Pond5 has teamed up with filmmaker, educator and Pond5 artist Vinnie Van Wyk to offer a signup discount for his new online stock footage course. Whether you’re just starting out and looking to make some passive revenue with your camera, or you’re a seasoned veteran of the stock footage scene, Vinnie’s course delivers tips and strategies that are sure to take you to the next level!
Watch our interview with Vinnie below:
About Vinnie
Born and raised in rural Washington State, Vinnie was intensely interested in entrepreneurship from an early age. When getting his first camera at the late age 24, he finally found what he was looking for. Shortly after, he found himself in New York where his love for creating stock footage grew to another level.
Fun fact: his first upload and first sale were with Pond5. Now his work has been in some of the commercials of the biggest companies in the world and his passion to share what he has learned has created the course above.
The lack of flour at your local grocery store is not a passing fad. Cooking at home has seen a giant resurgence as people moved inside due to COVID-19. In March of 2020, grocery store sales in the United States were 77% higher than in 2019. 54% of Americans say they’re cooking more, and 73% are enjoying it more than they did before. Furthermore, considering eating out is 5 times more expensive than cooking at home, it’s likely here to stay, and a great topic to shoot.
Shot List Thought Starters:
Family members of all ages cooking together
Home cooks watching cooking videos/tutorials on their computer while cooking along
POV shots of cooking, baking, and plating/serving food
Atypical cooking methods, for example, clay/wood-fired ovens, DIY rotisseries, power tools for mixing)
Overworked parents or caretakers trying to juggle work, parenting, and cooking
Amateur/atypical cooking setups, cooking failures, people clearly learning how to cook
Suggested Keywords:home cooking, kitchen, food, healthy lifestyle, nutrition, meal preparation, baking, independence, modern cook, self-sufficient, life skill
Typical Users:Food industry, lifestyle brands, ad agencies, media companies, social media companies, etc.
Pro-Tip: First of all, the biggest thing here is to stay safe and healthy when making this content, and don’t shoot with more people than what your government or public health agencies recommend. Secondly, do your best to cast real-looking talent with real skills to get authentic content. Also, please be conscious of logos and other intellectual property as well.
Casting Considerations: Race and gender diversity, authenticity with talent and imagery. Accept the challenge to subtract artificiality from your setups. In other words, keep it REAL. These things will play an important role in the success of your shoot.
Location Diversity:Kitchens of all sizes, houses, tiny apartment kitchens, cabins, bungalows, etc.
This month we’re looking for Mystical Themes, 90s Boy Band Pop, Rock Stings and Andean music.
Once you’ve completed your work, apply a unique code to each track – just add the code (provided in each brief) to your keyword tags when you upload. As a result, we’ll know which genre you’ve been focusing on.
If you have any questions or comments about any of these briefs, please email Pond5’s Director of Audio Collections, Mike Pace, at mike@pond5.com.
Mystical Themes
The soundtrack of shamans, wizards and warlocks casting spells and brewing potions. What does that sound like?
Try to recreate that sleek, catchy 90s-style mainstream pop sounds that always went down smooth. Bonus points for vocal harmonies!
KEYWORD CODE: BOYBANDJULY20
SUGGESTED KEYWORDS: boy band, slick, 1990s, mainstream, pop, harmonies, teenagers
Rock Stings
Give us your best :10 or shorter squealin’ rock stings. Think about what you’d hear when you come back from that commercial break!
KEYWORD CODE: STINGJULY20
SUGGESTED KEYWORDS: sting, stinger, bumper, guitar solo, rock, short
Andean Music
Originating from the Andes Mountain region of South America and containing elements of Spanish, Peruvian and Bolivian music. Andean music is characterized by yearning melodies and the use of pan flutes (also known as quenas).
KEYWORD CODE: ANDESJULY20
SUGGESTED KEYWORDS: Andes, Andean, pan flute, quena, nature, South America, Peru, Bolivia, Inca
Don’t Forget:
Take advantage of the 50-keyword limit and add both broad and specific keywords. However, do not use recognizable band or artist names, please!
