What am I doing wrong with my drone for Shutterstock?

#1. Noise / Artifacts / Pixelation: Clip contains excessive noise, compression artifacts, pixelation and/or banding.
- or -
#2. Frame Rate / Shutter Speed: Clip exhibits issues related to frame rate or shutter speed.
I have done everything they have suggested...

2 suggestions:

a. ask on Shutterstock's own forum
b. ask Shutterstock directly for clarification
(assuming they respond to contributor email)
(attach video clips to your email)
 
For your film clips can I suggest Black Box they upload to all the stock footage agencies saving you a ton of time and you can get help with curators and keywording and more for a small percentage of the sale if you wish or do it all your self and keep 100% of the sale. Great online community
www.blackbox.global.com That where I upload all mine. Stuff still gets rejected by them now and again but hey that one site instead of 4-5 sites
 
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For your film clips can I suggest Black Box they upload to all the stock footage agencies saving you a ton of time and you can get help with curators and keywording and more for a small percentage of the sale if you wish or do it all your self and keep 100% of the sale. Great online community
www.blackbox.global.com That where I upload all mine. Stuff still gets rejected by them now and again but hey that one site instead of 4-5 sites

Thanks much!
 
I know nothing about stock footage but I can see props in the lake footage.
I did not see that when I watched his video, I have terrible internet and didn't see the props because of low video quality. But yes if your propellers are in the shot that will be a quick rejection for that video. To avoid showing propellers in your footage try flying backwards, your propellers will never show up if you are flying backwards. And if you fly forwards fly slower so that the props don't poke in to the video, and if you absolutely must fly forward and fly fast then tilt the camera down a bit to keep the props out of the video.

and yes I absolutely recommend you try black box, it is a great site. I will be signing up to it in about 3 weeks, they don't accept people under 18. But it will definitely make things easier for me, so that I only have to upload in one place.
 
I can share a few of my experiences with aerial stock footage sales on stock sites. Among the stock sites, Shutterstock, Pond5, Getty, Adobe Stock, and Videoblocks (which recently changed to a partner program), I have had the most success with Pond5. Getty would be second for sales.

I submit 4K MOV files
Apple Motion JPEG A
75% quality

Always submit 4K files because it gives you two chances to sell the same clip. The site will transcode an HD version of your 4K clip to sell.

Name your clip well and meta tags are critical!!! Do a search for clips similar to what you are uploading and look at the names of what is at the top of your search. Look at the tags that are attached to the clips.

Each site will also have a contributor portal and let you know the popular clips that are selling. Keep that in mind. Also try to envision what imagery a corporate client might need to complete a video project. A lot of times stock footage is used to create introductions to corporate videos. You could have beautiful videos of scenic vistas but they will have a much more limited market than boring freeways full of traffic, buildings, and heavy industry.

The best advice is don’t expect to make a lot of money selling stock and don’t be discouraged if your stock doesn’t sell. I have had, what I think are great clips, sit on stock sites for years with no sales. Think of stock footage as lottery tickets that never expire. You can’t win if you don’t upload.

Good luck and safe flying.
 
I can share a few of my experiences with aerial stock footage sales on stock sites. Among the stock sites, Shutterstock, Pond5, Getty, Adobe Stock, and Videoblocks (which recently changed to a partner program), I have had the most success with Pond5. Getty would be second for sales.

I submit 4K MOV files
Apple Motion JPEG A
75% quality

Always submit 4K files because it gives you two chances to sell the same clip. The site will transcode an HD version of your 4K clip to sell.

Name your clip well and meta tags are critical!!! Do a search for clips similar to what you are uploading and look at the names of what is at the top of your search. Look at the tags that are attached to the clips.

Each site will also have a contributor portal and let you know the popular clips that are selling. Keep that in mind. Also try to envision what imagery a corporate client might need to complete a video project. A lot of times stock footage is used to create introductions to corporate videos. You could have beautiful videos of scenic vistas but they will have a much more limited market than boring freeways full of traffic, buildings, and heavy industry.

The best advice is don’t expect to make a lot of money selling stock and don’t be discouraged if your stock doesn’t sell. I have had, what I think are great clips, sit on stock sites for years with no sales. Think of stock footage as lottery tickets that never expire. You can’t win if you don’t upload.

Good luck and safe flying.
That was a great explanation!
 
When I watch those videos on YouTube, the water and grass don’t look very good. I’m not sure if it’s compression, jello or moire (esp in the case of the water.)

You mentioned framerate but didn’t mention shutter speed. I strongly recommend shooting with a shutter speed of twice the framerate (eg. 1/60 sec if shooting at 30fps). Shutter speeds higher than that have been known to give some jerkiness in the movement. This is an old and well accepted rule of thumb.
 
Last edited:
Here's an earlier video that was rejected.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I can see the problem as you pass the combine in the first clip. It looks like incorrect 3/2 pulldown. Motion artifacts due to conversion from 30P to 24P.
 
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Reactions: Droning in AR
I can share a few of my experiences with aerial stock footage sales on stock sites. Among the stock sites, Shutterstock, Pond5, Getty, Adobe Stock, and Videoblocks (which recently changed to a partner program), I have had the most success with Pond5. Getty would be second for sales.

I submit 4K MOV files
Apple Motion JPEG A
75% quality

Always submit 4K files because it gives you two chances to sell the same clip. The site will transcode an HD version of your 4K clip to sell.

Name your clip well and meta tags are critical!!! Do a search for clips similar to what you are uploading and look at the names of what is at the top of your search. Look at the tags that are attached to the clips.

Each site will also have a contributor portal and let you know the popular clips that are selling. Keep that in mind. Also try to envision what imagery a corporate client might need to complete a video project. A lot of times stock footage is used to create introductions to corporate videos. You could have beautiful videos of scenic vistas but they will have a much more limited market than boring freeways full of traffic, buildings, and heavy industry.

The best advice is don’t expect to make a lot of money selling stock and don’t be discouraged if your stock doesn’t sell. I have had, what I think are great clips, sit on stock sites for years with no sales. Think of stock footage as lottery tickets that never expire. You can’t win if you don’t upload.

Good luck and safe flying.

Thanks much! Great info.
 
When I watch those videos on YouTube, the water and grass don’t look very good. I’m not sure if it’s compression, jello or moire (esp in the case of the water.)

You mentioned framerate but didn’t mention shutter speed. I strongly recommend shooting with a shutter speed of twice the framerate (eg. 1/60 sec if shooting at 30fps). Shutter speeds higher than that have been known to give some jerkiness in the movement. This is an old and well accepted rule of thumb.
Awesome. Thanks much.
 
I did not see that when I watched his video, I have terrible internet and didn't see the props because of low video quality. But yes if your propellers are in the shot that will be a quick rejection for that video.

The props weren't in the video I submitted to Shutterstock. Once the videos were rejected, I deleted most of them.

I cut a small piece out of the same drone video I used, and I rendered it and uploaded it to You Tube. I was aware of the props in the video, but I thought I had stopped it just prior to that in this one that I did to show you my style and subject of filming as per your request. The other video I had not deleted yet, and that's the one Shutterstock received.
 

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