When Interactive Solutions, Inc. started back in the late 1980s its vision was a bit of a struggle. Their tool, MovieWorks, was wonderful, but it was way ahead of the curve – most of those early computer models simply didn’t have the horsepower to run the product effectively. But now, some 20 years later, it is finding that its updated product, renamed MediaWorks, is setting the standard for affordable multimedia authoring.
According to Interactive Solutions President Bill LaCommare, there are many reasons for this, but the main ones are cost, quality, capability and ease of use. He explained, “We use a QuickTime architecture, which allows us to deliver high-quality productions, while maintaining the timing of everything when projects are distributed to others with different computer specifications or platforms. We’re not paging things in and out of RAM like PowerPoint. All the media is compressed, you get broadcast quality audio, DVD quality video, it always stays in perfect sync, you can learn it in about an hour, and it costs under $100.
“For those looking for more composition flexibility than iMovie and iPhoto, and more timing control than PowerPoint and KeyNote without the learning curve and expense of Flash, Final Cut, Director or Premiere, MediaWorks should be strongly considered.”
Or to put it simply, if you want a powerful multimedia authoring program with simple-to-use video, sound, animation and paint and photo editors for under $100, MediaWorks is it. Along with its editors, the main application in the suite called Author includes a sequencer window that allows users to precisely time everything, and unlimited narration and other track overlays that make it possible for everyone from the corporate professional to the student moviemaker to produce a high-quality product.
The newest release of MediaWorks is a Universal Mac version that has been eagerly anticipated by everyone from Apple Distinguished Educator Joe Morris to award-winning record producer David Hentschel (who has worked with the likes of Elton John and Paul McCartney). Hentschel, in fact, came upon MediaWorks during a Web search, downloaded the demo off of the company Web site and instantly fell in love with it.
Or, as he put it, "I needed to put together a cross-platform multimedia biographical presentation which included a large amount of video and audio clips. Moreover, I wanted to synchronize on-screen text to these clips and incorporate interactivity and Web links. I looked at all the other software available for authoring my project and found each package wanting due to inadequate features, unnecessary complexity, unreliability, steep learning curves or prohibitive cost….MediaWorks is so intuitive and includes all the authoring tools I needed in one very user-friendly package."
Morris feels that MediaWorks adds tremendously to his students’ overall educational experience. He told MacDirectory, “I believe it requires more critical thinking skills when students are asked to create non-linear interactive projects. MediaWorks is a great program for producing such projects. The sequencer [timeline] makes it easy to plan the projects. Since MediaWorks is based on QuickTime, syncing video and animation is not a problem at all. I also like that the paint tools, the animation tools and everything else works seamlessly as one and is easy to teach even to elementary students.”
So if you’re in the market for a low-cost tool that offers high quality, ease of use, universal appeal and one of the coolest Web sites around, check out MediaWorks.
