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When I was in college I spent three semesters in the Media Studio program. In my last semester we were transitioning to digital video, but before that, and what I always think of when I think of Media Studio, was multi-image productions. Sort of a fancy slide show. You had a bank of up to 9 slide projectors and used a computer to synchronize a soundtrack with the slides, and had a variety of transitions between slides. I understand that the program originally focused on creating slides to go along with a formal scientific or business presentation, but by the time I got there it was more like making short films.
Working with still images like that forces you to pay attention to composition in a way that film can let you slide around. In a lot of ways it makes for a very powerful medium.
Anyway, I've had the hankering to do some more multi-image work and was trying to think of a good software package for it. Flash seems like a pretty good match, but I don't know much about the various packages (Studio? Director?). Can anyone make any recommendations?
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This recent desire to get back into it has come from the music I've been listening to lately. I find that a lot of music conjures up certain images in my mind, and I've been wanting to do something more concrete with it.
Of course, the problem is that the music is copyrighted, and I'm sure the licenses are expensive. When I was in school it was covered under fair use (at least, the school's attorney said it was), but I'm pretty sure it's not OK these days. Ah well.
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My dad does a lot of 3-D work, and was raving about Flash. He has more expensive programs too, but apparently he doesn't give Powerpoint presentations anymore but does them all via Flash. I was suprised because I'd barely heard of it, but he is generall on the up and coming edge of things in that sort of arena.
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First Issue: Flash is going to be your best bet. If you've ever worked with a Non-Linear editor (i.e. Avid, Final Cut, Premiere etc.) Flash will come fairly quickly to you, and it is probably the most widely used format.
Second Issue: About the music. The general rule is this: if you don't make money, they don't want money. If a production is "Not-for-profit" most of the time you won't need a copyright release. Plus, it gets really messy if you start asking for permission on all your productions.
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Interesting. My understanding from school was that we were OK because of the educational environment. I had done some research a few weeks ago and to the letter of the law, you have to get permission no matter what, even if you will be making no money and showing it to no one (not even in private). This was one of the major reasons I haven't really looked into trying to convert the video tape I have of my stuff into a format I could put on my website.
Thanks for the info scottneb. I did use Final Cut Pro for digital video in my last semester of Media Studio, and I liked it quite a bit. Enough that I'd think about going back to video except for three things: stills are easier to compose, I don't have a Mac, and I don't have a video camera.
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If we went by the letter of the laws. You wouldn't be able to buy blank Video Cassettes, Audio Cassettes, CD-R's, or MiniDiscs without a consent to not record copyrighted material. But that's just stupid. The laws are there to make it so they can sue you for using there stuff without paying them. Regardless of when and where you use it. The FCC and Copyright offices are Nazi's when it comes to Intelectual Property.
I work in a professional office and all we do is give the record companies a heads-up.
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If its for personal use only, you don't have to give them a heads-up. That's why they make the music.
EDIT: Rereading your post, I think it would be pertinent to give them a ring if you're using it on a website. That way you cover your tail and the chances are they won't want anything.
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