Content Guidelines - Video

Summary

1. Video Quality Standards
2. Technical Specifications
3. How do I submit my video content?
4. Uploading Guidelines
5. Metadata Specifications
6. Legal Issues
7. Releases

VIDEO QUALITY STANDARDS

In order to maintain customer satisfaction, all clips are reviewed by our review team for technical quality, professional execution, metadata accuracy, intellectual property, and release adherence.

There are multiple factors during review that contribute to the professional execution of video submissions: Composition, Luminance Levels, White Balance, Movement & Steadiness, and Subject Focus. Additionally, we review for technical quality factors, such as Clarity & Sharpness, Noise/Grain, Artifacts, and Pixelation.

Reviewing metadata, (i.e.the titles, keywords), is the next step in our process. Reviewing metadata is just as important as the quality of the content itself, which is why we review it for the same accuracy and relevancy.

Please be aware that our review team is evaluating all content for potential trademark or intellectual property violations, including copyright infringements. Also, please include any required model/talent releases or property releases with your content upon submission. Additionally, please include editorial designation if your content is “editorial use only.”

Finally, please keep it PG. We are dedicated to keeping Vecteezy a family-friendly platform to search and find stock video content. Keep in mind that we are reviewing content for anything too revealing, suggestive, or provocative for our audience.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Duration and File Size

Make sure your clips are at least 5 seconds in length and no longer than 2 minutes with a maximum file size of 8GB. Looping videos that work as animation or background can be shorter than ten seconds.

Resolutions

4K and HD are preferred, but we do accept other resolutions as well.

• 8K - 8192x4320; 8192x4096; 8192x3456; 7680x4320
• 7K - 7168x3780; 7168x3584; 6720x3780
• 6K - 6144x3160; 6144x3456; 6144x2560, 5760x3240
• 4K – 4096×1712; 4096x2160; 4096×2304; 4096x2700; 4000×2160; 3840×2160; 3996×2160; 4800×2700 
• 2K – 2048×1080; 2400×1350; 2432×1366; 2702×1520; 2704×1520
• HD – 1920x1080; 1440×1080; 1440x1089

Frame Rates

18, 23.98; 24, 25; 29.97; 30; 47.95; 47.96; 48; 50; 59.94; 60; 75

File Format

All video submissions are required to be MP4 (.mp4) Quicktime MOV (.mov) or RED (.r3d) format.

Codecs

All files should be H.264 or ProRes (422 /422 HQ / 4444) or Redcode or Qtrle.

Audio

Video submissions may only contain audio if the audio enhances the experience of the clip and does not contain errors, unintended speaking, or unlicensed music.

Ownership

You must legally own all content that you upload to Vecteezy.

Best Practices

Thumbnail Preview - A stock video’s likeliness of being downloaded is only as good as the thumbnail. Make sure your thumbnails are high-quality and engaging.

Keywords - Be sure to list the keywords most specific to the content first. Limit your keywords only to terms that will best benefit your content in search. A clean and simple search will provide a better experience for our users. More tags do not equal more downloads. Including keywords is an important step, so spend the time to do it well.

HOW DO I SUBMIT MY VIDEO CONTENT?

Here are the steps to getting a video published on Vecteezy:

1. Upload your content
2. Add metadata (title, keywords)
3. Submit your content for review
4. In Review - Approved or Rejected
5. Published 

UPLOADING GUIDELINES 

OVERVIEW

Vecteezy is a part of the Eezy family, focusing on delivering free stock footage, video assets, and professionally-created video and studio content.  

We are acquiring content at an aggressive rate. This will allow us to continue delivering great video to our users, and we’ll be able to continue growing our online presence.  We’re focused on connecting our users to the content they need.

Quality search data is imperative, and you will be joining the effort to effectively connect users with content by categorizing, creating titles, descriptions, and keywords. Please research the specific industry terms to guarantee the authenticity of the text. I also strongly suggest checking out some of our competitors sites (e.g. Shutterstock, Videoblocks, Pond5, iStock, Adobe Stock), as well as our own Vecteezy content in order to generate ideas.

