The Public Domain Project is truly an amazing idea. Launched by Pond5, a marketplace for royalty-free materials, it offers exactly that: free media that can be used in creative works. So if you need, say, a 1941 photo of Georgia sharecroppers, you can find it. You can also find photos like one of President Obama meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron’s cat, Larry. And another of an astronaut shaving in space.
We got this image for free from the Public Domain Project!
Yes, the subjects of these materials are wide-ranging. In fact, editors, artists, designers, etc. have access to some 80,000 photo images, audio recordings, video clips and 3D models here. According to this article, Pond5 surpasses other sources for free media, such as Shutterstock or the National Archives, simply by offering so much more. It’s also better organized as well as the only place where you can find about 5,000 historic film clips in a digitized form.
Watch this clip, from 1901 New York City, on your 21st century laptop computer and take a moment to reflect. It really is a surreal experience.
That’s not to say everything’s free on the Public Domain Project. According to a sliding scale on the left side of the screen, prices can range from $0 to $500 for materials. A quick search for free media turns up plenty in each category, though (with the exception of the After Effects Templates, which start at low, low prices under $10).
While the project is incredibly vast, there are some odd gaps in the materials available. F’A search for Civil Rights Movement images turned up a few drawings of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and several modern photos from other protests, but no historical images from America’s Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Another test search—this time for celebrities—uncovered several images of modern singing sensations Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, but it revealed zero photos of John Lennon and his incredibly successful band (yes, you know them—The Beatles!).
It might be helpful if materials were dated where they first appear after a search. That way, users wouldn’t need to open each image individually and scroll down to a description to discover that information.
It’s also a little strange how some searches turn up unrelated materials. A search for child labor resulted in images of child labor, children creating art, suffragettes on Labor Day, and a nude pregnant woman (OK, she’ll eventually go into labor, but still).
So there’s room for improvement, but the Public Domain Project launched only last week. It’s already worth using and hey, for the most part, it’s free!