Windows Movie Maker

 

Importing video into Windows Movie Maker

1.      Hook up camera and make sure power is on.

2.      On the left hand side of the screen, at the top, click on the blue link that reads “Capture from video device.”

3.      A window will pop up with three options for you to choose from

4.      If you plan to store and edit the movie on your computer, click the first option, it should already be selected

5.      If you want to keep the movie in dv-avi format, click option number two

6.      For more technical options, click the list under number three and select the option that fits your need best.

7.      Click Next

8.      You are then presented with two more options, capture entire tape or only capture certain parts.

9.      If you wish to copy the entire tape onto your computer, select the first option.  If you wish to only copy a section of it, check the second

10. You will also have the option to preview the videotape during the capture, which under some circumstances may affect the quality of the recorded video.  If you are having problems, do not check this box

11. The Movie Player will then capture the video, though you may have to do some manual work with the camera if you selected option #2

12. This process can take some time, depending on the length of the video you want created.

13. After the video is captured it will be saved in a directory that it asked for earlier and a video file will be created.  The video file will then be imported into the current Windows Movie Maker session.

14. You are now free to work with the video.

 

Placing a video clip on the storyboard

1.      In the large window in the center of the screen, there should be any number of video clips listed, depending on the amount that you have captured

2.      Drag any of those clips down from the window and into one of the large white boxes at the bottom of the page.  Arrange the clips in whichever order you wish to view them.  You can then edit the clips.

 

Trimming a Video Clip

1.      Select the video clip in the storyboard view

2.      With the pointer in the shape of a hand, drag the either end of the clip in until the part you don’t want has been eliminated and the video is the length you want

 

Splitting a video clip

1.      Click on the view menu.

2.      The very top option will either be “Storyboard” or “Timeline”.  Make sure the timeline option is selected.

3.      At the bottom center of the screen, your clips will be displayed. 

4.      Select the clip you wish to split

5.      Position the blue line to the exact moment where you want to split the video

6.      Go up to the Clip menu and select “Split

7.      Two new clips will be created from the old one.

 

Auto Movie

1.      Open the Tools menu and select the “AutoMovie” option

2.      This will open up a new screen that will give you a number of different styles that WMM can edit your video.

3.      Select the one that fits your need best.  WMM will automatically add slide transitions, do some editing and make small adjustments to your video. 

 

Adding Titles and Credits

1.      Open the Tools menu

2.      Select the “Titles and Credits” option

3.      A window will open listing a variety of places where you can add a title or credits.

4.      Choose the place you wish to insert the title and then click on the blue text in that choice.

5.      Type the text you want to appear in the text box at the top of the screen

6.      To choose the type of animation, click the blue underlined text at the bottom of the screen that reads “Change the Title Animation”

7.      Select the animation you wish

8.      If you want to change the font and color of the title and color of the back ground, select the blue underlined text at the bottom of the page that reads “Change text font and color”

9.      When all changes are made, click “Done, add title to movie”

 

Adding Video Effects

1.      Open the Tools menu and click on the “Video Effects” option

2.      The top middle of the screen will change to a number of different effects that you can add to the video.  (Blurring, hues, etc.)

3.      To add an effect to a movie clip, drag the effect you want from the top of the screen to the clip below.

4.      Another way to add effects or remove them is to right click on the video clip and open the “Video Effects” option

5.      From there you can either add or remove effects from a video clip.

 

Adding Video Transitions

1.      Open the Tools Menu and select the “Video Transitions” options

2.      The top middle of the screen will be replaced with all of the video transitions available.

3.      To apply a transition, drag the transition down on the timeline between two clips.

4.      To delete a transition, go down to the storyboard.  At the left-hand side of the screen there will be a Transitions label below the Video label.

5.      Right-click the area where the transition is and select the cut option to delete it.

 

Adding Music

1.      In the Movie Tasks bar on the left-hand side of the screen, under “Capture Video”, select the “Import Audio or Music” option

2.      A new window will open up.  Find the location of the file and open it up.

3.      An audio clip will now be displayed in the top middle of the screen.

4.      Drag the audio clip down to the storyboard and position it where you want it to play.

 

Saving a Finished Movie

1.      Open the File menu and select the “Save Movie” option

2.      A new window will open, allowing you to choose where you would like to save the movie.  Select the option that is right for you

3.      Follow the instructions in the wizard to save to different devices, such as on the web, back to the camera, or to email.

4.      To save to the hard drive, click on the option and then type in a name for your movie and select the place you would like to save it on the drive and click next.

5.      In most cases, you will then click the “Best quality playback for my computer” option, but if you would like more options, click on the blue text right below the “Best quality playback for my computer” option.

6.      You can “Best fit to file size”, which will save your file in a format that will match the file size you specify, or directly below that you can choose to save the video as a specific type and quality of video.

7.      Select the option that is best for your needs

8.      Click Next.

9.      The movie will then be saved and a green bar will show the progress of the computer.  When the file is completely saved, you have a video file that you can play whenever.

 

Saving an Unfinished Project

1.      Open the File Menu and select the “Save Project” option

2.      Select the location where you would like your file to be saved, as well as the name of the file, and click “Save”

3.      To save a project that has already been saved once, simply open the File Menu and click on the Save Project option again.

 

File Types Supported by WMM

  • Audio files: .aif, .aifc, .aiff .asf, .au, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .snd, .wav, and .wma
  • Picture files: .bmp, .dib, .emf, .gif, .jfif, .jpe, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff, and .wmf
  • Video files: .asf, .avi, .m1v, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv2, .wm, and .wmv

 

 

Created by Derek Van Oct 2003