The Essentials for Multimedia Development - Software

It is very important to have capable software when developing multimedia applications.

When developing, whether it be an application, website or CD ROM, it is very rare to be able to do so with only 1 program. It is most common to have several different types of application to produce all the different types of media.

For an example you may use Photoshop for images, and Premiere to edit videos.

Typically you would need at least 3 programs depending on your end product. Lets say for a moment that you are designing a CD ROM application. In this application you are showing information about your local town, but you want to show as many aspects to your town as possible. This will firstly require text. This can be typed in a word processor prior to entering in the final product. So that as you edit the application your text is backed up separately. Then to add images of the area, you would use image editing software like Photoshop, GIMP or Corel Photopaint to adjust colours or whatever other editions you would like to make. If you wanted to add video, lets say of local events, then you would use Adobe Premiere or Final Cut. If you wanted to add sound and wish to edit that in some way then there are programs like Adobe Soundbooth and Logik for that. Most importantly you need a program to create the application with, Adobe Flash is one of the best options for this. Finally you need software to burn the application onto the CD such as Roxio or Nero.

So already you have a whole list of software you may need to create a CD ROM application.

Application Creation - Flash
Image Editing - GIMP
Video Editing - Premiere
Audio Editing - Soundbooth
Word Processing - Open Office
CD Burning - Roxio

It is important to think about this before you begin creating an application, so you do not hit a wall and have to buy software in mid production. It is also a budget issue if you have to buy software you didn't originally budget for.

This is why it's helpful to use free software where possible, such as GIMP and Open Office.They are powerful programs that are completely free, and may be better for your purpose than high priced alternatives.