GOALS

1. Create titles that are concise and accurate
2. Tag assets with effective and competitive keywords
3. Attach model and property releases when needed

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

• Familiarize yourself with the keywords being used throughout the site and the way clips are titled and described.
• Learn about our competitors (e.g. Shutterstock, Videoblocks, Pond5, iStock, Adobe Stock, etc.) and the keywords used in stock video and motion graphics.  Search competitor libraries and study the terminology used for descriptions, titles, and keywords.
• Understand the importance of clean search data. A good measure: if you feel like the keyword can technically be applied, however, you would be confused or unhappy with the clip as a result of the keyword, don’t tag your content with that keyword.
• There are industry terms you’ll need to fully understand in order to identify keywords accurately for Vecteezy. Please reference the “Common Industry terms” page, and feel free to reach out if you still need help understanding.

METADATA SPECIFICATIONS

Title

Titles must be professionally written, and grammatically correct with correct punctuation. Titles should not include unnecessary and obvious verbiage like “4K,” “footage,” and words that are subjective like, “beautiful” or “amazing.”

Keywords

The keywords are used to guide any user searching for specific content.  Be sure to include anything that would guide a search result for the content, but don’t include keywords that could render false results. Stay away from being too vague in keywording. Be thorough and creative. Imagine you’re searching for this exact content yourself. Think like a user while reviewing keywords, and identify subjects in the video/animation, as well as possible uses for the file. Tags must be separated with a comma and contain no misspellings. Phrases are acceptable and encouraged if practical and applicable. 

Spelling, Grammar, or Non-English

We only accept text in videos and metadata that is written correctly in English. Before submitting, review your clips and metadata for textual errors (spelling, grammar, logic, information, etc., and be sure all text is related to the image and correctly integrated into the file.

Exceptions to this rule are specific, relevant festivities, wherein a brief text in the local language is acceptable. We recommend also reviewing our ethical policies so you can ensure your image is in accordance with them.

Examples

 Good Examples

Here are a few good examples of clips that have been uploaded correctly with an accurate yet concise title, a thorough description, and effective keywords.

Good Example 1: 

Title: Slow motion of young woman putting on protective face mask

Keywords: woman, pink hair, safety care, protection, adult, black, hygiene, one person, slow motion, millennial, face mask, looking at camera, Covid19, 

Good Example 2:

Title:  Young boy walks up to a window

Keywords:  kid, boy, people, book, table, window, standing, stand, sad, angry, upset, proud, pondering, thinking, teenager, teen, young, dressed, antique, books

Bad Examples

Here are a few bad examples of those same uploads to show you what your uploads should NOT look like.

Bad Example 1:

Title:  Woman staring outside

Keywords:  girl, shaved head, outside, jacket

Bad Example 2:

Title:  Standing by window

Keywords:  books, boy, window, inside, house

LEGAL ISSUES

Trademark

 A trademark is a word, symbol, name, or device (or combination of these) used to distinguish and identify the source or ownership of specific goods or services. Examples of a trademark are company logos or designs that are associated with a specific product or service (e.g., Adobe, Amazon, Nintendo, Disney, etc.).

In order to avoid misuse of a trademark or logo and prevent our customers from inadvertently infringing a trademark, we review all content for potential trademark, copyright, and intellectual property violations. Because of this, we do not accept images that contain isolated or prominently displayed trademarks or logos for commercial use. Since our customers can use content designed for commercial use in advertisements, product packaging, and the like, images must be free of visible registered trademarks, landmarks, and copyrights (see the links below for known image restrictions). However, the use of social network icons is allowed.

• Known Places in America 
• Known Places in Europe & Africa 
• Known Places in the Middle East & Australia 

 If your image contains a visible trademark, you must remove the trademarked content from the image before submitting it for commercial use. However, images that contain visible trademarks can be submitted for editorial use, as long as they meet our editorial standards. 

 Copyright

Copyright is a type of legal protection that provides the author or creator of an original, creative work the exclusive legal right to use their work and to authorize others to do the same. Any original work fixed in a tangible medium can be protected by copyright. In order for the work of an author to be considered “original,” it must be created solely by the author and have some degree of creativity.

In other countries, the copyright to your work may be recognized in the same way those countries recognize the copyrights of their own citizens (especially if the countries are bound by the Berne Convention (an international treaty)). However, this does not mean your copyright applies internationally--only that other countries will treat your copyright ownership the same way they would lawfully treat copyrights in their own countries.

The Berne Convention requires its signatories (the countries that have signed and agreed to abide by it) to have certain enforcement procedures when intellectual property is infringed upon. These provisions are outlined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and they include protective measures, civil remedies, and criminal sanctions. To learn more about how you can enforce your copyright abroad, please contact your attorney.

