1 - Start ~4 mins
You already have a montage plan: the story it tells, and which format carries each part. Today you gather the real material that plan needs. If your plan is incomplete, sketch a three-box storyboard now before you collect. If you are sketching a three-box plan now, your gather target today is one image and one audio only, each logged; clips wait until the plan is solid.
You will collect images, audio and clips from free-to-reuse libraries, check each licence as you go, and fill in a source log so every file is named, traced and allowed. Anything you cannot licence gets replaced today, not at the end.
2 - Examine and Discuss ~5 mins
Before you hunt, lock three things in place.
1. Needs checklist. Open your montage plan and write a short list of what you still need (image / audio / clip / other).
2. Allowed libraries only. Use free-to-reuse libraries you already know (for example Pixabay for images and video, Freesound for audio). "Found online" is not a licence.
3. Four source-log fields. Use the source-log sheet (or the same four headings in your notebook). For every file you keep, record:
- File name
- Where it came from (library or site, and creator if shown)
- What the licence allows
- Credit line you will use (or "no credit required")
3 - Hands-on: Gather Your Materials ~20 mins
Collect the material your montage plan needs. Work from your needs list, not from random browsing.
Testing habit today: no file counts until you can point to the licence line and fill all four log fields; if you cannot, replace it now.
- Open your montage plan and rewrite your needs as a short checklist (image / audio / clip / other).
- For each item on the list, search in a free-to-reuse library that fits the media type.
- Before you download, check the licence or attribution note (the short line that says if you must credit the creator). Only keep files you can honestly place in free to reuse with credit, or free to reuse without credit. If you cannot fill the four log fields honestly, do not keep the file; replace it now.
- Save each kept file with a clear name, and add a full source-log line straight away (file name, where it came from, what the licence allows, credit line). Example filled line: File name: crowd_cheer_01.mp3; Where it came from: Freesound, creator RiverLoop; What the licence allows: free to reuse with credit; Credit line: crowd cheer by RiverLoop via Freesound.
- Tick the checklist item only when both the file and the log line exist. Must-haves first: if time is low, lock image + audio with full log lines before any nice-to-have.
Minimum by the end of this stretch: one image and one audio, each with a full log line; circle every other gap. Stretch if you finish: one clip or other planned file logged too. Save the files and the log the class way as you go.
4 - Your Turn: Log, Gap-check, Replace ~5 mins
Lock the permissions now so build day is not blocked.
- One gap only? Fix that file first. Full polish of every nice-to-have can wait.
- Gap-check your plan. Compare your needs checklist with what you actually have. Circle every gap still open.
- Replace what you cannot licence. Work only the circled gaps. Anything still missing a clear licence, or anything you grabbed from a place that is not free to reuse, gets deleted and replaced now with an allowed alternative. Do not leave "I'll fix the credit later".
- Complete the source log for kept files. Every kept file has all four fields filled. If a creator name is missing on the page, note exactly what the page does show so you can still credit honestly. You do not need to re-log files that already have a full honest line.
- Before you finish, check: a folder (or class save) with the files your plan needs for today, plus a source log with one honest line per file, and no unlicensed leftovers.
Save the updated log and materials the class way before you leave.
5 - Make Sense ~3 mins
Pull the class together on three points.
Licensing is a gate, not a decoration. If you cannot say what a licence allows, you do not have permission yet. Replacing a file today is cheaper than rebuilding a montage later.
The source log is part of the work. Naming the file, where it came from, what the licence allows, and the credit line is how you show you had permission to use other people's work when you present and caption the montage.
Your plan drove the hunt. Material you collected without a job in the story is noise. Keep what the plan needs; park or delete the rest.
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