Is the Master Collection Right For You?
Author of this post: Tara MacKay | About Blog Authors »Is the Master Collection Right for You?
Big box, big value?
We all know that earlier this year Adobe released most of its Creative Suite 3 products (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc), but it wasn’t until this month that certain pieces of the CS3 lineup finally were released as well. This includes ever-popular After Effects and Premiere, as well as new family members Soundbooth and Encore.
All those final pieces of the puzzle make up the Master Collection: all of the major Adobe products (and a bunch of minor ones too) in one bundle for your print design, web design, and audio/video production needs. If you actually use the majority of these apps, buying the Master Collection can be quite a value over the other available collections. But do you really know what they all do and if you actually need them? Let’s look at each main piece, and you can decide if you really need this monster… I mean master… collection:
The big pieces…
Photoshop Extended and Illustrator. The premiere digital imaging and vector drawing applications, respectively—the ones you already know and love, big time. At least I hope you do.
InDesign. Unless you’re a QuarkXPress nut, you know InDesign is all about print layout design, letting you create complex multi-page layouts and professional typography efficiently. But if you are a big QuarkXPress user with no plans to make the switch, it’s already time to question your need for the Master Collection.
Dreamweaver. If you’re a web designer, you already know this program, and have been using it for years to design and develop your web pages. GoLive users, you better make the switch soon… you won’t find GoLive in the Master Collection!
Fireworks. The ideal tool for optimizing web graphics, creating specialized web graphic pieces like animations and rollovers, and creating comps of web page designs.
Flash. You either love it or are terrified of it. I’m the latter, but it’s an essential tool for creating interactive web (and mobile) pieces like sites, games, and animations.
Acrobat. Poor Acrobat. It’s the only member of the Master Collection not updated to CS3. Even so, it’s still the best application for creating complex (and even interactive) PDFs for collaboration, press, and the web.
Contribute. You know what happens when non-web designers get a hold of your lovely web pages: your whole layout goes out of whack, the text styles get misused, and important content gets lost. Contribute (combined with Dreamweaver design power) lets you create pages that the non-techies can update easily (even from Microsoft Word or Internet Explorer), without messing with your hard work.
After Effects. Many of the swanky text animations and complex motion graphics you see on TV and online are created with this top effects program. It’s got loads of animation and video features, and pairs up well with Premiere and Photoshop. If you are a print or web designer that also has some need for motion graphics, this app may solidify your need for the Master Collection – a Design (or Web) Premium Collection plus After Effects costs about the same as the entire Master Collection.
Premiere Pro. This application (despite the “pro” they’ve tacked on to the name) isn’t really known as a big competitor in video production and editing. Avid and Final Cut products hold that honor. But now that Premiere has made it back to Mac (it was Windows-only for awhile), it may regain some status. For designers new to video, the familiar Adobe interface makes it easy to learn and worth checking out, and it’s a perfectly acceptable option for more casual video creators or web designers who occasionally need to work on an online video.
Soundbooth. This new application is all about audio editing, and plays nicely with Premiere (and Flash!). I haven’t tried it, but it sounds like it covers the main things you need to do with audio: cutting and moving audio, cleaning up recording flaws, adding funky filters, and creating nifty effects. Since it’s brand new, it’ll need some time to grow before it becomes a mainstay of a producer’s toolkit, but like Premiere, it’ll be an easy one to learn and just fine for casual users.
Encore. Encore is a small application that is all about output – adding fancy title screens and other presentational features to DVDs that you create using Premiere.
The little pieces…
Also included in the Master Collection (and the lesser collections, and some individual applications as well) are Bridge, Version Cue, and Device Central. These are fantastic tools for managing your files, sharing files over teams, and testing mobile device content. They may be small, but they could become pretty major parts of your design workflow.
Have Bridge open no matter what you’re working on. Your files will always be at the ready, and easy to pop into your layouts.
Adobe also likes to tout its Stock Photos service as a feature of the collection. But don’t be convinced, folks—it’s just a stock photo service that you can browse from Bridge before buying. Which brings us to the moral of this long exploration of the Master Collection…
The CS3 Master Collection is only a value to the average print or web designer if they plan to get into audio/video in a fairly casual capacity, or have a need for the motion graphics features in After Effects. For those of you whose work is audio/video-focused, there’s a Production Premium Collection. The rest of us just need the Design Premium Collection or the Web Premium Collection, which will do everything you need without the bulk of apps you won’t use.
