FootageHub Brand Spotlight Q & A

Interview with Francois Arseneault

Francois_arseneault_photo

Q: When did you begin shooting?
A: I bought my first camera, an inexpensive still camera in 1979. As a teenager I discovered quite by accident that I was most interested in taking documentary style shots, albeit for my own fun. By the early 80s I'd moved up into 35mm SLR and started taking it more seriously. In 1987 I set out shooting as a freelance videographer working in the corporate market. Along the way I discovered the need and benefit of shooting stock footage, my corporate clients have certainly appreciated having access to that library.

Q: What is your favorite subject to shoot?
A: There are so many wonderful subjects to shoot; I find it hard to pick a favorite. I travel to many different parts of the world and I always have a camera with me. Nature and wildlife in particular can be quite rewarding, if not a little challenging. I once captured 90 seconds of 12 foot long Six-Gill Shark footage off the west coast of Vancouver Island scuba diving at 110' depth; that was exciting! I really enjoy shooting in new locations, because I find my senses are so finely in tune, everything is fresh and new. There can be so much potential in a new environment. I also have an affinity working with the Canadian military, true professionals they are, and that subject matter is not your everyday footage. Motor-sports are another great subject matter, being so dynamic and colorful.

Q: Which camera(s) do you prefer for shooting stock footage?
A: I've shot with a wide variety of video cameras over the years: analogue, digital and now XDCam. I've been shooting with Sony's PMW EX1 for about two years; this has proven to be a great camera for stock work. Its full frame 1080p capability produces great shots. I've recently purchased a nano-flash unit which will allow the EX1 camera to shoot 4:2:2 and as high as 160 mbps. There are so many other tools available to help improve footage; we just need to study the equipment. A big advantage to the EX1 is its size, or lack of, it's small enough to allow the ability to be highly mobile and still under the radar, yet it takes wonderful shots. I've shot in places with the XDCam I could never get into with a full-size "broadcast" camera. That said, I'm looking forward to the HD cameras of future, whatever they might be.

Q: What's your favorite clip that you currently have represented in the Artbeats FootageHub?
A: Favorites are hard to pick, but I'm particularly proud of my aerial shots of F18 Hornet fighter jets shot during an air tanker refueling mission with the Canadian military. I also like my experimental time-lapse clips, anyone can shoot traffic or clouds, but truly unique time-lapse can be so pleasing to the eye. I saw Philip Glass's Koyaanisqatsi in the 1980s and was so amazed at what was achieved with the medium, it was very inspiring. Having covered motor-sports for more than 20 years, I have quite a few drag racing clips that I'm very happy with, a very dynamic, intense subject matter. To sum up, no one favorite clip.

Q: What advice can you give to shooters who are just getting started in the stock footage industry?
A: Everything has the potential to be stock footage. Every subject matter however unique or mundane can have a stock application. Take your camera with you everywhere. Use your own skills that you've developed and apply them to shooting. Try something different. Don't be afraid to try new ideas or adapting technologies. Be nice to people, you'll be amazed how much they'll help you get your shots. The most unpredictable of shots can and do sell. Stock footage itself is evolving, producers and end users are finding new uses for stock: documentaries, commercials, indies, TV shows, web delivery, corporate & training, background footage in a variety of applications, gaming, just to name a few. We will see our stock being used in ways we never dreamed of in the years to come.

View all of Francois Arseneault's footage

About Francois Arseneault:
Francois Arseneault is a freelance shooter/editor, with 23 years experience in the field and is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Clients include CTV, TSN-HD, Global, Tele Cinquo (Spain) OLN, TNN, Spike, Shaw-TV, NRK-TV, MTV as well as a myriad of corporate clients. His experience covers a wide variety of news, sports, commercials, music videos, training and corporate. The sports aspect is quite diverse and includes many types of motor-sports, long track speed skating, mountain bike racing, hockey, soccer, bobsled, synchronized swimming and even underwater hockey. He has shot, edited and produced dozens of feature length documentary programs. In the later 1990s, he spent several months in the former Yugoslavia: Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo covering the aftermath of the Yugoslav Wars imbedded with NATO troops. This was before the term "imbedded" was used. He's shot a wide variety of aerial footage covering oil industry, military, news and of course stock.

From 1994 to 2007, he shot and produced a series of feature length documentaries covering the training and lives of teenagers undertaking challenging military summer training and remains one of his cherished projects. He's won only a few awards mostly because he's shunned award contests, those awards won were on the behalf of his producers. "It's just simply something I've never been concerned with, I truly love what I do and that is plenty of reward for me".

Living and working in Canada means having to deal with cold weather, he's no stranger to the sometimes frigid winter conditions. Winter stock footage despite its challenges, can be as rewarding as any other.

His stock footage has been used in many programs and commercials since the early 1990s from Australia and Japan to the UK and Germany. Unlike those early days with Betacam view-copy mail outs, the web now allows anyone with a computer instant access to his library. In recent years he has travelled to various locations specifically for stock footage: through out western Canada, New York City, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Chile. He has ambitious plans to visit dozens of other countries in order to capture new and exciting footage. He's always looking for the next new innovation to apply to video: mounts, stabilizers, POV cameras and sometimes gadgets can improve and shots and create entirely new directions to work in.

When not shooting, Francois likes to cook, travel and hike, but plays golf rather badly.