Find royalty-free stock footage faster

Even if you’re not in the video business there’s something strangely attractive about stock footage. These peculiar little vignettes – perfect for filling in the gaps in a larger video production – take on an almost surreal air when viewed completely out of context. And that’s part of VidLib’s appeal – it’s a free app that enables you to browse an enormous library of royalty-free stock footage, and there’s plenty of mind-boggling stuff there to keep you amused on a slow afternoon.

If you’re not an idle browser, it’s even better. With over 100,000 videos at your disposal – sorted into over 50 categories – it’s a treasure trove of useful clips to check out instantly. You can adjust the playback quality depending on whether you’re on the move or connected to some nice fast wifi, and it’s simple to build up your own lightbox of clips that you can then download in high quality. There’s even a collection of 4K clips if you’re really cutting edge.

Licensing’s pretty simple; non-commercial web use starts at $1 per clip, a full commercial royalty free licence costs upwards of $9.99, and if you want clips for personal use you’re able to download them for free. Plus, if you fancy getting into the stock footage business you can sign up and upload your own clips with an accompanying iOS or Mac app.

Not on iOS? You’re in luck! There are versions of VidLib available for Android and even Windows Phone, so there’s no excuse for not having a selection of curiously stilted business people pointing at things available to gaze at.

Words: Jim McCauley

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What's your favourite bit of stock footage? Tell us in the comments!