Pond5 FAQs

Pond5 offers an Individual License and Team License with two Extended Licenses options for higher coverage to fit your business!

Individual License

The Individual License offers a single seat, $15,000 indemnification for all commercial video, image, and illustration content, along with a print run of 100,000.

Extended License - Team License

In addition to the Individual License rights, the Team License includes up to 5 Seats for team collaboration!

Extended License - Business

In addition to the Individual License rights, the Business License includes up to 5 Seats, $250,000 in indemnification protection,with merchandising rights and a print run of 500,000.

Extended License - Premium

In addition to the Individual License rights, the Premium License includes unlimited seats for collaboration among larger teams within an entity, $1 million in indemnification protection, as well as no limits on print runs, merchandising rights, and use of stills from video.

Custom Licenses

Additional usage rights and clearances, including custom levels of indemnification, are available across all of our media types upon request. Contact our Sales Team at +1 (855) 410-6789 or [email protected] for further information.

You are welcome toread through Section 4 of our Content License Agreement or reach out to our Sales team for help with all your licensing needs!

Weve launched a brand new artist hub: the Pond5 Contributor Portal !

Visit the portal to explore data about what our customers are searching for, creative briefs, news updates, and ways to connect with Pond5 and other artists. The Contributor Portal also features a wealth of helpful reference material, including legal guidelines, technical specs, and upload tips.

Check back often, as well be continually updating the Contributor Portal with all the latest information to help you be as successful as possible!

You can manage your payments by going to My Account section of the site.

When on the My Account page, click the Billing section.

In the billing section you will be able to edit your payment method and your billing address.

If you have any purchases on your account, you can have access to your downloads for an unlimited time. Please know after deleting your account, you will lose access to any previously purchased media.

To delete your account, please send us a request to [email protected]. Our Customer Care team can take care of the process for you.

We always welcome you to sign up again, but a previously used username will not be available.

Here at Pond5, we want you to shop with confidence knowing youre getting the best possible deal on quality media. If you find a better price elsewhere on an identical clip, Pond5 will match it. In short, wewon'tbe beat!

How does Pond5s price matching work?

Make sure the Pond5 item youd like to price match is identical to the competitor's item.

Share a link to the lower price you would like us to price match at [email protected] or +1 (855) 410-6789.

Our team will adjust the price accordingly.

What if Ive already purchased an item from Pond5? Can I request a price match after my purchase?

Yes. Well gladly price match identical items for requests submitted within 30 days of your purchase. Please connect with our team at [email protected] or +1 (855) 410-6789 with a link to the lower price and we will process your refund.

What items qualify for price matching?

We offer price matching on all media available on our marketplace. The competitors item must be identical in length, format and other technical specs.

How do I present the lower-priced item?

The best way to present us with the exact-match, lower-priced item is to send us a link of the item page of the competitor's item. Well check the link to verify the lower USD ($) price.

What else should I know about price matching with Pond5?

The competitors item must be identical in format, length and other technical specs

The competitor's licensing terms for this item must be as broad as the " Individual License " on Pond5 (i.e. royalty-free, unlimited use, worldwide, in perpetuity)

The price of a competitors item must be for a full-priced, a la carte purchase (i.e. not part of a subscription or discount)

The competitors lower price must be publicly displayed on an e-commerce marketplace (i.e. not an offline quote)

The seller of the competitors item must be the copyright holder

Price match requests must be submitted prior to or within 30 days of purchase of a Pond5 item

All price matching will be done in USD ($)

A Pond5 item will not be price matched at a lower price than our minimum prices:

Video HD: $25

Video 4K: $50

Video SD: $15

Music: $15

After Effects: $5

Sound Effects: $2

Photos: $5

Illustrations: $5

3D Models: $5

Pond5 may run tests of the Best Price Guarantee and may amend these terms at any time.

What is the Pond5 Public Domain Project?

Pond5 is thrilled to begin representing public domain content on our Website through the Pond5 Public Domain Project. We are making this content available to our customers and contributors without any charge, so they can rediscover part of mankind's history and build upon it in their creative projects. We have designated Content on the Website as being Public Domain Content when we believe that it is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, meaning there are no copyright restrictions over that content.

What Is Copyright Law? Does it apply to Public Domain?

Creative works - what we call "Content" - are generally protected by copyright law, which means that anyone who wants to copy, distribute, publicly perform or display, synchronize with another work, broadcast, stream or prepare derivative works based on the Content needs a direct or indirect license from the copyright owner - unless one of the exceptions allowed by the copyright law (e.g., "fair use") apply. Public Domain Content, however, is content that is not protected by copyright law and therefore belongs to the public.

How does something enter the public domain?

Public domain content generally falls into one of three categories:

Works created by the United States government and some state, local and foreign governments.

Works which have been dedicated to the public domain by the author or other copyright owner - either by a conscious affirmative action or by a failure to take an action which would have been required by copyright law to maintain the copyright.

Works which were at one time protected by copyright, but in which the copyright has lapsed by the passage of time.

What are Pond5's sources of Public Domain Content?

We have generally obtained our public domain content from three categories of sources:

U.S. government repositories of creative works.

Other online and offline collections of public domain content that we believe are reputable.

Content that our curators or contributors have reviewed, and based on that review, believe are in the public domain.

Want more information? Read more articles about the Pond5 Public Domain Project on our Help Center, visit the project's Main Page, or watch our "Public Domain 101" video below. You can also Click Here to read the Pond5 Royalty-Free License Agreement and our full Public Domain Disclaimer.

Creating professional marketing videos with Social Studio is unbelievably fast and easy! Ideally, we would like anyone to be able to select, edit and export a project in less than three minutes. In fact, it will likely take you much longer to read this guide than it will take you to make your first video!

