Stock footage — licensed direct from the filmmaker

License cinematic stock footage.
Skip the marketplace.

54,000+ cinematic 4K clips — oceans, mountains, cities, deserts and wildlife. Pay once, download the master, keep the rights.

Aerial Ocean Mountains City Desert Wildlife
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Start where the light is good

Aerials, beaches, wildlife, roads, people, underwater, food, family, cars, traffic, and more, tagged by what each clip actually shows.

The world of the footage

Every clip has a place it's from

Every place in the library with its own page: Baja California Sur end to end, plus the California coast, Colorado, and more.

Filming-location guides

Know the coast before you license it

Place-by-place guides to where the library was shot: what was filmed, how it looks, and where to find it. See all guides.

Coral reef and fish in turquoise water at Cabo Pulmo

Cabo Pulmo

The reef that came back: park history with sources, month-by-month water conditions, and 2,248 licensed clips.

 Snorkelers in clear water at Palmilla Beach

Los Cabos beaches

The two-sea coast: which beaches actually swim, the Blue Flag list, whale-season dates, and 23,312 licensed clips.

 Humpback whale at the surface off Buzzards Beach

The East Cape

Baja's last empty coast: 100 km of dirt road, drone humpback sessions, and the change arriving at Costa Palmas.

 Paddleboarders on golden water at sunset near El Sargento, La Paz

La Paz and La Ventana

The world's aquarium: the whale shark refuge, Balandra, Espíritu Santo, and the wind coast at La Ventana.

 Aerial view of Loreto's coast with islands and mountains

Loreto

Where the Californias began: the 1697 mission, the five-island marine park, and blue whales every winter.

 Aerial view of the La Bocana estuary meeting the Pacific

La Bocana

Baja's lobster coast: the 1944 cooperative, the first MSC-certified artisanal fishery, and an empty Pacific shore.

 White sand dunes meeting turquoise water at Guerrero Negro

Guerrero Negro

Salt and gray whales: the world's largest solar salt works beside the Ojo de Liebre whale sanctuary.
Curated Collections

Browse by Collection (…)

Location and subject sets built for fast research: Baja, Colorado, underwater wildlife, beaches, resorts, towns, roads, people, and pets.

About the Filmmaker

Phil Maher

Phil Maher is an independent filmmaker and photographer with a 54,000+ clip stock library: Baja coastlines, Colorado mountains, underwater wildlife, resorts, town life, roads, families, and everyday scenes.

footage.cool keeps the deal direct. No marketplace fees, no broker margin, no subscription, no credit packs. Pay once, download the master, and keep the rights your license grants.

"I shoot places and moments most people never get to see. I'd rather hand that footage straight to filmmakers, journalists, and creators than route it through a marketplace."
Browse the Catalog More About Phil How Licensing Works
Direct Licensing

Four Steps. No Middleman.

Pricing is transparent and the workflow is short. Most projects pick the standard royalty-free license; broadcast and theatrical pick extended.

Find a Clip

Search the catalog by location, subject, or keyword. Preview every clip right in the browser before you commit.

Pick a License

Royalty-free standard ($79) for most projects, extended ($199) for broadcast and theatrical. Exclusive buyouts available on request.

Pay with Stripe

Secure card checkout. License PDF is generated and emailed to you the moment payment confirms.

Instant Download

Download the master 4K MP4 immediately. The re-download link stays valid for 24 hours and can be re-issued on request.

Need a bulk discount, an exclusive buyout, or a custom shoot? Email Phil directly and he'll sort out the pricing.

Email Phil

Drone & Aerial Footage from Baja and Colorado

Phil's drone work spans the coastlines of Baja California Sur (Cabo Pulmo, East Cape, Los Cabos) and the peaks of the Colorado Rockies. 4K aerials for travel docs, resort marketing, and nature films, all licensable direct.

Marine & Underwater Wildlife from the Sea of Cortez

The coral reefs and schooling fish of Cabo Pulmo, aerial whales off the Baja coast, and the birds and mangroves of the Estero de La Bocana. Hundreds of marine and coastal wildlife clips shot across Baja California Sur, color-graded and licensable direct for nature docs, science media, and travel films.

Direct Licensing, No Marketplace Fees

Every clip on footage.cool is licensed direct from the filmmaker, not through a marketplace. That keeps prices competitive, the chain-of-title clean, and the workflow short. Payment via Stripe, instant master delivery, license PDF emailed automatically.

Questions

Licensing FAQ

Licensing, pricing, files, and the library, grouped so you can jump straight to what you need.

