Access HD

Stock footage continues to evolve toward higher-def and lower cost. Artbeats and Mammoth HD have both prominently launched collections featuring RED footage – Artbeats, in fact, offers the first royalty-free RED ONE footage. Says Phil Bates, president and founder of Artbeats, “By offering higher resolutions, plus the RED RAW files, our customers will now be able to pan, scan, rotate or crop the clip to create the desired look in HD – giving them increased flexibility and creative freedom when editing their HD projects.” Buyers can take advantage of a four-for-three download deal on all Artbeats RED footage. The Mammoth HD gallery is available in original RED 4K, 3K and 2K Footage, with delivery in 4K, 3K, 2K, HD (1080p, 720p) and Vertical HD. The Mammoth site also features a useful tool to compare formats (www.mammothhd.com/MHD_compformat2.html).

While deals abound to take advantage of new RED footage, other companies are lowering the baseline price for HD clips. Take, for example, FootageBank HD, which just launched a royalty-free division aimed at online media. The across-the-board price for clips? $300. Paula Lumbard, the company founder says, “We saw our clients’ emerging need for affordable Web accessible HD content and decided to build out this new venture in an effort to meet their needs.” Get the fuller picture on FootageBank’s launch in the first edition of Studio/clips, our new e-newsletter featuring stock footage news and releases.

If you’d rather make money than spend (even a little) on stock footage, tune in to our next Webinar, “Monetizing Stock Footage,” live March 25th, 1pm EST. Learn more and check out the rest of the 2009 Webinar schedule here (www.studiodaily.com/store/webinars/).

Buyout and Beyond

Music Libraries, like their visual counterparts, are also providing easier ways to access high-quality formats. iStockPhoto will be launching a new interface to consolidate their media. Details will be coming soon; the new interface is currently in beta. Check out an interview in the next Studio/tracks, our new production and buyout music e-newsletter.

Music 2 Hues also launched itsinstant download center, which rethinks the traditional hard-disk model. The Instant Download Center allows clients to download complete Music & Sound Effects categories at a discount from the single track price. Over 1,000 music tracks and 500 sound effects are offered in the download center.

At the same time, some companies are demonstrating that it can be smart to be exclusive. MusicBox’s “Private Reserve” provides an outlet for independent composers to sell their cues to the larger post-production community. Dan Stein, MusicBox’s co-founder, claims that independent composers are an “untapped source of music for licensing.” The company plans to keep expanding its base of independent producers. Private reserve can be accessed through MusicBoxLive at www.musicboxmx.com.

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