Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/19885
StockFootage Pond5 grows, adds AE templates N EW YORK — Pond5 (www.pond5.com), an online stock footage marketplace that launched in 2006, has seen steady growth over the past few years and now offers more than 450,000 royalty-free video clips, along with more than 40,000 music and sound effects files. Last month, Pond5 launched Adobe After Effects project templates. The customizable tem- plates offer video pro- ductions the opportunity to create high-quality motion graphics quickly and easily. At press time, Pond5 had 95 After Effects pro- ject templates available on its site. Subjects range from smart phones ($45) and videowalls ($15) to science ($15), soccer ($60), wed- dings ($75) and holiday star backgrounds ($30). Regarding footage, Pond5 allows contributors to set their own prices and pays them 50 percent of the sale. Pond5 currently represents more than 3,000 artists from around the world. Most of the marketplace’s video clips are available in HD formats. Footage Firm offers promotions and subs R ESTON, VA — Footage Firm (www.footagefirm.com) regularly runs weekly giveaways that offer a chance for producers to save money on its HD and SD stock footage clips. In late September, for example, Footage Firm offered its Aspen Autumn collection, which is regularly priced at $249, for just $8.41.The DVD contains 15 HD and SD clips of fall foliage in Aspen, CO. Shots range from lake-front settings, to forest settings, to mountain vistas. The collection includes sta- tionary establishing shots as well as gentle pans. Past promotions have included the company’s Liquid Ab- stract collection, its Roadside Construction collection and its Appalachian Mountains collection. Footage Firm also recently launched VideoBlocks.com, a subscription-based resource for stock footage, sound effects, special effects and looping motion backgrounds. A Video Blocks subscription allows users to access thousands of mul- timedia clips for one low monthly fee. New content is con- tinually added to the Video Blocks archive, and all clips come with the right to use them royalty free in all types of pro- jects.There are no additional fees beyond the monthly sub- scription cost of $49.To promote the new Video Blocks pro- gram, Footage Firm is offering a seven-day trial that provides free access to over 30,000 clips. 42 Post • November 2010 www.postmagazine.com