Like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker is a simple yet powerful video-editing program. The interface has four main areas: The Tasks pane, the Collections, the Preview Monitor and the Timeline. A diagram of the interface layout is on the previous page.
Once you launch the program, the next step will be to import the video from the camera into the software operation. Here’s how:
- Use a USB cable to connect your video camera to the USB port on your computer, then turn on your camera by moving the switch to playback mode instead of camera mode.
- Click “Capture video from camera” link in the Tasks pane. (See example on opposite page.) If you don’t see the link, expand the menu under the 1. Capture Video label. The software will automatically recognize the camera through the USB connection and begin importing the video.
- The clips appear in the Collections pane.
- Once the import is finished, save your project. Select File -> Save from the menu at the top and type a name for your project. Notice that Movie Maker automatically saves your project in the My Movies folder under My Documents on your computer. You can modify this if you’re so inclined.
Arranging your clips
Again, you’ll want to arrange your clips in the order that will best tell the story. At this point, the Collections should be full of clips and the Timeline should be empty. To fill the Timeline pane — which holds the movie you are creating — first find the best footage by viewing each of the clips and then drag the ones with footage you want into the Timeline pane.
Once you have dragged the best clips to the Timeline, arrange them in the order you want by clicking and dragging. You can change your mind later, but it’s best to have a good idea of how the movie will go before you begin editing down the footage.
Just keep the good stuff
While the filming of a video is important, it’s the editing that will make or break it. So be very choosy when deciding which footage to keep and which footage to delete. Here’s how to delete selected footage from a clip:
- Click the Show Timeline button in the Timeline window. This will show the clip’s length in minutes and seconds. (Note: the button you just clicked now reads Show Storyboard and you can return to the previous view by clicking it again.)
- Select a clip from the Timeline by clicking on it.
- Find the spot on the video where you want to trim an end off, then under the Clip menu, select Set Start Trim Point or Set End Trim Point, depending on whether you want to chop the front of the clip or the end.
Note
You can also hover your mouse on the end of the clip that you want to trim. The selection pointer will become a red icon with two arrows. Click and drag the red arrow over the area you want to delete.
- If you want to delete a portion of the middle of a clip, you first need to split the clip so the part you want to delete is on one end. Do this by moving the playhead to the beginning or end of the portion you want to delete, then under the Clip menu, select Split. Now you can repeat Step 3 to remove the footage.
Working with audio
As with iMovie, Movie Maker makes it easy to import music files or voice-overs and place them exactly where they’ll have the most impact on your video.
Using narration: You can record a voice-over quite easily if your computer has a microphone input (and you have a mike). If not, you can use the video camera. With the lens cap on the video camera, turn the camera on and begin recording.
In either case, it’s a good idea to first write out the script and practice reading it a few times. (See Chapter 11 for more tips.) Read the script into the built-in mike on the camera or use an external mike.
Narration with a built-in mike: If you have a desktop computer, the input port for the mike is likely on the back of the machine (real convenient, huh?). If you have a laptop, it likely will be on the side. Once the mike is plugged in:
- Click the Tools menu in Movie Maker, and then click Narrate Timeline.
- Under Narrate Timeline click Start Narration.
- Speak normally into your microphone, and adjust the Input level so that the bar is about 70 percent up when you are speaking. Speak into your microphone as Movie Maker plays your movie. You can narrate your entire movie at once or just one clip at a time.
- When you're done narrating, click Stop Narration.
- Movie Maker will save your narration as a separate file. In the Save Windows Media File dialog box, type a name for your narration. Then click Save.
- Click Play in the Preview Monitor to watch your movie and listen to the narration.
- If the narration is too loud or too soft in comparison to the movie, rightclick the narration on your timeline and then click Volume.
- In the Audio Clip Volume dialog box, move the slider to the left to make the narration quieter or move it to the right to make it louder. Then click OK.
If the timing is off or you stumble and mumble through one part or another, you should re-record it. To delete narration so that you can do it over, right-click the narration on the Timeline and then click Delete.
To import audio: If it’s easier to record narration with a different device, such as a portable digital recorder, you can import the audio and combine it with your video. Edit the audio clip so it has just what you want — you can do some trimming in Movie Maker, but it’s better to do the bulk of the editing in a separate program. (See Chapter 8 for more information.) Once you have what you want, follow these steps:
- Under the Capture Video menu on the left, click Import audio or music.
