The Microstock Blog

Looking at the Microstock Industry

RevoStock responds…

February 25, 2011 by David Navarro 2 Comments

I tweeted this morning about yesterday’s blog post “February News” and Craig L., the owner of RevoStock took issue with a number of things I said…  So, let’s set the record straight.

His first comment was with regard to my claim that their Google ranking was below ClipCanvas and the Envato Marketplace.  I have to admit that my last Google search for “Stock Footage” was a few weeks ago which is when I noticed they had slipped and made a note of it for a future blog post.  Doing as he asked, I searched again today and RevoStock was on the front page, both in the search results and in Google Adwords.  It’s possible that they changed their Adword campaign to move up to the front page after reading my post, but for them to be on the front page in search results means the changes they made to their SEO had to have occurred some time ago.  Google search rankings wildly fluctuate at times, especially with popular searches as each business is constantly tweaking their site to improve.  Before stating their ratings had slipped based on data from a few weeks ago, I should have done another search to see if that was still the case.  So I’ll give RevoStock that one… I was wrong.

However, go to the web sites where potential RevoStock customers are and you won’t find any advertising…  CreativeCow, GreyScale Gorrilla, Mograph.net, etc…  Nor in any magazines that I have looked through.  Other than a good Google ranking and giving away free clips to people who don’t buy (they just collect free clips), what are they doing to attract sales?  Why are sales growing on Pond5, ShutterStock, iStock, ClipCanvas and other sites while they are falling on RevoStock?  I don’t use/buy After Effects templates, but RevoStock is known as the number one site for AE templates.  And from what I gather talking to AE template sellers, their sales are steady or growing.  My own unofficial and non-scientific tracking also shows that to be the case (stock footage sales dropping, AE template sales growing).

He also took issue with my statement about exclusivity and some producers I called out by name.  He said one or two of them had already been brought to their attention by another artist and they were looking into it.  And he invited me to rat out those that I find.  Which is fine, but it’s not really my job to police their site.  A few hours refreshing the home page and checking various “exclusives” against clips on Pond5, ClipCanvas, ShutterStock and iStock by one of their employees should be enough to figure out who the big offenders are.  And what prompted me to post what I did in my blog was an unanswered post in their forums.  Apparently they’re monitoring Twitter chatter about RevoStock, but why are they ignoring their own forums?  And he said they’d look at each contributor individually to decide how far they’d go.  I can understand that, but those artists I mentioned have sizable collections which Revo would prefer (I’m sure) not to be without.  So I imagine they’ll just get a slap on the wrist, which I think sends the wrong message.

I’ve had a few emails from Craig over the past couple of years and he’s a very passionate individual.  He believes strongly in his site and has a lot of pride in RevoStock.  If I were him, I would too. In the past he has done a great job of communicating with artists and providing features requested by artists to improve the site.  Only Pond5 has had (past tense) a better reparte’ with artists.  Still, I wish they’d monitor their forums a little more, even if it’s not Craig, someone on his staff should be going through them every day.  It’s not like more than a half dozen message are posted there daily.

He called my claims “blatantly false” and to a degree he’s absolutely correct… which is why am I answering him publicly so that I can admit my mistakes.  I’ve left the comment about Google in the original post, but I’ve changed it with a “strike-through” font.  But while I’ll admit from the tone of his message that he (as owner) and RevoStock take the issue of fraud seriously, there was nothing to indicate that my impression of leniency with what I feel are blatant acts of theft is false.  We’ll see what actually happens.  When I run across clips that are mismarked as  exclusive, I’ll report them.  But as I said, that shouldn’t be my job to find them.

Let me finish with this…  RevoStock is one of the good guys… They have a healthy respect for artists, they have communicated well with artists, and for the most part they treat artists more like partners than sites like iStock, Fotolia, etc…  My frustration with them comes from a lack of sales on their part and from a perception of them being lethargic.  At one time they were the number 1 Stock Footage seller on the Internet, having practically invented the market.  But Pond5 has that position now and upstarts like ClipCanvas are also moving quickly up the ladder.

RevoStock reminds me of those companies that hit the top, get comfortable and stop thinking/working like a contender.  Rather than battling it out, they play defense in the hopes of not losing much ground.  They are slow to adapt to changes in the industry (they added support for Alpha clips almost two years after Pond5 did).  And they fail to promote some of the features which make them still a premiere site for artists today (it’s great when you add a feature that allows artists to share revenue on asset sales, but why aren’t you promoting that more? And where’s the support that was promised for allowing models to share revenue with artists?)

