Do you need free footage for your editing projects?
Or are you looking for copyright free videos to use on your business?
Or do you simply want to make sure to use copyright free videos on your web posts?
Completely free videos can be a little harder to find than other media, such as free photos or free music. But fear not! This post will show you all you could want to help you find your footage sources!
All sites explained here offer High Quality HD 1080p and 720p videos! Sometimes they’re even 4K Ultra HD! We will get into details about each platform and how you can use their free content.
Let’s see the best sites to download free video footage.
1. Pixabay
The first recommended site is Pixabay, where you can get thousands of Stock Footage media clips with absolutely no charge, divided in many video categories.
“Stock Footage”, in case you don’t know, means that the videos are shot once and can be used again on multiple projects, they’re usually short clips no longer than 60 seconds recorded intentionally to be part of video editing works and other media materials.
Another cool thing about Pixabay is that it offers more than 800 of free animated videos (a.k.a. 3D videos). To find them you simply type “3D” in the Pixabay video search bar.
There are some good practice rules you need to follow while using Pixabay free videos, and the same goes for the other free video platforms because that’s how every good service works.
Now you’ll see a summary of what you can and what can’t do while using Pixabay free videos. That shouldn’t replace your reading of the Pixabay License and the Pixabay Terms of Service.
What you can do
The Pixabay License allows you to use all video content without having to ask for use permission, for personal and commercial purposes.
You can edit Pixabay videos. Cool, right?!
You can use Pixabay videos on your social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Attribution is not required for the free videos you download, though you can give credit to the video author (if you want), which is always very appreciated by the Pixabay creators community.
Now let’s see what you must be careful to avoid while using Pixabay.
What you can’t do
Pixabay License doesn’t allow you to sell or redistribute Pixabay videos on other stock platforms (such as the websites shown in this post).
You can’t sell video copies that you didn’t alter in any way. For example: you can’t sell an exact copy of a stock video.
For videos with people, you can’t portray identifiable people in a bad light or in a way that is offensive.
2. Pexels
The second site you should use is Pexels, where you can download tens of thousands of free stock videos!
Pexels doesn’t have many animated 3D videos, so if you really need this type of footage you’re better off with Pixabay (explained above) or with Videezy (explained ahead in the post).
Now you’ll see a summary of what you can and what can’t do while using Pexels free videos. That shouldn’t replace your reading of the Pexels License and the Pexels Terms of Service.
What you can do
The Pexels License allows you to download all Pexels videos for free.
You can edit the free footage you download.
Social media use is allowed.
You don’t need to attribute the video author. However, you can do that if you want, which is always appreciated by the creators community.
What you can’t do
You can’t sell or redistribute free videos on other stock video platforms (such as other sites shown here in this post).
Videos with identifiable people may not appear in a bad light or in a way that is offensive.
Also, you can’t sell unaltered copies of any video.
You can’t imply endorsement of your product by people or brands on the imagery.
3. Videezy
The third great source of free video footage is Videezy, where you can download thousands of free videos for your projects, there you can get free videos on 720p, 1080p and even Ultra HD 4K. Another cool thing about Videezy is that it offers free animated videos.
You can search for any keyword you want by typing anything on the search bar on Videezy home page, then you can filter the results by Best Match (for the keyword you typed), by Newest (upload date), by File Type (Stock Video or After Effects), by Resolution (SD, HD720, HD 1080, 4K, or Ultra HD) and by Format (MP4 or MOV).
Some videos are Premium and require purchasing, so if you see a green label with the word “PRO” on the video thumbnail, that’s a paid video. Otherwise, it’s free.
You can search for any keyword you want by typing anything on the search bar on Videezy home page, then you can filter the results by Best Match (for the keyword you typed), by Newest (upload date), by File Type (Stock Video or After Effects), by Resolution (SD, HD720, HD 1080, 4K, or Ultra HD) and by Format (MP4 or MOV).
On the search results, there are four different licenses:
- Standard
- Pro
- Creative Commons
- Editorial Use Only
Free videos on Videezy can be under other licenses. You can find the details about every license on Videezy License & Usage Explanation.
All content on Videezy is under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Also, remember that you need to give attribution for every free video that:
- Is licensed under Creative Commons
- Is a Videezy Community File
- Is a Videezy Standard File
On the download page of every free video, you find details about the License and attribution requirements under the video preview: just click on the button “LICENSE INFO”.
You can find more information about how to use Videezy free content by visiting Videezy Support, by reading the article How to Use Videezy Resources for Commercial Purposes and by reading Videezy Terms of Use.
Just take some time to understand how everything works on Videezy and you will surely find a lot of great content there to use on your media editing projects!
Conclusion
Great! Now you’re ready to boost your media editing projects with hundreds of free videos! So don’t hesitate to check the platforms listed here in the post and see what you get!
You can also share your thoughts in the comments below!
