Free and non-copyright video material: 10 high-quality free video websites, all million-level high-definition video resources are included

I have been doing Short Video for more than three years and have used no less than 20 video material websites before and after. After stepping on the pit-I used unidentified materials cheaply, received emails from copyright owners, and also found treasures-I found several truly free, high-quality CC0 video stations. This article sorted out the 10 free non-copyrighted video websites I have at the bottom of the box and talked about them one by one based on my actual experience.

Let's start with the most important thing: How to judge whether video materials can be commercially available?

What authorizations are truly safe

CC0 is the only agreement that can be used with closed eyes. The author directly gives up the copyright, and no one cares if you edit it, commercialize it, or change it beyond recognition. You should be careful about other authorization types: CC BY requires a signature, which you have to mark in the video description when you do business;CC BY-NC says "non-commercial use" and if you accept the business order, you cannot touch it; There is also a website statement that says "Free commercial, no signature is required". This is basically reliable, but it is best to save a screenshot and file it.

Whenever you see "personal learning only","editorial use","news reporting only"-don't touch them, these authorizations are very vague.

A hole that must not be touched

Video materials downloaded from Tencent Video, iQiyi, and Station B are 100% infringing. Douyin and Fast Hand have an automatic Content ID detection system, so you may be recognized as soon as you send it. I used to know a friend who worked in self-media and used a variety show clip to make BGM. As a result, his account was directly restricted for three months, resulting in a bloody loss.

Pexels Videos: My main station

It has been used for three years and has not been replaced yet.

Pexels I use it as my main station. More than 3 million videos, all 4K/HD, CC0 protocol. The biggest advantage-Chinese search can actually be used. You search for "city","nature" and "delicious food", and the results are of high quality, so you don't have to worry about poor English.

The material covers a wide range of materials: natural scenery, urban architecture, people's lives, technology business, animals and plants, slow motion, aerial photography delay... You can basically find all the empty mirrors commonly used in doing Vlog here. There is no watermark in the picture quality, and there is no need to register to download. Just click directly.

My own usage habits are to give priority to 4K-although the material project itself may be 1085P, the 4K material has a large zoom space and it doesn't hurt to cut later.

Tips: After clicking on the same scene, there is a "Related" recommendation on the right. You can often find the same series of shots with uniform colors and a much better texture when edited.

Pixabay Videos: Pexels 'best complementary station

Pixabay and Pexels are both called the two major free material libraries, but the reason why I use it is very practical-it happens to have some material that Pexels doesn't have. For example, I needed to do a medical and health video project. When looking for material, I found that there were many more medical and educational pictures and videos like Pixabay than Pexels.

Another highlight is that it has a full range of material types: photos, illustrations, vectors, videos, and music. If you need background music to make a video, you can find it directly without changing the website.

Search supports Chinese and is more detailed than Pexels. I especially like its animation and dynamic graphics materials, and helped a lot when doing the opening README animation.

One detail is worth mentioning: Pixabay has a lot of green screen carving materials, which is very convenient when composing special effects.

Videvo: If you want to find special effects and templates, come here

If Pexels and Pixabay are the home base for cinematic materials, Videvo is a paradise for people who do animation and post-production.

Its core advantages are dynamic graphics and special effects material-a large number of free After Effects templates, Premiere templates, as well as a variety of sound effects and music. To make a technology-sensitive opening, I basically just looked for AE templates on Videvo and put in my own words to finish it, saving a lot of time.

What needs to be careful is the difference between free and paid. Videvo's materials are divided into two types of licenses: Videvo Free License (free for commercial use, some require signature) and Videvo Attribution License (free for commercial use, require signature). Most free versions can meet daily needs, and high-quality materials are of better quality but require payment or signature. Watch the authorization mark before downloading and don't step in the trap.

Videezy: Aerial footage ceiling

When making travel and urban scenery videos, Videezy is my first choice for finding aerial photography materials.

Among the more than 400,000 videos, drone aerial photography has the most material and the highest quality. A large number of time-lapse photography of natural scenery, aerial photography of urban night scenes, and outdoor sports materials-the quality, composition, and color are all first-class.

What impressed me was that I once made a video of "The Most Beautiful Roads in China." Almost all aerial shots of the city night scene found shots of the city buildings on Videezy. The dazzling feeling of time-lapse photography was very direct. The proportion of 4K material is very high, so it can be downloaded and used directly.

The only minor drawback is that the classification logic is not as intuitive as Pexels, and sometimes you have to flip through several pages to find the ideal lens. But there are too many and complete aerial footage.

Coverr: Don't chase quantity, chase quality

Coverr has a small amount of material, but every piece is a high-quality product.

Unlike previous websites that rely on volume to win, Coverr follows the "manual selection" route-every video is edited and reviewed and is of extremely high quality. It is especially suitable for scenes that require "stunning at a glance" such as website background videos, APP launch animations, and PPT embedded videos.

The first time I used it was to do a corporate official website project, which required a background video on the front page of about 10 seconds. It needed a sense of technology but not losing the humanistic atmosphere. Flip to a shot of changing light in the office on Coverr, and it works very well on the official website.

Mixkit: Behind it is Envato

Mixkit is owned by Envato, which ensures its quality. Envato is a large company engaged in material marketing, and Mixkit is their free product line.

