How We Work

AP Archive is the moving image collection of the Associated Press. With over 500,000 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 simple 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 source (e.g. Only Sky News UK, to find shots of him in the UK) or 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 clipreel of all of our best shots on that subject. Browse our Clipreels section of the website and see what we can supply. If there is a clipreel of interest, let us know and we will send you a viewing copy on VHS or DVD with Burnt in Timecode, free of charge!

Should you still be having problems finding that all important shot of a retired Filippino priest playing the nose flute (yes, we do have it) then use our Search Assistant, which is found in our Advanced Search section, to request some help finding exactly what you are looking for. A member of our friendly Sales and Research team will then carry out a quick search for you.

Can I View the Stories on the Website?

If you are not registered (or not logged in) on our website, then you will be able to view the shotlists of our stories along with one image from those stories that have already been digitised. However, if you register and log in, then you will also be able to view the video and thumbnails for all of your search results that have been digitised.

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 compile a tape of these shots in broadcast quality.

The simplest way of doing this is to find your initial Screener Request in the My Previous Requests section of the website. Then, choose the option to convert this screener into a master. Next, create a playlist by adding a story and choosing your in and out-points in that story. You can do this using the timeline, or by entering timecodes. Finally, fill in the details of the rights you require (see How Much Will the Footage Licence Cost?, below) and delivery format and submit the request.

We can supply in any standard format, but most clients choose either Betacam SP, Digibeta or DVCam.

How Much Will the Footage Licence Cost?

As part of the Master Request process, we will ask you for details of what rights you require. These will be based on:

• 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 usually be per minute (with a minimum of one minute). 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, we will dispatch the tape. If you are a new client, we have to receive payment before we send out the tape, but from your second request onwards, we will only require payment within 30 days.

Additional Royalties

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, send us a copy of the programme (on VHS or DVD) and an exact figure of how many minutes/seconds you have used. We will then charge you for your final total, in increments of 15 seconds.

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.