where can i get free (not royalty free) footage from WWII, like all of the videos on history channel?
ive seen them but they are all really expensive...but they are public domain? doesnt make sense, selling something thats public domain, but it is.
so where can i get it?
The first place I'd check is www.internetarchive.org for public domain ephemeral productions. So they have loads of newsreels from the war, the few war movies now in public domain and training or informational films. I have to watch myself when I visit the site. There is so much cool stuff, usually available in at least the quality needed for video CD's (and sometimes DVD's) that I start a download frenzy that can takes weeks to deal with. But I did put together a comic PSA using a variety of the films available for download & use. (Which reminds me, I should post it on my MySpace page.)
But anyway, for my money nothing beats the completely free internetarchive.org for value & variety of material available.
Good luck with your productions.
Try these:
1. iMovies
A blog that features extensive search and syndication options, along with a healthy catalogue of free-to-download public domain movies across a range of genres, featuring classics, cartoons and shorts. You can download or stream the videos.
http://imovies.blogspot.com/
2. Openflv
Openflv features a good selection of b-movie trashola fare which you can stream or download for the most part via the services it aggregates (such as Google video). This is a great place to get hold of such timeless classics as Reefer Madness and the 1968 delight Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women.
http://openflv.com/tag?t=Public+Domain
3. Internet Archive
Internet Archive is the lodestone of public domain video, and there is a huge selection of video to download or stream in multiple formats across a range of genres, from advertising and ephemera to features and old TV shows. This is a treasure trove.
http://www.archive.org/details/movies
4. Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons features plentiful public domain video content, a lot of it from amateur sources. You’ll need to be patient though, the organization of the content leaves something to be desired.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Video
5. NARA National Archives
The national archive, hosted at Google, have a nice collection of historical movies, including lots of great NASA footage for all of those wonder-space scenes you might want to create.
http://video.google.com/nara.html
6. PDComedy
If you’re looking for comedy footage in the public domain - think everything from unintentionally humorous kitsch to cartoons and I Love Lucy - this should definitely be on your list.
http://www.pdcomedy.com/
7. Stage6
Stage6, the video sharing platform for high-quality DivX recordings, has a nice selection of public domain videos to explore. The quality is among the best you’ll find, although you may need to install DivX on your PC first to watch the movies. Buster Keaton, Betty Boop and Charlie Chaplin prevail.
http://stage6.divx.com/videos/tag:public+domain/order:length
8. Public Domain Torrent
If you’re familiar with BitTorrent technology, this site has nearly a thousand movies in various formats for you to download without wondering if the MPAA are going to come to your house and flog you with a law suit. Well worth a look.
http://www.publicdomaintorrents.com/
9. EMOL
EMOL has great selection of public domain video free to download across a vast range of genres.
http://emol.org/movies/freemovielist.html
J
