The Ultimate Free Resource List for Filmmakers
Who doesn't love free stuff?
Here at FILM CRUX, our ultimate goal is to help close the gap between indie filmmakers and Hollywood, so that your only limits are your imagination and creativity.
What better way to start than by sharing a collection of all the best free resources for filmmakers that we've come across over the years?
Below you'll find a massive list of the best free LUTs, light leaks, presets, plugins, film blogs, YouTube channels and more.
Make sure to bookmark this page because we'll be consistently updating it with new resources as we discover them...
...and when you can, buy from these awesome creators. Many of them offer a lot of great paid products as well, and supporting the indie filmmaking community goes both ways...
...like your first girlfriend from college.
Just kidding. We know you never had a girlfriend.
LUTs
Transitions
Premiere Pro Presets
After Effects Presets & Plugins
After Effects Templates
Letterbox Templates
Light Leaks
Film Grains
Sound Effects
Music
Stock Footage
Stock Images
3D Models
VFX Resources
Blogs
YouTube Channels
Miscellaneous
LUTs
Grecian Ideal LUTs from FILM CRUX - 9 free LUTs available for free download with email sign-up.
Rocketstock's 35 Free LUTs - Free download.
7 Free LUTs by Lutify.me - Free download with email sign-up at the bottom of the page.
5 Free LUTs by iwltbap - Free downloads at the bottom of the page.
Filter grade's Free Cinematic LUTs Pack - 8 free LUTs from download button halfway through the post.
12 Free LUTs from Ground Control - Add LUTs to cart and check out. Must enter email and address.
7 Free LUTs by SmallHD - Free download.
3 Free LUTs by Light Illusion - Request download link through the contact form at the bottom of the page which signs you up for their newsletter.
10 Free LUTs by Motion Array - Free download at the bottom of the post.
10 Free Action Movie LUTs by Motion Array - Free download at the bottom of the post.
4 Free LUTs by Deluts - Free downloads.
8 Free LUTs by DigtalColorist.com - Free download with form submission.
Transitions
Free Glitch Transitions Vol. 2 by FILM CRUX - 15 free drag-and-drop glitch transitions for Adobe Premiere Pro, and 28 free glitch sound effects.
Free Transitions Vol. 2 by FILM CRUX - 15 free drag-and-drop transitions for Adobe Premiere Pro.
Free Glitch Transitions Vol. 1 by FILM CRUX - 15 free drag-and-drop glitch transitions for Adobe Premiere Pro, and 20 free glitch sound effects.
FILM CRUX Transitions Vol. 1 - 24 free drag-and-drop transitions for Adobe Premiere Pro.
5 Free Transitions from BJKProductions - 5 awesome Premiere Pro transition presets available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
Austin Newman's Travel Film Transition Pack - Includes 4 versions each of the popular travel film transitions: Luma Fade (in & out), Quick Zoom with Motion Blur (in & out), Smooth Spin with Motion Blur and Smooth Warp Transition.
Orange83 Transition Pack #3 (Smooth Transitions) - 10 smooth transitions for Premiere Pro available for free download or pay what you want.
16 Free Circle Transitions from PremiumBeat - 16 circle transitions designed for After Effects but useable in pretty much any video editing software.
2 Free Transitions from BJKProductions - 2 gorgeous transitions for Premiere Pro available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
BJKProductions Transition Sample - An amazing transition for Premiere Pro available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
BJKProductions Music Video Transition - A dope transition for Premiere Pro that's perfect for music or travel videos. Available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
BJKProductions TV Glitch Transition - A great TV glitch transition for Premiere Pro available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
BJK Productions Shake Transition Preset - A cool shake transition for Premiere Pro available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
BJKProductions Trippy Transition Preset - A trippy transition effect for Premiere Pro available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
BJKProductions Rolling Light Leak Transition - A rolling light leak, HLS effect transition for Premiere Pro available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
Premiere Pro Presets
Austin Newman's Retro Preset Pack - Includes 4 retro-stylized effects: Retro Dream, TV Box Lines, VHS Stylize, VHS Stylize (Damaged) and RGB Split.
