subject: Archive Footage At The Oscars [print this page] Stock footage was once flammable, difficult to transport and cumbersome to deal with, even for the experts. But thanks to rapid technological advancements, getting hold of digital video of the past is simple, easy to do and now far cheaper than staging a reconstruction of past events.
Under the water, a huge menacing shark attacks a cage, and in audiences across the United States, people everywhere are scared of going back in the water.
The year is 1975, and the soon-to-be four-time Oscar winning film in question is the now-notorious Jaws. The shark may look like it was filmed especially for the movie, but in fact, it was sourced from stock footage found in an archive.
And when it comes to using stock footage, this is by far not the only film which has employed the technique while picking up some Oscars along the way. The King's Speech, Braveheart and hit Coen brothers film No Country For Old Men are all films which have followed in pursuit of Jaws success.
If you were wondering why Oscar-winning films would need to use stock footage, and you thought that having a big budget means production companies should be able to avoid having to do this, then consider the huge pressures faced by film crews and associated companies.
With multiple units to run and hundreds or thousands of extras, cast and crew to pay out and insure, they need to cut costs wherever possible. Doing so makes the world of Oscars and films turn around.
Stock footage is ideal for this. Not only is it entirely authentic and easily blended in with the existing shot footage, but it's also very affordable. Most important of all, it's fully licensed and can be downloaded anywhere, any time. Ideal for producers who are busy, or out in remote locations where obtaining reels of films would be totally impractical and a serious headache for all concerned.
Other reasons why stock footage has become such a staple of the movie industry are more obvious. For example, imagine you need to film a baby bird hatching in an exotic location, and that this and several other shots are the only things holding back the editing process.
In this case and so many others, going to an archive enables producers to get the job done quickly, without having to deal with rare and difficult-to-predict events that could take months or years to film on their own.