To begin, register or login to your Social Studio account. Registration is free, and you will have unlimited free use of the editor, so don't worry about having to enter payment information during registration.

You can create an account or login using your email or Facebook. You can also skip registration and go directly to project selection (you will have to register later, when you enter the editor, so that we can save your projects).

The easiest way to begin the creation process is to select a featured template to edit. You will see a dozen template collections on the Social Studio home page. Each of these collections contains at least ten relevant templates. Click a collection to open it and view templates. Once you find the template you want, hover over it and click customize. You can also search for specific videos in the search bar, or upload a video of your own and start a project from scratch, but the editing process will be the same.

Clicking customize will redirect you to the editor screen. The Social Studio editor is where all of the magic happens. Here you can add, remove and customize text and graphics, change the background video and change the music in your project.

At the left of the editor, you will see a panel with three main options: "Editor, Change Video and Change music".

The Editor tab is your default and is for text and graphics editing. Many people select a template only want to customize text and export. If this is what you want, you can do it all from this screen. If you click Change video, you will be directed to the video library where you can change the background video. If you click Change music, you will be redirected to the audio library where you can change out the soundtrack.

There are several text editing options in the Social Studio editor. You can tap the preview (play) icon at bottom left at any time to preview the video and decide if you want changes. Preview is live and won't create any changes or redirect you away from the editor.

To edit a text layer, hover over the layer in the timeline at bottom. Click the "Edit" icon that appears on that text layer to edit the copy. You can write up to six lines of copy in each text layer and can use up to 120 characters. To edit other text layers, simply scroll to that layer's position in the timeline, and click Edit

You can also change any text layer's size, position or rotation manually by grabbing it in the preview window. You will see handles at the corners of the text that will allow you to manipulate the text.

You can change the duration of any text layer, or change it's position in the timeline by dragging its handles (which look like arrows at head and tail) in the timeline. Text layers can be as long as the video and as short as 2 seconds. You can remove a text layer by hovering over that text layer in the timeline and clicking the "X" icon. You can add more text layers by tapping the Add Text (+) button at the right of the text timeline. You can add as many text layers as you like, as long as their combined duration is no longer than the video.

Finally there are several style options at the top of the screen which will allow you to further customize your text. In the Text Style panel, you can select different fonts, change justification, toggle between upper, lower and manual case, and change the text and background colors for your text layers. These work exactly like the tools you have likely used in a word processor, Instagram stories, Google Docs, etc.

To change the animation style for any text layer, click "Animation" at the right side of the Editor. This is a tab in the same panel where you found Text Style. You will see a menu of styles. Click any of them to apply.

After editing text, many people choose to export. You can click "Export" at the left of the screen (below the Editor/Video/Music panel). You can do this whenever you feel that your video is ready to go.

If you want to change the background video in your project, you can click the Change Video icon in the Editor/Video/Music panel at left. This will redirect you to the video library. You can scroll through premium videos or search for something specific (in the search bar at top). You can also click My Uploads at top right and use a video that you have uploaded, or upload a new clip. Once you find the footage you want, click "Use Video" it to add to the trimmer. You will be prompted to drag and trim the video to the portion you want. You can use up to thirty seconds of any video. Once you've trimmed your video, you will be returned to the editor where you can preview your project with the new footage.

The process for changing music is similar to the process for changing video. Simply click Change Music in the Editor/Video/Music panel or click "Replace Audio" at bottom right, next to the music timeline. This will redirect you to the music library. From here you can select from 1000s of soundtracks. You can search for something specific at top, or select a genre from the list. Once you choose a genre, you can preview tracks until you find what you like. You can preview any track by hovering over it and clicking "Preview". When you find one that you like, click "Use Track" and it will be added to your project in place of the current music.

You can also add a personal logo to any of your projects. At the left of the editor, in the Animation panel, there is a second Logo tab. Click on this tab to open your logo library. If you havent uploaded any logos, this will be empty. Click Upload Logo to add your logo to the library.

Once a logo is added, it will be saved and you can click Use Logo to add it to your project. Logos should be uploaded in .PNG format and no larger than 1080 x 1080. Ideal size is 640x640, but smaller files will work fine as long as they are clear, high quality images.

Onceyou'veadded a logo, you can hover over it in the preview window and click Edit to move or scale it. Click the X icon on the logo to delete.

There is one more major function on the editor. Next to the Text panel at top is a Format menu. There are three icons in this panel representing the three different aspect ratios supported by Social Studio: landscape, square and portrait. The editor defaults to landscape, but you can click any of the icons at any time to change your project's aspect ratio. When you change to square or portrait, tap the preview (play) icon at bottom left to see where your text layers display. You can move and scale all of the text layers in the preview window so that they fit the new format and they will autosave. When in square or portrait mode, you can also reposition the background video by clicking and holding on it in the preview window and dragging it left or right. This will allow you to fit the part of the video that you want to the new aspect ratio.

This is all of the functionality currently available in the Social Studio editor. Once you have a composition you want, click "Export Video" at left. Once you click export, your video will render and you will be given the option to download it or to share to Facebook (the upload button to the right of download).

If you have export credits or an unlimited subscription, you will be able to immediately download or share your videos.

If you don't have credits or a subscription, you will be redirected to a payment pop-up when you click download or share. For more on purchases and subscription levels, see our article: "How Do I Subscribe to Social Studio"

Can Third Party Rights restrict the use of Public Domain works and make it Editorial only?

Public Domain content is free of copyright, but please be aware that if the content of a work contains or depicts any third party intellectual property, such as a background trademark, trade dress, picture, art work, background music or reading, etc., the owner of that intellectual property may have the right to claim that use of the content infringes the owner's intellectual property rights.