Austin Newman's Cinematic Preset Pack - Includes: Cinema Fade (in & out), Cinema Zoom (in & out), Cinematic Desaturate, HD Enhance (Clarity), 4 versions of crop bars (2:39 and 1:85 in 4K and HD).
Austin Newman's RGB Split Preset - RGB Split effect for a retro VHS look.
3 Free Music Video Effects by BJKProductions - 3 Free Premiere Pro music video effect presets available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
5 Free Glitch Effects by BJKProductions - 5 Free Premiere Pro glitch effect presets available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
10 Cinematic Camera Movement Presets by BJKProductions - 10 drag-and-drop cinematic camera move presets for Premiere Pro. Available for free download in exchange for social share or like at the bottom of the page.
10 Color Grading Presets by BJKProductions - 10 simple color grading presets you can easily drag-and-drop onto an adjustment layer above your footage.
After Effects Presets & Plugins
Animation Composer by Mister Horse - A free After Effects plugin created for motion designers (although great for all filmmakers) that contains over 150 presets in the free version alone.
15 Free Camera Shake Presets by PremiumBeat - 15 free camera shake presets for Adobe After Effects in both 1080p and 4K.
Motion Factory by PIXFLOW - A free plugin (actually made of 5 separate plugins) for After Effects that allows you to create your own glitch effects, flash animation, typography effects, HUDS, holograms and particles.
Saber by Video Copilot - Energy plugin for Adobe After Effects.
FX Console by Video Copilot - Adobe After Effects workflow plugin.
After Effects Templates
Free AE Templates - A website dedicated to free After Effects templates. Unlimited downloads with sign-up.
Motion Stacks Free After Effects Templates - A collection of free After Effects templates perfect for motion design, animation and video production.
Digital Distortion by Rockestock - Free download of 9 free digital distortion, glitch and noise effects.
Videezy Free After Effects Templates - A collection of good free title reveals mixed in with templates that are likely useless.
VashiMorphic40 - Free After Effects template designed to give your films an anamorphic look.
Fake VHS After Effects Template - Includes free 'VCR OSD Mono' font and project file download.
Letterbox Templates
FILM CRUX Letterbox Templates - Free letterbox templates in 1080p, 4K and 8K based off of the aspect ratios of iconic films like The Revenant and The Hateful Eight.
VashiVisuals Extreme Widescreen Templates - 56 free widescreen templates in 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, 6K and UHD.
PremiumBeat's Free Letterbox Templates - 352 Free letterbox templates in 8K, 4K, 1080p, and everything in between.
Light Leaks
13 Free 4K Light Leaks from Rocketsock - Free download with email sign-up.
Free Light Leaks Pack by The CreativeDojo - 15 real 1080p light leaks available for free download with social share.
Unity Lite by Rocketstock - 16 free light leaks and 5 free wedding titles.
Film Grains
Free 35mm Grain by Gorilla Grain - Free 35mm 720p film grain (medium dirty with hair dirt and flicker), and 3 free film burns with email sign-up.
Free 35mm Film Grain by Holy Grain - Free 35mm film grain with dust and scratches.
Austin Newman's Super 8mm Film Grain Overlay - Free 8mm film grain overlay, 1960s Film Leader and a Film Burn Transition.
Free 35mm Film Grain by Vegasaur.com - Free 35mm 720p film grain with social network share.
Sound Effects
FreeSFX - A large variety of free sound effects. Sign up for a free account to download as many free sounds as you want.
Sound FX Center - A decent library of free sound effects. However, the page layouts are not great and you may have to right-click the download button and select "download linked file" on Mac to download the sounds.
99 Sounds - An awesome website full of free, high-quality sound effects libraries available to download and use however you'd like. No account necessary.
Free Braaams by FILM CRUX - 11 free original braaam sound effects, not included in SINGULARITY.
15 Free Ambient Sound Effects by PremiumBeat - 15 free ambient background SFX of different environments.
Austin Newman's Transition Sound Pack - 6 transition sound effects compiled from the public domain.
PremiumBeat's Trailer Construction Kit (Lite) - A free pack of 20 hallmark action trailer sound effects.
Freesound - A great free sound library where all sounds are available for free download under three different licenses.
