Note: This is an HTML web page that was downloaded to
your own PC. If you get a warning about content, go
ahead and allow the content to be shown. The only
content in question are the Youtube videos embedded into
this report.
I used HTML instead of PDF so I could add the videos
directly to this report. Plus, there's tons of links,
and links work better in HTML pages than in PDFs.
Warning: Terms
change and are often a matter of interpretation. It's up
to you to double check the license, terms and End User
Agreements for any and all of the following resources
before using them in your video projects.
You Must Be Flexible
One essential skill for video creation is the ability to
convert media from one format to another. Sketch
programs such as Explaindio may require that images are
in the .svg format in order for the program to "sketch"
them. Some video programs may output in .mov or .avi,
while another may only work with .mp4 videos.
Being able to convert image and video files from one
file type to another creates many more opportunities for
video creation. There's nothing worse than finding that
perfect background video, only to find it's in a format
that your video making program won't accept.
Video Converters
Any
Video Converter - FREE - I've tried and tested 7
or 8 video converters and I use an older version of Any
Video Converter to convert videos to convert videos from
one format to another. It's a great program.
However, the newest version may
have additional "Ad Ware". Make sure to pay attention
when you install it and deselect any additional
installations you don't want to install.
Here's a video I made showing how to convert videos
using Any Video Converter. I used an older version of
AVC in this video, so if you're using a new version, a
few things may be a little different but the process
will be very similar.
FreeMake
- Here's another excellent, and free, video converter.
Below is a video I made showing the settings needed to
convert a video to be compatible with Explaindio. These
settings are pretty common and can be used by many video
editors.
HandBrake - FREE -
HandBrake is another good video converter that can
handle virtually all popular video formats.
Convert To SVG
SVG is a "vector" image format. I won't get into vector
vs. bitmap/raster here, other than to say you may want
to convert a common png or jpeg image into a svg image
so that it can be "sketched" by a white board video
making program.
Also, some vector images may come in AI of EPS format,
both of these are Adobe Illustrator file formats. If you
don't have Adobe Illustrator, it can be expensive.
InkScape - FREE -
InkScape is a free vector image editor available for
WIN, Mac and Linux and can be used to modify svg images
and convert png and jpeg to svg.
Remember that if you have any questions on how to do
something, Youtube almost always has plenty of helpful
videos. Here's a link to Youtube search results for
videos about InkScape
convert
png
to svg.
Blue Ribbon Paid Resources
VideoBlocks - $99 a year for unlimited
royalty-free stock video downloads. You can use your
downloaded media over and over, even after your
membership expires. Yes, this is an affiliate link. But,
VideoBlocks is something I've paid for myself for more
than 3 years and will continue to in the future. In my
opinion, VideoBlocks is an essential resource for any
video marketing professional.
PresenterMedia
- $49.95 for 1 year or $79.95 for a 2 year membership,
using this special link only. Another paid resource that
I've paid for myself. Unlimited downloads and you can
use your media even after your membership is over.
Presenter Media is primarily a PowerPoint media site.
However, if you have PowerPoint, not only can you use
the templates, videos and clipart directly, you can also
export PowerPoint presentations as video files to use in
other projects. Also, PresenterMedia has a variety of
clipart and video backgrounds that you can customize
online, then download to use in your own projects. This
link is a "refer
a friend" link. Use my link and you'll save $10
off the regular subscription price and I'll get an
additional free month membership for my paid membership.
Check out the video below. I hope it will give you
plenty of ideas of how you can use PresenterMedia and
let some of you focus on marketing and making money,
instead of trying to create pro quality videos:
Note: Only PowerPoint 2010 and 2013 can export as video
and only PowerPoint 2013 can export as an MP4.
PowerPoint 2013 has a free 30 day trial, so you can use
it to customize PresenterMedia's templates, then export
as a video to use in other video creation tools.
AnimationFactory
- $59.96-$99.95 per year, although they offer discounts
for recurring members. I've paid for an AnimationFactory
membership myself in the past. And although I let the
membership lapse once in a while, it's something I buy
again and again. You will really need to get the more
expensive "Platinum" membership level, as this offers
larger animations needed for video as well as video
backgrounds not available in the lower priced "Gold"
membership. AnimationFactory is PresenterMedia's "sister
site". While PresenterMedia focuses mostly on business
related media, AnimationFactory offers animations with a
much broader range.
Animated GIFs make creating good videos fast and easy.
