If you’re a content creator, you’d have probably realized the fact that getting quality footage for your videos is definitely not an easy task. Well, VideoBlocks is a service that can help you out to a certain extent when it comes to providing studio-grade stock footage, motion backgrounds, and Adobe After Effects templates. In order to gain access to over 115,000 stock clips and backgrounds that they have to offer, you’ll have to subscribe to the service on a monthly or yearly basis. In addition to their vast library, they also have a marketplace for nearly 5 million stock footage that you can directly purchase from the artists.
Some big names in the industry like National Geographic, Discovery Channel, ABC network, NBC TV network, etc. have made use of the platform for the content that they’ve put out, so we’ve got no concerns regarding the reputation of VideoBlocks. You get a lifetime royalty-free license to every clip that’s downloaded from VideoBlocks, so you don’t have to worry about a single copyright strike on your YouTube channel anymore. If you’re already interested in availing this service, let’s take a look at some of the key features that VideoBlocks has to offer:
Key Features
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Stock Footage
Why would you want to spend hundreds of dollars trying to take some stellar shots in beautiful places rather than choosing from a plethora of VideoBlocks’ stock clips that you can use in your videos without having to worry about copyright infringement? That’s right, as mentioned earlier, all of the videos available here are Royalty-free, and it’s yours to keep forever. In the dashboard, you’ll be able to filter out the categories and browser for the video clips that will suit your preferences. To make things easier, there’s a search bar at the top-left corner of the dashboard to type keywords and easily find exactly what you’re looking for. Additionally, you can also search for SD, HD and even 4K stock footage, if resolution is your top priority.
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Motion Backgrounds
Next, we’ve got Motion Backgrounds, a unique category of infinitely looping clips that can be a great add-on to the video content that you intend on creating. There are over 10,000 motion backgrounds that are available on VideoBlocks, so you won’t be disappointed when it comes to quantity. As far as quality is concerned, there are a variety of backgrounds that you can choose from, including shapes, particles, fire, energy, abstract, etc. which can be filtered out in the categories section. For deeper searches, you can make use of the search bar located at the top-left of the dashboard. It’s worth noting that Motion Backgrounds on average, have a larger file size in comparison to the HD stock footage that’s available on the same platform.
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After Effects Templates
Not everyone has the time and skill to create their own templates on Adobe After Effects. This is exactly why we have a platform that’s as good as VideoBlocks. In addition to providing stock footage and motion backgrounds, they also have a lot of Adobe After Effects templates to offer. These templates can be used to easily make some exceptional intros or logo reveals in your video clips, thereby giving it a much more professional look with minimal effort. These templates are downloaded as a ZIP file that can be later opened up on After Effects, where you can add your own text or logo. Here, we have the same category filter that we’ve seen while browsing for stock footage and motion backgrounds, which lets you search for templates based on your preferences.
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Marketplace
In addition to all the free stuff that VideoBlocks membership has to offer, the company has integrated their marketplace right into the website, which displays a lot of paid stock footage, templates and backgrounds. These clips that cost extra are indicated by an “Add to Cart” option rather than a Download button, so you can easily differentiate by just hovering the cursor over them. Once the clip has been added to your cart, you will be able to make use of your linked credit card and billing address to further confirm the purchase and download the clip you’re looking for. As far as the pricing is concerned, a HD stock footage is priced at $49, whereas a 4K footage costs as much as $199. When it comes to After Effects templates, they’re priced at $19, $29 and $49 according to their complexity and market value.
User Experience
When it comes to VideoBlocks’ overall user experience, we’d like to say that it’s both a hit and miss. The vast library of over 115,000 stock footage, motion backgrounds and templates is good enough to keep the customers engaged, and the presence of a search bar to actually type and find the particular clip that you’re looking for is a much helpful feature of this platform. In addition to this, users are also able to filter footage, motion backgrounds and templates based on categories, duration and resolution, which is impressive to say the least.
Apart from this, a dedicated section for the marketplace would’ve given a better experience to all the users trying to take advantage of this platform. So far, the paid as well as free clips for members stay in the same place, which makes it quite cluttered to say the least. Although we do understand the fact that you could simply filter out the membership content, a separate marketplace section will make the platform much more intuitive.
Pricing
Let’s talk about the most important part, which is nothing but the pricing to avail the much-touted VideoBlocks membership that lets you access the vast library of clips, looping backgrounds and templates. Well, the service is priced at $149 for 12 months, thereby letting you save 84% off the forgettable monthly plan which costs $99. If you want to try out the service before actually deciding on shelling out your hard-earned cash, the company also offers a free 7-day trial that you can enroll with your credit card. Your card won’t be charged during this 7-day period, so make sure you cancel your account on time, to avoid getting charged. If you enjoyed the trial, we suggest you go for the yearly subscription which offers better value for money.
Pros:
- Reasonable Pricing for yearly subscription
- Vast Library of stock clips, backgrounds and templates
- Royalty-free
- 7-day trial to try out before purchasing
- Marketplace
Cons:
- Lacks a dedicated marketplace section
VideoBlocks Review: Should You Go For It?
Well, the answer depends on how much you’ve enjoyed using the 7-day trial. With over 115,000 clips and templates to choose from, VideoBlocks is definitely a tempting deal if you take the yearly $149 plan into consideration. In addition to the membership benefits, you also get a quality marketplace, which lets you purchase paid clips directly from contributors at a fair price, which is impressive to say the least. If you loved using the platform, the yearly subscription is definitely the way to go. So, what do you guys think about VideoBlocks? Are you planning to subscribe to this service? Do let us know, by shooting your valuable opinions in the comments section down below.
Check out VideoBlocks here
