Greg Hung World explorer, film-maker & entrepreneur originally from Vancouver, Canada and based in Taipei Taiwan
Which travel videos sell
When I was trying to figure out which travel videos sell I eventually stumbled onto stock footage sites like Pond 5. Stock footage sites are marketplaces where creators can sell videos over the internet. With over 2 million video clips Pond 5 is one of the largest, When we are talking about which travel stock video clips sell the most I decided to use the information that Pond 5 gives us. I did a search of video clips on Pond 5 to see which travel video clips of made the most sales. Hopefully we can learn something from clips to help us out next time we plan our next filming trip. Let’s get started.
Before we get started I wanted to introduce you to my on-line course on this topic called “Making money with your travel videos”ok let’s get started
this clip of a plane landing during sunset has generated more than 164 downloads. Not bad for a 23 second clip.
As one of the comments wrote $40 US for 6 seconds of paradise proves that it is not always about how long the video clip is. This clip was uploaded in 2007 so it has been up there for a while.
The artist uses 2 angles or video clips in a night time time-lapse of the famous Shinjuku strip to pull in just under 5k. Sometimes the agencies won’t approve video clip sequences, but there is no harm in trying. It also provides additional value to the customer.
A 15 second video clip of a famous landmark in the US that isn’t full HD manages to generate over $4000. Given that it was published in 2006 when the technology wasn’t as good we can’t be too hard on them.
This clip is priced higher than the rest, but it is a beautiful aerial shot shot during sunset. Based on a shutterstock blog post in June 2014 aerial footage is one of the top categories in demand. With the technology to obtain professional aerial footage now in reach this is a great opportunity to differentiate from the rest of the stock contributors.
This 11 second time lapse was shot from a high vantage point and nicely framed to include some important landmarks on the strip. With over 61 downloads I would say many others agree.
This 30 second video clip of the Bellagio water show proves that it is smart to film good free shows or events at popular destinations and generate some cash.
To be fair this 24 second clip is a bit shaky and not quite professional quality; however it seems that when it comes to aerial footage of famous landmarks that the market is more forgiving.
This is one of the most popular travel video clips in Asia. Not surprisingly it is a time lapse from a high vantage point done from day to night from one of the most popular cities in Asia.
This proves that evening time lapses of Big Ben one of he most popular categories of stock videos.
Stock footage sites are one way you can try sell your travel videos. What have we learned from some of these top sellers? Interestingly more than half were in the evening. Four of them are time-lapses video clips. The time lapse category is highly competitive and time intensive to make. I would recommend to try to plan your time lapse time and location well, but don’t plan spend all your time shooting these. Based on these videos it probably makes sense to plan them before sunset to get a a day to night time-lapse. Aerial videos are a new category and at the the moment are not as competitive even though prices for obtaining the equipment for are relatively inexpensive now. It is more complicated and a new skillset to get into aerial videography, but as someone who has started it is a lot of fun.
Where else can I sell my videos?
referral link to shutterstock
Shutterstock was the second site I started using to sell my travel videos. Once you’ve started to share your video collection on-line it doesn’t take much more time and effort to start selling on another site. Because I choose a non-exclusive model I can sell on this site too. Shutterstock is a public company and has a high Internet ranking so I get paid out from this site. The site is easy to use once you figure out the system and they have a great blog for contributors. The link I’ve provided is a referral link, so if you click on it it helps me out a bit. Thank you in advance.
Pond 5
Once you’re ready to start making some passive income with your videos Pond5 is a great start. Their site was easy to use, upload, and their review turn around is pretty fast. I’ve got my largest collection of videos here and I get paid from this site. I’ve created an on-line video course on “Making Money with Travel videos” if you want the complete process on getting started. The link I’ve provided is an Affliate link so you help me out by clicking the link.
Where can I learn more about selling my Travel Videos?
I made this on-line course for people who are looking to get into the world of stock footage and start to make money with your travel video collection making a passive income. It packs tremendous value as I also cover gear and filming as a value-add. I enjoy this type of revenue stream as once you’ve organized your footage sites like pond5.com and shutterstock.com will do the marketing and sales for you and you will automatically receive a payment everyone through paypal.
My course of making money with travel videos
I discovered Robb’s book while looking for tips on the Shutterstock contributor blog. I discovered stock footage in 2012 when I sold a 6 second clip of Forbidden City, Beijing for $60 US. I got serious about doing it at the beginning of this year, but I had accumulated a travel video library for my business chicvoyageproductions.com since 2011. It is interesting to hear his thoughts on stock footage, who the customers are and his positive outlook for the industry.
Rob does a good job of covering the process at a general level so someone new to stock footage would enough know-how to begin;however I deducted a star as I like specific details, links, and recommendations. It would have been good to know what software he uses and his opinions and frustrations of using the stock footage sites like Pond5 and Shutterstock and others. There is a heavy focus on shooting stock footage of hired talent so it is interesting to get his take on how that is approached. It’s amazing to hear how much money and preparation is going into his stock footage shoots. I’ve focused on travel attractions, nightlife, and food mostly in Asia so it’s interesting to that we can both participate in this space from such different backgrounds.
I hope that those of you new to stock footage give it a try. If you’re into photography or a video production team it would make sense to give it a try with Pond5 first. I developed an on-line video course that teaches the hands-on how-to of stock footage like actual live editing of stock footage, keywording, and applying csv files on pond5.com and Shutterstock. I encourage you to check out Make Money with your Travel Videos.
Where can I learn how to do Videos?
I created this course as there was no comprehensive Travel video course covering gear, filming, planning, editing, and publishing. There were plenty of photography courses, but non dedicated to video. Follow the link for a discount to the course.
The Art of Travel Video
I was interesting that the Gopro was allowing people to make awesome videos in the water, extreme sports, and even in the air. However, not many people were teaching people how to do it. I was fortunate to get my drone early and develop my skills and experience early. I put this course together to give you my secrets on filming in the water, car, and in the air.
Title cover – Unleashing your video creativity using gopro cameras
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