They add motion to your videos and help you tell all
story. All you need to do is add a basic line of text
and/or a video voice over. Access to animated GIFs is
really a video maker's secret weapon.
Again, PowerPoint can import and play animated gifs with
transparent backgrounds, so you can play the animations
over just about any background, add text and other
media, then export as a video file to import into other
video creation programs.
Note: Not all video editors work with animated gifs. And
some of those that do, don't read transparent
backgrounds. PowerPoint and Explaindio
both can use animated gifs. Camtasia can, but has issues
with transparent gifs. Vegas Studio can handle animated
gifs with transparent backgrounds. I'm sure there are
other programs as well.
JewelBeat - JewelBeat
has a big collection of high quality royalty-free music
for just $2.99 a song. This is a great resource,
especially when you need a license for a music clip you
want to pass on to your clients. For just $2.99, you can
be a real professional and do the right thing for you
customers.
Blue Ribbon FREE
Resources
Free Video Editors
Tip: Virtually every major video editor (that isn't
promoted by Internet markets) has a free trial period.
From Vegas Studio, to Powerpoint, to Adobe Premier and
After Effects, you can use these programs for free.
ActivePresenter
- has a good free version video editor with screen
capture. If you don't have $300 to spend on Camtasia to
record your screen, ActivePresenter is a great option.
And did I say it's free?
Shot
Cut - Another free, yet powerful video editor with
tons of advanced features.
Google
Earth Pro -
Google
Earth Pro was $400 a year and is now free. GE Pro let's
you create videos out of the "tours" you create. Get
creative. Use it to create video "directions" to local
business or tours of interest.
Disregard that the URL above says "free trial", you
will be downloading the FULL version of Google Earth
Pro.
After you download Google Earth Pro, enter this key:
GEPFREE
Wondershare
Filmora - Filmora isn't free, but it's pretty
cheap ($30 a year or $50 one-time), but does have a free
trial that adds a watermark to your videos. I added it
because it has a unique feature:
"Want to change the face of
someone in a video? It’s a piece of cake with
Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video
Editor) (Filmroa for Mac(Originally Wondershare
Video Editor for Mac)). This program includes a
face-off feature that automatically tracks the
position and rotation of the original head in your
picture. All you need to do is choose your wanted
portrait and apply it in a click. Then you can rest
assured that it will be put over the face and fit
for the size intelligently."
Wochit - Wochit is
an interesting online video creation service. It gives
you access to lots of news-style media, such as video
and images. It has both free and paid versions. The
"catch" with the free version is you can only post the
videos you create to their Wochit Youtube channel.
However, you can then embed the videos on your own web
pages or share on social media sites to get your message
across. With a little creativity, this can be a powerful
resource despite the limitations. Note: I didn't check
how much the paid version is.
CineGobs
- With CineGobs keyer you can key out backgrounds and
export the video including transparency to your other
software.
Microsoft
Cliplets Cinemagraph Maker - Cinemagraphs combine
animmation and movement with a still image. For example,
with Microsoft's free Cliplets program you can take a
video and make one part of it move while the rest of the
video becomes static/still. You can so some really cool
things with cinemagraphs and a bit of imagination.
The video below is my first attempt at a cinemagraph
using Microsoft Cliplets. I used a video of flowers
blowing in the wind and made them all still, except for
the flower in the lower right hand corner. I'm sure you
can do a lot better...but it should give you an idea of
what a cinemagraph is.
Make "Videos" From Still
Images with The Ken Burns Effect:
Windows Photo Story - FREE - This is an oldie
but goodie free sideshow program from Microsoft. It
really excels at creating the "Ken Burns Effect".
The Ken Burns Effect is adding a pan and zoom to a
still image to give it movement. The human brain is
conditioned to focus on movement and adding a little
motion to a still image makes them more interesting
for the viewer.
Another advantage is, there's lots more free still
images available than free stock video, so your
options greatly expand. A good strategy for video
creation is to make a video that has a couple of
scenes/slides that use video, a couple more that use
static images, a couple of more that use images with
the Ken Burns Effect, and a couple of more with just
text. This lets you "stretch" your video content,
while still creating interesting and effective
videos.
Here's a quick 4 minute video I made to show you how
easy it is to make a video out of a still image
using Photo Story 3 with the Ken Burns Effect:
The actual video created is smoother than the
example shown in the demo video due to Camtasia
recording a video of a video.
Here's a good video I found on Youtube that shows an
"advanced", but easy, technique using the Ken Burns
Effect and Photo Story 3:
To repeat, it's much easier to find free still
images you can use in your videos than video clips.
