FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

What is Clip Shot?

Clip Shot is a web based store for high quality stock content. A place where buyers and sellers can purchase and sell high quality royalty-free stock media online. Royalty Free Photos, RED, HD and SD royalty free broadcast quality video clips can be downloaded for your projects and productions, and contributors can sell their media using a simple on-line system for uploads cataloging, tracking of sales and purchases.

How Does Clip Shot Work?

It’s the easiest and most flexible system in the industry. Register as a user and set up an account. Next, purchase Clippy’s, (Clip Shot’s currency) then use them to pay for a photo or clip. You can purchase “royalty-free” single clips or photos or as many as you wish. Value comes from purchasing larger quantities of clippys where the price point is lower. There are no minimums, or special purchase plans, (sd vs hd, number of clips per day, etc). As a buyer you are in total control, and un-used Clippys are maintained in your account and are good for one year.

What does Royalty-Free mean?

Royalty-Free Media (RED, HD and SD video clips and photos) is a type of license that provides for the unlimited use of an image or footage in any media defined within Clip Shot’s licensing terms. All of the images (both photos and footage) on Clip Shot are royalty-free and do not require an individual license. The specific terms can be found HERE.

What is a Clippy?

Clippy’s are Clip Shot’s method of currency. As a buyer, you purchase Clippy’s and then spend them when you select and download a file. The cost of a Clippy is determined by the amount purchased. The more Clippy’s purchased, the cheaper the cost. Since our content providers set the price of their submissions, you will find there may be some real value in many of our media clips and photos. For Photo purchases you pay based on the size of the photo. For footage purchases you will pay for a clip by the second (and you have the option of buying the entire clip or you can select an in and out point and purchase just that portion of the clip). As a buyer, this gives you the greatest flexibility and control over your purchase decisions.

When you create a new account and purchase Clippys, a detail of your account balance, Clippys used, Clippys remaining along with a history of all of your transactions is maintained.

How long are Clippy’s Valid?

Clippy’s expire one year from the date purchased.

How do I search for Clips?

Enter a search term in the search field located on every page and click on search or click on a category. Media is returned by most popular first. Roll over thumbnails with your mouse on the results page and they will display in a larger window. Footage clips will play immediately. Click on the clip to display the clip’s detail page. You will also have the option to sort by Best Match, Rating, Resolution, Popularity, Date Added, Description, Duration, Provider.

What is on the thumbnails results page?

After a search is entered you are with presented a selection of photos and clips that you can browse through. You can also select how many clips to view on a page by clicking on the drop down window. Footage thumbnails are shown as “Clip” with a duration time and photos as “Photo”. As you move your mouse over a clip or photo a larger viewer will appear that plays the clip or shows the photo along with more technical information about the shot. You have the choice to click on that shot and go to the clip detail page or you can click on shot box and add it to one of your shot boxes. A “Buy” link allows you to add the entire clip to you cart without having to mark an in or out. A rating of the photo/clip is shown based on the number of votes it has received from viewers.

What is on the Clip Detail Page and how Does the Viewer / Editor Work?

Once a clip is selected, a Clip Detail pages appears. On this page you will see the various options offered for sale. If the media is a clip, it begins playing immediately in Clip Shot’s online selection Viewer / Editor. The Title / Description of the Media is shown at the top of the page.

Clips and the Viewer / Editor

Clip Shots Viewer / Editor is simple and easy to use. Function Buttons on the Selection Bar from left to right are - Jump to Beginning, Jump to In-Point, Set In-Point, Play / Pause, Set Out Point, Jump to Out Point and Jump to End. The Blue box in the middle displays the edited duration of the clip (either the entire clip or if you have modified the clip – its new duration). Next is the original duration of the clip and finally an audio level control slider.

Underneath these controls is the clip timeline. Here you will see a moving blue box which indicates the current position of the play head within the clip and the time at the current position. You have the ability to scrub or move the play head to any position within the clip. Do this by clicking and holding on the play head with your mouse and dragging it to the new location. Underneath the play head you will find a green IN box selector and red OUT box selector. You can slide these boxes to any point on the time line and release to set your new in and out points, or you can do it from the selection buttons on the function buttons bar. PLEASE NOTE: There may be a slight lag on displaying a new frame of video when dragging the play head. Some factors of this are your internet connection speed, traffic and server processing time.

When setting new in and out times, please be aware that the minimum amount of time that can be purchased is 5 seconds. The In and Out Indicators will not go below this minimum.

If you are purchasing the entire clip you can select the “Add to Cart” button underneath the clip and it will be added to your shopping cart. If you choose new IN and OUT times for a shorter version of the clip, do that first then click on the “Add to Cart” button. A shortened version of the clip is now loaded into your shopping cart with the updated times and reflected lower cost, based on the new clip times. If you have added a clip already and need to adjust it again, you can make your adjustments and click the “Update Cart” button.

Other Information

Shown below the clip is other technical information including the original format of the clip (RED, HD, SD, etc) and its resolution. Also shown is the duration of the clip, and pricing. If the clip is edited and added or updated in the cart, the duration and price information will reflect that. Clips are priced “by the second”, and you pay for them using “Clippys” (Clip Shot’s method of currency). If you are buying a shortened version of the clip, you will see the updated pricing for your selection in your shopping cart, after your selection is made.

Underneath the Technical Data and pricing information are the keywords or tags for the clip.

