TechBytes with Kyle Trotter, Director of Creative Video Content at Shutterstock

Tell us about your role and the team/technology you handle at Shutterstock.

I’m the Director of Creative Video Content at Shutterstock, where I lead the global footage content strategy and I also worked with my team to develop and launch Shutterstock Elements, our new footage offering that includes thousands of cinema-grade video effects for filmmakers. I work closely with the Product team to develop future roadmaps for the business and produce Video Marketing content for global Shutterstock and PremiumBeat campaigns.

What is the current definition of Video and Still Photography for Marketing and Advertising? 

According to Nielsen, people spend more than 10 hours a day looking at screens. This unprecedented rise in digital media has led to the increased consumption of both image and video. Brands are turning particularly to video for its storytelling aspects, as well to increase engagement and boost both their Marketing and Advertising efforts. As any marketer knows, creating compelling relevant content is the key to standing out in today’s media-heavy landscape.

How can brands leverage Shutterstock Elements?

Today, more Video content is uploaded in 30 days than the major US television networks have created in the past 30 years. Marketers are responding to this trend by making video a top priority in their Marketing mix. With every marketer using video to engage with audiences, the competition for attention is fierce. The pressure to produce high-quality content quickly and at scale has never been greater. Elements allow you to give your project that secret sauce and sizzle to standout in a crowded arena. Marketers are interested in telling their stories on smaller budgets, without compromising quality.

What are the key features of Shutterstock Elements? 

The Elements collections include over 3,000 blockbuster-quality video effects created by industry professionals, including 4K lens flares, essential transitions, and captivating video kits with smoke, fire, and explosions. There are detailed tutorials on how to optimize effects, which are helpful for both the casual user and full time professional. Elements features a wide selection of digital assets, like transitions and overlays, to physical effects like explosions or glass shattering.

Tell us more about the various integrations with other Video Editing and Video Making platforms.

Elements is compatible with all major Video Editing programs and includes curated categories for specific genres, from everyday moments to blockbuster action scenes. This makes it ideal for those who are interested in adding touches like flares and sizzle to their videos for a more professional feel. With the consistently growing popularity of YouTube, we’ve created video kits like “Yum” that are tailored for food vloggers, and How-to’s with over 100 elements including lower thirds, transitions, animated characters, and loopable backgrounds that provide a much more polished finish to videos.

How does Shutterstock promote stock photos over user-generated content? 

Shutterstock is a two-sided marketplace with over 750,000 videographers, photographers, artists and musicians who upload content to our site for consumers to then license and use in their project. We believe in the power of storytelling, and with over 350 million images and 14 million videos, our technology helps optimize search to make sure the right content ends up in the hands of the right customer.

With mobile photography and film-making becoming obvious, how do you think filmmakers can benefit from Shutterstock?

Filmmakers can benefit in two ways. The first is through the value Shutterstock provides. Not all filmmakers work for big production studios with massive budgets. The Elements packs offer great production value at a fraction of the cost of what it would take to make these assets yourself.

The second way is through added income. Shutterstock is fueled by a global community of contributors- we have over 750,000 artists, filmmakers, musicians and photographers in over 100 countries. Most filmmakers have extra footage from a project they were working that can easily be uploaded to Shutterstock. Every time a customer licenses their work, they will collect earnings. There are a million different use cases for stock and it helps fill the diverse needs among our customers. Shutterstock has paid over $650 million to contributors since 2003, and many of these contributors live off of it full time and others use it as a side income. Being a contributor is a great way to make extra money while being creative and working on your passion project.

What are your predictions about your market/customer base in the next 3 years? 

As video becomes more prevalent in our daily lives, content is becoming more focused and tailored for particular audiences. With that, we will continue to see the amount of video continue to increase. This means we will have to find production solutions for the vast scale of content required. From a production standpoint, the video will become more post-driven, meaning we can create more from our computers, relying less on having to actually film. Due to the increasing trend in customized content creation, audiences will become smaller, but more focused, targeted, and effective. Content will be recycled more often and reused as a result of economic pressure, meaning more opportunity to monetize video if you’re licensing it.