So I am sure you have met this problem before. The client doesn't have enough money for original acquisition, but they want something specific. Where do you go for stock footage?

Thought Equity, Getty Images have some nice stuff, but at those prices you probably could have shot something yourself.

So where do you go to borrow images?

Here are two of my favorites:

-revostock They have great video, music and AE projects.

-iStockphoto They have great video and still photos.

Both these sites provide free footage/images every week just for signing up as a member. Can't beat that deal. Hope this helps.

I second the vote on iStock, best bang for your buck I think. Unless anybody out there knows of some iStock competitors that have recently copied their business model and can offer similar value?? Anybody, hello, Bueller?

Damian

Here's some to consider. They have their advantages but none come close to iStock in price.

www.ribbitfilms.com

www.itnsource.com

www.bbcmotiongallery.com

This guy seems to have a decent stash of outdoor stock footage, and Damian will love the name of his site!!

videopreditor.com/STOCK%20FOOTAGE.html

Do you think the Video Preditor collects his footage with a surf board and shot gun?...the mask is a nice touch.

videopreditor.com/HOME.html

That footage is "wicked sick" and/or "to the extreme". Once I saw that distressed font I was worried that he was going to reach through my monitor and punch me in the face with his Beta SP camera.

Thanks guys. I have used many of these sites, and I think this thread will be a useful repository for those looking for footage. I also like to contact production companies directly if I have seen something of theirs that I like. The money goes to them and not the clearing house and and you get to know people working outside our little valley.

Hmmm, maybe we should start a thread on what stock footage we have created and what we own.

Takers?

Lone Peak Productions has a big library of local Stock Footage. Feel free to look at us.

Lone Peak Productions Stock Footage

I really liked using Pond5. I found that I could get great quality 1080 res. HD footage for $30-$60 a shot. Similar prices to iStock but a few bucks cheaper in most cases. Also, they don't use that crazy system of "credits" like iStock. Much faster to get through to your purchase. Their selection is not as wide as Getty, but for the price it's worth browsing there. That is my two cents. Also, if you need time lapse footage, I found a great guy who is making some cool stuff at HD resolution or better with his Digital SLR still camera. He does also sells it.

timescapes.org

Alot of footage houses, like Revostock and Artbeats do have freebee clips they release once a week or by the month.
Steve

I'll take you up on that, Damian.

I have a small but growing collection of HD time-lapse stock footage you can view on my website here: www.utahhighdef.com

If you're interested in time-lapse, I also have several projects captured using a DSLR system which you can view here: www.utahhighdef.com/reel.html

The source resolution for these images is 3008x2000, so it is great for web compression or output to an HD format.

And thanks for the link to timescapes.org, tbabcock. I've been looking for this type of forum.