Most stuff is copyrighted & expensive
Most of what you find online is copyrighted material. Even if you don't see the © symbol, you should assume everything is copyrighted. By law, copyright is granted whenever something is put in a "tangible medium." That means once it's in a visible or audible format - like a photo posted on Instagram - it's covered by copyright. In normal circumstances, that means you would have to go through a long process of seeking out permission (and maybe even paying a fee) if you wanted to use it legally for your own project.
However, there are materials you can use without seeking out permission - because permission is already granted through something called a Creative Commons license. There are a few different kinds of licenses, described below.
What's a Creative Commons license?
Creative Commons licenses let you copy, modify, distribute, perform, etc. without having to seek permission - because the license itself grants you permission.
There are 6 basic Creative Commons licenses - they all require you to give attribution to the original creator (in other words, cite your source). Each license has its own restrictions.
There's a 7th license called CC0 - that means the work is in the public domain and you don't have to cite the original source. There are no limitations to what you can do with an item with a CC0 (or public domain) license.
Attribution (CC BY) This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.
Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia, and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects.
Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND) This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.
Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NonDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
Public Domain (CC0)Items come into the public domain in a variety of ways. One option is for creators to "dedicate" their items to the public domain. This simply means they choose to waive their copyrights. The CC0 license refers to items that have been "dedicated" to the public domain.
Citing Creative Commons Sources
When you cite Creative Commons media, the best practice is to include the following pieces of information:
- Title
- Author
- Source
- License
Since you'll be creating a video, and likely won't be able to make anything in the video clickable, I recommend formatting any image or music citations something like this:
"Bannerman's Castle" by Dan Dvorscak is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Image and license information can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dvorscak/2647631675
Finding Images
- Google Images Search
Google Images is probably the easiest place to start.
First, search for your topic. Then, click Tools at the top of your results. Use the Usage Rights drop-down menu, and select Creative Commons licenses.
Finding Music & Sound
If you'd like to add background music to your digital essay, or need sound effects, there are a few places you can look for them. Here are some of our favorites:
- Free Music Archive
Contains free music in a wide variety of genres - the Old Time / Historic might be helpful if your landmark is older.
Once you find an album or song you want to use, look for the licensing information in the right-hand column.
- FreesoundFree sound effects, offered with three different Creative Commons licenses (including Public Domain).
After you search, you can filter by license on the right:
