Below are links to various notable software packages that may be used or be helpful when taking a Film and Digital Media production course. Several of these applications are film, audio, and graphic design industry standard software applications.

Before using a specific application for your coursework it is best practice check in with your instructor to make sure the software is recommended and supported for the course.

Many courses in the Film and Digital Media production concentration use the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of applications as the primary software applications for instruction. Additional advice regarding editing software versions and purchasing can be found on this page: Editing Software Versions.

Adobe Acrobat Reader:
PDF Viewer. Cross platform and free to download.

Audacity:
Simple audio editing application. Open source, cross platform, and free to download.

AVID Pro Tools:
Audio editing/Audio production software. Cross platform. Free version (“First”) available with some limitations.

Canon XF Utility:
Visit https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home and then search for the camera model you are using. The XF Utility will be listed under the “Drivers & Downloads” section and then “Software”.
Software used for importing, playing, and managing video data for the XF-HEVC, XF-MPEG and XF-AVC formats found in some Canon camcorders. MacOS only. Free to download.

Catalyst Browse:
Software used for playing, reviewing, and transcoding many formats found in Sony camcorders. This software shows advanced metadata about the media which can be useful in determining the root cause of post-production issues. Cross platform. Free to download.

Compressor by Apple:
Video transcoding application. MacOS only. No trial or free version available. Student bundle with other apple ProApps also available for purchase.

Davinci Resolve (Also includes Blackmagic RAW player):
Non-linear video editing and industry standard color correction software that supports Blackmagic RAW formats. Cross platform. A free version with some minor limitations is available. Additional advice regarding editing software versions and purchasing can be found on this page: Editing Software Versions.

Dragonframe:
Stop-motion animation software. Cross platform. Discount available to students directly from the vendor’s website.

FireFox:
Popular web browser. Cross platform, open source, and free to download.

Final Cut Pro X by Apple:
Non-linear video editing application. MacOS only. Free 90 day trial available (student bundle with other apple ProApps also available for purchase). Additional advice regarding editing software versions and purchasing can be found on this page: Editing Software Versions.

Filezilla:
Secure cross platform FTP client. Open source and free to download.

Google Chrome:
Cross platform web browser by Google which generally works the best with the Google suite of web applications (e.g. Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar). This is also the recommended web browser for SlugFilm and Film department web sites.

Handbrake:
Free and open source video transcoding software that supports MP4, MKV, and WEBM formats. Cross platform.

Korsakow:
Application for creating nonlinear interactive projects. Cross platform. Demo version is available to try. Discount available to students directly from vendor.

Klynt:
Interactive storytelling editing and publishing application designed for web-based delivery. Cross platform. Trial version is available.

Logic Pro by Apple:
Audio editing/audio production software. 90 day trial available (student bundle with other apple ProApps also available for purchase). MacOS only.

Magic Bullet Denoiser (part of the Maxon Red Giant “Magic Bullet Suite” and “Red Giant Complete” package):
Software for removing noise (from high ISO/low light recording) in video videos. Students and instructors have access to six months at a greatly reduce semi-annual rate when purchasing by selecting the “Students and Teachers” option.

Mainstage by Apple:
Music application primarily designed for use with live performance in mind. No trial or free version available. Student bundle with other apple ProApps also available for purchase.

MPEG Streamclip:
Video converter, player, editor for Mac and Windows. (Note: no longer functions properly for Mac after MacOS Mojave). Free to download.

Motion by Apple:
2D and 3D motion graphics software. (No trial or free version available). Student bundle with other apple ProApps also available for purchase.

Neat Video:
Software for removing noise (from high ISO/low light recording) in video files. Cross platform. Demo version available.

Processing:
Electronic sketchbook for developing ideas. Free, open source, and cross platform.

Plural Eyes (part of the Maxon Red Giant “Complete” package):
Software for syncing multiple audio sources for many non-linear video editing software platforms. Students and instructors have access to six months at a greatly reduce semi-annual rate when purchasing by selecting the “Students and Teachers” option.

Quicktime 7 (for MacOS):
Older version of the popular media player for MacOS that supports viewing camera timecode. No longer supported after MacOS Mojave (10.14)

Syncovery:
Backup software recommended for syncing data between two editing hard drives (primary and backup drive). 30 day trial version available. Cross platform.

VLC:
VideoLAN Client is a multimedia player for many audio/video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, DVD, VCD, various streaming protocols). It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. VLC can play DVDs from multiple regions without altering firmware settings. Free, open source, and cross platform.

Visual Studio Code:
Text/Code editor. Cross platform and free to download.

XLD:
Audio transcoding software recommended for batch-processing sample rate conversions (e.g. 44.1kHz to 48kHz). MacOS only. Free to download.