In addition, if the public domain content (in a U.S. government work, for example) contains or depicts the image, voice or other recognizable features of a person, because public domain content generally is not accompanied by model releases, that person may have the right to object to commercial exploitation the content as a violation of their privacy or publicity rights.

For those reasons, any public domain content that contains or depicts any such third party intellectual property or the image, voice or other recognizable features of a person should be considered to be "Editorial Content" - meaning it is generally available for editorial use only.

For more information on how to identify Third Party Rights on public domain content, please watch our "Public Domain 101" video below. For more information on how to proceed in those cases, read another article from our Help Center here.

If you do not already have a free Pond5 account, you can sign up in a few steps:

Go to https://www.pond5.com/

On the top right of the page, clickJoin Now

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You can then fill out your email address, choose a new username, password, and confirm password.

Once you sign up, you will automatically be signed in, and we will send you a welcome email.

Still need help?!

With our vast and ever-growing library of over 11 million royalty-free video clips - plus music, sound effects, photos, and more, we offerbothcommercial use and editorial media. To check your usage, reviewour License Agreement.

Commercial Use Media

Most of the media in our library iscommercialuse ready. If the file does not have any recognizable faces,visible logos, audible voices, or audible music, a model/property release is usually not requiredfor commercial use.

If the media does containany recognizable faces, visible logos, audible voices, or audible music, amodel/property release would be needed to use the file commercially.

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Editorial Media

If the filecontains any recognizable faces, visible logos, audible voices, or audible music, and a model/property releaseis not available, the content isEditorial Only.

Still need help? !

If you have forgotten your password, send an email to [email protected]. Social Studio support will provide you with a temporary password that you can update once you regain access to your account.

To update your password, go to My Account to access the Password/Update Password functionality.

You can edit and update your account details at anytime from your Dashboard page.

Sign into your account

Hover your cursor over the account avatar > Click on Dashboard > Contact Info & Payout Preferences

After entering your information, click Confirm.

Still need help? Contact us!

Usage rights are determined by the type of license you purchase. All of our licenses allow for worldwide use of the media in perpetuity.

Items marked Editorial may not be used in any form of advertisement, endorsement, commercial, or promotion, while those marked Commercial are generally available for commercial use.

The amount of merchandising allowed depends on which license level you choose. Our Individual and Team License includes a run of 100,000, printed use only; our Business and Premium Licenses include 500,000 to an unlimited print use, including merchandising rights.

Note that you cannot use Pond5 licensed content for logos, trademarks, reselling, or for sensitive use materials without a custom license. If you are in need of a custom license or are interested in a specific amount of indemnification protection, please contact us at [email protected] or give us a call at +1 (855) 410-6789.

For some related usage questions, please see:

Individual and Extended Licenses

All About Our Extended Licenses

Which Files Are Fully Cleared For Commercial Use?

PRO Tracks and Cue Sheets

Still need help? Contact us !

Once a file has been downloaded from your Membership package, it can no longer be exchanged or returned. If there is a technical defect with your download, please contact us and our customer support team will be happy to assist you.

For more information see What Is Your Refund Policy?

Still need help? Contact us !

Why do I need an Extended License?

Pond5s Extended Licenses offer you more protection, more flexibility, and easier team access. Benefits depend on how you plan to use each of the licenses and whether youre a larger company or an individual.

Find out more about our licensing options and see how our licenses compare >

What is a seat? Why do I need more seats?

A seat is a single user, person, or computer hard drive accessible to one person. A seat cannot be shared or passed along. Each new user of the content is an additional seat.

For companies who need open work streams and collaboration, multiple or unlimited seats are helpful, so that everyone on your team has the access they require.

Our Individual license offers a single seat, Business licenses offer 5 seats, and Premium licenses have unlimited seats.

What additional rights do the Extended Licenses provide?

Higher amounts of indemnification for greater protection

Additional seats, allowing better collaboration for larger teams

Unlimited number of projects

[email protected]

Extended licenses apply to commercial video, images, illustrations, and media marked as Select. Editorial content, Music, SFX, After Effects, 3D objects not marked as Select and Public Domain licenses are available with additional seats only. Other restrictions may apply; refer to the full license agreement at https://www.pond5.com/legal.

If you require indemnification coverage on Editorial content, music, SFX, After Effects, or 3D assets, please contact [email protected].

Why would I need more indemnification?

Many buyers, particularly at the enterprise level, require indemnification for the media they license as a legal requirement for producing new work. Our levels of indemnification range from $15,000 of coverage for our Individual license (the most in the industry!) up to $1,000,000 of coverage for Premium.

Need more indemnification or a customized option? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Are there any limitations on these licenses?

You cannot use Pond5 licensed content for logos, trademarks, reselling, or for sensitive use materials without a custom license. If you need a custom license, please contact [email protected].

Do the Extended licenses offer merchandising?

Yes, our licenses allow the use of items in digital or physical merchandise for resale at various levels:

IndividualorTeamLicense - 100,000 printed use only

Business License - 500,000 printed use and merchandising rights

Premium License - Unlimited printed use and merchandising rights

Can I use these licenses for editorial content?

Extended licenses purchased online are available for all media types, including music, SFX, and editorial video and images, but the Extended Editorial licenses offer only additional seats, and do not include indemnification of the content. Indemnification may be available on other forms of content, including music and Editorial content, under a custom license agreement.

Please reach out to for more information.

What Are PRO Tracks / Cue Sheets?

A performing rights organization (PRO) collects royalties between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works in public broadcasts (such as in film, television, the web, and radio).

PROs use cue sheets to keep track of their members music when its used in public broadcasts or performances.