ZapSplat - A free sound effects library where sounds are available for free download with attribution.
Whoosh by FILM CRUX - 22 free transition sound effects or “whooshes”.
Sci-fi UI by PremiumBeat - 29 free sci-fi UI computer and HUD sound effects.
NoiseForFun.com - A sound effects library where everything is available for free download with attribution (you must place a credit link to NoiseForFun.com).
36 Free Bullet Hit Sound Effects by ActionVFX - 36 free bullet impact sound effects on 3 different surfaces including 10 bullet flyby sounds. All available in .WAV format.
45 Free Explosion Sound Effects by ActionVFX - 45 variations of real explosion sound effects available for free download in .WAV format.
34 Free Water Sound Effects by ActionVFX - 34 real water sound effects available in .WAV format.
Music
NoCopyrightSounds - A record label with tons amazing free songs available for use in any user generated content by independent creators, as long as the artist, track and NCS are credited, and a link back to the original NCS upload is given.
YouTube Audio Library - A huge library of free music you can sort by attribution or non-attribution.
Soundcloud - Search for anything you're looking for like "chill music". Select "Tracks" in the sidebar. Then go down to "Filter Results" on the sidebar and click the little copyright symbol beside "to listen to" to unfold a dropdown menu. Then select "to use commercially". This will now filter your results to show you only songs that are available for free commercial use.
Free Music Archive - A large library of free music hand-picked by established audio curators. It's all available for instant download under a myriad of different licenses. To see what the license is for a song, just click on the song title. The license information will be available in the sidebar on the right side of the page. More information on the different licenses is available on their FAQ page.
digccmixter - A massive music library with almost 4,000 songs available for free commercial use with attribution. They also have songs under attribution non-commercial and paid licenses so make sure to click on a songs title and look at the license info on the right-hand side.
Incompetech - A library of free-to-use music available for instant download as long as the creator, Kevin MacLeod, is credited in the project.
Stock Footage
Pexels - The best free stock footage online, hands down! No attribution required.
Pixabay - An awesome free stock website with tons of free stock footage, as well as photos, vector graphics and more.
Coverr - An outstanding free stock footage site filled with beautiful videos you can use however you'd like.
VEED.io - Stunning free stock footage from VEED.io, an online video editor.
videvo - A large library of free stock footage all under 3 different types of free licenses.
Videezy - A large, free stock footage website with clips available under different free licenses.
3D Models
cgtrader - A 3D model marketplace with a ridiculous amount of free ones.
Turbosquid - A massive site full of 3D models including tons of free ones.
Star Wars Model Pack by Video Copilot - A pack of Star Wars 3D models like Tie Figthers, X-Wings, Light Sabers, and R2 and BB-Units.
Video Copilot's Free Roof Pack - A pack of 3D rooftop elements like rusty pipes, vents and AC Units. Exciting stuff.
VFX Resources
Video Copilot's Particles - 15 720p clips of particle stock footage.
Rocketstock's Action Pack Lite - 25 free action elements for VFX compositing and motion graphics.
Rocketstock's 4K Volumetric Light and Dust Overlays - 15 free volumetric light overlays and 2 free dust overlays.
21 Free 4K Fog Overlays by PremiumBeat - 21 free fog elements captured organically in 4K.
15 Free Blood Mists from ActionVFX - 15 real blood mist elements available in 2K at 60fps.
9 Free Bullet Shells from ActionVFX - 9 real spinning bullet shells captured in-camera in 4 different types for both pistols and assault rifles.
137 Free Bullet Hole Textures from ActionVFX - 137 bullet hole textures created using real guns and real surfaces on 6 different surfaces: asphalt, concrete, drywall, glass, metal and wood.
36 Free Lens Dirt Overlays - 36 real lens dirt overlays available in 2K.
10 Free Dust Waves from ActionVFX - 10 real dust waves available in 2K.
20 Free Spell Hits from ActionVFX - 20 spell hit elements for magic and sci-fi VFX available for free download in either 2K or 4K.
20 Free Smoke Plumes from ActionVFX - 20 real 2K smoke plumes.
Free VFX Elements from VFX Central - Free 2K explosion, ember effects, 1080p firework and electro effect with email sign-up.
