I am going to sound rude answering it this way Bill. I consider you one of my buds, but I am just going to be frank here. ( I sure hope Frank doesn't mind!) :wink:
Anyone that IS licensing their video on a regular basis is not going to tell you (publicly and maybe not privately) all the details your asking for. Why is that? I can only speak for myself, but I am sure this holds true to some degree for anyone else that does it on a regular basis.
A LOT of work goes in to researching markets for it, emailing tons of people, TONS of phone calls, time and money spent sending out demos etc etc etc. Frankly, why would anyone come and give their work away for free. It's not impossible to find out this information, but I feel if someone wants to do this, they should be willing to do like the rest of us that DO it and put forth the efforts to learn gain this information on their own. Alternatively, you could sign up with one of the "agents" that are floating around and have them do all that for you for a %. If it's worth doing, it's worth putting in the footwork for.
The mom and pop store down the street isn't going to tell you what supplier they get their merchandise from so you can go and get it and undersell them. Again, I don't mean this in a rude or condecending way WHATSOEVER, it's just the nature of a business market. It's like asking Coca Cola for their secret formula so you can make your own drink.
No one contract I have ever did with anyone has been the same. They all vary depending on what the material is, and what they are using it for, and quite frankly, what other benefits there might be in it for letting them license it.
That said, I have pointed a few in the right general direction, but I won't ever give specifics of who I deal with because I think I am doing them a better favor by helping them to learn on their own, rather than just hand over all the answers. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing some work of your own for. Teach a man to fish, you know...
Some tips:
1) Never, EVER let your original out of your hands, EVER. If you do, command big $$$ for it. Make a digital copy of it and send that instead.
2) If your not AT LEAST shooting Digital8, then don't bother. Cheap, low end consumer cameras pretty much all now shoot Digital8 or better, so if you seriously want to market your stuff, you should at the very least move up to Digital8 or DV. The reason is digital can be copied many times with little to no loss, something you just can't do with analog, even Svideo.
3) Never sign anything that gives your ultimate end rights to the material away, EVER. IF they want that, they pay BIG $$$ Remember, if you sign your rights away, you can't even put a video grab on your website from that material. And by BIG $$$ on this I mean a check with 5 or 6 zeros behind a number for complete rights. Once you sell it like that, it's no longer yours whatsoever for any use at all. What you shot is unique. If someone wants complete rights to your video, then they need to pay to have those rights for uniqueness. Remember them having complete rights, also gives them the right to sell it to someone else.
4) Never give anything to any news outlet without stipulating a 10-day only license.
5) Never license anything to a production company for use outside of a specific production. Each production should have it's own unique license, even if it's the same footage.
6) Producers/editors WILL edit it/chop it up, use it here and there in the program. If that is a concern for you, as Shane says, don't license out your video. It's going to be the rare situation you can get them to take it as is and not cut it up.
7) If you licensing it to a local TV station, license it for 10-days only and stipulate NO SATELLITE FEEDS. They often don't have the budget to pay very much for it, only a fraction of what you can get on a national level. Thus, for the cheaper price for local use, never let them send it satellite. If it's going national, the networks have the $$$ to pay for it.
8 ) You can license out older material, or daily type stuff to different people as stock video with unlimited usage to the licensee, but STILL keep the ultimate license for yourself.
9) Do yourself and other chasers a HUGE favor and edit out anything that is going to make you (or other chasers) look like a dumbass before releasing it.
10) ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get it in writing! ALWAYS. Before the whole process is done and you get paid, your inevitably going to deal with certain individuals. Those you made the deal with, work with MANY sources and TONS of video. They won't remember the verbal terms in the long run (either accidentally or intentionally). And read EVERY WORD on ANY contract you sign and make sure you agree with it.
11) Realize that in most cases, you probably won't see your money for AT LEAST 60 days, and often longer. You might get it right away from a local station. Networks you will wait, production companies you will wait. It's just the nature of things.
12) Never take their first offer. Guaranteed they will always go higher, if even a little bit.
13) If you want to do this long term, NEVER piss off the producer. Once you have done that, you can kiss that outlet goodbye forever, and maybe others too. They talk. On the other hand, being easy to work with can reap you longer term rewards, as Shane says, some have certain chasers they like to work with and that is why. Everyone likes someone that is easy to work with. So don't be an ass about it to potential buyers. It doesn't make you or the chasing community as a whole appear in a good light.
14) Realize there are a few in the "severe weather video business" that will do their best to shut you down and blackball you. Competition after all. Some play fair, other's don't. Just keep after it. Producers know this is happening and the one's that are doing it. Just goes back to what I said in #11, "everyone likes someone that is easy to work with". Those that are doing that crap will eventually do themselves in.
15) Finally, in the end, don't be disappointed if they take someone else's video from an event over yours. They sometimes have to choose between really good pieces of video. Just because you missed out on that sale, doesn't mean you missed out. There is ALWAYS another outlet of some sort.
Now all the above applies to commercial video licensing (i.e. news, programs, etc).
When it comes to making your own DVD, sell it for what you think it's worth to you. If a buyer thinks it's worth that too, they will buy it. If no one buys it, you might reevaluate the value you put on it.
COPYRIGHTS: Absolutely submit your work to the copyright office. If you put together a tape/dvd to send to a producer, file it with the copyright office. If you make your own DVD/VHS ABSOLUTELY file it with the copyright office. At the very least, make a rough compilation at the end of the year with your best stuff on it, slap it on a DVD and file THAT with the copyright office.
On that other note, I still am not understanding what is perpetuating the myth that GREAT storm video no longer has much value. I find out REGULARLY that is just simply not the case.
