Giving New Life to Your Stock Footage

Stock footage is usually seen as not useful. Moreover, many videographers have a lot of stock footage without giving it a use. Handling this footage may end up with new videos and saving costs of production since the shots already exist.

When making a project, not all the footage is used. However, sometimes there are some shots and clips that look good although they do not fit the main video. So, it is the perfect example of stock footage. Here we will give some ideas of the unlimited possibilities that this footage can have.

But first, what is Stock Footage?

Stock video is prepared footage clip by expert cinematographers that creators can purchase and use in their videos. It can either be your own videos if you are a production company or if you are an independent creator, by using platforms where paying subscriptions you can use the videos.

Making videos from stock footage
Using Stock Footage to make new videos

Specifically, a stock video is around one minute or less. They are short video overlays that cover all the varieties of video from landscapes to people.

Nowadays, many production companies make stock footage or upload the footage they do not use in their videos to subscription platforms. Thus, with the new technology, getting stock videos is easy and fast, providing endless video possibilities.

Ways To Get Creative With Stock Footage

Use in Fictional Films

In fictional films, there are several shots of the landscape and it is a great way to introduce the film. Also, it is very usual to have aerial shots of cities, and many general films use them.

Documentaries use a lot of stock footage

In the case of documentaries, they utilise stock video to enrich the production. Also, depending on the documentary, it is useful to put the video in black and white to make it more reflective.

As we can see in the following short documentary, the first clip of the clouds is exactly using a stock video. So, seeing this documentary it is impossible to know if the clip was made solely for this video or if it was taken from stock.

Create short clips for Social Media

If you are a production company, using the stock clips that you have from previous projects can be useful in terms of marketing. Making a social media video with all those clips can be a great way to introduce parts of different works so that viewers can see your work.

For Commercials and Corporate Videos

Playing with nature and animals is a common practice for commercials and corporate videos. However, since it is just a few seconds clip, making a video and going to the countryside plus renting the equipment and resources is not worth it. Therefore, using stock clips available saves costs and time for businesses.

In the following example of the UN campaign, it is doubtful that all the clips have been made for this specific video. With all the different shots and videos, it is likely that they are from independent stock videos.

Youtube Videos

As we have been putting some examples from Youtube. Hence, it is clear to mention that YouTubers get a wide range of flexibility with stock videos. It does not require them to shoot anything and with creativity, it can make a stunning video.

 

Overall, making your own videos gives your company a sense of uniqueness. Nevertheless, sometimes it is good to add some already-made clips to match your final project. But if it is just a 10-20 seconds video, it is better to get one from others and reshape it into your video.

Thank you for reading,

Sara.

 

Contact Impress Video now

If you would like to do some stock footage or any kind of video with video production and marketing professionals, we can help you at Impress Video. We make video production for businesses, the ones that impress. Don’t hesitate to contact us here!