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Video producers and designers often find that the software tools they need for their work are expensive. If you are just starting out and you are keen to save money (who isn't?) then you need to investigate some of the free or low budget software that is available for download on the web.
You would assume that much of it wouldn't be worth your hard drive space, but surprisingly there's some great free software (for both Mac and PC) that you don't have to spend a penny acquiring. The following list will help you save some serious money.
Gimp
It's hard to move away from Photoshop but there is a free alternative to this great graphics package for those on a budget. GIMP, which can be downloaded for free at Gimp.org, is a very powerful image editor with channels, levels and masking tools. The program comes with a basic set of graphic tools, but you will find hundreds of plug-ins for the program. It's not as good as Photoshop but well worth it for those on a budget.
Pixia
It's similar to GIMP and offers mask and layer editing for images. But it seems a little more complicated to use. Both programs have their own benefits. You can download Pixia for free here, but watch out for people selling this software -- it's supposed to be free.
Inkscape
This is a vector graphic drawing tool suitable for a wide range of vector applications. In particular, it is widely used for creating images such as a logo, icons, flags, maps, diagrams, etc. This is a nice starter graphics program, before buying Illustrator. Download it here at Inkscape.org.
We feel that these 3 programs are the best freeware replacements for Photoshop and Illustrator. But they will never beat the capabilities of those 2 programs.
Blender
Blender is an open source 3D modeling, rendering and animation program. It has a steep learning curve but it's very well made and can do almost any 3D work, from buildings to small objects. This is a really great value program -- download it from Blender3D.com.
Sketchup
Developed for the conceptual stages of design, SketchUp is powerful, yet easy-to-learn 3D software that's more focused on 3D scenes and landscapes. The basic version comes free from Google at Sketchup.com.
Jahshaka
Jahshaka offers real-time video editing and allows the user to add effects to video too. Download it for free from Jahshaka.org.
NVU
NVU (pronounced N-View) is a web design program using a WYSIWYG editor which will help you create your first web sites. It has a great interface and can be easy to use. It isn't the best at controlling databases but it can work with PHP. Download this free web design program at NVU.com.
Composer
Mozilla's Composer comes together in a free package called SeaMonkey. Composer allows you to edit your own web pages again in this WYSIWYG editor. It does not allow form management but offers many other features (such as source editing). It's definitely worth a look, and can be downloaded here.
Audacity
There are many times when a producer or designer will need to record and edit audio. Audacity is a great free program for recording, editing, and saving audio in multiple formats. It can be used on both MAC and PC and the download can be had here, or as we found the download isn't always working you can get the files from Sourceforge.net.
For more free graphics programs you can search for what you need at Download.com or Versiontracker.com (some of which require small payments for their use).
There are other options for finding free software for new start-ups. The major software companies are all offering (save enabled) 30 day trial versions of their software to download and use for free (most have no obligations but do read the small print).
So our final recommendation would be to go to Adobe.com for a free trial of their products, which now also include all the Macromedia range (from Flash to Freehand). At least you can start work for free with all the above options.
Sourced from the design blog http://paperclipping.blogspot.com (under permission).
