Making a Commercial using only stock footage from Artgrid

Don’t want to read the blog? Watch it as a YouTube video! In this video I explain how to create a spec ad using only stock footage.

The Art of the Spec Ad

As a freelance Director of Photography, one of your top marketing tools is the spec ad. It's also known as a spec commercial and is speculative – meaning it's not an actual advert. It's not been commissioned and is likely not to be published. Instead, it's a work sample to show your style and talent. Every year I would assert that hundreds of video creators, producers and agencies sink their time, resources, and money into creating these projects, all to impress prospective clients.

I've created dozens of these types of ads, spanning a variety of different topics. Everything from furniture to mouthwash. Some of these projects have led me to long, prosperous business relationships, and others, well, not so much. So I incorporate a new visual technique or trick whenever I create a spec ad. That way, if the project doesn't lead to anything, I will have walked away at least learning a new concept which I could use in future paid work.

Speaking of work: One of the biggest hassles of creating a spec ad is all the work that goes into producing the final product. From filming scenes to recording voiceovers, finding music, and creating animations, investing time in a speculative project can quickly deter even the keenest of creatives. This barrier to entry is why opportunities to save time on these endeavours are greatly appreciated and should not be cast aside.

For me: That's where Artgrid comes in.

This close up video was the perfect clip to start the ad. The emotions in the females eyes are largely ambiguous.

The Challenge

As a freelance DOP, I manage several creative subscription services. A subscription to license my music, a subscription to purchase photos, and a subscription to organize my files, to name a few. I also have a subscription to Artgrid to help fill in the gaps when I need a video clip for a project. But what if you didn't need to fill in the gaps between footage you already shot? What if the ENTIRE SPEC AD was your gap? Could you build an entire advertisement from Artgird stock footage? I wanted to find out.

Artgird to the Rescue

I want to clarify that Artgrid does not sponsor me. Nor will I receive kickbacks from people who sign up for this service. I do, however, advocate for the quality of their service. For a few hundred dollars per year (the Pro version), Artgird provides its members with thousands of high-quality clips and assets. While other stock footage providers are keen to give clips spanning a wide variety, Artgrid provides its members with the source footage and information about the type of camera on which the selected footage was shot. This extra information means you can work directly with log footage and find footage shot with a camera that fits your workflow. This feature alone makes the service stand out from the rest. From my experience, their service strikes an outstanding balance between overall quantity and quality. 

To put that quality to the test, I thought it would be an exciting endeavour to create a spec advertisement for Airbnb crafted exclusively from Artgrid footage. Sure, I would still be hiring a narrator, editing the promotion, colour-grading the clips, and finding the music, to name a few of the things that go into creating an ad. However, the most challenging part, filming the advertisement, would be completed for me. Then, all I had to do was find the proper footage for my project.

This clip was great for showing the unity between the couple. The actions are not entirely clear, but you can sense that they are happy.

The Concept

The idea that spent the longest amount of time rattling around in my brain was a concept in which two people, a couple, were able to rekindle their romantic relationship through some personal discovery while staying at an Airbnb property. A universal message of love and understanding that could communicate the simple statement that the viewer should plan their next vacation using the service. I also wanted to include, perhaps, an interesting vista or backdrop to showcase the diversity of location listings Airbnb has to offer. A pleasant thought, but all wishful thinking if I could not find the footage on Artgird. So how did it go?

Shopping for Footage on Artgrid

I had initially started by going into my library of saved clips to see if they would work when combined in a single video. I had some interesting location footage and pleasant moments, but nothing jelled. This mix-and-match approach quickly turned out to be a pretty difficult ask, as stock footage from different shoots rarely matched in a way that I considered logical and satisfying, at least without making a great effort to make the paired clips make sense. That's when I shifted my focus to look at collections of footage.

Artgird allows stock footage uploaders to organize their footage into collections. This grouping of clips makes it easy to find variations of footage from the same shoot. Once I determined that it was as simple as finding a collection that fit the theme of my spec ad.

I found a collection uploaded to Artgrid by a Director of Photography named Hans Peter Schepp. Using his Black Magic Pocket 4K Cinema Camera, he captured an impressive collection from the Faroe Islands in Denmark. I really liked the footage and found it perfect for communicating the story of my project. Despite the footage clearly being labelled as 'Friends out for a walk,' I felt confident I could introduce a romantic angle with a little creative editing. So, I downloaded roughly 15 clips and went to work in Adobe Premiere Pro!

I went with this shot because it indicates a playful relationship between the couple. Something which they may have lost in their normal lives.

Note: You must install the plugin for Black Magic RAW Footage before you can edit it in Premiere Pro.

Editing

In the beginning, I never intended for this project to be long. The goal was a short and sweet (as most spec work is) advertisement to get my point across. So I settled on a sub-30-second duration, edited at a brisk pace so as not to bore the viewer. I quickly determined that the footage would work great if I edited it in the order by which it was filmed, documenting the DOP's trip to the islands, including travel, vistas, and, most importantly for me, the accommodations! The collection contained a few shots of these lovely dome-style dwellings, which I thought fit with the Airbnb 'Belong Anywhere' slogan.

Once I had a rough cut of my ad, I wanted to solve the music and the narration. I use Epidemic Sound to source most of the music for my projects. I find their archives quite robust in the genres I prefer to use. They also have a great library of sound effects, which I used to fill out the mix for my advertisement. 

Finding a voice actor is a completely different task. Typically I hire locally through a recording studio in my city of Winnipeg. However, I've also had some great luck hiring voice actors from a website called Bunny Studios. They have hundreds of actors to choose from and tools to help you narrow your search. I've used them so much this past year that Bunny Studios reached out to me and gave me a personal representative through which I hire out for projects. This route was perfect for this project, so I contacted my rep, and I had a voice actor for my ad.

I assembled all the components, grading the footage in a warm 'orange & teal' inspired look, and topped the project off with some light animation at the end, in a style I thought would be befitting of the company.

This shot I can be seen as indicative of the couple overcoming turbulence in their relationship.

A Spec Ad for Airbnb featuring a romantic couple visiting the Faroe Islands in Denmark rekindle their love while on a vacation.

In Conclusion

So it turns out you can create an advertisement exclusively from Artgrid footage! I'm not actually that surprised. Accessible, affordable options for stock footage have been growing online for the last decade. So it's only reasonable to assume that you could use the footage this way. I am impressed that I never felt too hindered by the fact that I was working exclusively with stock footage. The quality and variety of the footage in my instance were more than sufficient to create an advertisement which I would tout as professional quality, and I was able to develop it while saving time and money.

Now let's wait for Airbnb to answer the call...

What do you think about this project? Reach out to me on any of these social platforms to start a discussion. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more video projects like this one.

Josh Diaz is a filmmaker and video editor based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.