How We Work
AP Archive is the moving image collection of the Associated Press. With over 1.3 million stories within our database, on everything from news to entertainment to sport to the natural world, we can provide the pictures you want in your production.
Finding the Footage You Want
Your first step is to check out our online database. Using keywords and simple Boolean logic (and/or/not) you can narrow down your results to the ones relevant to your search. Should you still have too many stories about (for example) Bill Clinton, then use our Advanced Search feature to narrow down your results by date (e.g. To find a young Bill Clinton).
If you are after footage on a major person, event or location, chances are that we already have a compilation of all of our best shots on that subject. Browse our Compilations section of the website to view the complete collection.
Should you still be having problems finding that all important shot of a retired Filipino priest playing the nose flute (yes, we do have it) then use let us know exactly what you are looking for and a member of our friendly Sales and Research team will carry out a quick search for you.
Can I View the Stories on the Website?
We have over 10,000 hours of digitised stories viewable on our website. This is made up of all of the stories produced by AP Television News in the last few years, as well as a large number of the highlights and iconic images from the archive. We are digitising more stories every day, both recent material and more historic footage.
You will be able to view the videos and thumbnail timelines for our digitised stories, as well as their shotlists and other metadata.
When you have found stories containing shots that you would like to use in your production, then you can request a screener. You can request a screener in one of three ways: as a download, on DVD or on video tape. All screeners include a Burnt-In Timecode (BITC) and can only be used for preview purposes. All downloads of digitised content (already viewable on our website) are free. However, should an item require digitising, or you choose to receive a DVD or video tape, then there will be a small charge to cover the tranfer costs.
If you would like to view a large number of stories that have not been digitised, and you have easy access to London, then you are welcome to come in and view the master tapes yourself, within our private Client Viewing Facilities.
How Do I Get The Particular Shots I Require?
When you have done an edit with your screener and know exactly what shots you want to use, tell us the Story Number and in and out times and we will deliver broadcast quality copies to you.
You can either download high resolution copies from our website, or you can opt to receive a video tape containing the footage. When you Request Footage, select Master as the format, then your delivery method. If you choose to receive a video tape, then you will have options as to which format you wish to receive.
How Much Will the Footage Licence Cost?
Before you can order Master footage, you will need to have a license for its usage. You can request a licence for your project from within your workspace. You will be asked a few questions about your intended usage. The options are:
- Medium: Will the footage be shown on 'standard' TV, cable, satellite, on a DVD, on the internet, etc?
- Territory: Will the footage be shown in one European country, North America, worldwide, etc?
- Period: Do you want to be able to show the footage for 3 years, 10 years, in perpetuity?
Once you send us this information, we will give you a quote for the cost of your licence. This will be for a minimum duration commitment, with that minimum dependent on your usage. However, we will do discounts for bulk requests.
Once the licence details have been confirmed, we will then send you a License Agreement. When you have signed and returned the License Agreement you will have the ability to request master footage. If you are a new client, we have to receive a minimum payment before you can request your master footage, but from your second request onwards, we will only require payment within 30 days.
Declaring Usage
Because we know that even at the last minute, some shots make it into the final edit and others don't, we only require initial payment for one minute of footage for every ten minutes that you request. When you have finished your final edit, go to your project within our website and declare how many minutes/seconds you have used. We will then charge you for your final total, in increments of 15 seconds. We also request that you send us a copy of the finished project on DVD or videotape.
This is a basic outline of our usual workflow process, but should you have any particular requirements, for example a very fast turnaround, then let us know right away and we will aim to accommodate your needs.