Locating Commercial Stock Footage
If you are working on a project such as a presentation, making a website or even an advertisement and need video clips, then you will probably be looking for commercial stock footage. However, before you download any video clips from websites, you need to be clear very clear about what and how you can legally use it. This is because if you are caught using something that you do not own and are making money with it, the owner of the video may tell you to stop using it or even take legal action against you. The owners of video footage have legally strong, well-written ownership rights and copyright protection and will defend them vigorously. It will pay you to spend a few minutes to learn a bit about the information you need so you can proceed safely. However, if you are in doubt either consult your lawyer or the owner of the commercial stock footage.
Commercial stock footage
You will find that there are a lot of different sources to get free video clips, but you have to be aware of where those clips are from before you take and use them. If you are unable to find a source for a video that you wish to download and use, it is best to just avoid it because then you will not know whether or not it is protected by copyright. If possible, just ask the host of the video if they are aware of where they got it from and then you can seek out the owner to ask for permission to use it.
The key to working with a video is to make sure that when you get it for your use it is in a high quality format. If you were to splice a part of a video into your main video that was of low quality, people will notice the shift which will not be seamless at all and give a poor impression of you or your company. To find a high quality, high definition (HD) video clip you are probably going to have to spend time to track down the original person who uploaded the video. That way, you are able to determine if the file is the original so you can get permission and also it will be more likely to be of high quality.
Collect a good range of clips even if you do not want to use all of them at once. When inspiration strikes, it can be helpful to already have some video footage to pick and choose clips from. This will save you time trying to find something that is relevant to your project. It is better to do all your research and gathering in one sitting rather than go backwards and forwards every time you think of something new. This will be the fastest way to make your vision a reality. If you are dealing with a service where you pay for them to supply you with stock footage and video clips, you may want to pay them to do a pack for you. That way, if for some reason the company changes in the future you can be sure that you have videos that fit with each other.
There are freelancers you can get into touch with like on odesk.com to help make you some video clip. But this can be expensive from $30 an hour upwards. Plus, you will have to explain your concept, have a couple of drafts with edits before you get to the final piece of video. You could be looking at $500 quite easily and still not have exactly what you want.
Another thing to look out for is if they are really creating the clips, or have they acquired them from another source. If you cannot verify, for instance, actors in the video they claim to have hired, then you need to avoid using it just in case. You do not want to find out later when you are running an ad that the actor is claiming rights to the video stock footage and is demanding appearance fees or royalties.
Video stock footage
All of the videos you use for whatever application need to adhere to the copyright for each particular video so what you make can be legally broadcast to your viewers. While you may think, for instance, a certain word is okay to say online, if the video will also be on television you may have to alter that part of the video so you can use it in both places. Always be aware of what the rules are for content where you are posting it and that should keep it to where you have no trouble airing your videos.
There are plenty of free stock videos, but if you are a business it is not very wise to use these. There are various reasons for this not least that you do not want to run any risks of being taken to court or having to pull the stock footage which will entail starting the project again. Another issue is that if it is free, the quality is likely to be lower than you need for professional use. A third reason is the huge amount of time you will waste in trying to find suitable clips of commercial stock footage.
The best solution is to go to a specialist website like StockGiant that provides royalty free commercial stock footage. They have sourced and verified thousands of different clips of videos that people can easily download at a very modest price compared to having a bespoke video made. Without doubt, the best way to find commercial stock footage is to go to a site like this. It will save you hours of searching and lots of money plus you know you can safely use the commercial stock footage without the risk of legal action.