Media Gatherers

I’m not ashamed to admit that i’m a bit of a ‘tech’ geek, I find myself always trying to stay on the ball with technological advancements with both equipment and software.

After deciding that my future was to be in Multimedia, I began what has become a constant reviewing of the editing software programs on the market.

There never will be a perfect piece of software for your editing needs, from subjective interface nuances right through to your chosen computer, every multimedia producer’s choice of software will differ.

Hopefully this post will help you glean some information about the importance of testing, reviewing, practising and ultimately using the software package that most suits your workflow, production values and style.

Before you go hunting and trialing software you may find it will be easier to classify yourself into one of the following ‘edit’ types:

1. I can forgo intricate adjustments, I don’t use video – speed is my priority.
2. I have a little more time on my productions, I will mostly use a combination of audio, photography and video.
3. My multimedia pieces are more ‘long term’, I will use all media types, I want as much control as possible during my edit.

If you find yourself in category 1. – SoundSlides will most likely be your editor of choice, it’s simple interface coupled with the ability to combine imagery and a single audio track make this the software to use when speed is paramount.
SoundSlides allows you to grab a folder of images and lay them down alongside a single sound file, this single track approach is quick and easy however for audio of any note, separate audio editing ability such as Audacity will be vital – allowing you to tweak your audio captures and save into a single continuous sound file.

This single track/single folder approach has some negative points – you are required to know the exact order of your images appearing in the timeline and of course have your audio edit complete before accessing them in Soundslides, don’t be put off by this – if speed is your priority and you do not require the use of video there is no better or cheaper option than a SoundSlides / Audacity combination.

If you add the requirement of video into your multimedia mix the software options open up and along with it the ability to make extra adjustments to your final piece.
This ‘middle’ bracket of category 2. is a fine mixture of speed, editing abilities and learning curve required to master the software, the following applications fall into this category:

• Pro Show Gold by Photodex is a commercial application that his highly regarded for multimedia productions. Like most software in this category Pro Show Gold is only available for Windows users.
• Windows Movie Maker – free with Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, the downside of this software is it’s requirement of the proprietary .wmv codec.
• iMovie – Apple’s free movie editing application is bundled with OSX, a great piece of software with more features than the Microsoft equivalent.

All of the above applications offer pretty much all you would need for creating stunning multimedia productions – you can edit video, audio and images. You can use basic (and cheesy) transitions and various title effects can be achieved for introductions, credits etc…

Pro Show Gold is a serious contender over it’s free competitors, if you are a Windows user there is no question that Pro Show Gold is a better option than Movie Maker, eve if you have to pay for it.

It’s safe to say that most multimedia producers can quite happily sit in this category, but there is more out there – even more control, but at what expense?

There is what I consider a two tier approach to category 3. users – the software options below offer two versions of their software, each piece squarely aimed respectively at ‘home’ and ‘pro’ users.

With better software comes increased options, increased production and sadly, increased cost. Below I have listed the final application choices:

Pro Features, minimal cost (approximately £100):

• Adobe Premiere Elements a commercial application that is pretty much at the top of it’s game, sadly it seems Mac users have been abandoned and is only available for Windows users.
• Pinnacle Studio by AVID – considered the finest video software company, AVID bring their features to the ‘home’ user in the form of Pinnacle. Sadly only available for Windows users.
• Final Cut Express – this dedicated Mac user software is the Apple owners best option – it brings pro features like it’s Windows counterparts (above) at a similar price point.

All of the above applications offer everything a multimedia producer would ever need at a realistic price point, if your a Mac user you don’t have much choice with just Final Cut Express, but as a user and lover of this software myself – I can say you won’t be disappointed.
Windows users more choice (as usual!) so definitely try before you buy, from a personal stand point and having used AVID Pro in the past, I would most likely go the Pinnacle route.

This brings me onto the ‘big boys’ – the more expensive siblings of the above software. All of the below are used by the world’s biggest production companies from TV studios to Hollywood blockbusters, if you want the best and money is no question, here are your choices:

Pro features, maximum cost (approximately £800):

• AVID Media Composer – available for both Mac and PC.
• Adobe Premier – available for both Mac and PC.
• Final Cut Studio – available for Mac only.

There’s not much to be said about the top end editing software, even if you can afford to buy any of the above software most multimedia producers will simply not require the extra features that you pay for over their cheaper counterparts.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, your software choices come down to your needs and your budget – you can produce jaw dropping multimedia pieces from free software – ultimately it’s not what software you use, it’s the stories, the content and the quality of your work that will speak volumes – your software choice is just a tool.

Tell us about your editing software choice and why you use it in the comments below.