Stock footage, or archive footage as it is sometimes called, is basically video of a location that is not taken for a specific production, but is instead cataloged in a studio’s stock footage library to be used on an as-needed basis. Footage that has actually been used in a specific production can also wind up in a stock footage library, as is the case with the Ghostbusters films. Using stock footage is much cheaper for a production than actually sending a crew out to shoot establishing shots of each different locale needed for a particular show or movie. So, in essence, footage originally shot for, oh say, a car commercial, may wind up being used regularly on a hit television series almost a decade later.
Sony has a huge library of stock footage, which includes bits of footage that were filmed for and/or during production of their movies and television shows. What you’ll find below is all of the footage I can find on the Sony Pictures Stock Footage website that comes from the movie Ghostbusters II. The stock footage archivists did not do a very good job cataloging their collection, as I found that was misattributed to the first film, and other footage listed as being from Ghostbusters II even though it clearly isn’t (that footage is not listed below). I have organized the footage by location, and tried to list each section in the order you’d see it in the final film. Footage that came from unused shots appears last. All clip descriptions were written by Sony. In some of the Ectomobile shots, you can catch a glimpse of the car at the beginning or end of the footage. In these cases, I have provided screen shots with an arrow pointing to the car. When Ghostbusters II stock footage has appeared in another production, it will be noted with the piece of footage that was used.
