You’re in the middle of a video project that you’ve been working really hard on. You have everything you need and you’re feeling very confident that you’ll be able to put together a magnificent video but as you start the whole editing process, you realize something’s missing.
I don’t know, maybe you realize that the footage you recorded isn’t really high in quality or maybe you find that you might need some b-roll footage. But for this, you need to buy the proper equipment, find the right location, hope for good weather conditions, wait for the right moment and you don’t have the necessary time or resources for all that.
Well, the good thing is that there are people out there who do these things and there videos are available for free on various video stock websites. So, today I will share with you five very useful free stock video websites that will help you out in creating videos. The important thing to know is that these websites are free, but some authors do require you to credit them and some don’t even ask for that.
1. Pixabay Videos
Pixabay is one of the best stock video website which states that all the shared videos are under the Creative Commons license which means you can use them without asking for permission or crediting the author. You can even use them for commercial purposes.
Besides videos pixabay also offers stock images, illustrations, and vector graphics. However, some of the images might come with some special conditions, so, if you’re gonna use them be sure to checkout what the licenses condition do they allow.
But right now, we are going to be focusing on the video footage of these websites. When you find any video that you like, you can confirm their license information on the right hand side of the player. You can also choose between a few different resolutions before you finally hit the download button.
2. Pexels Videos
Pexels is another website that offers some amazing looking footage licensed under the Creative Commons 2.0 license again that means you can edit or change the videos and use them for free personal or commercial projects even without asking for permission or providing a link to the source.
As a restriction, Pexels only requires that you do not show identifiable people in a bad light or in a way that they may find offensive unless they give their consent videos.
The videos on this website come with fixed resolutions, frame rates and the info on that is displayed underneath the video player. The type of license and source information can be confirmed beneath the prominent download button.
3. Coverr
Coverr.co is a website that offers cover videos that can also be used in different video projects.
All the videos published on Coverr.co can be used for free, you can use them for commercial and non-commercial purposes. There is no need to ask permission from or provide credit to the videographer or Coverr.
Although it is appreciated when possible and quote the build a CC0 license is mentioned on their license and FAQ page. Coverr.co mostly refers to its license as the Coverr license or simply license.
When you click on a particular video, you’ll get a simple pop-up displaying the video, a download button as well as an option to view the clip as the website cover.
4. Videzo
Videzo has a lot of high quality free stock footage to offer and they offer three different licenses. Now we have a website that has a few different types of licenses. So, that’s something you’ll need to pay attention when using their videos.
For the sake of stating which should be common sense, only you as a person who is using these clips can be held responsible for any possible repercussions that may come as a result of license violation. Whatsoever, just pay attention to the license permissions, restrictions and requirements and you’ll do fine.
The first one is pretty straight forward, the video standard license means that you can use a clip without crediting the author and the Videzo.
The second one is an attribution license which implies that you can use a clip but must provide credit to the author.
The third one comes under Creative Commons 3.0 supported license which might make things a little bit more complicated depending on what you intend to do with the footage. In question this license basically allows you to share and adapt a video even for commercial purposes but requires you to provide information not only about the author but also about the changes you made to the original footage. If you come across a video with this license, I would advise you to read the permissions and restrictions carefully and then decide how you’re going to use it .
Some videos may come with a “editorial to use” only mark which unfortunately means that they cannot be used for commercial purposes. So, if you’re a YouTube creator, you should probably skip such videos.
Based on my own experience, a lot of videos on Videzo uses the video standard license and are available for commercial use and they have some amazing looking clips.
5. Videezy
Videezy is a website that has a very wide variety of free stock videos but also have a few different types of licenses. So, the best thing to do here would be to open the license info for each video and check the terms and conditions.
Parting Thoughts
I’ve been periodically using clips from these stock video websites and I try to form a habit of crediting authors as well as services even when it’s not required. I think it’s a nice gesture and it costs you absolutely nothing.
You’ll also notice that some of these websites display videos from other websites such as Shutterstock or similar services but that require payment usually. from but that’s just a way that these websites make money
So, if you’re not interested in using free stock videos just go to these five websites. They alone have thousands of free stock videos to offer. So, I’m sure that you can find something that you need.
To sum things up, when you’re considering to download a particular clip regardless of what website it’s from always check its license information and act accordingly.
If something’s not completely clear check out the info or FAQ pages and again act accordingly. Just follow the rules and you’ll do just fine.
