Producing high quality videos is not cheap and easy. You will have to set aside a great amount of budget and time. While it is true that a production company has all the talent and expertise to create the best videos, they can also be expensive. Now if you only have limited budget, this is not a popular option for you. You may choose to shoot or edit the clips yourself but they too take time and money for travel, equipment and talent.
If you decide to go through shooting the video yourself, some cheap stock footage can help you ease the financial burden and time constraints. You need to consider a few things however in choosing the best footage for your project, including lighting, storytelling, sound effects, and more. Make sure that these factors fit your own video to alter the mood of your current clip and avoid creating an unorganized final version.
You also have a choice between shooting the footage yourself and purchasing a cheap stock footage. By cheap stock footage, we mean royalty-free videos clips. Either choice is workable and can produce a great quality video if you pay attention to the details.
- Cheap stock footage is great because it is professionally shot for an affordable price. It is usually used with a high-end camera. However, it can be too general in nature such as handshakes, people, skylines, etc. It may not be easy to find specific shots if that’s what you need. There are only a couple million footages in the market today, but that number is growing fast. You may also find unique footages for a higher price in some stock media agencies.
- If you are looking for a specific shot, the best way to shoot it yourself. Remember that conducting your own video shoot takes a lot of time, money and talent. You have to prepare for travel and food expenses. You will need to purchase the right equipment and maybe hire a few crew to help you. But the question is, do you have the expertise to create high quality videos? Perhaps, you can learn about lighting, sound effects, etc. to shoot a great video.
If you combine both, there will be endless possibilities. You can shoot some parts of the videos yourself and augment it by incorporating cheap stock footage. Stock footage are also best in correcting mistakes. You do not need to go back to a location and conduct the shoot again. You can just easily purchase the missing piece from a reputable stock media agency to save time and money. Just make sure that the stock footage fits your work so you will truly get value for your money.