Hello Everyone and hope you are all having a productive 2013 thus far. We are opening this thread to establish better communication about curation developments.

Let's please stick to the topic. This is not a thread for requests, site fixes, bug reports or suggestions on speeding up the approval process. Be assured these issues are being dealt with 24/7/365 and there are other threads dedicated to those topics.

So in this first post we would like to announce that we are accepting .mxf container files as of this week. We have updated the video specs page to reflect this.

Stay tuned for more announcements!

Thanks for the update, as an EX1 user I'll be looking forward to testing out .mxf uploading!

Has there been a change in curating policy when it comes to audio with video clips?

https://www.pond5.com/community?forum=76121&thread=20404554&lp=1

Excellent question @TheEngineer. The policy has always been 'leave the sound in the video only when it is relevant to the clip' however, we are finding more and more clips with 'hot' levels of audio which makes it really distracting even when previewing: wind, blaring sirens, etc... Also, we have been seeing more clips when the shooter is talking as he/she is shooting and this makes the clip immediately appear as if it was a home video. The policy has not changed and we do accept audio with clips but we will be rejecting and asking for the audio to be stripped and re-uploaded when we do see clips that contain obtrusive audio. Since we do have more curators now, it will be easier to keep a better eye on these kind of issues.

Maybe the problem with new/old artist including audio that is distracting or isn't relevant to a clip is because they haven't read the video guildlines or know where to find them.

I have a suggestion (again) that I have submitted about a million times regarding this.... when one creates a master clip of a series, then uses that clip as a template to copy to others in the series... even if that first clip has "contains audio" unchecked, it does not retain that unchecked status when copying from clip. I have asked Marcus several times about fixing this but it never has been fixed. This is more of a annoyance. Particularly when one submits clips without audio (99.99% of the time in my case). Hence, by default, the system assumes that a clip contains audio. This actually encourages new users to believe that this is the norm.

@Vadervideo +1
Same with contains recognizable people or logo.

Very good point @vadervideo. I will run it by the team asap.

Hello Everyone.
The "should I include audio in my videos?" question has been popping up more often recently and Pond5 would like to clarify.
In the 'uploading specs' we mention: 'If there is no useful audio associated with the clip, please delete the audio track.'
We encourage contributors to leave the audio associated with a clip only if it is relevant to the video clip. If you determine that the audio needs to be left in, please be aware of the audio level. Most DSLRs do not have usable, in-camera audio capabilities unless external mics are attached. Also, some cameras have the ability to disable audio recording in the settings menu so this may make it easier for some of you.

This does not mean we will automatically reject all clips with audio but our curators will be paying more attention to this going forward. However, clips with bad audio such as wind noise, blaring sirens and shooters talking while filming will, most likely, be sent back so that the audio is removed.

Previewing clips with harsh audio is distracting when mousing over and selecting clips.

Isn't it possible to make a 'mute audio' option on the video page?

Hello Everyone.
The "should I include audio in my videos?" question has been popping up more often recently and Pond5 would like to clarify.
In the 'uploading specs' we mention: 'If there is no useful audio associated with the clip, please delete the audio track.'
We encourage contributors to leave the audio associated with a clip only if it is relevant to the video clip. If you determine that the audio needs to be left in, please be aware of the audio level. Most DSLRs do not have usable, in-camera audio capabilities unless external mics are attached. Also, some cameras have the ability to disable audio recording in the settings menu so this may make it easier for some of you.

This does not mean we will automatically reject all clips with audio but our curators will be paying more attention to this going forward. However, clips with bad audio such as wind noise, blaring sirens and shooters talking while filming will, most likely, be sent back so that the audio is removed.

Previewing clips with harsh audio is distracting when mousing over and selecting clips.

Hello @wheijnen. That may be a possibility for us to explore but it is not part of the plan now. Contributors need to be aware of controlling their audio. We will accept video clips with normal, well-balanced audio but we will ask contributors to remove unusable ones.

