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RECOMMENDED MEDIA EQUIPMENT
The list linked above isn’t comprehensive (there are many options and varying budgets), but it includes our favorite, more affordable, tried and true equipment that will meet your media needs in the classroom.
COPYRIGHT-FREE / ROYALTY-FREE RESOURCES
A curated list of places to grab free and clear music, video, images, sound effects
and more for your media-making projects.
CREATIVE COMMONS– THIS SITE IS SIMILAR TO AN ONLINE MUSEUM OF MUSIC, IMAGES, ARCHIVAL VIDEO AT YOUR FINGERTIPS WITH A PHILOSOPHY THAT THERE SHOULD BE OPENLY LICENSED AND PUBLIC DOMAIN WORKS OF ART TO BE DISCOVERED AND USED BY EVERYONE.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS–A COLLECTION OF 55,237,168 FREELY USABLE MEDIA FILES TO WHICH ANYONE CAN CONTRIBUTE.
COPYRIGHT AND CREATIVITY–MATERIALS THAT PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT COPYRIGHT– ITS PROTECTIONS, ITS LIMITATIONS, AND ITS ROLE IN ENCOURAGING CREATIVITY.
GREAT VIDEO ON COPYRIGHT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE– FINDING CREATIVE WORK FOR YOUR CREATIVE WORK IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS- THIS VAST DIGITAL COLLECTION INCLUDES PRINTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, AND MORE. ALL CONTENT IS EITHER IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, HAS NO KNOWN COPYRIGHT, OR HAS BEEN CLEARED BY THE COPYRIGHT OWNER FOR PUBLIC USE.
MUSIC
PURPLE PLANET MUSIC– A FAVORITE: OFFERS STYLIZED MUSIC EASILY SEARCHED AND DOWNLOADED.
YOUTUBE AUDIO LIBRARY– FREE MUSIC CONTENT FOR CREATORS. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE AND DOWNLOAD FREE AND SAFE MUSIC.
DIG– COPYRIGHT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC FOR FILM, VIDEOS, AND LOOPING BACKGROUNDS FOR VIDEO GAMES.
FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE– ORIGINAL MUSIC FROM INDEPENDENT ARTISTS FREE TO ACCESS AND DOWNLOAD.
SONNYBOO–FOR EACH SONG, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CREDIT THE SONGWRITER AND THE MUSIC IS YOUR TO USE FOR FREE.
SOUNDCLOUD– A VERY POPULAR SITE. HERE YOU CAN USE THEIR MUSIC AND PHOTOS- CAN GET PERMISSION- GET ON SITE AND SEARCH “FREE MUSIC” OR “ROYALTIES FREE MUSIC” AND CAN UPLOAD YOUR OWN MUSIC OR PODCASTS.
GARAGEBAND - NOT ALL SONGS ARE FREE, BUT MANY OF THEM ARE. GREAT PLACE TO MAKE YOUR OWN, ORIGINAL MUSIC TOO! NEED TO DOWNLOAD APP AND FOR MACS ONLY.
COMMUNITY AUDIO– THOUSANDS OF RECORDINGS ALL CONTRIBUTED BY ARCHIVE USERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. BROWSE BY
COLLECTION, STYLE OR LANGUAGE.
JAMENDO–ARTISTS ON JAMENDO GIVE YOU ACCESS TO THEIR MUSIC FOR FREE. IF YOU LIKE IT, YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION: YOUR MONEY WILL GO STRAIGHT TO THE ARTIST.
INCOMPETECH– ORGANIZED BY GENRES AND MOODS/FEELS. ONE GUY MAKES ALL THIS MUSIC AND IT'S A LITTLE OLD FASHIONED BUT VERY USEFUL AS SOUNDTRACK MUSIC AND IT'S ALL FREE!
FREESOUNDTRACKMUSIC– AS THE SITE TITLE SUGGESTS, HERE YOU CAN GET ROYALTY-FREE SOUNDTRACKS TO SCORE YOUR FILMS. NOTE THAT SOME OF THE TRACKS AVAILABLE ARE COMPLETELY FREE AND CAN BE EDITED AND REMIXED WHILE OTHERS REQUIRE SUBSCRIPTIONS.
MAGNATUNES– CHOOSE ALBUM YOU LIKE AND SELECT "LICENSE" AND THEN "NON-COMMERCIAL" TO BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD MP3'S FOR FREE.
CLASSIC CAT– HUNDREDS OF FREE CLASSICAL PIECES – YOU CHOOSE A COMPOSER, A PIECE AND THEN SAVE.
PHLOW– A WORLDWIDE CREATIVE COMMONS MUSIC SITE WHERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD COMPILATIONS (ALSO REFERRED TO AS “NETAUDIO” FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
DIGCCMIXTER–THIS IS A COMMUNITY MUSIC REMIXING SITE FEATURING REMIXES AND SAMPLES LICENSED UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSES. YOU CAN LISTEN TO, SAMPLE, MASH-UP, OR INTERACT WITH MUSIC IN WHATEVER WAY YOU WANT.
