GoPro begins paying users for video clips

Many people know about GoPro cameras and place them on rooftops of vehicles or inside objects to capture creative and unique footage.

Now, GoPro is being recognized as its own media company. Recently they have developed a rewards program which goes as far as paying individuals for their video clips. The program is year-round and will allow people who submit photos the chance to win $500, whereas raw video clips are worth $1,000, and a full video edit can be worth up to $5,000. Any number of submissions can be made.

“I’m all for people getting to make some money doing what they love,” said Steve Shilson, owner of Windsor-based filming business Straylight Films. “GoPro cameras allow us to get the shots we wouldn’t normally be able to get with our bigger camera set-ups. I’ve taped them to a hockey stick, put them in nets and fired pucks at them, all sorts of things I wouldn’t be able to obtain with my bigger gear.”

Straylight Films has used GoPros since 2010 for different projects, but mostly hockey.

“It (GoPros) gets people out there using their imagination and creating some really stunning visuals that wouldn’t have been possible without the sports camera phenomenon,” said Shilson.
According to GoPro Vice President of Media Zander Lurie, the company’s brand and entire business has been built on an ecosystem where if you buy a camera and publish great stuff, people want to see your cool content and buy a camera.

Alex Bezzina, a law and security student at Fanshawe College in London, said he thinks the change is a positive one that will help further the company.

“A clip that is not really the highest quality or relevant to the film industry shouldn’t gain recognition like one that is attention-grabbing and considered amazing,” said Bezzina.

GoPro said they will accept different types of clips including cooking, camping and sports, and both amateur and professional clips will be accepted.