When a clip has good audio is it possible to put a P5 voice-over on it like the audio has? It seems that a person who likes the audio but doesn't want to pay can download the sample footage and get free audio.

Second Don´s suggestion. I do wildlife scenes of animals and birds. Recording ambient audio with external mic. Based on views vs sales of some of the clips, I suspect audio hijacking is going on!

Thanks much for clarification :-)
I also think that the voice over would be a huge step forward, and secure the sales of audio for contributors and P5.

Thanks again for letting us know and happy new year.

Can I also add my voice to the suggestion of a P5 voiceover on footage

This is an excellent suggestion and I will prioritize this with the team. I will update you all on the progress. Thanks!

+1 for P5 VO on videos with audio, some of my clips have fully produced audio tracks, not just ambient sound from a shoot

Are there any plans to deal with the serious problem of "Spam" keywording? Much of it is, I believe, due to careless use of templates but some people are clearly copying from other artists (including keywords that are not relevant to their clip).

Thanks

TE

I really don't believe footage that may have wind noise should automatically be rejected or require the audio to be removed. I've sold dozens or hundreds of clips that had somewhat distracting wind noise. If all that is heard is popping I would agree. It is real easy for a buyer to remove the audio and most will do so. Here is an example of distracting wind noise yet it still sold for $299 and this is a common sales with same or similar wind noise. Let's not be too strict on wind noise.

Hello everyone!
@TheEngineer--proper keywording and spam is always an issue but we have increased our curatorial staff and will fine tune some curating functions which will give quicker views of keywords. Curators will be able to more efficiently spot bad or irrelevant keywords.
@RekindlePhoto--the sample you have posted here would never be in danger of being rejected. I don't think that we are being too strict but we are asking contributors is to take greater care in uploading unusable or 'hot' audio with their video clips. We all know that it is relatively easy for buyers to remove audio tracks but we also all know that shooters can control their audio levels when recording. Most 'in camera' dslr audio is pretty much unusable on a professional level. Pond5 would like to see uploads with audio only when it is relevant to the clip and not when it is hot or there is talking or commentary or irrelevant ambient noise. Clips uploaded with 'normal' audio levels will be accepted--these are not automatic rejections.

Agreed! I made this mistake once, got rejected, and acknowledge it was my fault. Forgot to remove sound, and it was a professional product with unprofessional audio. Appreciate the increase in standards.

Txs for the update curator2.
Just wondering if you could change the default location code back to "South Africa" rather than the new and puzzling "ZAF" which I worry will put off potential buyers as they won't know which African country this is.
A lot of our footage is wildlife shot in South Africa's National Parks and it's a shame to just have "ZAF" in the location.
Thanks!

@Global_Focus sorry about this. It should be an easy fix and I will update here when it is changed.

@Global_Focus--issue has been fixed.

Thanks!!

When are you going to sort out the fact that people are still selling HD clips for $5 when the minimum is supposed to be $10?

I wrote support the following:
"Ater more than 48 hours since have been approved, my last batch of approved files is not showing up nor in search results, nor in my portfolio. Could you please look into it? "

and got the following answer:

"On average it usually takes us 7-10 business days to curate video footage or images, but wait times can sometimes be longer depending on how many files have been uploaded. Right now the wait time is 2-4 weeks.

Additionally, before curation, we also have a pre-processing stage that occurs immediately after you upload your files. During pre-processing, the files will not appear anywhere on your account and can take up to 48 hours to complete.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience."

Is my English that bad?????

As one can easily see, the answer is not related at all to the original question. The files in question have already been reviewed/curated, but I am told that I have to wait for them to be... curated!!!!

Now it is 72 hours since the files do not show up into my portfolio. I mean the curated files. Any sugestions???

I think they just misread your correctly stated question. I'm sure they're just used to getting questions about the curation time and misunderstood your request, probably out of haste.

Who is "4@" with all the new photos being approved. A new agency brought on like rf123? Just wondering who the new artists and competitors are.

