How do i start?

Hi - I registered for contributing (Yuvaldax) but I couldn't understand how it works-the site just explains the general principles

should i sign a contract and where?
whom should i send it to and how?
where is the bank details page?
how do i upload files?
one more question-is this the right a topic for all these questions?

Thanks, Yuval

Hi Yuva

Please take a look at our https://www.pond5.com/document/sellerFAQ.html, many of your questions will be addressed there.

I uploaded a file but i can't see it in the web site - does it take time for it to appear? where can i find it when it appears?

if it takes up to a month - i'ts going to be hard to learn how to start working with this system

"Usually, your clips will be placed on the server within a month reaching us, though it can sometimes be more depending on our volume of submissions. We'll contact you by email when this happens. You will then need to tag them and submit them to a curator before they will be made available to buyers. "

The monthlong wait is for files that have been mailed in on a disc and uploaded through our system manually. As long as you've prepared your files in accordance with our https://www.pond5.com/document/video_requirements.html the file should be present on our system within an hour or two. If it doesn't show up within that time, please check your export settings.

My webstie http://www.stockvideoseller.com may cover some of the topics you might need as a starter in the business.

site is very helpful tbmp.. but what the heck is a round pixel?

dapoota, if you are converting from interlaced footage to MotionJPEG, as per requirements on iStock, you need to convert from the native round pixels of interlaced footage to square. That way the footage is maximized for quality (says iStock) and made acceptable for them. Progressive footage is natively square. Thanks for the feedback on the site. Like everything in this business, it's a grand experiment. Let me know if there is anything specific you think NEWBIES would need that should be on the site. Such as a HOW TO on uploading to Pond5. TLB

Terry,

Judt read your reply to Scott about converting round pixels to interlaced square. There isn't any such thing as native round pixels. Interlaced video (4:3 or !6:9) are rectangular as opposed to progressive video pixels which are square. You need to correct that statement in your Beginner's Guide to Selling Video as it is incorrect..

that is what I was referring to. I think what you are talking about is non-square pixels, which are rectangular (1.33 AR).

Ahh so! I bow your wisdom here.. I'll go and change it. Thanks! I appreciate you comments...

FYI here are the specs from iStock concerning this stuff:

This footage has been compressed with a setting of 1440 x 1080, which is a HDV shooting ratio created using non-square pixels. Full size HD on the site must be 1920 x 1080 with a square (1.0) pixel aspect ratio. Though many of your files have been accepted with the current export settings you use, we ask that you no longer submit files with those settings.

For future submissions please ensure that 1080 HD interlaced footage has the following format:
Dimension: 1920 x 1080
Pixel Aspect Ratio: (1.0)
Codec: Motion/Photo JPEG

Ensure that HDV footage has the following format:
Dimension: 1440 x 1080
Pixel Aspect Ratio: (1.33)
Codec: HDV