The demand for blockbuster Visual Effects is growing exponentially, but the amount of work that goes into a VFX shot hasn't gotten any less time consuming. VFX shots take hours, weeks and even months to produce and depending on how things go, some studios aren't able to pay their artists enough due to the lack of funds.

This leads individuals wondering if there is another option to explore when it comes to saving time, money and still produce realistic high-quality VFX. The solution is simple - VFX stock footage elements.

There are multiple reasons stock footage saves you time in post. One obvious reason being that you don't have to spend hours, sometimes weeks, creating a CG simulation for your shot or taking the time to shoot your own stock footage. The shot is already done and ready to be composited into your project.

On top of that, using high-quality stock footage will have your shots looking realistic without the extra work, saving time for other areas of your project.

Take Sindre Johnsen, a Lead Compositor at CoSA VFX Vancouver, who completed work on the hit mini-series 'Waco', starring Michael Shannon and Taylor Kitsch. Johnsen utilized ActionVFX stock footage throughout Waco, specifically an action shot involving fire and smoke. He sat down with our very own Luke Thompson recently to discuss his work on Waco.

When asked about using ActionVFX's stock footage elements, Johnsen stated, "Having elements that don’t clip and have a lot of detail, even when exposed down, made matching the real fire a lot easier and meant that I could spend more time on other more creative aspects of the shot." 

Having a complete VFX library at your disposal saves you time from having to search around for elements or creating them yourself. 

Now that you know using stock footage for your VFX can save you time and money, it can also make your shot look much more real and authentic. VFX Stock Footage is just that. It's real elements shot in real time, giving you the most realistic result. Our CEO said it best,

He is exactly right. You can't get anymore real than the real thing. The name of the game is to get your shot to tell a compelling story while looking as realistic as possible.

Using stock footage in your VFX can improve the overall quality of your final result. To see a great example of using stock footage elements for your VFX, check out this VFX breakdown that uses our Big Gas Fires VFX assets.

via Gfycat

Shooting your own elements or creating CG simulations can be time consuming as well as burn a hole in your pocket. 

For example, if you were wanting to add a huge explosion to your shot, you would have to rent your own equipment, pay your crew/pyro-techs, get the proper permits, pay insurance costs, etc. All while taking the risk of having to re-shoot it.

Instead, you could head over to our Products Page and pay significantly less for VFX Stock Footage. Our elements are offered in original raw .R3D files along with pre-keyed versions, giving you more detail at a high-dynamic range.

When asked about ActionVFX, Andrew Donoho — VMA Award-Winning Director at Diktator stated, 

If you are looking to create blockbuster visual effects, stock footage is critical in doing so. We are committed to empowering the Film/VFX community with premium stock footage and essential learning. For information on how to composite VFX stock footage, check out our Tutorials page!

With Over 2,000+ visual effects elements, we are the largest action VFX stock footage library and have been used by big names like Activision, CoSA VFX, and Mr. X, and more!

First time here? ActionVFX creates action stock footage for VFX and filmmaking. (We also have some great free stuff!)

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