One company resident in the Rubicon Centre is Wavebreak Media, a company founded by Sean Prior in 2006. The company provides stock footage through its sophisticated portal website and is the first in Europe to do so.Prior says that if there was a poster child for a company coming up through the channels and using the support mechanisms for start-ups, it would be Wavebreak Media. Starting out at local enterprise level led Prior to the Rubicon Centre. This is because the Rubicon Centre has good working relationships with all the other key supports in the region including Enterprise Ireland and the local Enterprise Boards. He participated in the Genesis programme in 2006 and is resident in the Centre for over a year.
Prior found the facilities at the Rub icon Centre second to none. “Access to high speed broadband was essential to our business model and the Rubicon offered us everything we needed”. He points out that the office space was fully fitted and provided things that simply would be out of the company’s reach if out on their own. These include a meet and greet reception, meeting rooms and a board room “All enhances the image of the company when meeting customers”
Prior also says that the networking with business and the investment community is crucial for any business starting out and this is another real advantage of the Rubicon Centre.
Access to Peers is another big advantage for Wavebreak Media. The centre hosts a variety of company types from software developers to venture capitalists. Prior says that if you need information, everyone is accessible and willing to help in any way they can.
Background
The stock footage market has seen tremendous growth in the past few years for a number of reasons. First, there is the onset of new media, including the internet and mobile technology. All around us we see animation where we used to see still photographs; when we turn on our mobile phones, when we open a web page. Second, using stock footage is an affordable option compared to shooting everything yourself. With budgets down and people travelling less because of the cost of fuel, this is becoming more attractive. Stock footage can reduce the cost of shooting on assignment; help with time-to-market and reduce budget pressures. The third reason stock footage is growing is because of its easy content distribution. With portal technology, companies can speedily and securely download clips 24 hours a day, seven days a week from anywhere in the world.The gross revenue for the stock footage industry worldwide is $282 million annually. The stock footage category includes model-released premium images, time-lapse, aerials, animations and backgrounds and footage shot for stock. Although over 90 percent of stock available was initially shot for other purposes, rather than being shot specifically for stock, this leaves quite a significant market for an original stock footage provider.
The two largest geographic markets are the U.S. and the U.K. It is estimated that 60.4 percent or approximately $170 million of sales comes from 172 U.S. companies, and 22.5 percent or approximately $63 million of sales comes from the 86 U.K. Germany, France, Canada and Australia are the next largest users of stock footage.
Television remains the dominant market for footage providers, representing 65.7 percent of sales. National and local advertising was the second-most important market, accounting for 10.1 percent of revenue. Corporate accounted for just 7.2 percent.
The Company
Wavebreak Media creates and distributes stock footage. It specialises in Irish footage and offers stock video, photography and animations. The company also produces documentary films on places in Ireland for the tourist industry. Their products are available to instantly download in various formats that will play on ipod videos, Mobile phones and various other mobile video devices.With three full time employees, the Wavebreak Media is headed by Sean Prior and currently has a wide range of customers and channels partners in Ireland and the United States. With a background in Economics and international sales, Sean saw the market for stock footage as a growth area because of the onset of new media. He applied through his local county board for support of his idea, through which he was introduced to Enterprise Ireland and the Genesis programme.