Stock Footage, also referred to as Archive Footage, refers to pre-filmed footage originating from previous productions that can be reused in a variety of projects and films. The use of stock footage is very common by modern media and entertainment industries.
In the Grand Theft Auto series, stock footage of previous Rockstar Games productions is first used in Grand Theft Auto IV, the first entry in the series, to include TV Shows, mainly due to lack of footage of cities that haven't been reimagined for the HD Universe at that point, and lack of other areas such as countryside, desert and vintage environments in the game.
The stock footage of other games is reused in-game to portray different things in the HD Universe lore context of the Grand Theft Auto series, and indirectly serves as Easter eggs towards those titles.
Description[]
Many of the reused footage consists of images of cities and landmarks, wildlife in their natural environments, and historical footage from other non-GTA games (some of which are not property of Rockstar North) reused for a complete different context in the HD Universe (i.e. L.A. Noire's 1947 Los Angeles footage representing 1950s Los Santos in a TV commercial in GTA V).
This footage is mainly used for convenience – instead of creating a specific type of scenery to be used for in-game media, the developers reuse a few seconds of gameplay footage from other videogame titles published by Rockstar Games to represent specific off-screen events for the TV footage. The most notable example is the footage of Bullworth Academy from Rockstar Vancouver's Bully: Scholarship Edition trailer representing a random unnamed boarding school, used due to the lack of Old English-style boarding schools in the game.
In some cases, Rockstar makes meta-jokes about their literal use of stock footage, as seen in the promotional Weazel News trailer for The Ballad of Gay Tony and the entirety of Meltdown movie in Grand Theft Auto V.
Due to seemless transitions between GTA V-Red Dead Redemption deserted areas footage, players may often mistake the latter game's fauna as being "cut content/Beta leftovers" from GTA V.
Use[]
Grand Theft Auto IV[]
| Footage | In-game media | Origin: | Used for: (HD Universe canon/ In-universe context) |
Side Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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00:17: .bik
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Carl Johnson driving a Hotring Racer at the Los Santos International Airport runway. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
Rednecks racing at the Patriot Beer Motor Speedway. | ||
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04:03: CNT.bik
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Two generic pedestrians with construction hats in the underground tunnel at the abandoned Alderney Sprunk Factory. (Grand Theft Auto IV) Reused footage of the promotional trailer for Bully: Scholarship Edition featuring Bullworth Academy. (Bully) |
Two miners at a diamond mine owned by the Von Crastenburg family and an unidentified boarding school Jill Von Crastenburg attended at some point. | “...since her 11th birthday, her daddy gave her a pair of diamond miners for her 12th birthday, and after she could walk again, sent her to 15 of the most exclusive boarding schools all at the same time!”
| |
|
04:25: CNT.bik
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Carl Johnson parachuting from the skies of San Andreas. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
Random adrenaline junkie doing stunts for soda commercials. | “...your life is like a soda commercial, where everything is extreme!”
| |
|
08:17: CNT.bik
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Unnamed mansion in Mulholland with a Shamal parked outside. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
Tony McTony's mansion in Vinewood with his private customized jet parked outside. | “...Tony's place in Los Santos is legendary!”
| |
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09:08: CNT.bik
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Generic Carcer City Police stripper dancing at a generic strip club interior in San Andreas. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
One of Tony McTony's private strippers. | “...Tony also hires woman to ??? and topless in leather pants and bird cages hung from the ceiling!”
| |
|
13:04: CNT.bik
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EasterBoard Farm in Blueberry Acres, Red County, San Andreas. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
Old tobacco farm owned by the Cleethorpes Family. | “Lyle Cleethorpes V's ancestors made their fortune selling tobbaco and slaves...”
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25:13: weazel.bik
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Vinewood Sign in Mulholland, Los Santos. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
Vinewood Sign in Vinewood Hills, Los Santos County. | ||
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26:56: weazel.bik
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Shots of the Old Venturas Strip in Las Venturas, San Andreas (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
Shots of casinos in Las Venturas. | ||
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27:15: weazel.bik27:25: weazel.bik
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El Castillo del Diablo seen from Verdant Meadows in Bone County, San Andreas. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
The Las Venturas Desert. | ||
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28:07: weazel.bik
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Neighborhood of Prickle Pine in Las Venturas, San Andreas. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
Unnamed wealthy neighborhood of Las Venturas. | ||
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28:35: weazel.bik
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The Caligula's Palace casino in Las Venturas, San Andreas. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) |
The Caligula's Palace casino in Las Venturas, first named in Grand Theft Auto V. | ||
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29:55: weazel.bik
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Shots of The Strip in Las Venturas, San Andreas. | Shots of the unnamed Strip-inspired road in Las Venturas. | ||
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31:52: weazel.bik
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Silhouette of the GTA San Andreas map sticked on the Nevada state map, with the Las Venturas welcome sign pointing the city's location. | Unnamed Nevada-inspired state in which Las Venturas is located. | “...People from around the country have flocked here to come and train for this sport [referring to gambling]. You know, what we're doing here is illegal in most states of the union...”
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31:56: weazel.bik
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Various shots of Las Venturas, San Andreas. | Various shots of Las Venturas, USA. |
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
| Footage | In-game media | Origin: | Used for: (HD Universe canon/ In-universe context) |
Side Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
02:00: Promotional Trailer | Random pre-release Red Dead Redemption footage of goats in a mountain. | Literal stock footage of caves to extend the Weazel News report duration. | “We show stock footage... OF CAVES!”
— Weazel News reporter |
|
00:00: .bik
|
Gameplay footage of Red Dead Revolver, featuring Red Harlow. | Actors in an Old West-themed Weazel filming studio for Spittoon. |
Grand Theft Auto V[]
| Footage | In-game media | Origin: | Used for: (HD Universe canon/ In-universe context) |
Side Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
00:00: .bik
|
Rattlesnakes in a deserted area in Red Dead Redemption. | Unseen rattlesnakes from the Grand Senora Desert, featured in a tourism commercial for said location. | |
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|
00:00: .bik
|
1947 Los Angeles locations, including a diner interior in L.A. Noire. | 1950s Los Santos locations, including the first Up-n-Atom Burger outlet. | |
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00:00: .bik
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Various 1911-1914 character models seen in New Austin from Red Dead Redemption, including John Marston and a Sam Odessalook-a-like. | Present-day actors in the U.S. Heartland, acting as farmers for the Pißwasser commercial. |