Cue sheets are filled out by the production company (usually a producer or editor) on behalf of the broadcaster (usually a TV network, film studio, or large platform like YouTube or Facebook). The cue sheet lists all the music cues used in a production. When completed, the cue sheet is submitted electronically to each relevant PRO associated with a piece of music used in the production. Pond5 also requests a copy of the cue sheet for our records.

Most countries have their own PROs. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC represent the United States while PRS works with UK artists. SOCAN is based in Canada and SACEM handles France. You can find a list of PROs here. Nearly all PROs have relationships with one another.

Purchasing a PRO Track

If a piece of music is registered with a PRO, that information is listed on Item Details page for the track:

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If youre using the music in a public broadcast / performance (such as television, film, radio, or YouTube), you will need to submit a cue sheet to the appropriate PROs to report the usage. The PRO will then collect royalties on the track based on the blanket annual license the broadcaster has purchased, and those royalties will then be distributed to the Pond5 artist and their publisher (who are usually the same person).

There are no additional costs or fees to purchase a PRO track from Pond5 (with the possible exception of German PRO GEMA-affiliated tracks [see How Do I Deal With The German PRO GEMA? below]). The fees paid to the performing rights organizations are typically paid by the broadcaster via an annual blanket license and are not within the responsibility of the producer.

FAQs

What is a non-PRO track?

A non-PRO (or Royalty-Free) track is any piece of music not affiliated with a performing rights organization. Nothing additional needs to be done onceyou'vepurchased a non-PRO track. Pond5 has hundreds of thousands of non-PRO tracks available for license. PRO affiliation, where applicable, is listed on both the Search Results page for each track, as well as on the Item Details page for each. Customers can also filter their search results to only see non-PRO tracks in the Additional Filters section of the Filter Bar.

Why do I submit cue sheets?

If your project is going to be publicly broadcast (film, television, YouTube, sports arena, etc.) you need to file a cue sheet so the artist can receive the performance royalties owed to them as a member of their PRO. This is how many musicians and composers earn their living. There is no additional cost for submitting a cue sheet. Simply fill out the song and project info and email to both Pond5 ( [email protected] ) and the appropriate PROs.

Do I pay anything extra for this?

No. Broadcasters pay for annual blanket licenses with the PROs to cover PRO content broadcast throughout the year. The customer doesnt need to pay anything extra; they only need to submit the cue sheet so the artist can receive their performance royalties.

When do I submit a cue sheet?

When a production company completes a project that will be publicly broadcast,they'rerequired to submit a cue sheet listing any PRO-affiliated to both the relevant PROs and Pond5.

There are a few exceptions currently, although this may change over time:

Video Games (which are not considered a performance)

Radio ads

Podcasts

How does PRO apply to social media or internet use?

Both YouTube and Facebook have blanket licenses with the PROs and are considered a public broadcast, so cue sheets should be filed.

Where can I find a blank cue sheet template?

You can find a blank cue sheet here .

What information needs to be on the cue sheet?

The cue sheet should have identifying information for the program it represents (i.e. film, episode of television series, etc.) and should list the cue title, duration, usage and entitled parties (writers/composers and publishers) for each PRO registered cue.

Who is responsible for submitting the cue sheets?

The production company is responsible for submitting cue sheets. Typically, this is handled by the music department, a producer, or an editor. Although cue sheets may come in from other sources, the copy from the production company is always considered authoritative.

How do I file cue sheets online?

Youre required to send a copy of your cue sheet to every PRO that appears on your cue sheet. In the USA, you can send sheets to either ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC:

ASCAP: Submit electronically to: [email protected], or [email protected]

BMI: Send electronic copies to [email protected]

SESAC: Send electronic copies to [email protected]

PRS: Send electronic copies [email protected]

If you frequently submit cue sheets,you should consider using RapidCue, which is submission system designed by both ASCAP and BMI.

Cant find a PROs contact info? Reach out to [email protected] and well help.

When are cue sheets processed?

Cue sheets are processed in time for the distribution that reflects performances in the quarter that the program was first broadcast, which is usually 4-6 months after the program has aired.

We advise buyers to air on the side of caution:

All music used in a production should be listed on the cue sheet, both PRO and non-PRO music, even though only PRO-affiliated artists will receive performance royalties

When in doubt, just put it on the cue sheet!

PRO FAQs

How do I deal with GEMA?

Users of GEMA-protected works - primarily manufacturers of audio/video media, radio and television broadcasters, and the organizers of events such as music festivals, street festivals, Christmas markets, and many more - procure the required usage rights from GEMA by paying a fee, which is to be paid to the rights-holders after the deduction of an administrative handling charge.

When you buy a PRO track on Pond5 for a public performance and your company has no framework contract with GEMA, you need to file a cue sheet indicating the intended usage of the PRO track to GEMA. Here is the link to their online calculator and an overview of potential usages of PRO tracks. GEMA will then send you an invoice, and, after receiving your bank transfer, will pay the royalties to the creator of the PRO track you purchased earlier on Pond5.

Still need help? !

First you will need to finalize your cart, you can remove any items and choose a currency.

Click CHECKOUT and proceed to enter your billing information.

Note: If your Licensee information is different from billing, uncheck Also use this as my Licensee Info and enter licensee information.

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Purchases can made by credit card, PayPal, or account credit.

After entering all needed information, you must check and acknowledge that you have read and agreed to the Royalty Free License Agreement.

Click PLACE ORDER to complete purchase.

Note: After hitting PLACE ORDER no additional information can be added to the purchase and your order will complete. If any changes need to be made or if you have any questions, please contact us.

After completing your order, you will get a confirmation for your purchase and you will be directed to your downloads page.

