There Are Many Advantages to Using Stock Footage

Stock footage basically involves short clips of moving images that can be used in a film or video production and hasn’t been filmed with any specific production in mind. For this reason stock footage is perfect for use in many types of productions, such as documentaries, TV series, news articles, sports series, independent films, advertisements, and films.

Using stock footage has many advantages and is frequently used by production companies. Most of the time nobody will even recognize they are watching stock footage; the key to its popularity is its low cost to create and acquire. Whole plots can be produced using stock footage and the costs are much lower than those where all the content is created in-house.

There are plenty of other reasons as to why stock footage is in high demand. It can be facilitated to link two scenes together to enable the story to flow and if there is no appropriate footage shot for a segment then it can be used to fill this slot. Stock footage is also very practical for the opening shots of a specific movie or scene.

Producers choose stock footage over filming the shot themselves for various reasons. For example, if making a short movie clip, art film or commercial, then a famous person or a significant past event can be incorporated into the scene. In the movie ‘Forrest Gump’, the main character sees talking to John Lennon and John F. Kennedy; this is made possible thanks to stock footage.

Stock footage can be downloaded more or less straight away, there is no need to get to a location, wait for the crew to arrive and then for the gear to be set up. Modern technology has made it possible for the footage to be in digital format, and with software allowing for file-downsizing and fast internet access, the capacity to buy and download stock footage over the web is simple and quick. Many websites online offer direct downloads of QuickTime clips.

The costs involved for buying stock footage is very low for filmmakers, when compared to shooting a scene themselves. When you compare hiring a crew and filming equipment and the time involved in getting the shot you require to buying stock footage, then there really is no competition.

You don’t have to be a filmmaker to use stock footage, anyone can use it. If you have to produce something for work or come up with an original idea for a school media or art project for instance then a short clip is a great way to show initiative and creativity. Incorporating stock footage into your presentation will ensure it is remembered and set you apart from the rest of the applicants.

Adding video or music stock footage to your website can be a big improvement and visitors browsing your site visually find it a lot more appealing. In comparison to normal written content, a video clip is instantly appealing to a browser and much easier to relate to. It is also more economical to use stock footage and reduces the need to travel to the destination yourself to get the shot.

If you are searching for high quality stock there are lots of services online that have large libraries containing more than thousands of hours of footage shots. Captured by some of the world’s best filmmakers of HD stock footage, 35mm, S16mm and other high end video footage, these libraries are constantly being updated with new content so you are sure to find something that can be used to bring your news story, short film or commercial to everyone’s notice. From people stock footage, nature stock footage or underwater stock footage, high resolution clips can be delivered digitally the day you order it.