realistic stock footage for corporate videos

[Jim Curtis]

I license quite a bit of stock for my clients, who are fastidious about licensing. If you do also, you know that footage of actual events with real people is usually available for “editorial use only,” which excludes use in marketing videos, which are usually covered under a “commercial” license.

You probably also know that staged commercial stock is mostly garbage, and almost always hokey staged simulations. Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Pond5, and VideoHive all suffer from the same lousy fakery.

I’m writing to ask the brain trust if you know of any other stock sites that have either realistic recreations, OR are of real events (such as the recent riots, marches, and political demonstrations) shot in such a way as to avoid need for model releases (out of focus, faces excluded or obscured, etc.) so as to qualify for commercial use?

If not, there’s a market opportunity for shooters and producers to create such a service.