Image licensing

Image requests

VDB can supply images for publicity, promotion and educational use with each rental or purchase order. VDB asks for a credit line to accompany the publication of promotional images.  Subject to additional fees, VDB can supply images for academic use and print publication. Please direct all image inquires by email to distribution. 

About the VDB image archive

Stills in the Video Data Bank image archive are taken from our collection as jpegs 640 x 480 at 72dpi.  We often get requests for images at higher resolution. Since these stills are taken directly from video (we do not provide production stills), the images are inherently low resolution since video does not offer the same image quality as film, print, etc. 

It is possible to use our stills as print quality (300 dpi) when printing them at 2.13 inches wide or smaller (640 pixels wide at 300dpi = 640/300 wide or 2.13 inches wide). It is also possible to convert these stills to any size and resolution that you may need with an image program such as Photoshop. However, the pixilation in video will be more noticeable as the image is enlarged. 

Online preview

Previews are available for curatorial and programming purposes only. They are made accessable via the VDB website and are viewable for 2 weeks unlimited streaming at the cost of $20 per title. Please contact distribution for more information.  

Broadcast enquires & footage licensing

For all broadcast inquiries, contact distribution by email. Broadcast quotes can take time to assemble, so please contact us at least 6 weeks in advance. Fees and licensing may vary.

Screening room

The VDB screening room is located on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, across from Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago. We are open to the public 9am–5pm Central Time. To ensure that you get your desired appointment, please call (312 345 3550) or email in advance to reserve a time and the titles you wish to see.

Copyright

All rentals and purchases from the VDB are regulated by a contract with each artist. The artists holds the copyright for their works, however the VDB has the right to distribute the titles. Titles from the VDB archive may not be duplicated, publicly screened or exhibited, put online, distributed, or broadcast without the permission of the VDB.