Using b-roll over your talking-head footage can make your video a lot more interesting, help you demonstrate what you’re talking about and ultimately keep your viewers engaged for longer.
In this article, I’ll talk about the sites I source my stock footage from, and in the video above I take you into the edit suite and demonstrate some B-roll editing techniques.
If you want to film your own B-roll to make your video more personal and you can check out this video for some ideas and basic filming principles to make your shots look more professional.
But if you don’t have the time or, let’s be honest, the interest in filming your own b-roll, here are the stock footage sites I most recommend.
Pexels.com
Pexels is a free stock footage and photo platform. It’s not required that you credit the artist for their footage or photography but it’s always appreciated.
There are heaps of categories to choose from, or you can input your own keywords to find exactly what you’re looking for. You can also select the orientation and size of the clips to suit your project.
You can use the footage for personal or commercial projects, as long as you abide by these guidelines;
- don’t use images of identifiable people or brands to suggest endorsements or have them appear in a bad light
- you can’t redistribute or sell the footage or photos claiming they are your own work.
Check out the full License details on Pexels.com here.
Explore Pexels.com for yourself.
Artgrid.io
If you feel a bit limited by the images available on Pexels a platform I love is Artgrid.io.
Artgrid.io is a subscription-based stock footage resource with hundreds of new clips added every month.
I like the style of the clips available on this platform, they have a modern and almost ‘edgy’ feel.
The filters allow you to get really specific with the framing, camera movement, location and speed of the clips you’re looking for.
Check out Artgrid.io for yourself here.
There are a number of other subscription and pay-as-you-go stock footage options like Storyblocks, Shutterstock and Vimeo now have their own stock footage library, but the two options above are my favourites at this point in time for price and the range of footage available.
Check out the video above for some tips on how to edit your b-roll so it flows smoothly and helps to demonstrate what you’re talking about in your video.
Read on for how to find the right music for your video.
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