The Cons of Cheap Stock Footage

A picture is worth a thousand words they say. Imagine what a video is worth. A video can explain in a few seconds or minutes what it takes a paragraph or an entire article to imply. It has the power to elicit emotions and reactions from the audiences. When you’re creating a video, it needs to feel authentic. You can shoot the entire video yourself or make use of cheap stock footage. Whatever you decide to do, consider time, savings, effort, creativity, and your audience. Connecting with them and getting them to take action is what matters most.

the-cons-of-cheap-stock-footage

While cheap stock footage can help you achieve a strong video, it also has some serious disadvantages which includes:

  • It can be pricey, too. Compared to conducting your own shoot, buying cheap stock footage is a lot cheaper. But, it can be pretty pricey, too – especially if you are getting the highest resolution. Many stock sites offer video clips for various purposes. Footage for web is cheaper compared to its standard definition and high definition counterparts. 4K videos are the most expensive, which can range from 180 to 280 dollars. That bill can add up if you are looking to get more stock footage.
  • It can be too clichéd. Cheap stock footage represents general ideas, increasing the risk to cliché videos. There are a number of footage in the market, giving you a lot of choices. The most requested footage are streets shots and business meetings. If you want to create an amazing videos, do not settle for overly staged shots. Look for a footage that feels real and authentic.
  • Different scenes can be difficult to find. With cheap stock footage, you may feel that you are stuck with what you find. You can be searching for different scenes, but you will only get similar results. For instance, when you search for an office scene, you may see the same buildings and cities over and over again. If you want something specific, stock footage is not the best option for you. You should probably shoot the scene yourself.
  • It may not blend with the rest of your video. Luckily, there is a solution to this – color grading, color correcting and other post-production editing techniques. Using cheap stock video is not an easy task. You have the match the footage to the rest of the video in order to create a consistent look.

Using cheap stock footage has its own pros and cons. It can help you save time and money on travel, equipment and talent, but it might also get your story lost in translation. Fortunately, these pros can be easily resolved by post-production strategies. By doing so, you will still be able to attract your audience and get them to take action while saving time, money and effort.