When you see a commercial, TV show, or short film filled with video clips of people, sunsets, tacos, shadows, skylines, astronauts—almost anything—there’s something you should know: Not all of those clips were necessarily shot for that project. They could be licensed stock footage created years before, just waiting for their chance to get licensed for creative use.

Leading brands, ad agencies, and production companies often use stock footage to fill out their campaigns or to fill up “spec ads,”  packing the most footage into a spot as they can without breaking their budget. Now a growing need for more of this kind of content has led a North Texas video production company to launch its own private equity arm to address the stock footage marketplace.

Plano-based Cardboard Spaceship, a full-service video production company that also has outposts in New York and Chicago, has worked with top agencies included WPP, Edelman, Grey Advertising, and VCCP New York. The production company’s newest strategic initiative— LaunchPad Ventures—will operate as Cardboard Spaceship’s PE affiliate.

Kicking off with an initial $1 million in capital, LaunchPad will focus on creating “cinematic content” to meet the growing demand for quality digital assets available for licensing on platforms like Filmsupply, which represents filmmakers whose video clips can be licensed for “passion projects, short films, and spec ads to generate long-term revenue using pre-created content.”

A growing appetite for ‘cinematic’ footage

Jeremy Robinson, CEO of both Cardboard Spaceship and LaunchPad Ventures, said his team recognizes “a growing appetite for high-quality and original cinematic assets.”

“This fund will allow us to collaborate with established and emerging creatives to produce portfolios of licensed content, while making available a diversified collection of premium cinematic footage for agencies and brands,” he added in a statement.

Aiming to address the “ever-evolving needs” of global brands and agencies in a rapidly changing streaming universe, Launchpad wants to help ensure they have access to “top-tier content for marketing and creative endeavors.”

For creatives not represented on Filmsupply, Launchpad’s PE fund offers content creators the ability “to unlock the potential of their portfolio with a cash buyout.”

AI is ringing alarm bells

One issue Launchpad intends to address is rattled nerves caused by AI and its impact on film production and media.

“The advent of AI art has alarmed many in the creative industry, but we still believe in the individual artist and hope this allows them to make money off their craft while also putting it in the hands of top global brands,” Robinson said. “For platforms like Filmsupply, where we are already an approved content creator, knowing we’re harvesting this original creative content with our trained eye means they’ll get content that brands and agencies will like.”

LaunchPad Ventures’s ultimate goal is “to bring together visionaries, creators, and industry leaders to create a more vibrant and dynamic content ecosystem.” 

Now someone just has to say “Action.”

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