We also encourage you to submit separate :15 and :30 versions of these tracks for social-media use.
Moreover, please note you can apply tags to existing tracks in your portfolio.
Buyer Requests is a monthly guide to the most requested content from real clients. Get inspired and increase the sales potential of your portfolio.
Most Wanted in July
Summer is in full swing, but for creators of stock footage and photography, the shooting never stops! To help you figure out what topics to focus on, we’ve put together a list of our most common content requests for July. Recent events across the globe are a sign that the world is transforming – and our buyers, be they ad agencies, corporations or independent studios and freelancers, want to reflect these changes in their visuals. So take a look at our list of this month’s most requested themes. And please, don’t forget to use our special keywords for each topic so that we can more easily identify your content.
Black Lives Matter
USE THIS KEYWORD: BRBLACKLIVESMATTER2020 Recent events have moved the world into a sense of solidarity, engendering a huge wave of compassion and a desire for awareness and understanding. Our buyers wish to reflect support for the Black community and reflect the events that are happening not only in the US but also in the rest of the world. They are looking for both commercial and editorial content connected with the Black Lives Matter movement and the empowerment of the Black community.
Shot List Thought Starters
Real-life events, e.g. protests, public speeches, interviews
Successful African Americans and their achievements, e.g. athletes, freelancers, musicians, business owners
Culture-oriented content – Hip Hop dancers, MC‘s, jazz musicians, street artists, breakdancing, street artists (graffiti murals)
Multi-ethnic interaction
More archival clips. In particular, if there is any content from the Tulsa race massacre of 1921
Protest marches from current events back through history
Production companies, digital media platforms, news networks, non-profit organizations, ad agencies, lifestyle brands, media companies or bloggers.
LGBTQIIA+ / Pride Month
USE THIS KEYWORD: BRLGBT2020 Equal rights for the LGBT + community have recently been the subject of conversations among politicians and public alike. Even though Pride Month is June doesn‘t mean that with the stroke of July, these conversations subside. Our buyers are looking for the following themes.
Shot List Thought Starters
Real-looking LGBTQIIA+ content (everyday lifestyle and family life in a LGBTQIIA+ environment)
Imagery around subjects such as marriage, adoption and raising a child
Coming out – to family, friends, on the internet, etc. with both positive and negative reactions
Struggles the LGBTQIIA+ community has to face every day – body acceptance, self-realisation, acceptance from family, friends, classmates and society
Editorial content connected with the LGBTQIIA+ community (Pride Parades, community events, public speeches, etc.)
People of color in the LGBTQIIA+ community. In particular, people from the Black trans community as there’s a focus on achieving equality for trans POC
Production companies, digital media platforms, News networks, non-profit organizations, ad agencies, lifestyle brands, media companies or bloggers.
Social Distancing
USE THIS KEYWORD: BRSOCIALDISTANCING2020 Although we are witnessing the easing of coronavirus-related government restrictions, we are still far from a resolution or a vaccine. We‘re all at risk together – and our buyers are seeking content that allows them to speak to the dangers, but also to the surprising resilience of the human spirit that finds ways to connect with others under the most difficult circumstances.
Shot List Thought Starters
Social Distancing Together – activities of groups wearing masks
People getting tested for COVID
Social events where government restrictions are applied – weddings, birthday parties, etc.
Real-life experience during the coronavirus crisis – shopping, package delivery, queues of people respecting safe interpersonal distance, etc.
Lifestyle changes – Solo activities, etc.
Frontline workers – commercial shots of medical staff wearing face masks as well as other frontline workers wearing face masks during their shifts
General shots of medical staff and patients in hospitals (if possible, with respirators and other COVID related medical supplies shown) that are suitable for commercial use
The new normal of working remotely with social distancing themes. This includes Zoom meetings, working remotely while dealing with kids/pets/distractions
