subject: Royalty Free & Rights Managed Footage- Understanding The Differences [print this page] It's good to fully understand the differences between Royalty Free and Rights Managed Footage before you decide which to use in your production.
If you are planning to use stock footage for your college film, sales presentaton, press campaign or any other production, it's essential to know about the two options of Royalty Free and Rights Managed footage. Understanding the different licences involved will help you to make the right decision as to which type of stock footage best suits your needs.
Rights Managed-
Because it uses guidelines based on its intended usage and term to determine price, this type of stock footage is generally the much more expensive choice. For instance, if you license a clip of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and chose to use it once time for an in-house presentation, costs will be much less than using it for a TV ad which is broadcast nationally. If, on the other hand, you use the clip in a Public Service Announcement, the charge is greatly reduced by the nature of the ad.
Term (the length of the license) is also a factor and it's obvious why In Perpetuity costs more than a one or two year licence. This is a simple formula, the cost of which increases the longer you use the clip and in the number of markets it appears. Today those markets can include everything from broadcast TV to Ipads. There are even licenses that take into account media now or hereeverafter invented. The bottom line is: a unique license will be created for your individual needs detailing the exact footage licensed, the usage as agreed upon by licensor and licensee, and the length of license (term) as well as the stipulated fee. If you, the licensee breaches this contract, you will be liable for additional charges and penalties.
Royalty-Free-
Royalty free footage is like a freeway compared with the pricey turnpike of rights managed footage. When you get a royalty free licence for footage, you will have to pay an agreed-upon price to use the footage but you may use it as often and in as many productions as you like. There are certain conditions of the authorised licensor or the owner of the footage to consider, however, but when you license royalty free footage, you have the creative freedom to use the footage the way you want.
When buying royalty free footage, you must go through the various licences created for each video clip. Study the restrictions and freedom of every unique licence. There are various sites that offer a range of royalty-free licence agreements for their footage. Be clear in what you want from the footage, how you want to use it. Then match your wants with the conditions listed in the licence agreement.
To sum up, since a Royalty Free licence gives you the permission for unlimited use of a clip; whereas with a Rights Managed licence you have severe restrictions, unless you are producing a big budget Hollywood block-buster, the smarter choice is always Royalty-Free.
