Music
One of the hardest things to find for a production is good music.
Sound Effects
Sound effects can really ad punch to your production.
Video & Animation
Stock video can be a useful way to get shots you can’t film yourself.
Images
Links to photographs and vector artwork.
MUSIC
Music is often one of the most difficult things to find when creating a video or animation. This is made especially hard as music must be properly licensed in order to use it in your production. Commercial music can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars to license. Below we’ve included links to sites that provide music for free, under creative commons licenses or for a relatively small fee.
Free
BenSound
Various genres of royalty-free music for use in videos.
Site link here
Creative Commons
SoundCloud
This is a particular section (group) on SoundCloud’s site that only lists music works that can be licensed under creative commons.
Site link here
Paid
The Music Bed
The tracks on this site are pricier than some other places, but they are generally much higher quality. Many of these tracks are commercial releases where the artist has decided to also open the music up to photographers/videographers and indie films.
Site link here
Filmstro
This is a paid music subscription service, however the site now allows songs to be downloaded for non-commercial use with Youtube. Songs are limited to 90 seconds which is enough for more work.
Site link here
Dig CC Mixter
An older creative commons music site, but one that still provides a decent selection of content. They are currently updating the design of the site to hopefully improve the user experience.
Site link here
Audio Jungle
Generally good quality content and reasonable prices.
Site link here
Free Stock Music
The site is backed by another stock material company. This means that they will try to push you to the paid content. Despite this, there are many decent tracks available on the site that are completely free.
Site link here
Free Music Archive
One of the more popular creative commons music sites. A good collection of reasonable quality content.
Site link here
Pond 5
Pond5 do a variety of stock music. Prices vary a lot, but the quality is generally very good.
Site link here
Incompetech
A variety of free music for download. The quality isn’t amazing, but may suite certain videos.
Site link here
Jamendo
Another good option when it comes to creative commons music.
Site link here
SOUND FX
Sound effects are also difficult to come by (at least free ones that aren’t horrible quality). Below we’ve included links to sites that provide sound effects for free or for a relatively small fee.
Free
Youtube Audio Library
To assist users in creating content with properly licensed music, YouTube has a dedicated page full of free tracks for download. Site link here
Free
Adobe Sound Effects Library
Designed for use with Adobe Audition, these sounds actually be used in any application. Broken up into zip files of sound effect categories for easier download.
Site link here
Paid
Sound Dogs
These guys have been around for a very long time and do good quality sound effects. They aren’t cheap, but you often get what you pay for.
Site link here
Free Sound
The interface is a bit clumsy, but this site has a decent variety of free sound effects for use.
Site link here
BBC Sound Effects
Over 16000 sounds for “ “personal, educational or research purposes”.
Site link here
Audio Jungle
In addition to music, Audio Jungle do a wide variety of sound effects.
Site link here
Free SFX
A reasonable selection of free sound effects.
Site link here
Pond 5
Pond5 do a variety of music and sound effects. Prices vary a lot, but the quality is generally very good.
Site link here
VIDEO & ANIMATION
Free video an animation files have traditionally been hard to come by and generally very low quality. Traditionally stock video shipped on CDs and DVDs. With the increase in broadband speeds, a lot more stock video is available online. Much of it is still paid, however there are a few free and creative commons options. The cost of a lot of video has dropped significantly, so if it’s just a shot or two you need, you can get good quality shots for not a lot of money. Links below.
Free
Free Stock Footage
A reasonable selection of free video for use in your projects. Supported by a paid-for company so they will try and push you towards paid products.
Site link here
Creative Commons
Vimeo Music Store
Video has the ability to search through available content for that which has been flagged as having a creative commons license.
Site link here
Paid
Video Copilot
Known more for video tutorials, Video Copilot also sell a collection of reasonably priced stock video mainly dealing with special effect type content.
Site link here
Footage Crate
The site does offer paid stock material, but you can grab some freebies without paying anything. The site is good for action type footage (muzzle flashes, fire, etc) and also has some stock sound and music. Quality varies wildly, but for many projects the quality should be fine.
Site link here
YouTube Creative Commons
A little trickier to get to than Vimeo’s creative commons content, Youtube allows the user to search for a particular video (“tractors” for example) and then filter the results to just those displaying creative commons material.
Click the “Filters” button, and then under the “Features” column you will see a creative commons link.
Site link here
RevoStock
A solid collection of video and motion graphic templates.
Site link here
Free AE Templates
The site is backed by another stock material company. This means that they will try to push you to the paid content. Despite this, there are many decent AE templates.
Site link here
Archive.org
Archive.org contains a lot of non-copyrighted, creative commons and out of copyright material. The site is good for archive type footage.
Site link here
Pond 5
Pond5 do a variety of stock video. Prices vary a lot, but the quality is generally very good.
Site link here
Video Hive
Similar to RevoStock, Video Hive have a good collection of both stock video and motion graphics templates.
Site link here
PHOTOS & GRAPHICS
Stock photography and graphics have been around for a very long time, but only recently have the free resources started to be of reasonably quality. The sites below link to free photography, graphics and vectors, as well as search engines that enable you to look up specific material.
Free & Creative Commons Photos & Vectors
PhotoPin
Search millions of Creative Commons photos.
Site link here
Public Domain Archive
A good collection of public domain images for your creative projects.
Site link here
FreeImages.com
One of the original free stock photography websites, freeimages.com has a good section of content. The quality can be rather varied, but there will generally be something suitable available for most projects.
Site link here
Flickr Creative Commons
Search Flickr for images that include a creative commons license for use in your projects.
Site link here
Pixabay
Free photos, vectors and art illustrations.
Site link here
Flat Icon
A great site if you’re looking for icons to use on a website or other visual project.
Site link here
500px Creative Commons
Just like Flickr, 500px has a special search mode enabling you to look for user submitted photos that are creative commons licensed.
Site link here
Pic Jumbo
The site is a little busy in terms of design, but does showcase a decent selection of free photography.
Site link here
All Silhouettes
A great site if you’re looking for vector images of people.
Site link here
Vector Portal
A good start if you’re searching for free vector artwork for your project.
Site link here
Freepik
Another good starting point of you’re looking for free vector artwork resources.
Site link here
Unsplash
Free high-resolution photos.
Site link here
Pexels
Free high-resolution photos.
Site link here
Additional links
Typeform has put together a list of 24 sites containing images for re-use.