[Russ Stiggants]

Hey zrbo!

Read between the lines!

Ben acknowledges that his business with his partner was doing fine:

Ben Choo: we were still making good money!

Ben also acknowledges that he sucks at the

[Russ Stiggants]

Hey Ben…

I’ve looked at your post as I was the ‘post’ before you. (‘Selling stock footage: worth it or not?’). I’ve been in the write/shoot/edit/produce area for more years than I can remember. Maybe like you, I remember the days when video editing was done in big production houses with million-dollar machinery. Then along came Media 100, then Avid, then a lot of other really good programs – then Final Cut Pro. Now what I used to pay $600 per hour at a production house to do, I can do on my desktop.

Like a swag of people before you, you’ve learnt that if you want to make big dollars, you need to be a ‘big’ studio, with lots of employees. That means you need to make a bucket of money (to pay everything else) before you get a dime. That means you’re in business, and are no longer a ‘creative’. And no longer being a ‘creative’ (if that’s where your heart lies) means you won’t enjoy your life. Been there, done that.

You gotta make up your mind. If you want to make money in this funny business, go back to your partner. It seems he’s got a good mind-set.

If you want to stay creative, pull on the ol’blue jeans and have a ball. But the chances are, given the increasing sophistication and widespread availability of edit platforms and cameras – and the burgeoning numbers of ‘wannabees’ entering the game – you will increasingly earn less and less, unless you are exceptionally creative (or can build new creative ‘models’, but that’s another story entirely).

A young fella like you, newly married, should be looking for a secure economic future. My recommendation? Find a production company which can benefit from your expertise, maybe work for them part-time while you work on your own (paying) projects, and build a resume which will give you good options.

That means you might be able to maintain your independence and re-build your own business, but you could take a full-time job if your circumstances change.

With a new wife and the prospects of a new family, that might be the best way to go.

[Russ Stiggants]

Sorry people – I meant ‘POND 5’ as opposed to ‘post 5’ – Freudian slip!

[Russ Stiggants]

Thanks Rick….

You’ve confirmed what I thought. I guess I was looking for some ‘magic bullet’ that made stock footage worth at least something above the poverty line.

I was (and still am) hoping to find stock footage sites that actually pay