Going High definition with stock

What do you think is the most significant development in the

stock footage business as a result of going HD?

The single biggest challenge is meeting demand for HD. Archives such as BBCMG and ITN Source are reliant on their parent broadcaster for HD material and the cost to shoot in HD for every broadcaster is vast. Thus, for example, BBCMG is looking for owners of ‘niche’ HD content with whom it can partner or whose content it can represent. Of ourse, if the archive can garner HD footage then it opens up huge opportunities in markets and sectors where, traditionally, archive might not be the first choice. For example, requests in the US for HD have grown

significantly and advertising agencies globally are wanting to use HD. Secondary markets such as digital screen networks and trade shows also require HD so the stock footage business ultimately needs to acquire and

shoot more HD

What are some of the challenges that BBC Motion Gallery has had to face in going HD?

BBCMG can only ‘go’ HD as quickly as the BBC ‘goes’ HD so expectation and demand is not always met by supply. Finding HD content owners is not always easy and the quality of such content is not always met by its relevancy. BBCMG has also had to think around how to market and present its HD collections as well as how to digitize and store

How is HD technology being accepted in the Asia-Pacific

industry?

HD is becoming increasingly more popular, with a recent conference of US producers raising the HD content of programming to 90 per cent. This is in turn adding to the demand of such material. MG has a good supply of HD content and is in the process of digitising this holding to a suitable HD file format.

What are some of the developments in HD technology that you look forward to (for BBC Motion Gallery & the Stock Footage industry)?

The main issue that faces the industry as a whole is the lack of

standards in this area. It was hoped that with the advent of HD that this problem would go away. This is not the case. There are many competing file formats and CODECs fighting for acceptance. Each vendor has their own agenda and it can often be hard work to sift through the marketing hype to find the facts. We have been conducting quality tests with our colleagues at BBC Worldwide to establish an in-house specification that can be used across our business. We are striving to find a solution that can survive multiple generations and stands up well to Quality Control when laid back to HDCAM/HDCAM-SR etc. Additionally, there is always the balance of quality versus cost of storage to consider. ASIAIMAGE

Stock footage ranked highly BBC Motion Gallery has ranked highest amongst premium stock footage news suppliers for quality, customer service and selection in a new independent survey. The Footage Customer Survey: Non-Fiction Producers USA provides critical analysis of what matters most to footage customers; which footage companies are doing the best job of meeting their needs; and overall levels of customer satisfaction. BBC Motion Gallery’s selection of news footage leads the category with a full selection of all BBC News and CBS News original footage. The company also represents NHK, ABC and CCTV news footage. All footage owned is originally shot for broadcast purposes for some of the world’s most reputable news outlets. In addition to offering new footage shot in HD, BBC Motion Gallery is working through its archive to convert older footage to the HD format to better serve their clients’ needs. BBC Motion Gallery’s clients speak directly with licensing experts and account reps offer in-depth offline research and customised pricing solutions based on individual usage. Additionally, going above and beyond requested clips, reps often identify additional footage that fits seamlessly into the producer’s project, adding that extra touch to make a story complete. “We are very pleased that our customer base values the service BBC Motion Gallery provides, as well as the quality of our footage and the breadth of the archive,” commented Jan Ross, SVP BBC Motion Gallery. “It’s terrific that Thriving Archives is recognizing the wealth of suppliers in this industry and gathering authentic feedback from the creative community.”