Make a commercial using stock footage…...your clients will love you for it

With so much top quality stock footage available, you can make great commercials for both TV and the web, while passing the cost savings (no filming, travel, crew costs etc) onto your client. With advertising budgets under serious pressure, it’s a great solution that will endear you to your clients.

You can go about it two ways:

1. Finalise your concept and then find the best footage to match it.

2. Develop a loose concept and then see what footage jumps out at you. You can adapt and sharpen the concept as you go, as particular shots inspire you.

For both options:

1. Set the maximum budget for footage and stick to it.

2. Use a specialist stock search engine like www.shotspy.com to see what the top footage sites have in their libraries at the same time - instead of going site by site which will be time consuming and eat away at your budget.

To avoid the heartache of the ‘perfect’ shot not matching the rest of the spot, make sure you set your footage search criteria very firmly from the start – aspect ratio, frame rate, format etc. Having all your shots standardized will also save your editor time later on.

Download low-res comps of each shot for your editor to put together a rough draft (watermarks and all). Your client can then approve/reject shots before you purchase them. If your budget is tight and you can’t bring the editor in yet, use screen grabs of the comp footage to create a storyboard to be sent to the client.

When all shots are approved and you’re ready to create the spot, purchase the relevant license for each piece of footage (price will depend on where/how the spot will be distributed) and the editor can start work with the full res footage. Triple check that all the low res images have been replaced…if the spot has lots of quick cuts it is possible to miss one!

A great commercial is a great commercial, whether it was a multi million dollar production or a low budget masterpiece. The beauty of a stock commercial is that it enables you to offer your clients a lower cost option at a time when they will appreciate it most…and the results can be really spectacular.

James Brown is Production Manager for EPIC Productions, based in San Diego. EPIC produces web videos, tv commercials, documercials, corporate videos and marketing videos for clients worldwide. For more information please visit www.epicproductions.tv