Still need help? !

Media that you purchase from Pond5 is licensed for use across all media, including YouTube.

As a measureto prevent fraud and piracy, YouTube has employed a Content IDsystem that automaticallyidentifies and matchesas much music as possible. Thisincludes some royalty-free content.

When YouTube has raised a claim andhave identified a song in avideo, they also include an option to file a dispute.Please follow this process andindicate that you have purchased the necessary rights to use the content. Typically, a copy of areceipt and a link to our royalty-free license will satisfy YouTubein these circumstances.

You can download a copy of your receipt or proof of purchase from the Downloads or Order History page.

contact our support team

If you need additional assistance, please do not hesitate to . To expedite the process, pleaseinclude:

Your transaction ID

Track item ID

A link to your YouTube video *please ensure your video is not set to private, unlisted is permitted

A screenshot or name of the company that has raised aclaim *E.g. AdRev

Once a membership is active, you will have access to use your benefits immediately.

For an introduction on being a member and to get started with searching, see How Do I Become A Member? and How Do I Get Started With My Membership?

Taking Advantage of Your Downloads

With aMembership members get 10 downloads a month from a special membership collection that includes over 1 million videos, images, music tracks, sound effects, AE templates, and 3D models.

Unused Membership downloads willroll over up to a total of 120. You can check your remaining downloads on your My Membership page.

To find your My Membership page : Sign into your account > Hover cursor over your account avatar > Click on Dashboard > Account > Membership

Be sure to utilize all of your membershipdownloads before the end of your current term, so you do not lose any before your Membership ends.

Still need help? Contact us !

The purchase of a video pack gives you access to our customized templates, stock footage library, video editor tool, and video exports equal to the number (i.e. 1, 4, or 10) associated with the pack that you purchased.

You will be exporting premium, licensed content from our content library.

You can find all of the Social Studio export costs on the Plans page under My Account. You can access the My Account page by clicking your username in the upper right corner of the page. My Account will appear in a drop down menu. The Plans page will appear on the right-side of the page after loading the My Account page.

We currently offer 4 products: the free unlimited export option for user-generated content, as well as 1, 4 and 10 premium video export packs. Click Get started to upload your own videos, or Buy now under the product you wish to purchase, if you choose to use our pre-made templates. From here, you will be prompted to enter payment information and guided through the checkout process.

If you click Upgrade Plan from the home page, you will be redirected to the Plans page. You will also be redirected to the plans page if you click Export in the editor and you are not already subscribed.

If you decide to proceed with deactivation, you can do so at any time. However, please keep in mind that your projects will no longer be available after this time.

Simply go to My Account and click Deactivate Account.

Yes, at any time you can purchase additional exports that allow you to access premium, licensed content exports. If you are subscribed to the Unlimited plan (for unlimited exports of your own user-generated content), you can purchase export packs so that you are able to export premium, licensed content from our content library.

To purchase additional exports or an Unlimited plan, access the Plans page located on the My Account page by clicking your username in the upper right corner of the page. My Account will appear in a drop down menu. The Plans page will appear on the right-side of the page after loading the My Account page. To purchase additional export, click Buy now under the product you wish to purchase initiate the payment process. To view the number of remaining of premium, licensed content exports remaining and/or the status of your unlimited user-generated content plan, click Billing on the My Account.

If you are needing help getting started with purchasing using your Pond5 account, check out our Buyer Getting Started FAQ.

Checking the Status of Your Membership

You can always see details about your current membership by visiting your Membership page. To find your My Membership page : Sign into your account > Hover cursor over your account avatar > Click on Dashboard > Account > Membership

On your My Membership page you will find:

Your current type of membership

Number of available free downloads

Download Refill Date

Renewal Date

Membership Charge

Membership Status

Searching For Media Within Membership Collection

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To get started on searching see How Do I Search For Media? To search through our membership collection, you can navigate to the membership page or simply set a filter.

To set Membership Content filter:

Type your keywords in our search bar

Choose your media type by selecting from the drop down menu

Hit the search icon or ENTER

On the top right, click onthe blue "Filter" button

Check the Membership Content box to set filter the search results to membership content

To preview a file, hover your cursor over the thumbnail. The file will display as FREE and with the text item available through membership. To open a full page preview, click on the file.

Downloading From Membership Collection

When logged into your membership account, you will be eligible to take advantage of your free downloads. The number of your remaining free downloads will display in your cart or on a membership items download icon and all files in our core library will display with a price.

When you are ready to use one of your free Membership downloads, you can download instantly by clicking Download on a files full preview page.

Alternatively, you can add any files into your cart and can either choose to use one of your free Membership downloads.

To learn more see How Do Membership Downloads Work? and check out How/Where Do I Download My Purchase?

Understanding Your Cart

When logged into your membership account, the items in your cart will be divided into two sections:

Membership Items

If you would like to use one of your free membership downloads, simply click Free Download. You can choose to save your free download for another membership collection item and proceed to purchase the itema-la-carte.

Membership-eligible items you have not downloaded yet are included in your carts total.

Core Library Items

All core library items will display with an a-la-carte price

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Discover whats possible when your creative process meets our vast and ever-growing library of leading-edge footage, intuitive tech platform, flexible services and pricing.

You have the choice to purchase media a-la-cart, or unlock unlimited creative opportunities with a Pond5 Membership.

Membership Packages

Pond5 membership is a cost effective, smart, and easy way to access tons of amazing, high-quality, stock footage, music, sound effects and images. Memberships are a great option for anyone that creates with media regularly throughout the year. You can easily find the content you need without worrying about variable pricing.

