[tdpriest 115]

That's a wonderful experience!

 

You might want to ask one of the videographers who visit Wetpixel, but the images are some way from being unique, and I'm afraid that they're probably not as valuable as you hope.

 

This is the near-universal experience of underwater image-makers: we see great things that the public (and publishers) aren't that interested in.

 

That's a cool bit of Go-Pro-ology, too!

[liquidguru 17]

I have a few suggestions..

 

If no one knows about the footage, then no one will know it's available..

 

You could try

 

1. Submitting it to a stock agency, like Getty. They share the revenue with you.

 

2. You can monetize your Youtube channel. If you get millions of hits then you make a fair bit of money. This will also make others aware of the footage, then you may get offers for it. All the major news agencies and researchers for nature projects look at Youtube/Vimeo for new content.

 

3. I post my videos on Vimeo and get inquiries for licensing from people who see them there.

 

4. Don't be afraid if you submit to Youtube/Vimeo if you get many embeds. On Vimeo you can block people from downloading your footage. And, of course, watermark the heck out if it, so it is unusable for any commercial project. Anything you put on these services is still your IP, so no one can use it for projects without your permission.

 

Without exposure you will not easily be able to sell your footage. Generate the interest by getting as many people as possible to see it.

 

Cheers, good luck and I look forward to seeing the footage

 

Kaj

[MikeVeitch 0]

2. You can monetize your Youtube channel. If you get millions of hits then you make a fair bit of money. This will also make others aware of the footage, then you may get offers for it. All the major news agencies and researchers for nature projects look at Youtube/Vimeo for new content.

 

 

Really? I didn't know that, what sort of ballpark figure for say 1.5 million hits?

[liquidguru 17]

2. You can monetize your Youtube channel. If you get millions of hits then you make a fair bit of money. This will also make others aware of the footage, then you may get offers for it. All the major news agencies and researchers for nature projects look at Youtube/Vimeo for new content.

 

 

Really? I didn't know that, what sort of ballpark figure for say 1.5 million hits?

 

It slightly depends on it's popularity, but on average people make about USD2000 per million, so 1.5 million would give you about USD3000. And with that many views the chances are someone is going to want to license the footage, which is what Jim really wants. But.... you have to monetize the channel first, they don't pay retroactively (a mistake I made with my swimming cat video...that would be my 'wet pussy' video to you Mike).

Edited February 25, 2014 by liquidguru

[MikeVeitch 0]

Wow! That is good money, Jim, I would suggest that as a start for sure.

[liquidguru 17]

I can't quite remember the criteria for monetizing videos on YouTube..you may have to have had a certain amount of views before you can sign up, but it's all explained on the website.

[chromatophore 0]

Wow! Thanks Tim, Mike and Kaj for the great advice. I'll be sure to post a link to the video wherever it ends up. You guys will be the first to know.