How to keep other companies' branding out of the stock footage you use
Ask Vizard Agent to check the finished cut for third-party branding. It watches the render, pulls the frames where a logo appears, and zooms in to work out whether it's a real brand in the scene or the stock library's own watermark. Then it finds a clean alternative shot and rebuilds, rather than smearing paint over somebody else's sign.
What do you type into Vizard Agent?
Ask for the check as a pass over the finished cut rather than as a rule for the next one. Nobody sees branding while choosing shots and everybody sees it on the third viewing. Tell Vizard Agent how strict to be, since "no competitor logos" and "no recognisable brands at all" send it looking for very different things.
Prompt
What does Vizard Agent actually do?
The key distinction is what each logo is. A brand genuinely in the scene can sometimes be reframed or replaced; a stock watermark means the clip is a preview file rather than a licensed download, and no painting makes that legitimate. Painting out a sign also leaves a soft patch that moves with the camera. In the session behind this article it:
- Uploaded the finished cut of an explainer built on licensed airport footage, watched the actual render and flagged the moments where a logo was visible.
- Zoomed into those frames at full resolution and decided whether each was scene branding or a source watermark.
- Searched for and downloaded alternative footage of the same beat.
- Checked the candidates for the same problem before using them, rejecting the ones with screens or signage of their own.
- Swapped the offending shots for clean alternatives matched to the same beat and length, re-rendered and confirmed on the uploaded version.
When does this not work well?
Some shots can't be replaced without losing what they were for. If the branding is on the thing you're talking about, or the footage is one of a kind, swapping isn't an option. Retail and sport often have branding on every candidate, tiny unreadable marks may not be worth the rebuild, and Vizard Agent finds logos; it doesn't give legal advice.
Common questions
What is a source watermark? The library's own mark on a preview file. Vizard Agent flags those separately.
Can it just blur them? It can, but Vizard Agent will normally suggest swapping the shot.
Will the swap change the timing? No. Vizard Agent matches the replacement to the same duration.