Stock Footage Royalty Free - What does that mean?

Royalty-free stock footage is the film maker's key to conjuring up impressive backdrops and astounding vistas to give a movie or documentary some extra impact and pizzazz.

For those of you who are not sure what stock footage is, it is quite simply a film or video clip, which can be of any length and on any subject, usually available from a stock footage library. It has been made available to the library, by the originator or owner of the clip, specifically to allow other film makers to be able to use it in their own compositions. What would you like? Footage of a swarm of bees? New York traffic? Footage of planet Earth taken from space? In theory, you could obtain footage of pretty much anything you like to add to your own project.

The 'royalty-free' designation means that you can use the footage in your project, without having to pay a royalty to the owner of the clip. That is not to say that the clip is totally free. Typically you will pay a one-off fee (often quite expensive) and you can then use that clip in your film. In all probability, the owner of the original clip will specify that he or she has to be credited within the film. In other words, you have to acknowledge that the film clip you have used is not your own, but has been made available by kind permission of the owner.

The upshot of this is that if you are making a film, whether you be a film studio, television company, small production company, or an enthusiastic amateur, there is stock footage available to give your production some local colour or authenticity. It may seem like an obvious point, but film, TV, and video is a visual medium. In a documentary on Paris, the audience would almost certainly expect to see the Eiffel Tower appear at some point. If you were making a documentary, or a film presentation, which referred to Paris, you would want to show some footage of Paris and its famous edifice. But if you were referring to Paris only for a 20-second piece, you probably wouldn't want the expense of travelling to the city to take some shots. It would be much cheaper and far more efficient to purchase 20 seconds of footage from a stock footage library. Similarly, if you were making a documentary about riots in cities, you might want to show some footage of an angry mob in the streets. But it is rather difficult and ethically dubious to conjure up a mob scene just for your own requirements. What's the alternative? If you are telling a story about mob riots, and the only visuals you have are of people cheerfully and peacefully going about their business, popping into shops and cafes, then the point you are making is rather undercut. So again, it is more expedient to obtain some stock footage.

There are numerous stock footage libraries available on the web. Some general, some specific. For example, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Motion Gallery) has a very comprehensive library. Or, for a more specific type of footage, how about NASA? You can obtain stock footage of space--surely the final frontier for any film maker? Or even, one of my personal favourites as a film maker, how about some explosions? You want to make a drama, you want some explosions, but don't fancy the lengthy process of arranging permissions, health and safety, not to mention cost. Then why not buy stock footage of an explosion and composite onto your action? I recommend Detonation Films for this excellent service.

You can get stock footage in both standard definition and high definition. Typically, high definition will carry a higher price tag, and will probably also take longer to download.

Good luck with your film. Blow them away!