Resources

The links below include links to software, hardware, and technical resources relevant to creating audiovisual composition. There is no correct set of tools for working with sound and light and you will eventually develop a workflow that makes sense to you, but these links are here to get you started and perhaps push you to try a few techniques that are outside of your comfort zone. If there are links that you feel should be added to any of these lists, send them my way–peterb@viriginia.edu–and I’ll add them.

Video Editing

Lightworks (free and paid versions, MAC/WIN)
Adobe Creative Suite (powerful, cross platform, expensive but available on digital media lab computers)
Final Cut X (MAC only, not free)

Animation Tools

istopmotion | full featured stop motion software, $49 (5-day trial)
DraganFrame | Professional Stop motion software

After Effects | Full-featured animation program by Adobe (not free, available in the lab)
Blender | Free, cross platform animation / 3D software

Audio Tools

Audacity | Free, cross platform, more of an audio file editor, no video support
Reaper | Cheap, cross platform, full featured DAW, decent video support
Ardour | Free (open source), full featured DAW, decent video support
Logic | Apple’s DAW, decent video support
Audition | Great, if you like the Adobe workflow, good video support
ProTools | The industry standard for many years, decent video support
Ableton Live | The new industry standard, gasp!, decent video support (integration with Jitter)

Live Audiovisual Tools

VDMX
Resolume
Jitter | part of Max/MSP dedicated to video and graphics processing, a learning curve but great animation tools

Generative Audiovisual Tools

Processing | a language optimized for coding/processing pixels (great for interactive and algorithmic work)
Jitter | part of Max/MSP dedicated to video and graphics processing, a learning curve but great animation tools
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