15 Free Fractured Glass Textures Vol. 1 from ActionVFX - 15 free real fractured glass textures in 2.5K resolution.
15 Free Burn Mark Textures - 15 real burn mark textured overlays to complement explosion and fire effects.
FootageCrate - A stock footage website from ProductionCrate that has a lot of decent free VFX elements. Sign up for a free account to download up to 5 free clips a day. Half their content is free and half is only available with a paid 'Pro' account.
Blogs
FILM CRUX - We're totally biased.
No Film School - The world's premier film blog... for now.
Artlist Blog - A great blog from Artlist on film and video post-production.
Video Copilot - THE best place to learn VFX.
The Blast - An outstanding blog on filmmaking from Rocketstock.
The Beat - A great blog full of tutorials and filmmaking advice from PremiumBeat.
VashiVisuals - A great blog on filmmaking from professional editor Vashi Nedomansky.
Philip Bloom - Wonderful reviews on film equipment from professional filmmaker Philip Bloom.
Art of VFX - Everything you could ever want to know about VFX, including breakdowns, interviews and more.
On Animation - A great little blog on animation occasionally featuring other film info as well.
BJKProductions - Tons of free resources and tutorials for filmmakers from professional editor and content creator BJK.
Premiere Bro - All the resources and information you need for Premiere Pro because what else would you be using to edit?
Filmmaking Lifestyle - An awesome filmmaking blog focused on helping you set up and grow your own successful video production business.
Amy Clarke Films - This unique and refreshing blog by Amy Clarke focuses on working within the film industry and features practical advice and resources for filmmakers.
YouTube Channels
The Nerdwriter - The best video essays in the business by Evan Puschak. Lots on film, but other interesting topics are covered as well.
Lessons from the Screenplay - Essential for every filmmaker, Michael Tucker analyzes movie scripts to give us refreshing insight into telling better stories.
Every Frame a Painting - Tony Zhou's beautiful video essays will make you fall in love with film all over again, and teach you a few things on the way.
Yellow King Film Boy - A collection of interviews with the world's greatest filmmakers, as well as breakdowns and opinion pieces on film.
Peter McKinnon - A photographer/videographer with some kickass tutorials, reviews and advice.
Austin Newman - Fantastic tutorials, advice and filmmaking resources (including a lot of free ones on this list).
YCImaging - A dope music video director with amazing tutorials and advice on shooting music videos and filmmaking in general.
Max Novak - A music video director with an eye for the wild offering up unique tutorials, and resources for filmmakers.
Daniel Schiffer - A professional filmmaker making outstanding tutorials and product reviews.
Notes on a Scene - This is actually just a playlist from Vanity Fair of the world's greatest filmmakers breaking down scenes from the popular movies and shows they worked on.
FILM CRUX - Beautiful tutorials and video essays designed to help you become a better filmmaker.
Collative Learning - Ridiculously detailed film analysis from the unparalleled Rob Ager.
CineFix - A pop destination known for their lists and comparisons that's a great channel for both movie buffs and filmmakers alike.
wolfcrow - A great YouTube channel filled with amazing video essays and tutorials with a focus on cinematography.
INDEPTH Sound Design - Sound design techniques and philosophies featuring deconstructions from actual films, as well as commentary from the professional sound designers who created them.
Miscellaneous
Shutterstock's Video Editor Toolkit - Over 220 free LUTs, light leaks, transitions, animations and more.
Motion Array Free Downloads - 100s of free downloads including light leaks, transitions, music, After Effects templates, sound effects, Premiere Pro presets and more.
40+ Free 4K Effects Kits by Rampant Design - Free with email sign-up.
Grainzilla Free Downloads - Free 35mm digital film grain, VHS Bad Noise, War Film Look and 4K Letterbox Frames.
Detonate by PremiumBeat - 15 free explosion VFX elements and 25 explosive sound effects.
30 Free Film Burns and Transitions from Spoon Graphics - Free download of 30 colorful transitions, light leaks and film burns.
Leave your favorite free resources down in the comments and if we love them too, we'll add them to the list!