There are also restrictions that apply to authors when they depict certain objects or subjects within an original work. You can find out more in the link below:

• Object & Subject Restrictions 
• Brands & Trademarks 

 Plagiarism

All images you submit must be original and your own. As soon as we detect that you have submitted copyright-infringing content, your contributor account will be permanently blocked.

• Reusing Elements: Including elements from other authors in your content, however minimal, is considered plagiarism. Content must be free of elements (photos, vectors, and PSD files) that are already published by Eezy or other contributors.
• Inspiration: Recreating photographs based on other authors’ photoshoots will also be considered plagiarism.
• Shared Photo/Video Sessions: When photographers share the same  session, the models, places, and setups will inevitably be the same. The resulting photos from these shared sessions are likely to be considered plagiarism.

Although you share resources with other contributors, always submit original content that differs from anyone else’s. Failure to do so may result in your account being blocked.

RELEASES

Eezy Release Forms

Model Release

Every image or video that contains recognizable people (even those in the background or blurred out) requires a model release to be uploaded alongside the corresponding image. If there is more than one recognizable person in your photo, then a separate model release will be required for each person.

 The following information is required for each individual model release:

• Model: Full name, contact, date of birth, signature, and date
• Photographer/Videographer: Name (must match name on contributor's account), signature, and date (no document proof required)

We accept model release templates from the following companies:

• Eezy 
• Shutterstock 
• Adobe
• Alamy
• Corbis
• Easy Release
• Getty
• iStockphoto

Property Release

Any image or clip containing a recognizable object, building, or property (especially one with a distinctive design that is likely to violate the intellectual property rights of the subject’s designer) must have an accompanying property release submitted alongside the corresponding content. If there are multiple recognizable objects, buildings, or properties in your photo, a separate release will be required for each one.

Examples of properties that require releases include, but are not limited to:

• Recognizable private property
• Venues
• 3D interiors
• Custom-designed vehicles (including cars, boats, motorcycles, & airplanes*)
• Furniture/household goods
• Jewelry/accessories
• Clothing/textiles
• Technological devices
• Equipment
• Tools/machines
• Toys/games
• Tattoos
• Graffiti
• Blueprints
• Modern religious artwork & modern statues
• Artwork (such as paintings & drawings)
• Sheet music
• Exotic pets, unusual animals, race horses, & certain zoo animals  
• Modern buildings/architecture**

* Depictions of identifiable commercial vehicles (such as a Volkswagen Jetta, Porsche 911, or Honda Civic) cannot be accepted for commercial use--even with a property release--because they are protected by copyright law. Content containing these vehicles will be rejected, as it violates intellectual property laws.

** Cityscapes in which the modern building is not the primary subject of the image will be considered. Content that does not require a property release includes generic or unrecognizable interior shots and close-ups of details inside or outside the structure (as long as the subject is not recognizable).

These images will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and may be acceptable as editorial use with a proper caption (unless specifically restricted).

 Public Domain

Images that are in the public domain typically have expired copyrights. Copyright laws vary from country to country, so it can be hard to figure out whether an image is in the public domain. In the United States, an author’s copyrighted work is protected throughout their entire life, plus 70 years after their death. When this period expires, the work generally falls into the public domain. In contrast, when a copyrighted work is created in Belarus, it is protected for the author’s lifetime, plus 50 more years.

Content that is from the public domain or that contains elements from the public domain (e.g., scans of photographs, copies of artwork or footage, etc.) will not be accepted for commercial or editorial use. Researching and verifying the copyright status of images in the public domain is not a practical part of our review process; therefore, public domain content should not be submitted for any reason.

Editorial

 On Eezy, images marked as “Editorial Use Only” cannot be used to advertise or promote a product or service, because the people, objects, or places in these editorial images are not released. However, editorial images can be used to illustrate current and newsworthy events. They can also be used to illustrate topics of human interest (e.g., culture, business, the arts, health and fitness, social events, lifestyle, technology, and travel). We will only accept editorial images that fall into two categories:

• Documentary: Images that document an event or subject of human interest
• Illustrative: Staged images that portray an event or subject of human interest

For editorial content to be accepted, it must: 

• Meet our editorial image quality requirements
• Fall under a “documentary” or “illustrative” editorial category
• Be accompanied by an editorial caption and appropriate keywords
• Be tagged as an editorial image during submission
• Be accompanied by an title in this format:

  City, State, Country, Year - Editorial description

  Example: New York City, NY, 2020 - Time-lapse of people walking inside the Grand Central Terminal

  Substitute a country over city/state when appropriate