🚀 go-pugleaf

If anyone is interested I am about to relate one of my early experiences with
the media and sale of storm footage----I am posting this as added info
concerning recent posts on this subject.

In 1988, I got past roadblocks to S. Padre Island, TX, and caught some good
generic hurricane shots as Gilbert passed south into Mexico.  The police were
not letting media types over the bridges; but I got through in my own sneaky
way.
I brought the footage back to Brownsville, where the Network news
organizations had their satellite trucks at a local tv station.   I had no
idea what was a fair price to ask for my footage.  I asked a more experienced
free lancer there how much I should ask.
He said " Try to get $1500 per minute; that's not out of line at all."
I showed the ABC producer my footage, and he was quite interested; the footage
wasn't spectacular, but better than anything his crews got back on the
mainland.  He offerrd me $300 per minute.  I said that"s not enough.
He said," I have to call my bosses and see if they can help you out a little
more.
Then he went out of the room, went into a closet, I suppose; played with
himself for five minutes--and came back to me and offerred me $600 per minute
and said, "New York was reluctant, but said ok to $600.
I replied, "Not enough. You pay stringers twice that just to go out take a
picture of a visiting dignitary in town for the day."
He again left the room; performed a colon cleansing, I assume, and came back
in with "We have worked a deal with the local station and they are pitching in
another $500.  Is that o.k.?"
I accepted that; even though that wasn't up to scale for "professionals"
getting and selling the same shots.
Just as Sam Barricklow noted in a post recently, you have to do research on
the market price for footage in the media you are selling it to; and the many
uses they will make of your stuff if you don't limit them.  A typical price
paid for footage by producers when they buy non-rare footage from stock
footage houses follows:
For cable t.v. use---$20 per second.
Network use--$30-$40 per second.
Non-broadcast---$12 per second.

And keep in mind this is for typical stock shots. Ex:  people walking down the
street in St. Louis. on a fall day.
Don't believe a word a media person tells you.
Another example is Jim Leonard's first experience with a local t.v. station
here.  he got some great footage of destruction during Hugo in Puerto Rico.
He went to a local tv station and agreed to a very low fee of a measly $150
for use of some footage (he figured the publicity had some tradable value to
him.).
Didn't get it in writing.  After many calls to the station, he finally got a
check for $50; and a note calling him a lier.  He learned from that
experience; as we all do.  Lost some faith in human beings; but that is life
in the big tity.

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