Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 10/19/2003, 7:03 PM
Good AND free? Other than artbeats, there really isn't anything free that's worth a look. Videometry has some decent free stuff, but it's half rez. BTW, most stock footage is 640 x 480. (square pixels and all that)
Some inkling of what you are looking for is probably helpful.
For instance, www.loc.gov has loads of footage that is free for some uses, most of it is half rez but using Vegas, it can look stellar. But it's all very old, copyright expired media.
Jay Gladwell wrote on 10/19/2003, 7:03 PM
Your post seems to contain an oxymoron. Yes, there is "good" stock footage on the web. Yes, there is "FREE" stock footage on the web. But I don't believe there is any "good FREE stock footage" on the web.

Keep in mind, those that shoot and provide "quality" footage, stock or otherwise, would be hard pressed to make a living if they were to simply give it away.

What are you looking for specifically?
PH125 wrote on 10/19/2003, 7:56 PM
I'm mostly looking for urban street and ariel footage
Spot|DSE wrote on 10/19/2003, 8:05 PM
There are some military aerials available for free, with no planes, just clouds and earth, but even that, you have to pay for the library and duplication fee. Urban streets....never seen any freebies there.
There are some very cheeeeeppppp clips at http://www.freestockfootage.com/how%20it%20works.htm
But their quality is worth what you pay for, and that's about it. Unfortunately, quality costs. Urban street footage is easy to get, the aerial stuff is where it gets tough to find for free and with quality. Artbeast is the king of that sort of footage for a reason. The average library costs them over 50K to develop.
BrianStanding wrote on 10/20/2003, 11:42 AM
Do you need current moving picture footage? Or can you work with older stills? If the latter, try the National Archives at:
http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/basic_search.jsp

Check the button for "copies linked to digital copies," and limit "Type of Archived Materials" to "Photographs and other Graphic Materials." A couple of keyword searches on "aerial" and "urban" each turned up a couple of hundred hits, some of them quite interesting.

You can also take a look at some of the "Moving Images" collections, but most of these aren't downloadable, requiring duplication costs and maybe a visit to D.C. to look at them.

Almost all of these materials were produced by the U.S. government, and so are in the public domain -- no copyright issues.
vitalforces wrote on 10/20/2003, 1:47 PM
Anyone know if Army Air Force bombing footage (aerial film of bombs hitting the ground below) from WWII would be a branch of the National Archives stock?
BrianStanding wrote on 10/20/2003, 3:48 PM
You betcha. Do a search at the link above, limit to "Moving Images," and use the keywords "airforce bombing." (no quotes).

I got 51 hits, most dated 1941-1960. No downloadable stuff here, but there's instructions about how to order preview and final copies on the Archives site.
BrianStanding wrote on 10/20/2003, 3:55 PM
Not public domain stuff, but a fascinating resource:

Vanderbilt University Television News Archive
http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/

Keep in mind anything you get from these folks is for research purposes only -- you still have to clear rights from the TV networks that produced them. And the tape you get from Vanderbilit is considered a loan: you have to return it to them.

I've used these guys for research for a couple of documentary projects. Quick response, reasonable rates, amazing inventory.
vitalforces wrote on 10/20/2003, 4:30 PM
Thanx BStanding, looking into them now.
cheroxy wrote on 10/20/2003, 6:28 PM
Here is one for free. I haven't had time to ever look at it or check out the fine print, but it looks like its a community for sharing loops.
http://www.videoloops.com/index.jsp