2.  1. Do include a stock footage license fee in your budget and prepare for proper research time. Do not wait until the very end of editing.  2. Do proper primary research - do not take clips from youtube  3. Do consult with an attorney when considering “fair use”. “Fair use” is a defense and do not think fair use is an excuse for not licensing footage  4. Do consult with a professional stock footage research who can review your budget and offer suggestions.  5. Do try to minimize your footage sources to help reduce library minimums and enable bulk deals if applicable.

3.  6. Do understand definitions:  public domain vs. creative commons  royalty free vs. rights managed  7. Do only get the rights you really need  Do you really need “ all rights all media worldwide in perpetuity”?  8. Do know NOT all footage is online.  9. Do consider searching footage aggregate sites  10. Do develop a relationship with stock footage libraries.

4. o We’ve made it easy. Now you can search across all ACSIL member archives in one easy search o ACSIL search engine powered by

5. Searching an archive website is the Beginning not the End! ◦ Not all content is digitized - when you view a clip, you don’t see what’s before or after it. ◦ Ask questions…a phone call is always time well spent.