The Burns Effect is a simple and easy way to make
still images used in your videos much more
interesting.
Note: Photo Story will save videos in the WMV format
and the largest size is 1024x768. Generally
speaking, you will want your videos in MP4 format
and a size of 1280x720 for video programs such as
Explaindio. Just use a video converter like Any
Video Convert and change the size and file type. The
converted video will be somewhat distorted, but for
the vast majority of videos this won't be
noticeable.
Note: Many other video programs can do the Ken Burns
Effect using a pan and zoom feature. However, I find
Photo Story 3 to be the easiest. For specific info
for your video editor, just do a search on Youtube
for something like "Ken Burns effect PowerPoint" or
"pan and zoom using Camtasia".
Download
Photo
Story
from MicroSoft - (Note: The download says for
Windows XP, but it should still work on newer
Windows versions. It works fine on my own WIN 7
system.)
Note: Be careful using public domain sites. What happens
is, someone uploads an image they don't have the rights
to. These sites do their best to limit this, but once in
a while an image that shouldn't be uploaded slips
through.
Another Important Note: Use caution when using images
that show the faces of real people. You could run into
legal issues concerning "model release" contracts.
Because of model release issues, I recommend using
Kozzi. It's a paid service with a free trial and all
their models have signed releases. Better to be safe
than sorry.
Kozzi
- Has FREE trial period and high quality images. Even
after the free trial, it's the most reasonable pricing
of any of the paid image services. I suggest using it
for any and all images of people showing their faces, as
all Kozzi models have signed a release. I also really
like their selection of cartoon backgrounds. Be sure to
take advantage of their free trial.
Pixabay - The largest
collection of public domain photos, images, clipart,
etc. Can be used commercially and without attribution.
Kozzi -
Kozzi is kind of flaky, but try to use my referral
link and see if you can still get $10 in free
credits. Kozzi has excellent photos, graphics and stock
video. I like paying for images (but not a lot). By
paying a little, it gives me more confidence the images
are OK copyright-wise. Also note that while the free
sites may have images of models, you can't be sure if
the models have signed a release. Because of this, I
suggest if you ever use a picture of a recognizable
person, you make sure the model has signed a model
release. All of Kozzi's images have model releases.
Public Domain
Pictures - An excellent source for high
quality, free images, especially background images.
Tip: Search for
"frames" for some good images to use in
slideshows.
MorgueFile.com - Another
favorite site where you can use the images commercially
and you don't even need to give attribution. Very
liberal usage terms.
Note: Both OpenClipArt and Clker are good sources for
vector SVG images, good to use in VideoScribe (affiliate link),
Explaindio, Easy Sketch pro, etc. (affiliate) Cliker
also has a free feature that will convert bitmap images
to vector images.
All-Silhouettes
- a great, free resource for graphics and it has a
liberal usage license. Most of the collections of images
have a svg version, but some come only with a AI
version, at least the 10 or so collections I downloaded
were that way. There are thousands and thousands of
images you can use for free.
Here's a very short 24 second video I made to show an
few examples of All Silhouettes images:
Free Vector
Characters - A wide variety of free mascots and
characters. Also has a sister site with paid mascot
collections.
MightyDeals
- Has various media, such as images, fonts, graphics,
etc. for free. Be sure to check the terms of each
individual package.
More Free Photo Sites: (Be sure to check the terms of
each...)
Free Stock Video Resources The following sites are offered by
VideoBlocks. They all offer free media. You just need to
sign up for each site to get access.
Internet Archive of Public Domain Moving Images -
Lots and lots of movies, films, cartoons and commercials
in the public domain. Be sure to do your own due
diligence, as not all resources listed here are in the
public domain. Some are listed as Creative Commons and
require attribution. But many classics such as Popeye
and Betty Boop cartoons are in the public domain. Think
about how you may be able to use them in your own
projects.
FootageFirm.com/free-footage/
- Over 74 free DVDs of stock footage, backgrounds, sound
effects and more.
Ignite Motion - Free motion backgrounds with a
liberal usage license.
MovieTools.info
- Excellent resource for free video backgrounds and
animations
Muvipix.com
- This is a site created by, supporting and populated by
people who love making videos.
Neo's World - Lots of
free resources, including video clips, effects and more,
see Neo's World. Neo focuses on free resources to use
with Window Movie Maker, but virtually all of the stuff
can be used with other programs.
MovieTools
- Good selection of looping motion backgrounds. Be sure
to read their license.