Membership Options

$199 Monthly or $999 Yearly

10 Downloads a month -unused downloads roll over every month.

Access to:

200,000 HD and 4K Videos

200,000 Images

5,000 Music and SFX Files

Need more information about Membership Packages? Checkout our Membership FAQ.

Item Prices

The prices of our media are clearly displayed on each file. When searching, you can get a closer look by hovering your cursor over the Thumbnail to see an items title and current price.

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Note: With a Membership, prices of media from the membership collection will display as $0 if account has Membership downloads available.

To open an item's detailspage, simply click on "see item details" or the thumbnail to display additional information.

Usage

All of our creative content comes with a comprehensive Content License Agreement to protect you, your business, and your work, at no additional cost. Find out more about usage from Is My Usage Covered By Your License Agreement?

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A Pond5 Membership makes it easy to find the content you need without worrying about variable pricing. Memberships are a great option for anyone who creates media regularly throughout the year. Our Membership program allows you to download high-quality content every month. We have two flexible Membership options that can fit your media needs and you can cancel at any time.

Monthly Membership

Members get 10 downloads a month from the Membership Collection. Any unused downloads will rollover to the following month for as long as your Membership is active.

Annual Membership

Annual Memberships offer a way to save even more over the monthly price. As with monthly Memberships, youll get 10 downloads a month from the Membership Collection, and any unused downloads will rollover to the following month for as long as your Membership is active.

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Membership downloads can be used to license anything in the Membership Collection.

If you need to license any content from the Core Library, you can purchase these la carte. You are free to search between both libraries by adjusting your search filters, as illustrated below.

To get started, check out our Membership page.

Still need help?!

First, Sign out of your Pond5 Account.

Then click onSign In >> Forgot Your Password >> Send Reset Link.

Finally, make sure you enter the email address associated with your Pond5 account.From there, check your email inbox for the reset token.

Please note that there is an 8-character minimum required for passwords.

Don't hesitate to reach out to [email protected] if you need help with anything else.

Pond5 is where artists from around the world come to buy and sell work, get inspired, and ultimately drive creative possibility and success for all involved.If its out there, its in here.

If you are a rights-holder of professional quality video, audio or after effects projects, you are invited to partner with us in selling your media online. This is an opportunity for media makers everywhere to earn money licensing their work for use by others simply, quickly and easily. We're always accepting new submissions in all categories!

Note to photographers and illustrators: we currently do not accept uploads of photography in any other format than JPG or any type of vector illustrations.

What We Offer

A Global Marketplace of Buyers who will be able to search for, preview, purchase, and download your video or audio instantly, online, 24 hours a day.

A Quick and Easy Workflow. Upload your clips, tag them with info, submit them to the curator and earn. It's that easy.

Competitive Commissions on All Sales.

Monthly Payments by Check, Paypal, Skrill/Moneybookers, or Payoneer. As your clip portfolio grows, this can mean regular, ongoing income from a relatively small initial investment of time.

You Set the Price for Your Media. Buyers pay what you want them to pay, and you can change the price whenever you like.

A Non-Exclusive Contract Option and Complete Control Over Your Work. You retain all rights to your work, and can do whatever you like with it, including sell it elsewhere or instantly remove it from the Pond5 marketplace, no strings attached.

Aggressive Marketing on Your Behalf. Extensive, ongoing campaigns designed to bring business to your doorstep.

Realtime Data on Clip Sales, Buying Trends, Media Requests, and More. All the information you need to make the most from your stock media sales.

An Artist-Built, Artist-Friendly Community of Media Producers. Our active community forums include special sections available only to sellers for discussing the ins and outs of the stock industry.

What Were Looking For

Were looking for dazzling, amazing, significant, and staggeringly beautiful content of all categories and genres, including:

Classic Stock Video and Photos: fashion, lifestyle, sports, and location-based media

Editorial and News Content

Motion Graphics, Motion Backgrounds, and VJ Loops

Archival Media From All Eras

Music Beds and Beats

Sound Effects and Ambient Noise

Original Songs, Both Digital and Recorded

Regardless of the style of your stock media, it should be of extremely high quality. Commercially-oriented work should be professionally shot or recorded and carefully chosen. Editorial and archival content should be informative, powerful, and tagged with accurate contextual information. Please use your good judgement in uploading your clips, and upload only those clips that are likely to be commercially viable.

Still need help? Contact us!

There are various reasons that can prevent a download to complete.

Capacity

Check your computer and make sure that you have enough space to download the file on your hard drive.

Browser

Always keep your Browsers up to date, or try another browser such asGoogle Chrome, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox.

Internet

Try using an ethernet internet connection - WiFi can be problematic for large downloads such as HD video files.

If you continue to experience issues, do a speedtest to check your download speed. If it looks low, consider downloading the file from another location with a better internet connection, such as a closed, password-protected network.

Network Firewall

If your speed is fine and the file is still not downloading, please check with your network administrator to make sure that you are able to download large files. With some security settings this is at times blocked.

Security Setting

If you are seeing a spinning Pond5logo, please reach out to us at [email protected] to receive immediate assistance.

Still need help? Contact us !

If your company does not have the option to use credit cards or Paypal, and you plan on consistently buying larger amounts of media, an invoicing account would be ideal. Currently, system does not have the ability to process purchase orders, this is a simple monthly invoicing service for corporate account holders.

Note: Our invoicing accounts do have to go through an approval process and could take a few business days to complete. Please let us know of your request in advance of any deadlines you may have.

Send any requests to our Customer Care team.

Downloading Active Purchases

Once you purchase a file, you will be automatically redirected to your Downloads page and your downloads stay active for 14 days.

To navigate to your Downloads page, sign into your account > hover cursor over your account avatar > Click on My Downloads

To download a file, look under Active Downloads and click on DOWNLOAD.