SOUND EFFECTS
FINDSOUNDS– A LARGE BANK OF ROYALTY-FREE AUDIO TRACKS INCLUDING SOUND EFFECTS, BACKGROUND MUSIC AND STOCK AUDIO.
FREESOUND– GREAT RESOURCE FOR SOUNDBITES AND LOOPS. YOU JUST NEED A FREE ACCOUNT TO DOWNLOAD.
LJUDO– THIS SWEDISH SITE HAS TONS OF STUFF. CHOSE “DOWNLOAD,” NOT “AUDITION.”
VIDEO FOOTAGE
POND5– THOUSANDS OF HISTORIC MEDIA FILES FOR YOUR CREATIVE PROJECTS.
CREATIVE COMMONS– A BODY OF WORK FREELY AVAILABLE FOR LEGAL USE, SHARING, REPURPOSING, AND REMIXING. THROUGH THE USE OF CC LICENSES, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD HAVE MADE THEIR PHOTOS, VIDEOS, WRITING, MUSIC, AND OTHER CREATIVE CONTENT AVAILABLE FOR ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC TO USE.
ARCHIVE.ORG– AN INTERNET LIBRARY/ARCHIVE THAT INCLUDES TEXTS, AUDIO, MOVING IMAGES, AND SOFTWARE
LEARNOUTLOUD– A FREE AUDIO AND VIDEO DIRECTORY WITH OVER 50,000 FREE EDUCATIONAL AUDIO BOOKS, COURSES, DOCUMENTARIES, TALKS, INTERVIEWS, SPEECHES, ETC.
IMAGES
UNSPLASH.COM– BEAUTIFUL FREE PHOTOS
SVG SILH– VERY ARTISTIC AND UNIQUE COLLECTION OF IMAGES AND ICONS.
BEHANCE– POWERED BY ADOBE, THIS SITE IS STOCKED WITH ARTISTS’ POSTINGS OF THEIR GRAPHIC DESIGNS, PHOTOGRAPHS, VIDEOS…
PICSFORLEARNING– A CURATED IMAGE LIBRARY THAT IS SAFE AND FREE FOR EDUCATION. TEACHERS AND STUDENTS CAN USE THE COPYRIGHT-FRIENDLY PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS FOR CLASSROOM PROJECTS, WEB SITES, VIDEOS, PORTFOLIOS, OR ANY OTHER PROJECTS IN AN EDUCATIONAL SETTING.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS– EASILY DOWNLOADABLE, VERY BIG BANK OF PHOTOS FROM PHOTO ART, TO ADVERTISING PHOTOS TO PHOTOGRAPHS BY REGION TO “SECRET” PHOTOS.
ABDUZEEDO– A DESIGN BLOG WHERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FREE BACKGROUNDS LIKE “ELEGANT FLAMES” TO VIDEO AND FLYER TEMPLATES TO PHOTOS AND MUSIC.
FLICKR - SEARCH AN IMAGE AND FIND A BANK OF COPYRIGHT FREE IMAGES AT YOUR DISPOSAL OR GO TO THE COMMONS AND EXPLORE HIDDEN TREASURES FROM THE WORLD'S PUBLIC PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVES.
RAWPIXEL– FREE CREATIVE IMAGES, ILLUSTRATIONS, PSD MOCKUPS TO USE AS A TEMPLATED, ETC.
GRATISOGRAPHY- QUIRKY COLLECTION OF FREE HIGH-RESOLUTION PICTURES - PHOTOS YOU LIKELY WON'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE. ALL COMPLETELY FREE TO DOWNLOAD WITHOUT COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS.
SPLIT SHIRE- FREE STOCK PHOTOS FOR COMMERCIAL USE
PIXABAY- WIDE BREADTH OF ROYALTY-FREE PHOTOS AND ANIMATIONS.
OTHER
DAFONT.COM -ABUNDANCE OF FREE FONTS (BE SURE TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE RIGHTS FOR EACH FONT YOU DOWNLOAD)
GOMEDIA -A PLETHORA OF TUTORIALS, RESOURCES AND INSPIRATION
ANIMAL DIVERSITY WEB– AN ONLINE DATABASE AND ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMAL NATURAL HISTORY, BUILT THROUGH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM STUDENTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, ETC.
THE NOUN PROJECT -OVER 2 MILLION CURATED ICONS, CREATED BY A GLOBAL COMMUNITY
CLIP ART OF -ROYALTY FREE CLIPART, ILLUSTRATIONS, VECTORS AND 3D IMAGES
FREE TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHERS -A CURATION OF GREAT TECH-RELATED RESOURCES FROM INTERACTIVE VERSIONS OF AESOP’S FABLES TO GEOCACHING AND GREEN SCREENS
AMERICAN MEMORY COLLECTION - AMERICAN MEMORY HAS A WIDE COLLECTION OF DIGITIZED MATERIALS, INCLUDING PHOTOS, MUSIC, AND VIDEO, FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
TEN MYTHS ABOUT COPYRIGHT EXPLAINED -DON’T BELIEVE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT COPYRIGHT; READ THIS ARTICLE.
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