Stock Footage Libraries Help To Complete Your Genius

Stock footage libraries have been around for ages now. You will be surprised to know how many people have used stock footage to add to or complete a project. These libraries help enhance the present ability of movies, films and everything else in several ways. If you are a filmmaker, a director, a producer or a budding artist, you should always consider using stock footage library in your work. You may only need a close up shot to really bring the story home or maybe you need to cut your costs and add in an entire sequence. Either way, there are many benefits to using the available video. This footage is easily obtainable. Just visit one of the many stock footage libraries and start searching for topics that match your project. You may be surprised to learn how much these types of additions are made in film as these libraries are as old as cinema itself. Libraries were created at almost the same time as motion photography. The options that are now available because of such libraries have opened up a whole new way to think about filming. You are no longer limited to a budget or time constraints. Nor do you have to purchase the most expensive filming equipment to produce spectacular results. For those who are interested in learning more, here is a low down on stock footage.

Stock footage is a very simple thing to understand. If this is something you think would be beneficial to your film or project, there are two different kinds of footage to consider.

The first is archival in nature. This is basically footage of videos taken for no particular purpose rather than being used later in any film, movie, television series or documentary. Archival footage can be used from news channels documenting certain circumstances to other historical moments like a president’s acceptance speech, the coronation of a king, a particular accident or incident and so many other things. This is the first rung of this type of footage and it only encompasses the out of the ordinary footage that many of us would know about or would have heard about. Then you have the more commonplace footage that could involve normal people from different times at a particular place. Inauguration ceremonies, weddings, functions and the whole gamut are present in this classification. You also have various other genres of footage. You could have wildlife or forest footage. Shots of scenery, specific sights, and much more are easily found in these libraries. You could have professional footage or you could even have amateur footage. The larger stock footage libraries make it a point to collect all these types.

The next or the second type of footage is more relevant in today’s film and TV production world. Though the previous type of footage is equally important and is in use in many large productions, this category helps people better understand the benefits of footage. This second type of footage is from movies and films that do not need this footage anymore and have sold their rights to it or shot it for a particular project, but never actually used it in that project. This type of stock footage library generally does more rounds and some particular pieces are in high demand. For example, if a director takes a complete shoot of something extraneous like villagers in a remote country or something like that and eventually ends up removing it or not taking it into his project, this footage is sold to the stock footage libraries or to some individual. Again, this type of footage can be found in a number of genres. You could have city scenes, bar scenes, traffic or weather, and the list goes on and on.

A good example of big stock footage libraries is any countries government. For example, one of the biggest collectors of stock footage is the US government. All the footage shot by the military, NASA and other government agencies comes under it. The government has footage of all sorts from all over the globe and they usually make it public if it is not of a sensitive nature. If you look closely, you will find such stock footage in many popular Hollywood movies.

Now, many of you may still be a little doubtful as to how this will or might help you in your future endeavors. It is a simple bit of logic. So many times, you find that you need a shot or some footage of a cityscape, a mountain range, a river or some other non-acting oriented footage of scenery. So many directors before you might have actually done the same shot. Now imagine if you could buy this footage from a stock footage library for a nominal price. You would end up saving so much on the costs you otherwise would have incurred for the expense of shooting, crew, travel and all the other costs, including overheads. You could even modify this footage with clever editing to make it look different.

Similarly, you can use archival footage. Now imagine you have in mind an excellent project that shoots back in history and you need a particular character to be talking or doing something with a prominent statesman or personality of that time. You can use the piece you want from history and with proper editing, your project will have an accurate life shot of what you would have otherwise required to hire look a likes and create entire sets to match. If you remember the popular Hollywood film ‘Forrest Gump’, you might have noticed that the protagonist played by Tom Hanks was present in many conversations with leaders and politicians of that time. This was all due to the excellent and intelligent use of stock footage.

Many times, you will notice famous dialogue, speeches or videos of the same interspersed amongst commercials. How many times have you seen a movie shot in the current year only to look like it happened 50 years ago? One of the ways they make it "realistic" is by having news casts or famous happenings during that time referenced in some way visually. Whether it be a family watching it on TV or seeing it in a store window with a group of people around learning the President had been shot. All of these examples are feasible thanks to footage libraries.

Stock footage can be extremely useful if you are considering making an autobiographical documentary or any sort of production that borrows heavily from historical speeches, movies, sports or anything else. Instead of trying to recreate or narrate something as confusing as this, it would be a cheaper and far better option to use footage from a well-stocked stock footage library.

Then there is the question of borrowing from other films. Many times, you might find yourself in need of a particular scene from a different film to be playing in the background, on the TV in your production set or something like that. Most of these old films’ licenses now are with one of the bigger and better libraries.

All the footage that a library has gets turned into better quality. The reigning top quality format is HD. Isn't it great to know that your film can be enhanced with high definition without you having to film it all yourself?

Choosing a library is not as simple as it sounds. While you could type 'stock footage library' into your search engine and click on the first thing you see, you need to do a little research first. It is very important to understand that although you are borrowing a particular footage, you will have to pay a certain amount of money. Stock footage libraries have different rates and they vary on the type of footage you are taking. The more rare a footage is, the higher the cost. This can play into the cost of using film shot in HD as well. The library had to pay for the film, sometimes quite a bit of money. Decide what kind of film you need before you start visiting as the quality or theme can determine the price.

Though the price of the footage is important, what you must see is whether the footage is royalty free or not. Many libraries charge royalty on their footage. Always make it a point to go for a stock footage library that gives you royalty free footage. This means that once you purchase a particular footage, you can use it as many times as you want. If the footage has added royalty, you will find yourself coughing up additional amounts every time you use that clip.

The next complication occurs when people go in for amateur clips that contain other anonymous people. Many a time, you can read in the newspapers how an individual can sue a film’s producer for using that person’s footage without his permission. This is because when you take amateur footage, you might not have every person’s permission or license to use it. Always make sure that the stock footage library you go to has licenses for all the footage – amateur, professional, common or popular. This is especially important if you take footage from popular films or shows. Ensure that you have the right to use that footage. If a large production house or studio sues you for using unlicensed footage, you will end up paying a whole lot more that what you saved by buying the footage.

If you pay attention to all this, you will find that using stock footage library is an excellent way to give your project that final finishing touch. Who knows, you could end up using footage shot by a famous director. A great place to start looking is online. Many of them even give you the footage you want over the net. Simple transfer of files and a payment by credit card or whatever procedure they use is all it takes. If you are dealing with a lesser-known library, watch the footage you want to make sure it is what you are getting. Many times, people ask for one speech or part and get something else.