4 Awesome Sites for Cheap Stock Footage

There are times when it does not make sense to shoot your own video. Time and money restraints can be great reasons to get cheap stock footage instead. Stock video can be relatively inexpensive and there is an overwhelmingly amount of high quality footage in the market. There is a pretty good chance that you will find the right video to supplement your own without dropping thousands of dollars on equipment, travel and talent.

Here are 4 awesome stock sites that offer high quality but cheap stock footage:

  • Getty Images. Getty Images offers the world’s most powerful images and videos for every budget. It has custom solutions for every need. You can get creative videos and editorial videos to supplement your projects. Creative videos are composed of HD and 4K footages for your archival and contemporary needs. On the other hand, editorial footages include current and archival video clips of events, newsmakers and celebrities. All cheap stock footage are of premium quality so you will get value for your money.

  • Pond5. Pond5 has the largest library of royalty-free HD and 4K cheap stock footage. It allows creative professionals around the world to bring their vision to life without comprise. With approximately 2 million videos in its collection, you will surely find the inspiration and the right video clip to supplement your creative projects. The stock site has a huge range of pricing starting at $5 so you can power every stage of your creative process without breaking the bank. Moreover, it has a community of artists that will surely inspire you.

  • iStock. With iStock, you can explore millions of cheap stock footage at ridiculously great prices. It has flexible plans that suit every budget. By purchasing credits ahead of time, you can get better pricing on videos, images and illustrations. A video from the Signature collection costs 18 credits while one from the Essentials collection only costs 6 credits. Make sure to visit the stock site’s home page, too. It offers one free video every week.

  • Shutterstock. Shutterstock offers stunning content at straightforward prices. It includes HD and 5K cheap stock footage, including exclusive content. Video prices are based on the type of resolution, so you can get web resolution for as low as $19 and 4K for $199. If you want to save more, you can purchase a pack. The stock site’s archive is easy to use, too. With one of the largest cheap stock footage collections in the market, you will surely find what you are looking for.

Whether you are having money or time problems, it should not keep your from creating some of the most beautiful creative projects. You can always visit a stock site and purchase cheap stock footage to complement your work.     

What Makes VideoBlocks a Great Footage Source?

Videos have become one of the most important tools in marketing. More viewers are watching video content more than ever before. The move from text to visual content to videos has been fast, and it isn’t slowing down anytime. If you don’t make the transition, you will be left behind by other websites – especially your competitors.

Your website do not have to be static brochure site. No matter who your audience and what you brand mission is, videos can make a connection and build relationships with your visitors. You can use them to demonstrate a product, share your expertise, and tell your story. However, conducting your own shoot entirely can be expensive and time-consuming. This is where stock footage becomes the perfect solution.

Stock footage are ready-to-use videos at affordable prices. You don’t have to deal with releases and permits to conduct your own shoot. You can even save some money from travels and talent fees. Simply find a great stock video site and purchase the best footage to suit your production. Yes, you can mix stock footage with your own footage to make a greater impact.

Where can you download amazing stock footage?
A number of stock video sites offer footage. But, one of the cheapest deals in the market is from VideoBlocks, now known as Storyblocks. VideoBlocks by Storyblocks is a subscription service that caters to all your stock footage needs. They feature millions of studio-quality videos, After Effect templates, and more. Annual membership is only $149, which is 84% less than the monthly price. With access to their Member Library and Marketplace, you can save in many ways.

  • Media Library. Being a member of the stock site, you can download anything you want from over 115,000 studio-quality videos, motion backgrounds, After Effect templates, and more. The Media Library content is valued at over $10 million, which you can access and download for one low subscription price. Everything in the library also includes a royalty-free license, so you can keep and use them forever.
  • The Marketplace offers you an additional of over 5 million footage, which you can purchase directly from artists. As a member, you get exclusive discounts too. Up to 40% of savings are in store for you. VideoBlocks does not take a cut from the sales in the Marketplace, so the artists get 100% of the sale price.

Footage from the stock site has been used by over 90,000 customers, including famous companies such as History, NBC, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel. All content are organized in categories, so you can easily and quickly find what you are looking for.

With VideoBlocks, you can be under budget and over brilliant at the same time. Their collections burst with great quality, handpicked footage in various themes. They also feature an easy-to-navigate website, so you can spend more time creating and less time searching. All these are available for a one-time low subscription fee.

If you want to download professional, high quality videos without limits, visit VideoBlocks by Storyblocks. They currently offer a discounted annual membership. Seize it now, and save hundreds of dollars.

Three Types of Background Music for Videos

Depending on your film, you might select one type of background music for videos or another. But whatever you do, do not choose not to use a background music at all. The trick with music is using it judiciously. Always have a plan and pick your moments. Make sure your chosen song does not overwhelm your scene or put your video out of balance. Your music will feel more natural to your viewers when it subtly enhances their experience.

