A Dozen Free Stock Video Sites for E-Learning

A while back we had a great challenge on how to use video as the slide background in your elearning courses. It’s a great way to add texture and novelty to screens that are usually plastered with static images and bullet points.

Video backgrounds also force us to think how we’ll lay out the content to accentuate the video. That helps us think about layouts in different ways.

There are over 50 excellent examples in the challenge recap link above. Be sure to take a peak for inspiration. Here are a handful of the ones that stood out to me.

Examples of Free Stock Video Courses

• Great use of stock video throughout. Really elegant example.
• Just looks beautiful.
• Love the way she tied the colors and yoyo into the design.
• Beer! It’s already in the win column.
• Elegant opening screen.
• Clever way to get people to interact with the screen.
• Love the novelty of integrating real video with illustration.
• I like the way the panels animate in and out over the video.
• Great way to build a video meme: think outside the box and time travel.

There are a ton more great examples for this challenge. Be sure to check them out. Which ones do you like best?

Find Free Stock Videos

One of the first questions that comes up is where to get free stock videos. Most of us have our own media production studios in the form of our smart phones and tablets. It’s easy enough to shoot high quality footage to use in your own courses. This adds real context and a connection to your subject matter and organization. If you’re not comfortable shooting your own stock video, try out some of these free stock videos sites. And don’t forget about all of the free stock photo sites we covered earlier.

• Coverr: seven new videos every week.
• Pexels: lots of good stuff and link to free stock photos, too.
• Distill: not to be out done, ten new videos every ten days.
• Fancy Footage Club: site is closed but they provide a Dropbox link to download all of the free stock videos. Get it while you can.
• Videvo: free but want a social media share when you use the video. That’s fair for free content.
• Vimeo: miscellaneous free stock videos.
• Cute Stock Footage: some cool green screen videos.
• Videezy: decent selection, but they lead with Shutterstock examples, which requires an account.
• Mazwai: lots of videos, but the site seems to freeze when they all load.
• Vidsplay: totally free stock videos.
• Clip Canvas: free but not a big selection.
• Pond5: free stock videos found by Geraldo in Al Capone’s vault.

There’s more than enough free stock videos to keep you busy for a while. Now it’s your turn. Take a stab at the background video challenge and submit an example here.

You can always find inexpensive stock photo subscriptions. In fact Graphic Stock (which has a good selection) regularly runs a $99/year subscription with unlimited downloads. They also have a video  and audio service that is reasonably priced.

Events

Free E-Learning Resources

Want to learn more? Check out these articles and free resources in the community.	Here’s a great job board for e-learning, instructional design, and training jobs	Participate in the weekly e-learning challenges to sharpen your skills
Get your free PowerPoint templates and free graphics & stock images.	Lots of cool e-learning examples to check out and find inspiration.	Getting Started? This e-learning 101 series and the free e-books will help.