Using Copyright/Royalty-Free Images, Video & Music in Your Film
December 19, 2016When creating a film submission for the Ocean Awareness Student Contest or compiling your video journey for the Marine Debris Creative Advocacy Competition, you may find yourself needing photos, video footage, or audio to complete the piece. Maybe you live in the middle of Kansas and simply can’t film waves crashing onto a beach. We got you.
Part of the magic of the Internet is that it’s FILLED with tons of free creative content that’s just dying for a home – you just have to know where to find it and what to do with it.
Here’s a handy list of resources to get you started*:
Images:
- Wikimedia Commons (includes video and audio)
- Flickr/Creative Commons
- Unsplash
- Pixabay
- U.S. Government Photos and Images
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services National Digital Library (includes video, audio, and maps)
- Pexels
Music/Audio:
Video:
- Pexels Videos
- Pond5
- National Park Service Multimedia
- Stock Footage for Free
- Vidsplay
- Production Crate (includes audio)
*This is by no means an exhaustive list – keep searching if you don’t find what you’re looking for!
But remember… even though something may be free or under the Creative Commons license**, you should still always attribute and give credit to ANY information, images, audio, or video clips that are not your own. Be sure to include these credits at the end of your film submission.
**What the heck is Creative Commons (CC)? Great question. Creative Commons is a nonprofit whose mission is to expand the range of creative works for others to legally build upon and share. There are several kinds of CC licenses, but they are used when a creator wants to give others the right to share, use, and build upon work that they have made. Still confused? Check out this awesome resource that goes into even more detail.
The bottom line is: give credit where credit is due! Or film your own footage, make your own music, and snap your own images.
Happy making!