Here are three types of background music you should know about:

  • Emotion evoking – Whatever feeling you want to express, there is background music for it. If you are angry, you can make music emphasize that anger. If you are happy, something playful is perfect. Light and upbeat music in an angry scene can create dissonance in your viewers. Emotion-evoking music for videos creates a subconscious reaction so your viewers can empathize with your characters more deeply.
  • Scene setting – When creating a video, as much as possible you want establish a sense of your setting for your viewers. The music does that by giving a sense of physical place. For instance a long shot of the busy city like New York would be great with a mellow jazz background or a techno beat. The type of music you choose changes the context substantially. The tempo, volume and quality of the music for video can also hint your viewers of what’s about to happen.
  • Filler and bridge – Sometimes when you get to the editing part, your footage does not exactly turn out the way you expected it to be. If things does not go according to your plans, you can make use of music to solve your problems. Filler music fill in the gaps of your footage in the most creative way. For instance, you got a boring scene in one of the most important points of your video. Instead of playing it to play quiet, you can add music to give better flow to your film.

We hope knowing these types of background music for videos can help you choose the best music for your project.

Videoblocks Review: Should You Sign Up or Not?

More and more stock media agencies are popping up in the web. It is getting more difficult to find your primary source of stock media files. Looking for the best stock site should not overwhelm you. Just check out reviews to find out which best suits your creative needs and budget. Narrow down your choices and check out their websites to see which is easier to navigate.

One of the newer stock media agencies is Videoblocks and this review can help you decide whether it is the stock video site for you or not.

  • About the site. Videoblocks provides content that everyone can afford. It believes in creativity, freedom and transparency. It aims to deliver content to everyone – including novice creatives and start-ups.
  • Videoblocks has unlimited library. For a low, fixed subscription, you can access over 115,000 studio quality HD clips that are valued at $10 million. Their library is updated twice every month, so you have new clips to download at no additional cost.
  • Sign up to access exclusive marketplace. You can buy directly from global marketplace with over 2 million HD and 4K clips. Sign up now to save at least 40%.
  • Videoblocks does not take commission. The stock site does not take any commission on marketplace sales. Instead, they pass on the savings to their members.
  • Explore the site without commitment. Currently, a Videoblocks free trial is available. You can enter the collection and download 20 videos per day for 7 days. You can even use them in your creative projects forever – for free!

We hope this Videoblocks review will help you decide whether you should sign up to the stock site or not. You can take advantage of the Videoblocks promo code to try the agency for free for one week. Once your trial is up, you can choose to continue downloading by getting a membership at as low as $99 only.

 

Why Use Stock Footage for Your Creative Projects?

Are you having problems with your creative projects? Sometimes, dealing with changing light, color balance and camera can be challenging. Although these can be solved by getting the right angle to the sun, changing shutter speeds, and lens flare to name a few, the easiest and quickest way is still using stock footage.

It’s cheaper. Stock footage can be one of the most flexible and cheapest tools to complete you creative projects. Why would you spend more time and money shooting a particular shot if a stock video of it exists? Many stock media sites offer stock videos for various budget levels. You don’t have to allot expenses for travel, food and talent. Simply choose a video from the stock library.

If you have no budget and you need sunset shots, establishing shots, and cavalry shots, what will you do? You can’t waste time and money you don’t have on shooting these scenes. Sure, people have done it and you may hire someone to do it for you. But, it will only cost you too much.

It’s safer. Nobody has ever been injured from using stock footage. Do you need to capture a set of office furniture? You don’t have ask your prop guys to build a desk for you. You can easily get a video from stock media agencies.

Of course, you can’t just steal stock footage. You need to purchase and download them from a stock media site like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. These agencies usually offer subscription plans or a la carte prices. You can choose whichever fits your creative needs and budget.

Learn how to use stock footage and save yourself from spending too much time and money. Spare yourself from complicated photoshoots by signing up to your favorite stock site and purchase a stock footage or subscribe to a plan. Some stock sites even offer free stock footage every week.

2 Types of Licenses for Getty Footage

Getty footage can be bought with two licenses: Royalty free and Rights ready. Each has its own pros and cons. When deciding which license to get, consider your creative needs and budget. Each license gives you rights to use the stock footages. Make sure what you are getting allows you to use them in the way you need them. You also need to consider your budget. Typically, royalty free is cheaper than rights ready. However, that is not always the case. It all comes down to how you intend to use the footage, where and for how long.

Royalty Free

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The simpler licensing model between the two, royalty free grants perpetual rights to use the footages. There are a series of accepted uses, but there are also a few restrictions. Bottom line is you can use the footages multiple times in many projects for as long as you like. And, here’s the topper – for a one-time flat fee. Yes, you can only have to pay once for this type of license. And, you get to use the footage forever in any of the accepted ways.

Here are some things you have to remember about royalty free:

  1. It is restricted in terms of distribution. This means you can only reproduce it for a number of times. Most of the time, the limits are wide enough to fit most uses. But, be sure to check with Getty Images to make sure you are not breaking any guidelines.
  2. Royalty free Getty footage cannot be bought exclusively. The same footage can be licensed by multiple other users who are willing to pay for the fee. They can also be used by different people or organizations at the same time. This means you might see the same footage in other web pages.
  3. Royalty free footage is priced in flat rates according to video format and resolution. Prices vary between $125 and $500 per Getty footage each. All royalty free footages can be used for commercial use.

