Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Let's get some music pumping...

So, you are putting together an awesome slideshow or video on your computer and it's time to make it all flow together with a little music.  The project is going to be uploaded to YouTube when it's all complete.  You would really like to add your favorite Brad Paisley or Rachel Platten song, but understand that you do not have the license to use their media in a video.

What options do you have?



YouTube Audio Library - my favorite for its ease of use.
This is royalty free music that is ok to use in video projects.  It includes several hundred songs shown by category and are very easy to preview and download.  Just keep in mind that you will usually need to give credit to the musician in your credits.
Creative Commons - Music Communities
These audio/music files are also free and readily available to use in projects.  There are links to 12 different music libraries.  Not all of the songs in these libraries are royalty-free, but there is enough variety to satisfy whatever you are looking for.  Typically, the only requirement is to give credit to the artist somewhere in your production
Garageband - The king of the hill
This powerful program contains hundreds of free-to-use music clips that can be used by themselves or put together to create a background song.  Customize according to the length of your project, right down to the second.  The audio file can be exported as an .mp3 file and dropped into your video project.


copyright ©

Unfortunately, there is an impression that all work for school is exempt from copyright rules and regulations.  Student, teachers, and school system need to be mindful about following appropriate use of what other's have created.  These are called Fair Use Guidelines.



Video Editing Tools
            Slideshare
            Vimeo
            YouTube Video Editor
            iMovie - an Apple Product
            Microsoft MovieMaker - a Microsoft Product