Holly's Links to (Free, Cheap, and Reasonable) Video and Image Creation and Editing Resources

These are in platform order only. Prices may change from what I've quoted.

I have, use, and recommend all of these.

Anime Studio Debut. -- Japanese-style animation software, but surprisingly flexible. Considerable learning curve, GOOD tutorials. (49.99)
ArtRage -- Elegant painting software, if you're patient, some spectacular results. ($25)
Comic Life -- photo-to-comics software, great for cool images -- (FREE)
GIMP -- Photoshop clone, sorta. Image creation/photo editing software. GIMP has a learning curve, but so does Photoshop, and GIMP's price is better -- (FREE)
Photo-To-Movie -- My vote for BEST and easiest way to make videos from photographs. Adds sound if your computer has any sort of mic. I LOVE this program, and have done some course stuff with it -- ($49.95)
Pencil -- Relatively simple-to-use hand-drawn animation software---VERY cool -- (FREE)
QuickTime Pro -- Video conversion to compatible formats, some editing capabilities -- ($29.99)

This is the stuff I own and use. (And recommend. I own stuff I wouldn't recommend ever, too.)

Boinx iStopMotion --Think Claymation. Or dancing toys. Or pennies crawling across the table. My youngest kid uses this and routinely blows me away. EASY to use. This thing is AWESOME-- ($49)
iMovie -- Video editor with themes, transtions, sound editing, etc.---comes FREE on most Macs
($79 if you have to get iLife)
Keynote -- What I use to produce my slideshows and most movies-- Comes as part of iWork ($79)
Screenflow -- What I use to record my slideshows, courses, etc. Great price for what it does, but on the high end of what I'm comfortable recommending-- ($99)

Pinnacle StudioHD Video editor with themes, transitions, sound editing, etc. ($49)
Windows XP MovieMaker 2.1 Video editor. (FREE)

I don't use Windows and don't want to suggest bad stuff or virusware. The above are recommendations from folks who do. Anyone have recommendations? Email me here.

These are the ultimate in hands-off no-install anyone-can-do-this technology.

Sketchup -- Google image creation (FREE)
Animoto -- Online video+music creation program. I haven't used this, but have seen results that vary from the cool to the decidedly weird. (various prices, includes FREE option)
YouTube -- If you have a webcam, you can film DIRECTLY from YouTube by clicking the "Record From Webcam" button from the page I've linked here. You'll need to be logged in to your account. (FREE)

BigStockPhoto Where I get my images---you've seen them in ALL my movies. These are inexpensive, searchable, and of good quality, and I like the fact that I'm buying images from indies like me who are located all over the planet. (price by volume)
FREE Stock Photos -- Because I have no way of knowing what sort of images you'll need, I did a Clusty search, which organizes the results in really neat and useful ways.
IMPORTANT: Images you don't have to pay for generally have some usage restrictions on them. Be VERY careful to observe these restrictions to the letter. In some cases you'll find that you cannot use an image you want to use. Don't use it! (FREE, pay by image, or pay by collection)
Taking your own photos -- the cheapest solution by far. However, BE VERY CAREFUL about using images of people you've taken pictures of -- if the face is recognizable and you don't have a model release, the person in the picture can take legal action against you. This is why I use stock photos from a reliable source.

Big Fat Audio -- My go-to source for great stock sound effects. Studio-quality, unlimited usage, wide variety (you heard one of their explosions in my test demo) -- and inexpensive. (some FREE, plus many for $5)
Garageband -- Again, iLife comes free on most Mac computers, and every version of iLife has some stock music that comes with unlimited rights. If you're musically talented, you can make your own music. (I tried that. I'm just not that talented) (Mac only: FREE, or $97 with iLife)
Music Bakery -- My preferred source for the bedding and theme music I use in some of my videos. These are original pieces, of excellent quality, and searchable by Mood, Genre, and Purpose, which is pretty cool. One payment gets you unlimited use of that piece. ($27-$47 per clip, so you have to be pretty committed to the piece, or plan to use it repeatedly)
FREE Sound Effects -- Another spiffy Clusty search. LOTS of options, neatly organized. As with stock photos, the use of sound effects made available for you at no charge for generally come with some usage restrictions. Follow these restrictions to the letter, don't use the effect if you're not sure.
Making your own sound effects -- Free and legal. Mostly. Don't blow shit up to get a cool explosion. Hire someone's 11-year-old son to make explosion mouth noises for you. Odds are good he spends much of his day practicing them anyway.