This page contains information about different editing tools and where (if applicable) they may be found on campus. If you have questions about using any of the tools presented on this page, please feel free to contact Adam Dinnes.
Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
If you are interested in creating a multimedia project involving audio and video, there are a couple sites you may want to visit beforehand. Each of the sites below has information on how to set-up, shoot and compose your photos, video, and audio.
This is a list of applications for editing audio and websites for finding or creating audio (organized A-Z). Getting a good recording can be helped by removing as much extraneous sound as possible. The vocal booth located in the Library provides a soundproof location to record. You can also make a better recording by using a better quality microphone. The Library has a couple that you may check out and use in the Library. IT Support (Mayer Hall) has other equipment such as audio recorders that you may check out.
What: Adobe Audition CC is a professional level audio editing tool.
Where: Library - Public Computers, Innovation Space, Learning Studio. Lower Level Macs; Smith Art Lab
What: Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor and is compatible on Mac, Windows, and Linux. It is a full-featured audio editor that allows you to record, mix, edit and create any project you need or desire to.
Where: Library - Innovation Space, Learning Studio.
What: GarageBand is Apple's audio editor. It is a part of the iLife suite of applications including iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie. It is a Mac only program. It works similarly to Audacity for recording, editing, and mixing. One difference from Audacity is that GarageBand has a library of sounds and "jingles" that you can include in your projects. It integrates with iTunes, and iPhoto to pull in music and images into your project. Where: Library - Innovation Space, Learning Studio. Lower Level Macs; Smith Art Lab
What: Soundation hosts an online audio editor, similar to GarageBand. The editor allows you to save projects and has loops/clips to add in to your projects. You can also record audio from though your computer. When you care finished, you may export your projects as WAV files. All of this function is free, but you may pay for premium sound clips if you desire.
The saying is that, "a picture is worth a thousand words." The right image can bring illumination to the point you are trying to make, or it can be a distraction. Which it is, depends on how you choose to use the image. Below is a brief description of different file types, and then a couple lists of applications you can use to create, edit, or capture images.
What: Photoshop CC is Adobe's tool for editing and manipulating raster images.
Where: Innovation Space, Learning Studio, all public computers in the Library; Smith Art Lab
What: GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free, open-source, cross-platform raster image editor.
What: Illustrator is Adobe's vector image editing program. This software is available in the Innovation Space, the Learning Studio, and on all the public computers in the Library.
Where: Innovation Space, Learning Studio, all public computers in the Library; Smith Art Lab
What: From the website, "Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X."
Screen capture or 'screencasting' tools allow a person to either capture images or video of whatever is on the device screen. Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android have built-in tools for capturing images of the screen. The tools below allow you to capture images and in most cases annotate or draw and write on the image.
What: Grab is a screen capture app built into Mac OS.
Where: Innovation Space, Learning Studio, all public computers in the Library; Smith Art Computer Lab
What: Greenshot is a free screen capture tool built for Windows. The software offers plugins to popular software such as Microsoft Word. Once an image is captured it is possible to edit and annotate the image.
What: Jing is free cross-platform screen capture tool that can capture images and video. Once an image ins captured the image may be edited or annotated. Videos are saved in an SWF file format* which may be difficult to work with.
What: Quicktime is a Mac only application*. The app allows both screenshots and desktop video recording.
*The Windows version is limited and no longer supported by Apple.
Where: Innovation Space, Learning Studio, all public Mac computers in the Library; Smith Art Computer Lab
What: The Snipping Tool is a screen capture tool built into Windows. The tool lets you define the capture area and then, once the image has been captured, edit and annotate it. The default save as file type is PNG.
Where: any Windows computer.
What: Screencast-o-matic is a web and desktop screen recording tool. You can record your desktop right from the web or you can download an application to do so. The free version allows:
This app has a paid Pro version (currently $18/yr.) which removes the watermark and provides additional features.
Below is a list of applications that my be used to edit or create video. The tool lists below are grouped into two sections: Editing Tools and Screen Capture tools. Editing tools allow you to compose a video combining any number of video tracks, audio tracks, and images with titles, transitions and effects to produce a finished video. Screen capture tools allow you to record what you see or a task you are completing from your computer. Some capture tools allow you to edit the resulting footage.
What: This is a professional level video editing tool available for both Macs and PCs.
Where: Library - Innovation Space, Learning Studio, public computers; Smith Art Computer Lab
What: This is a professional level video editing tool available only for Mac OS.
Where: Library - Innovation Space and Learning Studio, Smith Art Computer Lab
What: Hitfilm Express is a free video editor available for both Mac OS and Windows. It offers a similar palette of tools to Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro, but is fairly intuitive and approachable.
What: iMovie is another video editor for Mac OS. It is a part of the iLife suite, which includes GarageBand, iPhoto, and iTunes.
Where: Library - Innovation Space, Learning Studio, public computers; Smith Art Computer Lab
What: Renderforest is an online video and animation maker. The user experience is intuitive. The tool offers a number of templates to easily create a project.
*** Beloit College students may use this tool with a 50% discount. To receive a discount, email to the Renderforest support team at support [at] renderforest [dot] com, fill the subject line with "Beloit College Discount," and then share in the body which product you desire a discount for (the specific type of single export, or subscription plan). After submitting your request the support team will issue a coupon.
What: WeVideo is is an online video editing tool. It offers a fairly intuitive, yet powerful user interface. WeVideo features some built-in templates and assets similar to iMovie. It seems to function best in the Firefox web browser. Videos exported from free accounts are limited to standard definition (480p) and are watermarked with the WeVideo logo.
What: YouTube offers a free video editor that you may use with videos you have uploaded, or creative commons (CC) licensed videos. In order to use the editor you must have a YouTube account.
To get to to the editor:
The editor also gives you access to CC licensed audio that you can add to your creation and supports transitions and text in your videos.
There are many web tools available on the web that allow you to think about writing, composition, and storytelling in new, different ways. Examples include Pixton, Prezi, or TimelineJS.
Things to consider when using a web tool:
Below is a list of tools that you may want to check out.
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Internet1.jpg
