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Free city footage: streets, skylines, timelapses

Cities say 'modern', 'busy' or 'business' in a second, which is why skylines and street scenes open so many explainers and promos. These collections bring together free city footage and timelapses from the sources searched directly, with links to the stock sites that can't be. Street footage is also where licences meet people and brands, so each clip shows whether it is cleared for commercial use and flags editorial-only footage.

Updated , from a live search of 23 sites.

2 collections

People, signs and logos in street footage

A crowded street contains people who never signed a release, shop signs and branded cars. For news, documentary and education that is normal; for an ad or a product video it can be a problem, because a recognisable face or logo can suggest endorsement. Prefer wide shots, night shots and timelapses where nobody is identifiable, or check the clip's editorial flag and the source page.

Timelapses and hyperlapses

A timelapse compresses minutes or hours into seconds: traffic becomes light trails, clouds stream over towers. They make strong openers and transitions and rarely show identifiable people. Many are long enough to cut several shots from; check the frame rate, since a 24 fps timelapse in a 30 fps edit will need conforming.

Questions

Can I use street footage with people in it for a commercial?
Only if the people aren't identifiable or have signed releases. A free licence covers the copyright in the footage, not the rights of the people in it. Use such clips for editorial work, or pick shots where faces can't be made out.
Why are there fewer free city clips than nature clips?
Public-domain and Creative Commons archives lean towards science, nature and history. Modern city footage is the speciality of free stock sites like Pexels and Pixabay, which every search links to.

Search city footage live

Each link runs a fresh search of every source for one kind of footage. Results preview on hover, show their resolution, shape and length where known, and carry a licence verdict; turn on Commercial-safe to keep only clips you can use in a commercial video.

Also known as: city b-roll, urban footage, street footage, skyline video.

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