FrameForge 3D Studio Free Demo Version Basic filmmaking (pre-production) The heart of the Wikiversity Film School's basic filmmaking course (pre-production) is FrameForge 3D Studio 2 Demo Version. This is the most educational program used at Wikiversity Film School. And the demo version is free for both the Macintosh and Windows operating system. This program simulates the motion picture camera, the movie set, and the actors. The program is useful for experimenting with the different lenses on your motion picture camera. And the final output of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 Demo Version is completely frame accurate (including depth of field effects) ready to give your cinematographer for creating all the shots of your movie. The free demo version is limited to 20 uses. Other limitations apply. However, this is more than enough to complete your assignments at Wikiversity Film School. Download this free program today and begin learning how to use it.



Apple's GarageBand Film Scoring All film scoring lessons at Wikiversity Film School can be done using Apple's GarageBand which is free with each new Macintosh PC. In addition to a midi program like GarageBand, you will also need a good selection of musical instruments for the symphony orchestra. Some musical software instruments of the symphony orchestra for GarageBand are free (such as the packages from Boldt) and some are not. I recommend Apple's Jam Pack:Symphony Orchestra. I have not tried Apple's new Jam Pack for voices which should also be useful. Filmmakers should NOT use Apple's Logic 7 which is poorly designed and exceedingly awkward. I have not tried version 8 yet. I do not know what to recommend for Windows.



Film Dailies

Animation Starting in 2009, Wikiversity Film School will have a simple course in 3D animation. This will use the free programs of DAZ Studio and Bryce 5.5. If you have Poser and Vue, you can use those programs but they are not free. DAZ Studio and Bryce take time to learn so if you are interested in working with 3D, you should download these free programs and begin to learn them.



Other useful programs ArtRage 2.5 Starter Edition is a free paint program used for matte painting and creating the movie poster. This is a simple and fun artistic painting program. Feels very natural. Extremely useful. If you need any kind of digital painting with traditional artist materials, this is your first choice. This is the free version which is fully working but more limited than the full version which is also remarkably inexpensive. GIMP is a free paint program comparable to Adobe Photoshop. Surprisingly mature program but definitely not as easy to use as Photoshop. Requires X-11. If you do not have Adobe Photoshop 4 or later, this program is absolutely necessary for some of the classes at Wikiversity Film School. Audacity is a free useful utility for working with audio and converting audio to OGG files. It is a bit awkward but it is free. Tux Paint is a free fun paint program for kids. It has the added advantage of using rubber stamps and creating matte paintings easily. Has the unique feature of doing rough storyboards with special storyboard artwork. Also useful for one of the lessons about learning matte painting at Wikiversity Film School for kids.