Your class ought to be in pictures (Part 3 of 3)
When looking at professional level software there are many things to be considered because the investment is large. First I would not suggest professional level software for elementary students; the free software mentioned in part 1 is more on there level and should be ample to meet any of their needs. When working with professional level software there is a rather steep learning curve that will require some training even to do a basic editing project. That is the downside; the upside is that when you jump into this level of software there are no boundaries to what you or your students can create. They can produce everything from a basic video to Matrix like special effects. The only limit is time and imagination. I will discuss three programs that I think are worthy of and budding professional. Yes there are many capable options out there; I spent a day in Las Vegas this spring looking at hundreds of very powerful and very capable products at the NAB show (National Association of Broadcasters). But in my opinion these are the only three that I would recommend and I will explain why as I discuss each.
First and my favorite because of price and capability is Vegas 6 from Sony Media Software. Could you guess that that was coming from the previous post? Vegas is a very capable and powerful editor. It has a very effective visual format that is easy to use and follow. I can often do things in one quick step that take two or three steps in other programs. When it comes to audio editing most other applications are not that capable so professionals turn to specific audio software, but in Vegas there is no need. Vegas has the best and easiest to use audio capabilities of any video software available. Yes that even includes software that is priced thousands more. For a reasonably priced software package that will do almost anything you need, Vegas is a great choice.
The next option is with a program that is very established in the movie and television industry. Avid Xpress Pro is a great solution. Avid is the industry standard with there many lines of products, and they have products that span the full range on the price scale, from Avid Free mentioned in part 1 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. They have obtained this market dominance by doing what they do very well. They create very powerful and amazing software and hardware that makes magic happen on the screen. The biggest advantage to using avid is that if you have students that have potential to move into the Movie or TV industry they will be learning and perfecting there skills they can use to get a job. Special effects are no problem, and editing workflow is very smooth. If you started using Avid Free, and are ready to step up to a professional product this in the natural program.
My third option is Adobe Premiere Pro 2. Adobe is a great program but its real strength is when it is paired with it’s many other studio partners. It integrates seamlessly with Photo Shop, After Effects, Audition, and even Acrobat. When paired together you have a program that can do anything, and you have many stand alone products that are very useful for much more than editing. One really cool feature is that you can export movies including the timeline to a .PDF file. This can then be saved to a disk or emailed. As a teacher you can open the file and view it. You can pause at any point and add comments or suggestions to a student project and the student can import you comments directly to the timeline. I personally am considering making the switch to Premiere but am waiting to see what Vegas 7 has to offer when it is released later this year.
As you start to shop around you will quickly find that these professional solutions are not cheap they range from $500 to well over $1000 just for the editing application. The Premiere bundle mentioned is $1699. You can save significantly by purchasing your software at an education reseller, that can offer educational discounts. My favorite is
Academic Superstore. I have also included links to some other options. One example is the Adobe Premiere bundle mentioned before that retails for $1699, at Academic Superstore for $589. There are other academic resellers that I have used and have been very happy with there service. I have included links to those sites below.
First and my favorite because of price and capability is Vegas 6 from Sony Media Software. Could you guess that that was coming from the previous post? Vegas is a very capable and powerful editor. It has a very effective visual format that is easy to use and follow. I can often do things in one quick step that take two or three steps in other programs. When it comes to audio editing most other applications are not that capable so professionals turn to specific audio software, but in Vegas there is no need. Vegas has the best and easiest to use audio capabilities of any video software available. Yes that even includes software that is priced thousands more. For a reasonably priced software package that will do almost anything you need, Vegas is a great choice.
The next option is with a program that is very established in the movie and television industry. Avid Xpress Pro is a great solution. Avid is the industry standard with there many lines of products, and they have products that span the full range on the price scale, from Avid Free mentioned in part 1 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. They have obtained this market dominance by doing what they do very well. They create very powerful and amazing software and hardware that makes magic happen on the screen. The biggest advantage to using avid is that if you have students that have potential to move into the Movie or TV industry they will be learning and perfecting there skills they can use to get a job. Special effects are no problem, and editing workflow is very smooth. If you started using Avid Free, and are ready to step up to a professional product this in the natural program.
My third option is Adobe Premiere Pro 2. Adobe is a great program but its real strength is when it is paired with it’s many other studio partners. It integrates seamlessly with Photo Shop, After Effects, Audition, and even Acrobat. When paired together you have a program that can do anything, and you have many stand alone products that are very useful for much more than editing. One really cool feature is that you can export movies including the timeline to a .PDF file. This can then be saved to a disk or emailed. As a teacher you can open the file and view it. You can pause at any point and add comments or suggestions to a student project and the student can import you comments directly to the timeline. I personally am considering making the switch to Premiere but am waiting to see what Vegas 7 has to offer when it is released later this year.
As you start to shop around you will quickly find that these professional solutions are not cheap they range from $500 to well over $1000 just for the editing application. The Premiere bundle mentioned is $1699. You can save significantly by purchasing your software at an education reseller, that can offer educational discounts. My favorite is
Academic Superstore. I have also included links to some other options. One example is the Adobe Premiere bundle mentioned before that retails for $1699, at Academic Superstore for $589. There are other academic resellers that I have used and have been very happy with there service. I have included links to those sites below.
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