BB FANS

Now here's an interesting one.

I've had a message from an American Educational Publisher who is interested in getting the rights to use my video(s) of birds feeding off YouTube in a video they are producing.

Now I've checked the website based on the email address and it looks for real ,but this is all new to me. As it's a commercial venture I think a fee might be called for but I haven't got a clue on what to do next. I haven't replied yet.

Anybody offer any ideas on how to proceed ?

Well ,I've just replied to their message asking them what they had in mind and told them that I had DVD quality MPEG2 versions of the 3 videos I have on the subject as they didn't clearly state which of the 3 they were interested in.

I guess I'll get a reply after the weekend.

It'll be interesting to see what they offer.

It will - that's pretty special that they got in touch with you about that, you must be delighted.

Yes , it makes a change from someone just downloading a clip and using for their own purposes.

As you've seen from the BB4 clips I try and get the highest quality video so even after recoding by YouTube I'd hope it stands out quality wise over a lot of the others.

Even after Googling I couldn't find any recent ideas to the worth of the video. I did find a forum where a FM said ,back in I think it was 2004 ,that the rates to supply the media with non-exclusive rights for 2 years was between $35 and $55 per second !

Now that to me seems a lot and would make the 8 minute video worth a small fortune. But with video getting easier to obtain I'd have thought the costs would have dropped with the advent of the video enabled mobile phones.

I'm not expecting any great figures like in the example above ,but as I've said it'll be interesting to see what the offer is. At present I've kept communication within the YouTube message system rather than private Email.

I assume there will be a point where documents will need signing to hand over the rights along with a method of payment. In fact I wonder if at that point it would be worth having a solicitor check things over ?
Also does any payment have to be declared as earnings for Tax purposes ?

Lots of questions but little information.

Trouble might be that they won't pay for a full 8-min clip (not per sec anyway); they might just edit and pay for the three seconds that are key to what's happening or something. Still, sounds like an interesting project to be going along with.

I'd say the fee would definitely need to be declared as income for tax purposes, but wadda I know!

Well I've had an offer of $200 for the 8 minute video if it's exactly what there looking for ,which still doesn't guarantee at this stage that they'll buy due to the wording.

But at least things as moving.

And it's good encouragement to get out with the camera and film some better stuff. I really do need to get to the local wildlife park as there's lots going on around the lakes .

Wow, not bad! That's pretty encouraging, good on you.

Thanks.
I keep this thread up to date with how it proceeds.

This is the Video. Once they have the rights they might ask for it's removal but have a look while it's still available.

It's really good larry That was a nice surprise for you out of the blue!

Thanks.

It's a shame my garden project can't be uploaded to Youtube but it's too long. It's on Google Video instead.
Think I'd need a Directors account to be allowed to exceed the 10 minute limit.

The video with the most watches is the X-43a Mach 10 NASA Test flight ,which even if I say so myself is probably the highest quality version on there.

So far nothing has changed since yesterday but there's still a few hours before the end of the working day in the States.

Looks sold.
Have been asked how I'd like payment.
And how long it'd take to send them the video.
And after reporting the AirSure is the fastest at 4 days I was asked the cost.

I've converted the video to NTSC (US Colour system) creating both a DV-AVI version and an MPEG2 8000Bits/Sec DVD quality version which are both recorded on a DVD disc and have been checked for playback.

Now waiting for the next Email.

How are they going to pay you? By Paypal?

I've been paid by Paypal and the transfer from Paypal is underway to my bank account.
They are a verified user so it all looks ok.

The video will be enroute Saturday.

And they didn't impose any conditions so I can still sell it to someone else.

They've never asked or implied that they wanted exclusive rights so I still own the rights to it. They have just paid to be able to include it in their production.

They paid $230 of which Paypal took just over $9 ,the extra is to cover postage using Airsure which is the fastest method and you can get conformation that it has arrived. Airsure looks to be just under £6 for the weight of the package. I quoted them based on the example weight for a DVD which was something like £6.89. So they have more than covered the shipping costs. Airsure is the fastest method with a quoted minimum of 4 days though I think Easter will slow it down a bit.

Congratulations, Larry. It's nice to know your work is appreciated, isn't it?

The video is fabulous, by the way.

Thanks.

It would have been better if I'd turned off auto-focus sooner though.

Yes it's nice to be paid for something you like doing.

We have a Robin that's been seen quite a lot recently which I'd love to capture on film. But it's one of those things that you can't plan unless your prepared to wait many hours.

Our garden is geared more towards insect life and with the high levels of nectar that hangs over the garden during the height of summer it's a gold mine for stills and film.

The main thing is the encouragement to get out there and start recording looking for interesting scenes.
And what's more anybody can do it .It's easier if you have a digital (DV) camcorder for the uploading to a PC. Windows comes with Movie Maker which should let you do things with your video ,though I always use Media Studio Pro.

Then make a video to suit either Youtube or Google Video and who knows what could happen. Google is higher quality but I don't think it get the same level of hits as Youtube.

Remember anybody can do it ,give it a try.

I use a Panasonic cameras. I have a mini-DV camcorder which does a good job ,plus a full-size analogue SVHS camera both UK spec. I also have another full-size Panasonic SVHS camera but US spec.

Most of what I've used them for has been to document a year following a local Church and what they do. And am in mid-production of a DVD which they can hand out to people to attract to join them.

Wildlife is less hassle as you don't need permission off everybody featured in the final video before to can be handed out to the public. Which is one thing I've got to remind the church before we release it.
You have to sign release forms before appearing on TV ,which is what I had to do for 'This Morning'.