Tens of thousands of selected videos, updated every week. The classification is extremely detailed-artistic abstraction, background animation, commercial office, educational technology, gourmet catering, natural outdoor, character life, transportation city... You can almost find the picture you want directly based on the classification. What's even better is that in addition to videos, there are also a large number of PR/AE/FCPX templates that are also free.

I used it to make a collection of food Short Video. The close-ups of food on Mixkit-oily steaks, red wine poured into glasses-were above par in quality and "appetite."

Life of Vids: Produced by a Canadian production company, the only one

This is a material station operated by a Canadian production company. All videos were taken by itself and there is no content uploaded by users. Without the luck element of "Taobao", the quality is very stable.

Thousands of selected videos, all 4K. The style is more professional-the lens language is exquisite, the composition is rigorous, and the color is uniform. I like to use it most when making corporate promotional videos and product demonstration videos.

Because the content is taken by a professional production company, you can often find shots that "seem to cost a lot of money but are actually free." I once did a small real estate promotion project. Using its urban architectural lens, Party A saw it and said that we had spent money alone to buy the material.

Mazwai: First choice for film material

Every frame of the video on Mazwai is like a screenshot of a movie.

It focuses on artistic and cinematic sense: film-level empty shots, transition shots, slow-motion long shots... The color tone is unified and can be used directly without much color adjustment. To make those kind of "story-sensitive" videos, just go to Mazwai.

The first time I used Mazwai was to find a few empty shots with the theme of "Thinker" and find a silhouette of a side face that was backlit by the window. The effect was surprisingly good when using it in a video. Its biggest resource is transition shots-the ends and beginnings of many shots have been designed, and the transition is very natural when cut together.

Distill: A 10-30-second paradise for Short Video

If you make Douyin, Fast Hand, and Little Red Book Short Video, Distill is simply born for Short Video.

The videos on it are all 10-30-second Short Video, which are very creative and are updated ten times a day. Because it is a fixed duration, you can use it as soon as you take it, and you don't have to cut it yourself. The quantity is small but all are high-quality works, works by professional photographers, and the picture quality is very high.

My current process of making Short Video is: first find shots that match the creative ideas on Distill, and if there are no shots, go to Pexels to review them. It can basically cover 80% of Short Video material requirements.

OpenFootage: Essential for special effects synthesis

For post-synthesis, OpenFootage is your ammunition arsenal.

Flames, explosions, smoke, dust, particles, light effects, water, rain and snow, destruction of debris... the special effects material taken in reality is not CG. The most important thing is to have an Alpha channel, which can be directly superimposed and synthesized, saving a lot of matting time.

Resolution 2K/4K, extremely high quality. I need explosive special effects to make a game commentary video. When the real explosive material on OpenFootage is superimposed, the audience says,"Since when have you started doing special effects?"

However, it should be noted that its authorization is CC BY-NC, cannot be commercially available, and personal projects are fine.

How to choose websites for different scenarios

For daily Vlogs or Short Video, Pexels is the first choice, and Pixabay is the alternative. These two stations have complete materials and are easy to use for Chinese search, and can basically cover most needs.

For aerial photography or natural scenery videos, Videezy is the first choice, while Pexels is the alternative. Videezy's aerial photography materials are really of high quality, with everything from urban night scenes and natural scenery.

For special effects, animations or templates, Videvo is the first choice, OpenFootage is the alternative. AE templates, Premiere templates, and special effects materials are all complete.

Go to Mazwai to find air-sensitive scenes for the movie, and Life of Vids is an alternative. The material of these two stations is very textured and it is very suitable to make videos with a sense of story.

For corporate promotion or business videos, Life of Vids is the first choice, while Coverr is the alternative. The quality of a professional production company and the lens language are exquisite.

To make 10-30-second Short Video, Distill is the first choice, and Pexels is the alternative. Distill specializes in making Short Video materials and uses them as soon as they come.

For technology Internet themes, Mixkit is the first choice and Pexels is the alternative. Mixkit has a lot of scientific and technological materials and detailed classification.

In the gourmet catering category, Pixabay is the first choice, while Mixkit is the alternative. Close-ups of food are good at both stations.

For PPT or website background videos, Coverr is the first choice, while Mixkit is the alternative. Coverr's selected qualities are perfect for this scenario.

For special effects synthesis, OpenFootage is the first choice, and Videvo is the alternative. Real shot special effects material, with Alpha channel, can be used directly.

Experience in material management

The biggest insight I have gained over the years is: downloading it for a while and looking for materials for a crematorium.

What I do now is to create folders by categories: Natural Scenery/,Urban Architecture/,Character Life/,Business Office/,Technology Internet/,Food and Catering/,Special effects Synthesis/,Aerial Photography Delay/--Each category has 10-20 commonly used materials. Transition empty shots, dynamic backgrounds, commonly used close-ups... these don't need to be searched temporarily when making videos, and the efficiency is improved several times.

I am also used to changing the file name: City-Shanghai-Aerial Photography-4K-001.mp4, so that results will be available in seconds when searching. Also get into the habit of recording the source-which website downloaded it and what type of authorization-so that if you are asked one day, you can produce evidence.

Secondary processing is also important. To the same material, add a filter, adjust a color, change the speed, and then mix other materials to create a brand new picture. That's the meaning of CC0-you can change it as you please.

A final reminder: Don't use it as it is. Two creators used one material. What would the audience think if they saw it? A little processing is a respect for the material and a responsibility for your own content.