The available SIZES / FORMATS will display and click download to start downloading.

Note: You have to option to download any and all SIZES / FORMATS

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Downloading Purchases After 14 Days

Your downloads stay active for 14 days after purchase. If you do not see a purchase under Active Downloads, check your Receipts section. You can reactivate purchases by clicking 1 reactivation left or reactivate.

If you are the license or seat holder, you maydownload your purchase as manytimes as you need. If you are unable to reactivate a purchase on your own, just Contact Us.

Have a file that will notdownload? Please review our Stalled Download article, or reach out to us at for immediate assistance.

Welcome to Pond5. Were here to power every stage of your creative process from concept through to final edit.

Getting Started

Be sure to sign into your account. Need a free account? Find out how by checking out How do I sign up for Pond5?

Choose files from our vast and ever-growing library of over 4 million royalty-free video clips - plus music, sound effects, photos, and more. You have the option to purchase content a-la-cart or gain even more access with our membership program. Choose a plan that fits your budget with our membership options. Find out more at What Are Memberships?

You can add files to your cart, and proceed to checkout.

Searching

To get started, just type your keywords in our search bar, hit the search icon or ENTER, and youre on your way. Checkout How Do I Search For Media?

Media Information

When looking at the larger preview, by clicking on a clips thumbnail, you can see the specification details and additional information needed, before completing purchase. To find technical information, clickMore Info.

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Pricing

The prices of our content are clearly displayed on each file. For more information, see How Does Pricing Work?

Payment Options

We accept major credit cards or Paypal. When you pay for your purchases, you can download your files immediately from your Downloads page. For help checking out, see How Do I Checkout?

Usage

All of our creative content comes with a comprehensive Content License Agreement to protect you, your business, and your work. Find out more about usage from Is My Usage Covered By Your License Agreement?

Still need help? !

All of the content on our marketplace, including our Membership collection, comes with our Royalty free license agreement. The licensee information entered at the beginning of your Membership will be used for all downloads.

For more information, see Is My Usage Covered By Your License Agreement?

Still need help? Contact us !

In addition to high resolution 4K and HD formats, Pond5 now also offers Web resolution.

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What is the new Web video available?

Web resolution is usually854x480 pixels. It is a smaller, web-friendly size that works perfectly on social media without being an unwieldy HD resolution, at a lower price.

Why? We did our research.

After conducting a test and surveying our clients, we learned that there was a demand for content that can be used for social media, so we built an option to satisfy that demand. We developed Web videos as a lower than 4K and HD option, that is perfect your social media projects, at a lower price than HD content.

Whether you need cinema-quality resolution or a web friendly clip for your social media presence, at Pond5 you can pay for what you need, and nothing more.

Who would benefit most from Web videos?

Web videos are intended for customers on a budget, such as freelancers and small marketing agencies.

Should I buy Web for my social media projects?

Web videos are perfect for your social media projects, especially if you are willing to trade down to a lower resolution, for a lower price. Many brands & agencies still prefer using 4K and HD content for social media, so its all about preference.

What if Web resolution is too small for my use?

No problem - HD versions are still available on the same clip's page. If you accidentally purchased Web resolution when you needed HD, don't hesitate to reach out to us right away at .

You may incorporate stock media assets made available via Social Studio for distribution only within digital streaming channels over the internet including social media sites and/or your own website or mobile app.

You may not incorporate stock media assets licensed from Social Studio in any theatrical, broadcast, telecast, cable or satellite distribution, performance and display. You may not capture and use still images derived from stock video assets and you may not use stock media assets from Social Studio in any printed media, merchandise.

Once you incorporate stock media assets into your project, you can share your finished project freely, on a worldwide perpetual basis, but you may not share the underlying individual stock media as a standalone file with any third party.

For more information on Social Videos, please visit the Social Studio License page.

You can upload any footage you want to Social Studio for use in your projects. To upload your own footage to a project, click "Change Video" at top left of the editor screen and then click "Upload Video" at the top right of the video library.

After clicking, Upload Video, you will be able to select and upload a video from your machine. Once upload is initiated, you will be redirected to the My Uploads screen where you see any videos you have already uploaded along with a field to upload new videos.

If you would like to upload videos, anddon'thave a project open, simply click My Projects from the home screen, thenthe My Uploads icon at left.

Once your video is uploaded, you can add it to any open project by clicking the Replace Video button in the Text/Video/Music panel in the editor. This will take you to the video library, where you can click "My Uploads" at top right, select and trim your footage, and add it to the project.

Keep in mind that any unlicensed footage you upload (ie popular movie or TV clips) will not be covered under Social Studio's commercial license.

You can submit feature questions at any time. Though we may never fulfill all feature requests, our development timeline is defined by user requests and we will do our best to deliver the most popular features.

Send requests here: [email protected]

If you experience any technical issues with your exports, we can fix them for you. Please send us the export with a description of your issue and we will repair and re-export your project, free of charge.

There are some exceptions for user errors or features that we don't include, but we should be able to solve the vast majority of your video issues.

Send inquiries to: [email protected]

Yes, absolutely! Our video editor was made so that you can build your online presence with the creative marketing videos and advertisements.

As soon as you open any template from the collections, or any video from search results, a new project is automatically created. This allows you to edit templates non-destructively. If you have an existing project that you would like to duplicate and edit non-destructively, simply hover over that project in the My Projects gallery and click New. If you hover over an existing project and click Edit you will edit destructively.

Template selection is very simple and we try to make it as easy as possible to find the style you want for your next project.

