Stock footage consists of premade, general videos that can be licensed for use within your projects. These videos are inherently short; however, their length can vary based on the stock footage provider.
It’s possible to use stock footage in a large variety of projects. These range from ads and commercials to video backgrounds, b-rolls, social media content, or even YouTube videos.
Yes, anyone can use stock footage, depending on their needs. Stock footage can be great for video professionals, but also vloggers or freelancers. Video experts use stock footage in TV shows, movies, but also on YouTube, Twitch, and a variety of other platforms.
In general, stock footage is something you have to pay for. Some websites have free stock footage, but their library is limited, and the license is very restrictive. Most stock footage websites will require you to pay a fee for the videos you want. Some providers will also offer a subscription service, where you pay a monthly fee to access their entire library and use multiple videos.