Windows Movie Maker
After you have imported your video footage:
Splitting clips
1. Play each of your clips in your collection window, splitting them where you would like to take out footage you don’t want. The “split” button is at the bottom right corner of the window in which you view your footage, and it looks like this…
Leave the excess footage in your collection window. It will not show up in your movie, but it will be there in case you decide later that you need some of it.
2. SAVE your project. Go to File, Save Project As, use the drop-down menu and select your server folder, name your movie file, and click on Save.
Dragging clips to
the timeline
1. Drag your clips down to your video timeline in the order that you want them to appear in your movie.
2. SAVE your project.
Importing a still
photo
1. Find your photo and save it to your server space. Clipart.com (a link from the library Web page) and Google image search are among the best sources for photos.
2. On your task list, choose Import Pictures (under #1 Capture Video). Browse for your photos by using the drop-down menu next to Look in and clicking on your server space icon. If you have more than one photo and they are together in your server folder, you can select them all by clicking on the first one, holding the Shift key, and clicking on the last one. Then click on Import, and all of the photos will be imported at once.
3. Drag each photo down to your video timeline in the places you want them to appear in your video.
4. If you want a photo to appear for a longer period of time than the default, click on the photo on the timeline, put your cursor on the right edge of the photo (you should see a double arrow) and drag to the right. This will extend the amount of time your photo displays.
5. SAVE your project.
Creating a still
photo from a video clip
1. Select the video clip and play in the viewer window. When the scene is displayed that you would like to make into a still photo, click on the Take Picture icon in the bottom right corner of your viewer window. The button looks like this…
The photo will then appear in your collection window, and you can drag it to your timeline.
2. SAVE your project.
Adding Voiceover
Narration
1. Be sure that a microphone is connected to your computer.
2. Select the clip on your timeline where you would like your narration to begin.
3. Under your Movie Tasks window, click on the icon that looks like a microphone.
Be sure that the volume level is a little above the halfway mark.
4. Click on Start Narration to begin recording and Stop Narration when you’re done. Windows Movie Maker will then prompt you to save your narration, and you will have the option to name the file.
5. The narration will appear on your video timeline under the clip you selected. If the voiceover is for a photo, you can adjust the time the photo displays to match the length of your narration by clicking on the photo, putting your cursor on the right edge (you should have the double arrows again), and dragging either left or right, depending on whether you are lengthening or shortening the clip.
6. SAVE your project.
Adding Titles and
Credits
1. Select the clip on your video timeline where you would like to add a title.
2. Under #2 Edit Movie, choose Make titles or credits.
3. Click on the link that indicates where you want the title to appear.
4. Enter your text in the box.
5. Under More Options, use the labeled links to change the title animation and to change the text font and color. When your title looks the way you want it to, click on Done, add title to movie.
6. If you need to make changes to the title later, right click on the title on your timeline and go to Edit Title, which will take you to the screen where you can change the font, color, and animation.
7. SAVE your project often.
Adding Effects and
Transitions
1. Under #2 Edit Movie, choose View video effects. To see what an effect will do, click on the effect in the Video effects list and then click on the play button in your viewer window.
2. When you find the effect you want, drag it from the Video effects list to the clip on your timeline you wish to apply it to.
3. SAVE your project.
4. To add transitions between clips, under #2 Edit Movie, choose View video transitions. To see what the transition will look like, click on the transition on the list, and then click on the play button in your viewer window.
5. When you find the transition you want, drag it from the Video transitions list to the place in your video you want it to appear.
Adding Music
1. Be sure that your movie looks exactly as you want it to look, because you will not be able to edit anything except the music after this process is completed.
2. On the task list under #3 Finish Movie, choose Save to my computer.
3. Give the movie a name and follow the on-screen prompts to finish saving your movie.
4. Start a new Movie Maker project by going to File and New Project.
5. On your task list under #1 Capture Video, choose Import video. Click on the file you saved and click on Import. Your video will now appear as clips in the Collection window. Drag the clips down to the timeline in the order they appear. They will look different than they did as you worked on the movie, and there may be fewer clips, but all of the content will be there.
6. Save. Minimize Windows Movie Maker.
7. Put your music CD in the CD-ROM drive. It should automatically open in Windows Media Player.
8. Click on Copy from CD (on the left side of the window).
9. A list of tracks will appear, each with a checkmark in front. At the top of the list is another checkmark—remove that checkmark and all other checkmarks will disappear.
10. Click on the track you want to copy so that a checkmark appears next to that one only.
11. Click on the Copy music button at the top of the window. This will copy the song to the My Music folder inside the My Documents folder on the computer.
12. Maximize Windows Movie Maker again.
13. On your task list under #1 Capture video, choose Import audio or music.
14. Browse for your song file (in My Music in My Documents), click on it to select it, and click on Import.
15. Your song clip will appear as a musical note in your collection. Drag your song clip from the collection window to your timeline. If your song is longer than your movie, you can shorten your song clip to fit your movie by clicking on it on your timeline, putting your cursor on the right edge (you will have double arrows), and dragging to the left until your music matches the length of your video.
16. To adjust the volume, right-click on the music in your timeline and choose Volume. Or go to Tools and Audio levels. Find the correct balance between the voice volume from your video and your music volume.
17. If you want your music to fade out at the end of your video, right-click on the music on your timeline and choose Fade out.
18. SAVE your project.
Saving Your
Project to a CD
1. When you are completely done with your project, save one more time.
2. Insert a blank CD in the CD drive.
3. When a window pops
up labeled
4. On your Movie Tasks list, under #3 Finish Movie, click on Save to CD.
5. Enter a name for your movie and click on Next. Follow the prompts and click on Next until your movie is saving. It will take several minutes to save, and when it is finished, click on the Finish button. Write the names of your group members and the hour of your class on the front of the CD with a Sharpie marker and give the CD to the librarian.