Research Basics: Find Videos & Images
Video Collections
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Thousands of videos encompassing a broad range of subjects. Mobile apps are available for Android devices and Apple devices
MasterworksThe Masterworks Collection is a rich collection of art history videos. Each short documentary showcases an artist and a key piece, illuminating the context and history of the work. Comprehensively illustrated and compellingly presented (detailed narration accompanies each film), these films provide a deeper insight into master works of painting.
NewsHour Productions United States Government Leaders VideosA compilation of multiple PBS NewsHour videos covering the U.S. Government.
NewsHour Productions United States Presidents VideosA compilation of multiple PBS NewsHour videos covering U.S. Presidents.
NewsHour Productions World Leaders VideosA compilation of multiple PBS NewsHour videos covering World Leaders.
National Geographic Video CollectionFrom National Geographic, one of the most trusted names in education, this video collection contains visually-rich and captioned video clips covering a range of disciplines including Astronomy, Anthropology, Atmospheric Science, Botany, Chemistry, Geography, Zoology and more.
The Visual Guides: Understanding Weather and The EnvironmentThis Visual Guide answers the most important questions on weather and the environment through a series of videos and animations. It provides images of natural phenomena and explanations of fundamental concepts, and features the very latest discoveries in this area.
The Visual Guides: Understanding The UniverseThis Visual Guide answers the most important questions on the universe through a series of videos and animations. It provides images of natural phenomena and explanations of fundamental concepts, and features the very latest discoveries in this area.
The Visual Guides: Understanding The EarthThis Visual Guide answers the most important questions on the Earth through a series of videos and animations. It provides images of natural phenomena and explanations of fundamental concepts, and features the very latest discoveries in this area.
The Visual Guides: Understanding Plants and The Vegetable KingdomThis Visual Guide answers the most important questions on plants through a series of videos and animations. It provides images of natural phenomena and explanations of fundamental concepts, and features the very latest discoveries in this area.
Food and CookingQA Internationals Food and Cooking series provides a valuable overview through a series of videos and animations of modern nutrition, with contributions from experts in the field.
The Visual Guides: Understanding The Human BodyThis Visual Guide answers the most important questions on the human body through a series of videos and animations. It provides images of natural phenomena and explanations of fundamental concepts, and features the very latest discoveries in this area.
Ask Harvard Medical School Video SeriesAsk the Doctor questions answered by Harvard Medical School faculty members.- Food and CookingQA Internationals Food and Cooking series provides a valuable overview through a series of videos and animations of modern nutrition, with contributions from experts in the field.
Video Sharing Sites
Listed below are a few of the hundreds of online video sharing sites on the Internet.
- FlickrOne of the larger online photo management and video sharing applications.
- MetacafeA video-sharing website where you can find short videos in the categories of video games, sports, music, movies and TV.
- PhotobucketSite for uploading, sharing, linking and finding photos, videos and graphics.
- VimeoOne of the fastest growing video platforms that holds mostly professional-looking videos.
- YouTubeThe leader in online video and premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide.
Alternatives to Illegal Downloading
Uploading or downloading copyrighted works without the permission of the copyright owner is a violation of TCTC policy and U.S. law.
Legal alternatives to unauthorized downloading link:
Using Images and copyright issues
Most online images can be used for class papers, class presentations, and even websites under the educational fair use policy, as long as they are only available to your own educational community. "Fair Use" allows scholars, students, teachers, and others to use works that are still in copyright protection for the purpose of education and criticism. This does not mean that any use is fair as long as it is for educational purposes, but education is specifically mentioned as a favored purpose.
Here is a link to Brown University Library's guide for images and copyright:
For more info, here is a link to the MIT Libraries' guide for images and fair use:
Stock Image Resources
- Coverr"Coverr lets you download any video that you want AND it also gives you code snippets to help you implement them. It's copyright free and always will be." 7 new videos (12-15 seconds long) uploaded every Monday.
- PhotoStockEditor"Free high-resolution images for personal & commercial use. New pictures added weekly!"
- Pixabay"All images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required."
- Unsplash“Undoubtedly the best place to get free, high-quality photography for your projects.” - Codrops Collective #208
Finding Art Images Online
Online collections are excellent places to find images of artworks for study or comparative images for other works of art you may be analyzing. Here are several large, useful collections:
- American Memory ProjectCreated by the Library of Congress, American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections.
- Art Images for College TeachingAICT is a personal, non-profit project of its author, art historian and visual resources curator Allan T. Kohl. AICT is intended primarily to disseminate images of art and architectural works in the public domain on a free-access, free-use basis to all levels of the educational community, as well as to the public at large. The collection focuses on ancient, medieval, and Renaissance European art and architecture.
- ArtProject.comA unique collaboration of over 150 acclaimed art museums in 40 countries. The search capabilities are very clunky and it is recommended to use the Search by Museum category to browse. Create and share your own "collections."
- Bridgeman Art LibraryExcellent image database containing images from over 8,000 collections and more than 29,000 artists, Bridgeman provides a central source of fine art and historical images for users. Based in London but focus is international in scope.
- Visual Arts Data Service (VADS)A well-designed site with focus on fashion, craft, 2D design, and contemporary artists working in the United Kingdom and internationally. It is a repository for many special collections in the UK. Its more than 100,0000 images include collections such as the NICE Paintings (NICE stands for National Inventory of Continental European).
- Web Gallery of ArtWGA is a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture from 11th to mid-19th centuries. Content focuses on the Renaissance period, the Medieval roots of the period and its evolution to Baroque and Rococo via Mannerism. More recently Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism were also included.