The Secret to Dynamic Video: Why You Don't Have to Film Every Single Shot

Man holding a remote watching tv.

When you’re planning a video shoot, your main goal is usually pretty simple: find the best ways to show your audience what you do, rather than just telling them.

Think about the content we all watch on TV or streaming apps. It’s packed with a huge variety of shots, different perspectives, and close-up details that take us on a real journey. That visual variety is what keeps things entertaining and holds people's attention.

But what happens when there’s a vital shot you just can't physically capture on your shoot day?

Whether you’re up against tight time limits, budget restraints, or tricky locations, don’t panic. There is a fantastic secret weapon available to you: stock footage.

What is Stock Footage (and Why is it So Handy)?

If you aren't familiar with it, stock footage is professionally shot video material that creators can license and insert into their own projects.

It is a lifesaver for showing processes or locations that are absolutely vital to your story, but might not actually happen on-site at your business. Over the years, we’ve used stock footage to add that extra bit of magic to plenty of our clients' films.

Diving Into History with GC Fabrications

For example, we produced a film for our friends at GC Fabrications. They have a rich heritage, and to really drive that home, we integrated incredible historical stock footage of early race cars. It added a layer of depth and nostalgia that we obviously couldn’t go back in time to film ourselves!

https://vimeo.com/786870595?share=copy

GCFabrications "the Car Drop" video - follows Grant exploring the tremendous forces involved in a car crash - and relating those to the human body.

Adding Extra Texture for a School Promo

In another project, we created a series of promotional videos for a local school. We had a packed schedule capturing interviews, classroom dynamics, and student life on campus.

The school also wanted to highlight their fun extracurricular trips, like rock climbing and bowling. Because these activities happen off-site, we simply didn't have the time to travel around to different venues on our shoot day. By using high-quality stock footage, we were able to seamlessly add those moments into the final edit, giving the film extra texture and energy without breaking the schedule.

Planning is the Key to Success

The big takeaway here is that you don’t need to stress about capturing every single second of your film during your live shoot days. Stock footage is there to fill in the blanks—but planning ahead is what makes it work seamlessly.

When you’re mapping out what you want to say and the visual journey you want to take your audience on, make a note of any tricky shots. If there's something you can't easily film, it’s worth checking out a few royalty-free stock websites to see what's out there.

Our Favourite Stock Footages Sites

If you want to do a little browsing yourself, here are a few brilliant, royalty-free websites that we use regularly to find awesome footage:

• Artlist

• Shutterstock

• Envato Elements

• Storyblocks

We wouldn’t make a whole video with stock footage

Stock footage is amazing, when used sparingly. For the right shot, showcasing something that you practically you couldn’t show. But remember the bulk of your content should be your space, your staff and your people, as that is your story.

Let’s Map Out Your Next Video

As your friendly local film and video production crew, we are experts at blending beautiful custom footage with the perfect supplementary shots to make your organisation shine.

Checkout our services and lets chat about your next project