Here is a brief Q & A session:
hopefully this will answer any questions you have about this site.
Q: What exactly is it that you do here?
A: Our primary purpose is to provide a place where amateur and independent filmmkers can get and share stock digital footage
and sound effects for use in their movies. This is a service provided totally free of cost, supported by the filmmaking community.
Q: What does OpenDV mean?
A: It means an Open Source for Digital Video. The term open source comes from the software programming community, it means a freely
available resource contributed by and maintained by the community.
Q: Now by free of cost you mean royalty free, right?
A: No, it 100% free of cost. Everything is taken care of. Any video that is one this site is copyright free, which means that nobody
can claim legal rights to the video. The person who posted the video is giving it to you. It is being offered to you to use in any way you see fit.
Q: So does this mean I can download the hit movies, like The Matrix?
A: No, this is only a source of stock footage, we do not allow movies, or other copyright protected material on our site.
Q: Okay I'm new to the lingo, what is stock footage?
A: Stock footage is what filmmakers refer to when they mean footage that is non-specific to the film.
This means that the video is not just used for one film. It can be used in an entirely different movie, without it being obvious.
You have seen it many times you just may not know it. Any time you saw footage of the moon in a movie, the sun, a wind swept desert;
that is stock footage. The same shot of the moon could be used in another movie.
Q: That doesn't make much sense why would someone use that?
A: There are many good reasons, especially for independent filmmakers. The number one reason is cost. It can be expensive to shoot
some footage, and it can also be time consuming. Having stock footage available lets the filmmaker plug up the holes in the film without
spending time and money.
Q: So what do I need to do to get the stock footage?
A: Just go to the link provided on the Stock Item page. And you will be taken to the content. We suggested that people use
Veoh to post their videos,
go to Veoh download their free VeohTV program and you can download the stock footage very quickly. You can even queue up downloads.
Q: I just filmed some stock footage and I want to share it what do I need to do?
A: First Regisdter with OpenDV, then go to our submission page
here, review the rules and follow the submission guidelines, and enter in the necessary information. please make sure you give as much information on the content as possible. Finally link the URL to the content.
You have many choices on where the video can be stored, but we suggest
Veoh, they have a great setup, and you can store the full resolution clips there, Free of charge. For a tutorial on how we suggest you submit check out our
Tutorials Page
Q: Do you store the submission content on your site?
A: We do not store the content on our site, we only link to the content. There are many sites where you can store content and then link to it. We suggest
Veoh for videos.
Q: After I've downloaded them I can use the video no strings attached?
A: There are no strings attached, but we would like you to give credit the original filmer of the stock footage in the credits of your film,
as well as mentioning us at OpenDV, but this is purely optional. Just remember, the more who know about us the more free stock footage
will be added, as this is community based we can always use more people.
Q: Okay what gives I'm trying all the OpenDV links and all I get is "under construction"
A: We apologize for that, we are currently undergoing an entire restructure of the website's backend.
If you have any more questions, or you think the FAQ is unclear, please email the webmaster at
ThomasTyndan+OpenDV@gmail.com