Rights Ready

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Known as the use-by-use licensing model, rights ready can be adjusted to your particular needs. Pricing depends on your intended use, distribution mode and volume, duration of use, geographic reach, and other specifics. Here are other things you need to know about this type of license:

  1. The maximum duration for this type of license is 10 years. If you wish to extend your use, you need to acquire a new license.
  2. Rights ready grants you exclusive rights to use the Getty footage, you can find promo code here.
  3. The price varies depending on the specific rights, resolution and format. The simplest starts from $99 for smaller distribution uses. For massive visibility usage, you may be charged thousands of dollars.
  4. Rights ready can be used for commercial and editorial use.

It is important to know the restrictions in each type of license to avoid issues in the future. It is also important to note that both cannot be used for unlawful or morally questionable ways.

How to Use Cheap Stock Footage and Where to Find It

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Sometimes, it isn’t just convenient to shoot everything yourself for your creative project. You may not have the right equipment to shoot high quality videos or you do not have the time do it yourself. Money constraints and limited skills are also factors that you should consider. Fortunately, you do not have to worry about all these with cheap stock footage. Whatever you need, you can probably find it online. But be careful where you get your clips. We recommend stock media agencies for legal guarantees.

Using Cheap Stock Footage

Cheap stock footage can be used in several ways. Especially if you do not have the right equipment to take the shot, you can purchase and download video clips with just a click of your hand. For instance, you need aerial views of the city or a glimpse of a historical event. You do not have to rent a helicopter or purchase a drone to get the video you need. Most of all, you cannot go back in time to get an authentic feel for your project.

Cheap stock footage can help communicate your ideas and build a more engaging overall video. You can combine clips to create a specific mood or promote an interesting effect. You can use stock footage to communicate the exact message and inspire your viewers with the right emotions.

When looking for stock footage to download, make sure you get the right format for your project. Match the resolution of your purchased clip to the rest of your video. Although you can convert formats, it is best to purchase the right one for easier editing and consistent quality.

Finding Cheap Stock Footage

HD stock footage used to be expensive, but that is not the case now. You can purchase cheap stock footage from reputable stock media agencies. While there are free stuff out there, we recommend getting the right license and releases with your video clips so you don’t have to deal with the copyright police in the future. More than that, you can be sure that you are getting high quality images and you are supporting talented artists around the world.

  • iStock. iStock has royalty-free, HD video, B-roll and stock footage from its collection of curated video clips. You can purchase cheap footages from the Essentials and Signature collections through credits – 6 and 18 credits each respectively.
  • Shutterstock. Shutterstock has over 4 million footages. You can download a single clip for as low as $19 for web purposes, $79 each for high definition, and $199 for 4K video clips. If you want to save more, you can purchase a pack that is right for you.

There are a number of stock media agencies in the Internet. You just have to find which suits your creative needs and budget best.   

Finding Cheap Stock Footage for Commercial Purposes

A video footage can be expensive because it is a product. Contributors have put in time, resources and expertise to create it. Since it is personal work, they can give a right price for it just as much as you have the right to buy it. But, that does not mean that you should go beyond your budget. You can also find cheap stock footage for commercial purposes. It can solve the problem you are having with expensive video footage.

finding cheap stock footage

Cheap stock footage is a really good option if you are creating a low-cost project. It helps you save time and money. Stock photo agencies already put a set of video clips on a package so you do not have to spend more money getting each clip. It also saves you time from searching for these various clips. Agencies have put them all together so you can easily integrate them in your video because they already match one another.

There is a wide range of cheap stock footage available for commercial purposes. Typically, its production standards are high so they can be integrated into high quality productions. In fact, many camera packages used for stock footage can cost more. Every single element in the footage must also be cleared for use. For instance, a video of woman shaking hands with another requires the necessary releases for both model and property, more information.

Lots of time and effort have been put into creating and marketing a cheap stock footage. It offers a great deal as it is faster and cheaper than other video footages. If it’s a good stock footage, it should cost more. If you are looking for exclusivity, you should expect to pay more than the average price you see on stock photo agencies – considering that they can only be used once. Here are some equipment and resources needed to create a good cheap stock footage:

  • Travel time and related costs to carry equipment and staff
  • Camera, lights and other equipment used to capture video
  • Models, sound guy, perhaps a director
  • Film editor
  • Post-production activities such as color grading
  • Legal and insurance fees
  • Storage costs
  • Food

If you are looking for a good stock footage, there are a number of them in stock photo agencies. They are affordable, too. Of course, they cost more than a stock photo because, well, they are video clips. Do not think about getting them illegally. Just remember the equipment and resources required to create a good footage. You do not want to rob the artists of their hard work. Besides, you can face serious legal damages if you do.

Finding a cheap stock footage for commercial purposes should not be a difficult task – as long as you get them from the right source.