Pond5 video requirements

Pond5 upload requirements: file, length and codecs

Pond5 keeps audio when it is useful to buyers and holds no copyrighted music or recognizable voices, which would need a model release. It accepts only sound recorded with high-quality microphones at a proper level, and says sound from in-camera mics will most likely not be accepted. Without a proper microphone, export the clip silent.

Motion JPEG is the codec to watch: Adobe Stock lists it, Pond5 refuses it. The side-by-side view of all four agencies is on the stock video requirements page.

Maximum file size by resolution

Pond5 sets a different ceiling for each class of footage. Every one of them sits below Shutterstock’s 10 GB.

A long 4K clip in a high-bitrate codec can pass 5 GB. Pond5 warns that compression causes banding and artifacts and asks you to export at native resolution, aspect ratio and frame rate. Trimming the clip brings the size down without adding compression, and H.264 sits on the accepted list for clips that stay too heavy in ProRes.

Resolutions, cameras and frame rates

Pond5 prefers HD and 4K and “generally” accepts any resolution. The sizes below are its recommendations; Shutterstock, by contrast, takes only the sizes on its list.

Pond5 lists the cameras it accepts footage from:

• professional and prosumer cameras, and 3CCD consumer cameras;
• smartphones and drones, with a minimum of 1080p;
• wearable cameras such as GoPro.

Exceptions for unique content exist, and Pond5 calls them rare. Archival material, including film you scan yourself, should be converted to 1080p where possible; lower resolutions are considered case by case.

File names, R3D and alpha

File names must not contain special characters or accents. Pond5’s examples include &, å, ñ, é, ß, ®, ©, §, ç, ä, ø, ü, curly quotes and commas. Spaces and dashes are not allowed either. Letters and digits are the safe set.

• R3D: upload one clip per ZIP, with the raw .r3d file and an identical .mov preview of at least 1920x1080 in ProRes 422 (or HQ), PhotoJPEG or H.264. An .rmd file is optional. The ZIP must not exceed 6 GB.
• Alpha channel: embed it in the Animation, PNG or ProRes 4444 codec.

360 VR clips

Pond5 takes 360 VR video, which Shutterstock does not. Its rules:

• at least 45 seconds and at most 119 seconds;
• a 2:1 aspect ratio, with 4K highly preferred over 1080 HD;
• no audio;
• 360 metadata applied before upload, so the player recognizes the file;
• “360VR” in the title and description, and keywords such as “VR,” “360VR,” “360 Video” and “Virtual Reality 360”;
• a note to the curator in Additional Info saying the clip is “360VR Footage.”

Title, description and keywords

For editorial clips, Pond5 asks for a caption in the title or the description, in this format: CITY, COUNTRY (STATE) – YEAR/MONTH/DAY: Factual description. Then leave a curator note saying the clip should be marked Editorial Use Only.

Pond5’s auto-tagging suggests keywords after upload; review them and remove any that do not apply, or turn the feature off in your preferences. Filling keywords or titles with popular terms that do not match the clip leads to rejection. The keyword limits by agency guide compares these numbers with Shutterstock and Adobe Stock.

FTP upload and review

After the transfer, files show as “Processing”, then “Needs Edits” once they are ready for metadata. A file the system rejects shows “Processing Failed” with the reason. Metadata can also go in by CSV, where only OriginalFilename, Title and Keywords are mandatory.

When the metadata is in, “Save and submit for review” sends the clip to the curators and its status becomes “Pending Review”. Each file comes back accepted, returned for edits or rejected with a reason, such as low quality or too many similar files already in the library. Accepted files can take up to 24 hours to appear on the marketplace.

In depth: how to upload video to Pond5 by FTP.

AI-generated content

Pond5 does not accept AI-generated content. Its help page says authorship of such content “cannot be attributed to an individual person,” and that Pond5 cannot ensure every artist involved is paid. The same page calls Pond5 a Shutterstock family brand: Shutterstock announced its acquisition of Pond5 on 11 May 2022, for $210 million in cash paid at closing. Shutterstock refuses AI-generated content too; Adobe Stock is the exception, as the AI video policies page explains.

What Pond5 pays for video

• Video prices follow a tiered structure: the price you enter is one of several factors in the final list price.
• Payouts go out on the 15th of each month, once your balance reaches $25.
• Payout methods are PayPal and Skrill; Skrill deducts 4% of each payment.
• Since April 2023, you can opt out of future datasets in your preferences.
• U.S. contributors earning $600 or more in a calendar year must file a Form W-9.

To compare a year of Pond5 sales with Shutterstock and Adobe Stock, try the earnings calculator, and check a clip against all three agencies with the video spec checker.