About

What is this??

candide ꘎ media (also know as candide x media and candide.media) is your hub for free and open source content creation! Join me as I explore the latest in open-source video editing, graphic design, photo editing, motion graphics, and web design to make high-quality, do-it-yourself (DIY), digital content without breaking the bank.

Want to make your own content but don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place. Learn how to create high quality video and audio content without spending a fortune on software and equipment. I cover everything from planning and brainstorming, to designing and editing.

I have you covered with free and open source tutorials on how to use content creation tools like Kdenlive, Inkscape, Krita, Publii, and more. Whether you're a fellow YouTuber, a student, a creative entrepreneur, or just someone who'd like to switch to using more affordable tools: there's something here for everyone.

Subscribe for lighthearted tutorials, tips, and tricks.

+ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candidexmedia

+ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@candidexmedia

+ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/candidexmedia

+ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/536705460324222

+ Newsletter: http://url.candide.media/newsletter

 

Okay, but for real....

I know it may seem like this site is just a bunch of random tutorials, but I've got a secret— candide ꘎ media is actually a front for a thriving underground resistance of open source creatives. You can browse all our tutorials and templates and use this knowledge to take on the Proprietary Creative Suites™️ in your own life. Just keep this site secret from them, okay? 🤫

 

I'm sold! How do I support candide ꘎ media?

Support free and open source software

None of this would be possible without the generous contributions of the developers and contributors of the free and open-source software I talk about. I encourage everyone to support free/libre/open-source software foundations and frameworks and spread the word! Get your friends, family, school, workplace on board.

Each software project will specify how they would like to be supported. Often times, they'll ask for help with their documentation, contributions to their code, and/or financing. You know all that money you saved from using free software? Why not donate some (or all) of it to the software, hmm?

Even free software needs some coin$!

Support me 🥺👉🏿👈🏿

Speaking of coins, I also accept tips/donations/virtual coffees/whatever you wanna call them: 😅

If you would like a direct link to my tip jar on Ko-Fi, here it is:

You will also find a floating "Support me" button on most of my posts for donations. The default value for tips is 10$, but you can change the value to the amount you want: $1, $3, $4.50, $1,000,000... 👀

Unless I announce otherwise, Ko-Fi is the only platform I use for tips, and Payhip is the platform I use for my shop, where you can acquire tutorial source files at a sliding scale.

Affiliate Links

You can also support me via these affiliate links, discounts, and coupons for products and services that I use regularly or have used. In some cases, you can get something too 😉 (sponsored links will be indicated with an asterisks*):

  • Airtable - Database + Spreadsheet hybrid: https://airtable.com/invite/r/bQJaBWkK
    • You get a 14 free trial of their Pro plan (downgrades to the free plan afterwards)
    • I get $10 in Airtable credit to upgrade my account when you sign up and verify your email
  • Otter - Speech-to-text transcriptions in English: https://otter.ai/referrals/0IJT8NJO
    • You get 1-month of Otter Pro Lite
    • I get 1-month of Pro Lite for every person who joins
  • Sonix - Speech-to-text transcriptions in multiple languages: https://sonix.ai/invite/kxdadoj
    • You get 30 free minutes, and 100 extra minutes if you upgrade
    • I get 100 extra minutes if you upgrade
  • Public Mobile - Affordable cellphone plans (for my Canadians out there): Use code X486Y5 when you activate and register your SIM card
    • You get a one-time bonus ($10 credit)
    • I get a dollar off every month
  • Uppbeat - Music for creators. No copyright issues: https://uppbeat.io?referral=candide-pd0hc
    • I get a month of Uppbeat Premium when you sign up
  • *****Pond5 - : ....
    • You get 20% off your first purchase
    • I get 20% of your first purchase
  • Rytr - An AI-powered Copywriting Tool for everything from automated emails, SEO, social media captions, YouTube video descriptions, SEO meta descriptions, Product page descriptions: https://rytr.me/?via=candide
    • You get 5k characters a month
    • I earn 30% in recurring commissions when you upgrade
  • Railway - infrastructure platform where you can provision infrastructure, develop with that infrastructure locally, and then deploy to the cloud: https://railway.app?referralCode=7ENqQl
    • You get $5 in credits
    • I get $5 in credits
  • pCloud - Cloud Storage with file sharing, file requests, desktop syncing, and mobile apps. There's also the option of paying for the service once: https://partner.pcloud.com/r/52525
    • You get a discount on monthly, annual and lifetime plans
    • I get a 20% commission
  • SendPulse - Multi-Channel Marketing Automation Platform: 
    • You get a $50 discount for any monthly plan (email or SMTP). The discount is $10 per month for the first 5 months. 
    • I get a $50 credit
  • SuperHi - Online code, design and project management courses for creatives: https://www.superhi.com/?r=candidee
    • I get a gift card or discount

 

Is your content free and open source too? 👀 What license does your content use?