When you open Social Studio, you will be immediately directed to the home screen, which is the starting point for creating great content with Social Studio. On this page, you will find a catalog of all of our collections. Collections are groups of featured template organized by subject or mood. Each collection contains at least ten relevant featured templates that were hand created by our team.

Onceyou'veopened a collections, hover over any template and click "customize" to edit and export that template.

If you click "My projects, you will be able to open any of your previous projects and re-use them. Any featured template thatyou'vepreviously edited will be saved here.

Our featured templates have include hand selected videos, music, fonts, colors and transitions. Once you click customize, you can change everything including background videos, colors, fonts, etc. or you can just change the copy to your message and export!

You can think of a project in Social Studio as the sum of all of the elements you need to create a great video post. In our context, a great video post includes: a background video, a soundtrack and the motion graphics and text overlays that, when combined, perfectly deliver your message.

You can create projects in Social Studio by uploading or selecting a video you like and adding text and music, or by choosing one of our curated projects and editing it for your purposes.

Once you create or open a project, you have the option to change the background video and the soundtrack, edit graphics and text styles, colors, and copy.

You can also move graphic elements/change layouts and change the aspect ratio of any project you are editing. For a comprehensive guide to editing, check out our "Quick Start" guide.

When you are in the Social Studio editor, there is a panel at far left with 3 menu options: Editor, Change Video and Change Music. You can click any of these options to edit the corresponding aspect of your video. Clicking "Change Video" will redirect you to the video library where you can change out the background video. You can also trim the current video by clicking "Trim Video" at bottom right, next to the video timeline.

Once in the video library, you can scroll through videos or search for something specific (in the search bar at top center). You can also add your own clip by clicking My Uploads at top right.

Once you find the footage you want, click "Use Video" to open it in the trimmer. You will be prompted to drag and trim the video to the portion you want. You can use up to thirty seconds. Once you've trimmed your video, you will be returned to the editor where you can preview your project with the new footage.

In the Social Studio editor, there is a panel at far left with 3 menu options: Editor, Change Video and Change Music.

If you click "Change Music" in the Editor/Video/Music panel or click "Replace Audio" at bottom right, next to the music timeline, you will be able to swap out the current soundtrack.

You will be redirected to the music library. From here you can select from 1000s of soundtracks. Click any Genre in the library to see all tracks in that genre. You can preview any track by hovering over it. When you find one that you like, click "Use Track" and it will be added to your project in place of the current music.

You will then be redirected to the editor screen where you can preview your project with the new music.

When you create a project, we save it to your My Projects library.

As soon as you open any template from the collections, or any video from search results, a project is automatically created. As you edit your project it will autosave every 3 seconds. Whenever you export or leave the editor, your project will be saved to "My Projects" in its most recent state so that you can return to it any time for further editing.

Once you click Export, your video will render and you will be given the option to download it and/or to share to a Facebook page or group (the upload button to the right of download).

If you have export credits or an unlimited subscription, you will be able to immediately download or share your videos.

Exports will be downloaded to the default location you have selected on your computer.

Social Studio does not currently allow you to upload stand-alone audio to a project.

You have several text editing and customization options in Social Studio. All text editing is done in the editor, so the first step in text editing is to open a project.

When you open a project, you will see a panel at the left of the editor screen with three main options: "Editor, Video and Music". You should see that the Editor button is highlighted by default.

You can tap the preview (play) icon at bottom left at any time to preview your project. Preview is live and won't create any changes or redirect you away from the editor, so you can make changes and instantly preview them.

Copy editing (changing the words in a text layer) is very intuitive. To edit copy, hover over a text layer in the timeline at bottom and click the Edit button that appears. Once youre clicked, you can type your changes using your keyboard. You can write up to six lines of copy in each text layer and can use up to 120 characters. When you're done with one text layer, simply click another layer in the text timeline to edit more.

You can change any text layer's size, position or rotation manually by grabbing it in the preview window. You will see handles at the corners of the text that will allow you to manipulate the text. Text can be moved freely around the preview window, so be careful not to drag it out of frame during edit.

You can change the duration of any text layer, or change its position in the timeline by dragging its handles (which look like arrows at head and tail) in the timeline. Text layers can be as long as the video and as short as 2 seconds. You can remove a text layer by hovering over the layer in the timeline and clicking the "X" icon. You can add more text layers by tapping the Add Text (+) button at the right of the text timeline. You can add as many text layers as you like, as long as their combined duration is no longer than the video. The process for adding, removing, and trimming text in the timeline is similar to trimming a video for social post, so it should be a familiar experience.

Finally there are several style options at the top of the screen which will allow you to further customize your text. In the style panel, you can select different fonts, change justification, toggle between upper, lower and title case, and change the text and background (if applicable) colors for your text layers. These work exactly like the tools you have likely used in a word processor, Instagram stories, Google Docs, etc.

Changing text and graphics colors in Social Studio is very easy. When using the editor, you will see a "Text Style" panel at top. This panel is where you will find all of the text editing tools. There are three colored drop icons in the middle of this panel. Clicking the one at the left will allow you to change the font (text) color. You can select a color on the spectrum or the slider, or you can type in a hex code to add your specific brand colors. You will see color changes in the live preview as you edit. The middle drop will allow you to change the secondary color (if applicable). This is the color of the text backing or additional graphics if there are any. You can change color in the same manner that you change text color and opacity.

The two drops at the right will allow you to select a preset color combination. These are determined by our creative team and should give you an easy shortcut to finding a color combination you like.

To register, tap Sign up or Try for Free. Or, you can access the register functionality by choosing a plan from the Pricing page.

You will be prompted to sign up using your Facebook or Instagram account, or you can provide your name and email. NOTE: If you sign up using a social account, you will be required to enter an email address.