[John Behrens]

Studios have licensing divisions you can contact. Some even have very easy-to-use licensing websites. Here are some links:

https://www.mgmmedialicensing.com/Search.aspx

https://sonypicturesfilmclips.com/ContactUs.aspx

https://www.universalclips.com/Search.aspx

https://www.newscorp.com/management/20film.html

https://www.paramountlicensing.com/ —(this one doesn’t appear to be working right now)

If you find out which studio released the film, you can then contact the studio and get a quote based on the length of the clip and the usage. As was already mentioned, clip licensing is really geared toward big broadcast deals and is usually cost-prohibitive for small internal productions.
One other thing to keep in mind is that, depending on the other properties involved in the clip, there may be other permissions you would need to obtain. For instance, if you wanted to use a clip from Rocky, you would not only need to pay the exorbitant licensing fees to MGM, but you would also need to acquire written permission from Sylvester Stallone (and he almost always says no).
I hope this helps!

[John Behrens]

I guess I should clarify.
Let’s forget I ever mentioned the 5D.
Let’s say our tiny little non-metro-area Wisconsin company has been doing quality work with a nice HD video camera, but it still looks like video. We start offering video that looks more like film. All things being equal, good writing, talented producers, nice looking composition, good storytelling, but now there’s also this visual aspect to the production that just makes it look more polished and bigger budget… is that worth more than the former?
To take the septic tank analogy, if every company out there can put in your septic tank and leave, but one company puts in your septic tank, trims the grass, plants flowers, adds dimensional stone and plants a shrub shaped like your beloved pet Sparky, rest his soul, would you pay more money for the one that makes your septic tank cover not look like a septic tank cover?
I guess my real question is not the 5D vs. whatever other camera, but the look the 5D can achieve vs. the video DOF look we currently offer.

[John Behrens]

Walter,
Thanks for the quick response! I’ve learned a lot from reading your posts/blog in the past and I hold you in very high regard.

Why would you charge a premium for shooting with a DSLR camera? That’s your decision to use the camera.

I guess that’s exactly my question… Normally the camera we use is a Sony PMW-EX1, which delivers great looking images, but not the DOF that many associate with the ‘film look,’ so for us this is a step up in visual quality. So, compared to our current offering, is there enough of a difference in the ‘perceived quality’ of the visuals to warrant a different price point, regardless of the actual equipment cost? On the other hand, if our rates are something that the clients are comfortable with and we’re comfortable with, why not just give the client the benefit of advancing technology and build value that way? The area in which we do business is not saturated with high end, film-looking production, so this is something new for us and for our clients and my boss would like to know if it could be a way to boost margins.

As far as the ‘higher risk’ shooting, I mainly mean for the camera operator. I think we’re fine with letting the higher risk camera placements fall under the ‘that’s why we have insurance’ category. We’re just trying to find out what other people do for such situations. By way of comparison, many production companies charge extra for special equipment, such as jibs, cranes, dollies or aerial shooting. Is it acceptable to charge more for the use of equipment because it is a physical thing that clients can see? Why not charge a different price for having your camera guy hang out the side of a helicopter than for having him shoot b-roll of a copy machine? Or is charging extra for specialized equipment just nickel and diming and something you’d rather just do under your normal production costs should the particular project call for it (I tend to lean more towards the latter).

Sorry for getting wordy. Again, any input is a huge help.

[John Behrens]

Did you recently upgrade to FCP 7? If so, you can find a great fix to this problem here:

https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1059834#1059834

Look for the answer a little more than halfway down about replacing your ‘DesktopVideoout.component’ file.

[John Behrens]

You’ll find a great fix for this issue here:

https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1059834#1059834