I am rooting for RevoStock, I want to see them succeed.  Because their success is also my success as an artist who is part of the site.  But I see a site that is just running on auto-pilot. Lackluster sales, lack of advertising, essentially sleeping at the wheel until someone like me comes along and pokes them with a stick. 🙂

So far, every time Craig has told me things will get better, they do… at least for a little while.  He is a man of his word and he’s on the case… and things will get better, I truly believe that.  I just hope they don’t fall asleep again because I still have my stick.

Filed Under: Agencies, MicroStock, Opinion Tagged With: Footage, MicroStock, revostock, stock, video

Long Distance Relationships

October 22, 2010 by David Navarro Leave a Comment

When shooting video (or stills) on your DSLR camera, it’s always best to use a prime lens like a 50mm F1.8 or F1.4.  However, sometimes the subject you are shooting requires a zoom lens and prime zooms can be very expensive.  Fortunately both Canon and Sigma have zooms that are inexpensive (around $200).  When I first got my Canon T2i, a good friend of mine recommended that I get the Sigma DG 70-300mm lens for my zoom.  I did, and I’ve been extremely happy with it ever since (well, mostly happy).

The only problem is that the lens does not have any form of Optical Stabilization.  So when shooting video at full zoom, even the slightest twitch can cause major issues with the video. I try to shoot on a tripod whenever possible, but even then sometimes heavy winds can cause even the best tripod to shake a little bit.  And when using a non-stabilized zoom that translates into heavy camera shake in the video.  When that happens, you either have to trash the recorded video or use stabilization in your editing software which has its own issues.  And forget shooting handheld at max zoom, that’s a total nightmare.

Recently I ran across a really good deal on the Canon 70-300mm lens with Image Stabilization (usually sells for around $450), so I bought it.  I personally don’t think the image quality is as good as the Sigma lens, but the built-in optical stabilization is fantastic.  Check out this side-by-side comparison video I shot:

[vimeo width=”640″ height=”360″]https://www.vimeo.com/15161994[/vimeo]

I had the ISO set too high when I shot it (forgot to change it after shooting video the night before), so there’s some noise in the video if you watch it full screen.  But you can see the difference in how shaky the handheld video is between the IS and non IS lens.  With the Image Stabilization turned on the footage is actually usable.

I may sell the Canon IS lens and buy the Sigma version with “Optical Stabilization” simply because I like the look of the Sigma bokeh better.  But either way, for video, having a zoom with IS is essential in my opinion.

Filed Under: Camera Equipment, Opinion, Reviews Tagged With: canon, dslr, Footage, image, IS, optical, OS, sigma, stabilization, video, VR

Batten down the hatches

October 20, 2010 by David Navarro Leave a Comment

In my little corner of the world, the weather is starting to turn colder and we’re getting more frequent storms.  Shooting footage and photos outdoor starts to become less of an option. So, I’m spending every good day out shooting new stuff and every bad day preparing for a long winter inside.

Fortunately, my skills include Cinema 4D which is a 3D animation and illustration program.  So I am not limited to just photography and video footage.  I am preparing a list of animations and illustrations I want to create over the Winter months.  Gathering up assets (buying models, textures, etc..) and making sure all of my software is patched and ready to go.

I’m cleaning up my studio… Well, the tiny part of the house I took over as a photo studio.  I’m making sure my backdrops are clean and wrinkle free.  Making sure I have all the lighting fixtures I need.  Making sure I have plenty of light bulbs (I use strictly 5600k daylight balanced bulbs).  I’m making a list of props I want to look for in thrift-stores or on eBay.  And I’m checking my equipment to make sure everything works and is ready to go.

The long winter is also when I do a lot of my marketing… sending letters and post cards to TV stations and companies that produce TV commercials. And it’s also when I do a lot of  market research.  I use excel to build a list of popular keywords over the past year and when they were popular… trying to find trends for the upcoming year.

I also plan to “catch up” on editing and submitting clips.  I’ve got several hundred that remain unedited on my hard drive because I’ve been concentrating on shooting as much as I can when I can.

What are your winter plans?

Filed Under: MicroStock Tagged With: equipment, Footage, indoor, MicroStock, Photography, studio, video, winter



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