As filming live footage has become harder to do as of in recent times. A great way to reach customers about your product, service, or brand is with a Stock Footage explainer video. In other words, an Explainer Videos with Stock Footage and 2D Motion Graphics But why exactly?

Why is “Stock” Footage a great option?

Stock footage saves more on the cost of a video, goes great with high quality Voice Over, motion graphics, and has a faster turnaround time on average. There are multiple levels of quality and subject matter for stock footage that will have an impact on your videos pricing point.

These are:

·        1080p, 4k, or even 8k Video.

·        The Quality of the Camera used to film the video such as a Red Camera.

·        The footage type such as LOG or RAW.

Premium stock footage has what is called “collections”. This means there are multiple angles and scenes with the same actors and or places. This gives your video a more live footage feel.

Stock footage can also be combined with motion graphics to create a killer duo of both visual and supplemental animations. In some key parts of the video there can even be characters or 3D elements to help drive the point home.

Video Editing

Video editors are like conductors of a visual symphony. Directing the pace, feel, and tone of your video. They assist the creation of a video by cutting down longer pieces into a flow of clips that match what is being said. Using Industry standard software (like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro or Davinci Resolve) editors can make sure that the video does not stay on a segment for too long and the audience always has something to pay attention to. They can also use collections to give the appearance that the video was originally filmed for your project.

Color Grading

With stock footage, colorists can boost the hues of a given scene to raise the overall production value. Colorists often use Davinci Resolve to unify the color palette of the video, adjusting any videos that stand out.

Color grading and color correction are sometimes used interchangeably, but they could not be any more different. Color grading is when the colorist chooses the aesthetic hues and tones of the video and manipulates values of the colors to reach their vision. Color Correction is to change the colors in the way it was meant to be seen, the way the human eye would see it.

Some Video Points to Consider

Using stock footage is not a one size fits all solution for video production. Some companies might need an animation to better capture the audience they are looking. Just like finding the right videos that fit your brand and the videos message requires more time invested then one might think initially.

It may be hard to find a video with a certain subject or situation, and it may increase the cost if as well. A great motion design agency would source footage from multiple platforms to find the imagery that will best tell your video’s story.

Great Audio Makes A Difference

Around 30% of the world’s population are auditory learners, so it may be a benefit to find an experienced Voice Over artist that can bring your idea to life. There are many types of VO artists out there with a range of qualities or characteristics, from serious and soft-spoken to warm and gritty.

Alongside your VO should be a good Music Track that plays in the background, no louder than the voice over (about -10 to -20 decibels), but not too quiet as to not be there. Many Music Platforms have a wide selection from genres, moods, and even instruments. So, when choosing background music for your video, download some preview songs and put them in your video to see which one fits best.

Sound effects can also accompany a given video to boost production value, especially since most stock footage clips have no audio. Using high quality sound effects can boost even the most basic of stock videos. For example, you can add the sound of breathing to a man on a bike, but if you add reverb, immediately the cinematic value goes up.

Look at one of our recent brand videos for Manaheal as an example:

Going Up

When finding Stock Footage, music, and even Voice Over talents, there are a lot of things to look for as stated before. Take finding a Voice Over talent for example; there are various levels of voice talent, and the cost usually raises with the professionalism.

A talented voice over artist would usually list out the audio software and equipment they use. Some VO artists might take a few days to get their recording back to you, and a few hours for others.

Licensing

When using Stock Footage, it is vital to have the license to show you have the right to use that footage and for what type of distribution. Just like if you hired an mograph artist/ studio for a motion graphics video, you would want to make sure you have the license for the fonts and or assets being used.

There are two other reasons why you would want to make sure that content you use is licensed: royalties and all-purpose media. The last thing you would want to pay for are royalties because one of the media you have used was not properly licensed. And some licenses may not cover playing at places such as trade shows or on TV, or even the radio.

Some Stock Footage sites also offer Insurance, which means if the platform no longer owns rights to a particular piece of footage you used, you will be covered for any fees that may occur because of it.

To reiterate:

·        Stock footage may be an effective albeit less personal solution for Video.

·        Can be combined with motion graphics for added engagement.

·        Great Voiceover and Sound Effects are a great compliment.

·        Faster turnaround times and easier on the wallet

For a more visual example, we think that our latest explainer video we made for Sonar encompasses all the points we made so far. With both high-quality stock footage and smooth animations, what’s not to like?

The End

Click on the button below or call us anytime at 909-581-9746 if you’re interested in a motion graphics video for your company, and we’ll get back to you ASAP.