Good question! I've laid out the nitty gritty on my License and Terms of Use page, but essentially:

  • Website, articles, tutorials, social media posts authored by me: Unless otherwise stated, they are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
    • You can copy and redistribute the content, but must credit me (with links to the page and to my social media links)
    • You can't use this content for commercial purposes
    • You must ask permission before distributing modified versions of my content.
    • Don't republish entire articles. If you'd like to translate material, send me a message.
  • Exception: Downloadable content:
    • Templates, resources, code snippets, and other downloadable content created by me can be used in personal, non-commercial, or commercial projects.
    • You can't redistribute, republish, sell, or resell my downable content.
  • Content not authored by me, candide x media:
    • Consult with their creators

For more info, visit the License and Terms of Use page.

 

Wait, so who are you??

Hey! 👋🏿 My name is Candide, and I’m passionate about independent and accessible digital media production.

Growing up, I was always fascinated with digital media production: video production, website design, graphic design, fashion design (RIP Girlsense 😥). I always loved editing videos and designing content, but was limited to free software. Back in the early 2000s, this meant Windows Movie Maker and Paint. 😬

Since then, a wide range of free open-source software (FOSS) have entered the market, and their capabilities are always improving. Unfortunately, a lot of the free tutorials, templates, support, and resources available online for media production are for proprietary programs and suites (ie, the Adobes of the world). candide ꘎ media was born out of this need.

As a freelancer who works mainly with non-profits, I have been using these free tools for a number of years, and want to share my tips and tricks with the public. My goal is to empower marginalized, racialized, and underrepresented folks to tell their own stories using free and/or open-source software.

I teach advanced skills in both French and English on design, video editing, and image editing for those who were once like me: creative prosumers wanting to self-produce semi-professional content without breaking the bank. I've been toying with the idea of candide x media for a while, slowly conceptualizing the brand while juggling grad school and work. Luckily, a grant by OPIRG Carleton was the push I needed to build this site and launch my first free course: Frugal Filmmaking: Video Editing on a Budget.

So yeah. That's me!

tldr: My own experiences as a digital media enthusiast and video editor inspired this candide ꘎ media. I’ve been using free & open-source software to complete video and design projects (both personal and paid) for several years and want to share my tips and tricks with fellow creatives. ✨

 

One more thing... How did you make this? What tools do you use?

I'm a woman of my word — most of the tools I use are (you guessed it!) free and/or open-source!

Website + Branding

This website was wireframed on pen and paper, prototyped using Penpot and Lunacy, and actually built using Publii, a Static Site CMS. I'm using Publii's "ProDocs Knowledge Base" premium theme with a lot of (!) modifications. Visual Studio Code is my IDE (integrated development environment) of choice to customize my site's theme. The fonts used are Syne and Work Sans (self-hosted).

The site's comments are served using a self-hosted version of Cusdis. Most videos are embedded using AblePlayer because it has an incredible clickable, interactive transcript feature! 🤩 Otherwise, I host the videos on PeerTube. My website analytics are done through Umami and Counter, and I use a self-hosted version of Listmonk to manage my newsletter.

Video Tutorials + Content Creation

I use Streamlabs OBS + Carnac (bfritscher's fork) + Vokoscreen to record my desktop, scrcpy to mirror my phone, and Kdenlive to edit virtually all of my videos. I use a combination of Otter, YouTube, and Amara to generate captions. For graphics, I use a combination of Inkscape, Krita, Glimpse Image Editor, Canva, and Penpot — depends what mood I'm in. If I'm prototyping a website, I'll use Penpot and Lunacy.

Equipment-wise, I use a refurbished laptop, a second-hand DSLR camera, a second-hand Android cellphone, a second-hand tripod, a refurbished condenser microphone, cheap lights, and a stereo lavalier microphone (this one was brand new 😅).

I'll have a full blog post out soon with more recommendations of free and/or open source software that I've tried.