Dissolve.com
offers a few free stock video clips every month, if you
want to check them out. Their "regular" prices are $5 to
$500 per video, so VideoBlocks
at $99 a year for unlimited downloads is a much
better deal IMO, but if you just need a video or two, or
need footage for a client, you can check out Dissolve
and see if they have what you need at a low enough
price.
Bottled
Video - "All 12,589 Broadcast Quality
Stock Footage Video Clips are Free for you to Download
and Use in your next video production. Again all video
clips are Broadcast Quality and Totally Free."
Mitch
Martinez - High quality video clips. Good license
terms, be sure to read them.
Monzoom - Some free stuff with sign up + stock
videos for a buck or two.
Youtube/Google
Free music has over 160 royalty free songs you can
download and use in any of your projects.
Sure, Youtube has tons more songs you can use in your
videos, but that's only if you upload the videos to
Youtube first. What makes these songs good is that you
can download them and use them on all of your projects,
whether you upload them to Youtube or not.
AudioBlocks -
This is a spin-off site from VideoBlocks and offers
music and sound effects that used to be part of
VideoBlocks, but was spun off into a separate site,
needing an additional payment. They have a free 7 day
trial, allowing up to 20 downloads per day. Be careful,
they will bill you as soon as your 7 day trial is over,
so be sure to cancel before then if you don't want to
continue. However, $99 for a full year of unlimited
downloads is a pretty good deal if you need plenty of
music. And you can use your music over and over and
after your membership expires.
Audio Nautix
- Here's an excellent selection of music with the
Creative Commons Attribution license.
JewelBeat
Free - In addition to offering songs for just
$2.99 each, JewelBeat also has a good selection of free
music. However, the free songs require attribution and a
link.
Incompetech
- Incompetech also has a good selection of free,
royalty-free music. And like JewelBeat's free music, a
link and attribution is required.
PublicDomain4u -
"Great historical music recordings free to download,
play and share." Copyrights regarding music in the
public domain are complicated. For example, a song may
be public domain, the the recording of the song may be
protected by copyrights. Be sure to use due diligence.
SoundBible
- Public domain and Creative Commons sound effects.
Misc. Media Resources:
Some of these are listed above. I've posted them all
together for your convenience here, as these are all
free media sites offered by VideoBlocks.com.
There's some excellent stuff here, but there's a very
minor hassle that you need to sign up for each
individually: New Document
StockPhotosforFree.com
- " Download free stock photos that you can use in
all types of projects!"
FreeStockMusic.com
- "Completely free production music that you can
download instantly."
Online Custom Graphic Text and Logo Makers
While
these are basically graphics programs, they can be used
to spice up your videos as well. For example, use them
to create headlines for your Powerpoint slides. Just
don't over-do it. Keep your style consistent by only
using one logo style per video.
Text
Effect - Text Effect Online - Generate online effect
for text - This site has some text effects as well
as links to other graphic stuff: Cartoonize Yourself
Cartoonize Videos Gif Maker Create a video Mirror Effect
Mirror Text Fake Magazine Cover Photo with Celebrity
Round My Picture Photo with the Simpsons Water Effect
Free Online Graphic Makers and Editors
Cool
and interesting images can really spice up videos. The
ability to modify and manipulate graphics and images can
take your video making to the next level.
Although PicMonkey comes up more often as a
recommendation for an online image/photo editor, I
probably like BeFunky a little more, but that's just
personal preference.
http://createfunnylogo.com/
- Makes logos in the style of popular brands like
Google, Facebook, Coca-Cola, etc. I'm not sure about
copyright/trademark issues with this, so use your own
due dilligence. But I can say in the USA that parody is
considered "fair use".
http://www180.lunapic.com/editor/
- Has a number of image editing tools, including adding
animations to images, such as a rain/snow overlay and
more.
https://snappa.io/ -
Hundreds of ready made graphic templates that are great
to use in videos...choose from our growing collection of
beautiful templates to get started in seconds.
RedKid.Net - Here's a pretty cool
"sign" generator.
http://magicmockups.com
- A great free mockup generator with a very liberal
usage license. Just upload an image and it creates the
mockup for you.
How To Create A Great Looking Ebook Cover For
Free
BoxShot is a free site that creates ebook covers,
DVD boxes, CD boxes and more. These "covers" can be used
in marketing videos, sales pages, email squeeze pages
and more.
The video below shows how to make an ebook cover in
under 6 minutes using Box Shot and free image resources.
What's next? Writing
videos that get results is essential for any video
marketer.
