Here is my updated list of Royalty Free Resources for multimedia projects, including photo and music options. I’ve also included this list as a permanent page on my blog, accessible on the right hand side under pages. I’ve tried to list only options that I’ve actually used.
Most of these royalty free options require attribute i.e. credit to the author. It’s always safest to credit the author somewhere in your project…a footnote in print materials, a credit in a movie, or a credit slide in a powerpoint are generally sufficient.
Royalty Free Images
Pics4Learning.com
a free product of Tech4Learning these are images donated for classroom use
I always start here in the classroom because there are no inappropriate images and the site is simple enough so that I have taught first graders to navigate it.
Free Images Donated by Photographers
This is my second destination when I can’t find what I’m looking for on pics4learning. They are not necessarily for educational use but are available free and taken by real photographers who are willing to share their images.
Flickr Creative Commons Images
has images taken by photographers of different abilities (amateur and professional) which you can use according to their Creative Commons license.
PlinkMe
free images for web pages
Ookaboo
free photos of “everything of earth”
If you still can’t find what you want or are going to use your images in commercial projects, why not pay $1 per photo and use the image legally? These site has pictures of almost anything you would want.
Free Clip Art
http://www.school-clip-art.com/
More Royalty Free Images
Royalty Free Music and Audio
Kevin Macleod
This guy has great movie music that’s easily searchable by mood and style. I don’t know how he makes a living cuz he’s giving good stuff away for free.
JewelBeat
Free music selections. Great stuff for movie soundtracks.
Podsafe Audio
good stuff, great variety
Moby Gratis
Recording artist, Moby, makes some of his discarded tunes available free to filmmakers
(If you listen to the tracks, they’re mostly ambient, ephemeral pieces though I did find one I liked for my Film School for Video Podcasters project.)
Jamendo
royalty free stuff, though I sometimes suspect some of the “public domain” material really isn’t
Jonathan Roberts
interesting stuff that I didn’t use for my last project but might use in the future
Jimmy G
I didn’t find anything that I used from here but it’s another option. Requires registration.
Archive.org
This site contains music and video that is supposedly in the public domain…I have found a few examples on the web site that are not in the public domain and so I’m a little bit hesitant about using some of the material in video projects. Nevertheless, this is a great web site with tons of material.
OpSound
I haven’t used this site yet, navigation is not entirely intuitive
Soundzabound
$99 a year for school site access to royalty free music
Sound Effects/Foley
Sound Effects
great site for sound effects
Absolute Sound Effects Archive
Additional List
Royalty Free Movies
Archive.org (search for moving images)
The Law and Additional Research Information
Fair Use in Media Education Guidelines
Is It In the Public Domain? Slider
Copyright for Teachers: Persistent Myths
Steal This Preso: Copyright, Fair Use, and Pirates in the Classroom
Thank you for sharing this wonderful list of resources. I will make good use of it in my classroom and my online endeavors.
Thank you for this comprehensive post. I’ve added it to a student blogging resource list.
Thank you for sharing this great list of resources, especially the link to pics4learning.com. It will help teachers to set a positive example for their students in the area of using resources responsibly.
Thanks – this is just the list I needed today for tech camp. I’m also a fan of stock.xchng (www.sxc.hu) for free stock images and incompetech (incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free) for royalty free sound.
Dear Mathew,
Thank you for this great post! I have been looking for sites that my students can use to get images from, and this list is great. I already use Flickr, but I did not know about Pics4learning.com, Ookaboo, and Free Images Donated by Photographers (morguefile). I have had a quick browse of these sites, and they seem quite easy to use for middle school students. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the link for PlinkMe to work. When I need music and audio, I will be sure to head back to this post. Thanks again.
Mary
People may also use the images available on CJO Photo. It is safe and easy for students to use (no questionable material). CJO Photo is also in the process of adding free printables – eBooks, bookmarks, games, and more to come. New images being added weekly, http://www.cjophoto.com/.