I thought 4@ were RF123 artists - so this is likely a new batch from 123RF.

The 4@ before the username is to avoid problems with the same username being on both sites.

Or at least that is what I believe - could be wrong!

TE

We were told at NAB that rf123 site search is gone. P5 does not go to rf123 data anymore and artists from rf123 who chose are now stored and searched using P5 data bases. I just saw a large number of new 4@ so was wondering what is really happening since the name after 4@ are different.

Hello everyone.
@ionescu we have been experiencing rare index issues with certain users where the clips take much longer than usual to appear in the artist's portfolio. If you ever see that it is taking longer than 48 hours to appear please contact curators@pond5.com.
I will take a look at your account and email you directly when I find what is going on. Sorry about that confusing response. It appears that curator did not interpret your email correctly.

I do not understand:

Created: 20th of april, Uploaded: 20th of April,Online: 20th of April - all 2013



How does it happen that while others have to wait weeks for review???

Hello everyone.
@ionescu: the curating team always tries to curate clips as they are received--which means chronological order. It does not always work out this way but most of the times it does.
Pond5 curators reserve the right to work on clips-- which require extra attention, priority attention or a large batch upload which has been uploaded by a particular artist over the course of many different days-- as they deem appropriate. We have a system in place which we think works and are always striving to improve it. You will all see significant improvements with faster approvals in the weeks ahead.

We are sorry if you are upset about this, but please understand that our curators are working at full capacity to approve as many clips as possible and as quickly as possible.

I would hate to be a curator .. boring eye-crossing job ;).

@curator2: Thank you for claryfing things. I was only a bit confused but not upset. Pond5 is my love!!! - I am not joking.

Again, the same indexing issues, :more than 72 hours after approval, my approved files do not appear nor in my portfolio, nor in search results. I wrote to curators yesterday but got no answer at all.

@ionescu please contact us immediately when you notice these glitches-- curators@pond5.com.
This issue should have been resolved and it was affecting a small number of uploads. Please let us know if you are experiencing any more delays with videos appearing in your portfolio.

4 days since approval and files still not in my portfolio, sent a message to curators, but I figure I'll chime in here anyways.

@ionescu and @atomazul, can you check your profiles to see if this is still happening? We want to hone in on if this is fixed or not.

Thanks,

Ryan
Pond5 Crew

Yes, they were there, then gone, now they're back. Thanks Ryan.

Just wanted to mention that the review time for my last batch of clips was very quick, it's clear that effort is being made to speed things up. Thanks guys!

How fast was "very quick"?

Oldest clip in the batch was less than a week waiting. Compared to nearly a month from the last batch, I'd say that's quick, and it shows Pond5 is making real progress speeding things up.

Hi, Ryan! I am waiting for the next batch to be approved. I will let you know when the next batch will be approved.

Hello Ryan. My last approved batch of 75 clips (approved May 4th, early AM), still are not showing up in my portfolio. Still says I have 931 files when I should have 1006. Thanks!

Hi, Ryan!

Unfortunately, nothing has chagned. Still same problem here: files approved on the 3rd of May 2013 not showing up into my portfolio nor in my stats number.

Hi, Ryan! Today is Thursday. The same problem: files approved on the 3rd and on the 6th are not showing in my portfolio, nor in my state number.

God bless you all!
Christian

I have to concur with Ionescu. Approved Saturday morning, now it's just about Thursday afternoon and they're not in my portfolio, or searchable. Thanks.

It's Friday and files have not showed up yet! Houston, we have a problem! I have the feelling it is affecting my sales too.

same here aproved footage 2nd may still not showing up

Yikes. Sending a direct message to help doesn't work either. Whoever checked it, didn't read it, and copy/pasted a generic spiel about curation times. A few hours shy of a solid week, files still not in my portfolio, and still not searchable. I gave up efforts on having multiple formats of clips combined, but this seems a little more important and this delay is keeping a lot of clips from having a shot at any sales. Any news on this front, Ryan???