Licensing & rights

Are the clips royalty-free?
Yes. The standard license is royalty-free, worldwide, and perpetual, and it covers both commercial and editorial use. You pay once and keep using the clip, with no renewals, expiry, or per-view fees. The one limit is scale: the standard license covers distribution up to one million views or copies, and the extended license removes that cap.
What's the difference between the standard and extended license?
Standard, which is $79 on most clips, covers all-media use worldwide and in perpetuity, up to one million views or distributed copies. Extended, at $199, adds the broadcast and large-audience cases: unlimited distribution, broadcast TV, theatrical features, and streaming originals. Pick extended if the project airs on TV, screens in cinemas, or will reach a wide audience; for web, social, and corporate work, standard is usually plenty.
Where and how can I use a licensed clip?
Anywhere your project runs: YouTube and social, documentaries, ads and brand campaigns, client and corporate videos, films, and editorial pieces, commercial or editorial. You can cut, recolor, retime, and mix the clips with your own footage. What you can't do is resell or redistribute a clip on its own, or make it available for others to license as stock.
Do I need a model or property release?
Most of the library is aerial, landscape, and marine footage with no identifiable people, so releases usually don't come up. When a person or private property is recognizable and you're using the clip commercially, securing any model or property release is your responsibility. As shot, the footage is cleared for editorial use. If a specific clip raises a question, email Phil before you license it.
Who owns the footage, and is it cleared?
Phil Maher shoots every clip himself and holds 100% of the copyright, so the chain-of-title traces back to one person and stays clean. Footage is licensed direct from him and never resold through a marketplace, which means no tangled rights and no third-party claims to chase down later. Your license PDF records the clip, the license type, and the date, so you have proof on file.

Pricing & payment

How much does a clip cost?
Most clips are $79 for a royalty-free standard license and $199 for an extended broadcast license. A small set of hero shots, like the drone-over-whales and rare wildlife clips, are priced as premium at $149 standard and $399 extended. Every clip shows its own price before you buy, and exclusive buyouts are quoted per project. There's no subscription and no credit pack to spend down.
What payment methods do you accept, and is checkout secure?
Checkout runs on Stripe and takes all major credit and debit cards. Stripe processes the card directly, so the numbers never touch our servers, and the payment page is encrypted. The moment the charge clears, your download link and license PDF are ready. No account to create, and nothing kept on our side beyond the receipt.
Do you offer refunds?
Each clip is delivered instantly as a digital file, so once you've downloaded the master a sale is final. If you bought the wrong clip, were charged twice, or hit a technical problem with the file, email Phil and he'll make it right, whether that's a fix, a swap, or a refund. The watermarked preview lets you check the full shot before you pay.

Files, formats & delivery

How does licensing a clip work?
Four steps, and no account needed. Find a clip and preview it in your browser, choose the license that fits the project, pay with Stripe, and download the 4K master right away. Your license PDF is generated and emailed the second payment confirms, so the paperwork is done before you're back in your edit.
What format and resolution do I get?
You get the clip as an up-to-4K UHD master, encoded as an H.264 MP4 and delivered straight after checkout. Most clips are 4K UHD (3840 x 2160), and each clip page lists its exact resolution and duration. The preview on the site is a watermarked, low-resolution version; your licensed download is the clean master, with no watermark.
How do I download my clip, and what if the link expires?
The moment payment confirms, the master is ready to download and a link goes to your email alongside the license PDF. That link stays live for 24 hours, which covers most downloads with room to spare. If it expires, or a download drops partway, email Phil with your receipt and he'll re-issue it. Once you have the master, save a copy somewhere safe.
Is the final file watermarked?
No. The only watermarked version is the low-resolution preview on the site, which is there so you can judge the shot before buying. What you download after checkout is the clean 4K master, with no watermark, logo, or burn-in of any kind.
Can I get a different frame rate, format, or a log or project file?
Standard delivery is an H.264 MP4 at the clip's native frame rate, up to 4K. If your pipeline needs something else, like a higher-bitrate codec, a particular frame rate, or a flat log or project file to grade yourself, email Phil with the clip and he'll tell you what the original can give you. Project raw files come with exclusive buyouts.

The library, custom work & support

Where was the footage shot, and what's in the library?
The library holds 54,000+ 4K clips from Baja California Sur, Colorado, California, Mexico, and the wider modern Stockfilm collection. You'll find aerials, beaches, underwater wildlife, resorts, roads, towns, family scenes, cars, traffic, pets, food, and everyday life. Browse by category, location, collection, or search.
How often do you add new footage?
The library grows in batches as shoots are edited, tagged, color-corrected, and brought over from the modern Stockfilm collection. The current catalog is 54,000+ clips, with the largest modern batches from 2019 through 2023. Sort by Newest on the browse page to see the latest additions.
Can I get a bulk discount, exclusive buyout, or custom shoot?
Yes to all three. Email licensing@footage.cool and Phil will quote volume pricing for a set of clips, an exclusive buyout that pulls a clip off the market for you, or a custom shoot in Baja, Colorado, or wherever the project needs to go. You're dealing with the filmmaker directly, so the terms fit what the job actually calls for.

Pick a Clip.
License It Now.

54,000+ clips. Instant 4K download. Royalty-free, worldwide. No subscription.

Browse the Catalog Browse by Collection

Royalty-free · Instant 4K download · Commercial & editorial · Worldwide rights