PACA Update – Part 1

We attended the Picture Archive Council of America (PACA) International Meeting and Symposium in Miami Beach October 17th and 18th 2009.  There was a lot of interest in footage this year and the program had several footage sessions, all of which we attended.  In this article I will give an overview of what I learned and will go in to more depth in upcoming posts.

Most striking was the general attitude towards stock footage.   Last year it was the future.  This year it is very much the present!  More agencies are putting their toes in the waters and more and more resources are available to allow still photographers to acquire footage capabilities.

The Canon 5D Mark II, and similar hybrid DSLRs have been well accepted by shooters and buyers of stock footage.  The image quality is good enough for all but the largest presentation formats, such as theatrical releases of movies, and is quite acceptable for TV and web use.  I learned several advantages DSLRs have over traditional video equipment as well as techniques to work around some of the limitations of these hybrids.  More on that next week.

We also watched a stock footage production shoot featuring a Red ONE camera, 2 models, and extensive lighting.  The shoot was staged in the lobby of the Eden Roc hotel around the lobby bar.  It allowed me to see firsthand what goes into a typical shoot.  You may have heard that making the transition to video can be a daunting challenge and to watch how an on location shoot with talent and lighting works makes me agree with this assessment.  I would never want to try this style of shooting with my 5D!

The good news is that the type of stock footage we are adding to our site does not require this level of technical sophistication and complexity!  While some people are shooting elaborate studio type video with very high production value, our travel and nature photographers are presented with a much simpler and easier proposition – let Mother Nature supply the talent and lighting – just focus on the composition, exposure, and focus!   I will give you more details about this in an upcoming post.

There was a lot of good information on the footage workflow.  In addition to getting tips on software and procedures, we also located several resources that can take over with some of the “post-production” tasks that you may not be ready or willing to do yourself.  We even located a vendor that is now providing us with samples of their post production capabilities.  Their work looks great and they can quickly turn around clips from our EDL (Edit Decision List) and even supply the metadata.

Finally, I picked up some scuttlebutt about the upcoming Red Scarlet and Red Epic that will be appearing in the near future. Stay tuned!