To the right of the clip or photo you will find:
     • Clip Shots CLIP ID number of the file
     • The Shot Providers Name and a link to view his/her entire portfolio
     • Information Regarding Model and Property Releases
     • Date Shot
     • Date the file was uploaded
     • The original Uploaded CODEC Used
     • A Rating of the clip based on User Votes

If the image is a photo, a watermarked low resolution preview of the image is presented. All of the versions offered for sale are shown along with their price in “Clippys”

For Photos, we offer sizes in small, medium, large, extra large, and super large. Photos are submitted in their original resolution and file format whenever possible. Accepted file formats are JPG at the highest quality or uncompressed TIF files. Minimum resolution accepted is 4 Mega Pixels. This equates to a minimum image resolution of approximately 2500x1600 pixels. In terms of size, this image at 300DPI is 8.33 Inches x 5.33 Inches.

Download a COMP

To download a watermarked comp of a clip or a photo, click on the DOWNLOAD COMP button. You will then be able to save the file to your computer. You must be registered and logged in to be able to download a comp.

Purchase the Clip / Photo

To purchase a photo select the size of your choice, and click on the “Add to Cart” button. The photo is added to your cart.

After you have selected the media you want to purchase, go to you shopping cart and “Check Out” to buy your clips/photos. You can mix clips and photos in your cart and purchase all of them at the same time.

Once you successfully purchase your clips, you will be presented with an Order Details page, where you can download your clip or photo. PLEASE NOTE: Clips may not be immediately ready for download, as the system will process your clips with the marked In Points and Out Points. Generally they are ready within 1-2 minutes of final purchase.

A “Clip Order History” Page is maintained for your account and provides information regarding your purchases, including clip order number, Date of purchase, number of clips/photos purchased, notes and “Clippys” used.. You can click on the Clip Order Number and detail about that particular order is revealed. This also allows you the ability to re-download a clip/photo after you have purchased it if you need to.

How do I contact Clip Shot?

You can email us at sales@clipshot.com or you can call our toll free number - 1-877-720-2547.

How do you choose your content?

Talented photographers, videographers and filmmakers who hold the copyright, submit their owned content to us. We convert it to the various formats we offer for sale and provide the web store for our buyers to easily download and purchase media for their projects. We are looking for the most creative, interesting and best content from our talented contributors. We save buyers time and money because we give them total control over the selection process by allowing them to select the duration of a clip or the size of a photo.

It’s always been about choice. You can never have too much great content. We encourage our submitters to send in as many clips as they wish. Static, wide, tight, pans and zooms of a particular subject give purchasers the greatest mount of flexibility when choosing shots. Editors may need a static then cut to a tight or pan shot or the same subject matter. And by being able to download only the portion of the clip you need – you save additional time and money.

Where can I see Technical Information on Footage and Photos?

Once a clip is selected, a Clip Detail pages appears. On this page you will see the various options offered for sale. Here you will find technical specifications for each shot (photos or footage).

For Photos, we offer sizes in small, medium, large, extra large, and super large. Photos are submitted in their original resolution and file format whenever possible. Accepted file formats are JPG at the highest quality or uncompressed TIF files. Minimum resolution accepted is 4 Mega Pixels. This equates to a minimum image resolution of approximately 2500x1600 pixels. In terms of size, this image at 300DPI is 8.33 Inches x 5.33 Inches. Clip Shot makes Photos available at the original size and converts the original to smaller sizes offered for sale.

RED, HD and SD footage is submitted as Quicktime .mov files using one of the following codecs: Apple Pro-Res, DV/DVCPRO, Photo JPEG, or PNG. On the Clip Detail Page you will find technical details about each clip including format, codec and frame rate information and clip length (total duration and user selected edit points).

What are Shot Boxes?

Shot Boxes are holding areas for clips or photos that interest you. These are stored in your account where you can organize the shots you are interested in for reference at a later time. You have the option to create Shot Boxes for several projects and add clips to them. Later after review, you can purchase the clips by adding them to your cart and checking out .

After logging in “Shot Boxes” for your account is added to the Top Menu Selection Bar. Clicking on “Shot Boxes” from the Top Menu Selection Bar takes you to a recap view of all of the Shot Boxes you have created. From here you will see a detail of the number of Shot Boxes in your account, the date created, the number of clips in each Shot Box, the number of views, and an indication whether or not the Shot Box is password protected. You also have the ability to create a new Shot Box and choose whether to password protect it or not.

As Search results thumbnail pages are displayed there is a drop down menu called “Active Shot Box” available to you that shows all of the Shot Boxes you have created in your account. The active Shot Box is the current one displayed in the drop down window. From here you have the option to add clips to your current active Shot Box with one click by simply clicking on “Shot Box” under the thumbnail of the clip or photo that you want to add.

Don’t forget, you also have the ability to password protect your Shot Boxes, and the ability to send a link of a Shot Box to clients for their review when choosing clips or photos for a project.

How do I Sell Media On Clip Shot?

First, join Clip Shot as a user. After successfully joining us as a user, login, then go to “Become a Shot Provider”. and read the document. Next, click on the Shot Provider Application Link and follow the instructions. Submit sample footage by uploading using YouSendIt, or by sending it via mail on DVD's or other digital media. PLEASE NOTE, any drives or media sent to Clip Shot, WILL NOT BE RETURNED. If uploading your files using YouSendIt, provide the link in the Application. When received, we will review your application and samples of your work. We will make a determination at that time whether to approve you as a Clip Shot Provider. Further instructions on submitting work for the site will be provided to you at that time. Find out more about registering for an account here.