Stock imagery: With demand for emotional footage at an all-time high, stock houses consider future growth via HD and the Web

Post, Jan, 2002 by Edmond M. Rosenthal

TAKING A BEST SHOT AT THE WEB

In addressing format trends, the biggest effort at Best Shot has been digitizing footage for low-res viewing over the Web. Meanwhile, it has hooters working in HD and transferring to the format. At the same time, says Klein, they are transferring to Digi Beta or D-I. Some of this work is being taken into 16-by-9 NTSC for TV programming.

For Jeep, animal footage was used in an interactive Web spot. Extreme sports were used in a TV commercial for Chrysler out of PentaMark Worldwide, Detroit. This called for surfers, skateboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking and kite surfing footage.

ARTBEATS BACKGROUNDS

Phil Bates at Artbeats reports doing a higher ratio of international business, with US sales being softer. In greatest demand, he says, are backgrounds, effects, aerials and nature. Although clients are primarily corporate, educational, networks, TV stations and post and graphics facilities, Artbeats has specially designed some new product for churches to project during sermons and to use as background behind hymn lyrics.

The library supplied storm cloud footage for the feature film Spy Kids. As projected footage for a Backstreet Boys concert, it provided landscapes, explosions and water effects.

NEW FOOTAGE FROM AIR POWER

Specializing in aviation, military and space exploration, along with lifestyle footage, Air Power has acquired about 300 rolls of negative and release prints from aircraft manufacturers Grumman, Fairchild and Republic Aviation and from Edo Floats, which makes pontoons for aircraft. This new collection encompasses all of the US aircraft employed in the Pacific during WWII.

"This is all negative waiting to be sorted out so that it can be transferred to high definition or Digital Betacam," Saul Leyton notes. While this type of product is popular with the major studios, he adds, commercials tend to employ commercial aircraft, often taxiing or flying in foul weather. Commercial aircraft footage was supplied to Hallmark Entertainment for the feature Rough Air.

HISTORIC ADDS DAVID SUSSKIND, VIDICOM

Historic Films recently was involved in a TV profile of Paul Newman and supplied footage to NFL Films for a program on football in the 1950s. While it is involved mostly with docs and feature films, Historic supplied footage for a PSA to the Michigan unemployment office, which was relocating. It carried the theme through with shots of people having a difficult time reaching their destinations. This was derived from slapstick comedies and other humorous footage. The operation also worked with Actuality Productions on a Loretta Lynn profile for A&E.

Now represented by Historic Films is The David Susskind Show, including interviews with political figures, authors and other celebs. Also new is the Vidicom library, with '80s and '90s fashion designers and models, including runway shots and behind-the-scenes takes.

CELEBRITY BIOS ARE BIG

At ABCNews VideoSource, David Seevers reports celebrity footage is becoming bigger than ever with biographical programming becoming so prevalent on TV. As an example of this, he notes that American Masters, which profiles artists, will have its first regular time slot on PBS.