June 2, 2015 by Julie Hill
Searching for stock footage can be like most everyday life struggles. Have you used your debit card at one store and a short while later used it at another? At the first place, you clicked the top button at the right to OK the transaction. At the other store, you mindlessly do the same thing but instead of being asked to OK the transaction, you were really being asked if you want cash back. While the debit/credit card machines may look very familiar, a lot of times the functionality is set up differently.
It can be the same way with stock footage companies. You can do a search and find a set of clips to preview but where do you find information about the clip name, length of the clip, adding the clip to a folder (AKA, clip bin, light box, board, collection, etc.) for later review?
When you’re searching for stock footage on the Artbeats website, you can glean quite a bit of information about a clip from the clip thumbnails you will be shown for your suggested search. For example, you can see:

Found Set of Clips
#1 shows you where the clip name is. This clip is A005-C001. Want to know if a clip is an Artbeats produced clip or from one of our producers? If it’s from a producer, the clip name will look something like this:
AA-FH012-
AAA-FH345-
#2 tells you how long the clip is. Clip A005-C001 is 20 seconds:1frame long.
#3 roll your mouse over the i (situated under the clip length) to see the description and keywords used for that clip.
#4 roll your mouse over the image and you can see a small preview of the clip.
#5 set the Clips per Page to your liking: 16, 24, 36, or 48 (click this link to see the found set I used for these examples).
#6 here you can either save a clip to your clip bin for later review and/or share with someone else or you can add it to your cart for purchase.
Want more clip details, see a larger preview or download a comp? Click on the clip you are interested in and you’ll be taken to that clip’s Clip Information Page (I’m using clip A005-C044-prairie grass). In addition to the above information, you’ll also find:
#1 shows the Resolutions available for the clip. The clip (see picture below) comes in HD, 4K, and SD (NTSC and PAL). Just click the tab of the size you want.
#2 here’s the Frame Rate for the clip. Most Artbeats produced clips are available in 24.0 and 29.97. Producer (AA-FH) clips generally only have one frame rate available. It’s in this same section that you will also see if a clip is part of a collection. The example clip I’m using is not part of a collection).
#3 here’s where you’ll find the Clip’s Price and can add it to the cart.
#4 “trying on” a piece of stock footage is almost a requirement these days especially with some clients and/or source files you’re working with. Here’s where you would do that. Please note that the comps are compressed at a much higher rate than the purchased footage.
#5 what if you like this clip but, it’s not quite long enough or the right color. Use this link (View similar footage) to see like clips.
I hope that helped show you how to decipher where to find some answers you may have about our footage.
Do you still have questions? Can’t find what you are looking for? We would be happy to perform the search for you! Or if you need a price quote or anything else, please feel free to contact us; we’d be happy to assist you. Call us now at 541-863-4429. Email us at info@artbeats.com or click here for our concierge Request Footage Search. There’s no cost for us to help you in your search, no obligation to purchase, and no high-pressure sales pitch. Call us today!