Sourcing legal b-roll fast: a 4-source checklist

Sourcing legal b-roll fast: a 4-source checklist
Wrong-licensed clips get your Short muted or pulled. Build a clean pipeline.
— Start with Pexels and Pixabay (free, commercial-OK) — search the noun, grab 9:16 if available
— For motion you can't find, generate it: Runway or Pika free tiers give you 4-second filler
— Always crop to 9:16 yourself — stretched 16:9 b-roll screams amateur
— Keep b-roll under 2 seconds per cut; it's seasoning, not the meal
— Log every clip's source in a sheet in case of a claim
Verdict: stock first, AI b-roll only for the shot that doesn't exist. AI clips at 4s still wobble on faces and hands — use them on objects, not people. Not for anyone needing photoreal humans yet.