@Atomazul: the very same message I have got it first time I wrote support. They said that the P5 person missread my message. Now the same is happening to you. Another missreading? I doubt!

On SS I get files approved in less than 24 hours and show up in my portfolio and in search results in less than 12 hours since they were approved.

The whole thing is getting annoying and for sure is affecting our sales while others get their files up on P5 and sell them as usual. That is not fair.

Is Pond5 staff on a holiday?

I just got a mesmerizing answer from support:

„your files have been accepted and are waiting for your final edits before they go live”

Has anyone of you heard of FINAL EDITS BEFORE GOING LIVE?????????????????????

Hey guys, thanks for posting. Sorry I have not gotten back to you right away.

This is an issue with site indexing, as I've stated before in other threads. We're working on a fix currently that will have your profiles updated with correct numbers and your clips will be searchable online ASAP. We appreciate your patience and I will keep you updated once we have this issue straightened out.

Please send me emails at ryan@pond5.com with your clip ID #'s and I will associate/disassociate them as needed. You can also send me direct messages on here (ryanp5) or make your subject line "Submitted Files (Attn: Ryan)" or something when you email the contact@pond5.com inbox, then it will get marked for me. Since I am talking to you on these issues it would be best that you make sure to mark it so I will get it!

And @atomazul and @ionescu, can you please forward me the correspondence emails you got from our support team?

Thanks,

Ryan
Pond5 Crew

Hi, Ryan!
I just been asked to send the IDs of over 700 files....

I forwarded you all the messages.

God bless you all!
Christian

Thanks for responding and acknowledging the problem with the indexing, Ryan. Understand I just want to point out what appears to be an error or glitch, not complaining or anything, still my favorite stock agency!

The response to my indexing inquiry was this:

"Though it does usually take us 10-14 business days to curate clips normally, wait times may be a bit longer occasionally due to fluctuation in volume of submissions. You will receive a system generated email notification when the files have been reviewed. We are striving for more instant reviews than our current review times and currently have a few curators in training to increase the curating speed."

Not too worried about my associated files issue anymore. Eventually I will go through all my files that need to be associated and compile the numbers together and send them again. But I'll wait until this missing batch appears in my portfolio first, (now over a week) as I have more in that batch that need association as well.

Thanks again, Ryan!

This morning (8 days after acceptance) the clips are in my portfolio. My total # of clips on my profile overview hasn't updated, but that's not really important as long as the clips are findable through search. Thanks for the fix.

Hey everyone, please check on your clips now and let me know if they're still not showing up. I've been notified that the indexing issues should be fixed (as Atomazul has stated with their content).

Please let me know if you're still not seeing your files!

Cheers,

Ryan
Pond5 Crew

Hi, Ryan! All my files show up and are OK. There is still one problem: the file number on my profile page My Profile has not updated for quite a long time. I am afraid this bug/glitch or whatever you want to call it is still affecting my sales. Could you, please, ask the developers to check it? Thank you for all your hard efforts!

God bless you all!
Christian

Hey Christian, if you go to (your username)>Overview>View Profile, on your profile page in V2 you will see a button for "edit profile" and a button that says "refresh." You can click on refresh and that should update your profile numbers. If it doesn't work for you please let me know!

Ryan
Pond5 Crew

Just tried the "refresh" button as suggested. After I clicked it, the button disappeared, but my file #'s remain incorrect. Reloaded the page, same thing. It says I have 931 files, when I actually have 1006. Again, not a huge problem to me, as long it doesn't somehow affect my files in searches or anything.

This morning my file # shows the correct amount. Guess it just takes a bit for the refresh to kick in or something.

Great! Thanks for updating me on this. I will make sure that we are aware of the delay and I've made sure this is being seen.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Ryan
Pond5 Crew

Hi, Ryan! I pressed numerous time the refresh button with no effect at all.

God bless you all!
Christian

I'm having a similar issue. My port's been "stuck" on 2,997 for a while, and I have 3,061 files.

Pressing "refresh" seems to do nothing.