- Choose the file on your computer from the file browser. Almost all audio file formats are allowed, but MP3 is still preferred. Make sure the Create clips for video files option is checked.
- Find the audio file in the Collections window. Click and drag it to your timeline, placing it under the section of the video where you want it to go.
Note
Be aware that unless you have rights to commercial music, you can’t use it in your video. (See Royalty-Free Music sidebar.)
- The clip will land on the line below the video marked Audio/Music. You can move it forward and backward by clicking and dragging it (when you hover your cursor over the clip it turns into a hand icon).
- To trim the ends, click on the small triangle on either the beginning or the end and drag the end into the clip.
Adding transitions
Most news videos use very few transitions to control how one clip evolves into another. However, a few of the basic transitions might be useful.
- Under the Edit Movie menu on the left, select View video transitions and notice that the Collections menu is now filled with blue shapes with names like “Bars” and “Circles.” (See diagram.)
- Select a transition to preview, then click Play in the Viewer to see what it looks like.
- Once you find the one you want, find the place in the video where it should go. Then drag the transition down to the Timeline to the correct location.
If you reconsider later, simply select the transition in the Timeline and hit Delete.
Adding titles
It’s often necessary to identify speakers in your video, or you may need to publish credits at the end. Use the Titles feature to do this. To add a title:
- Select Make titles or credits from the Edit Movie menu on the left.
- Choose from the five options presented on the next screen, ranging from “title on the selected” to “credits at the end.” Note: If you didn’t move the playhead to the location in the video where you want the text to go, you can move it now.
- Enter the textual information for the main title into the top box and subhead information into the bottom box (if desired). Movie Maker has dozens of text options, but very few work for a news video and the best one only works with a one-line title. So if you need a name and title, enter it on one line like “John Doe, President, XYZ Co.”
- Click Change the title animation and select Subtitle from the menu.
- Next, click Change the text font and color and modify the size, font, color, position and transparency of the text. Again, since this is a news video, keep it simple and professional.
- Click Done, add title to movie.
To delete a title, click on the title as it appears in the Title Overlay line of the Timeline view and hit Delete. That will delete the title but won't affect the rest of the video.
Using still photos
At some point, you may want to use still photos from your subject or shots from your photographer in your video. No problem. Simply add the photos to the computer you’re using for video editing, then click Import pictures from the Capture video menu on the left. (See Chapter 8 for information on handling digital photos.)
Find the photo in the file browser menu and select it. Make sure the Create clips for video files option is checked. If it is, the photo will appear in the Collections area and you will be able to drag it into the Timeline from there, placing it exactly where you want it in your movie. By default, the program will set your picture to show for five seconds. If you want to add or subtract time to the picture, click on the arrow on the side of the picture and drag it to the right (for more time) or left (for less).
Grabbing screenshots
If you need a “screenshot” or a mug to promote your video in print or online, you can easily capture one. Find a spot in the video that would lend itself to a small, iconic image by moving the playhead to that location. Then under the Tools menu at the top of the screen, select Take Picture from Preview. A file browser will appear, allowing you to select the location on your computer where the thumbnail image will be saved. (The Desktop is a handy location for temporary files like this.) Then click Save.
Exporting video for the Web
By default, video files are too large to publish online without compressing so the final step in producing your video story will be exporting it for online publication. Save your project one more time to be sure you have all the changes. The export process will produce a compressed copy of your file but it will not alter the original. Since you’re using Windows Movie Maker, the export format of choice will be Windows Media. Under the Finish Movie menu on the left of the screen, choose Save to my computer. A pop-up window will present a “wizard,” which will step you through the rest of the process. Here are the selections to make:
- Enter a name for your movie.
- Choose a location on your computer where you want to save the file.
- Click Show more choices on the next screen (titled Movie Setting).
- Select Best fit to file size and enter a maximum size in Megabytes (MB). A good rule of thumb is 1MB for each minute of length in the movie, so a three-minute movie should be no larger than 3MB.
- Click Next and the software will export your movie to the location you specified.
Assignment
- Think of a short story you would like to tell with a video. It could be a Little League game or other youth activity, a weekend trip or, if you want to do something “newsy,” a press conference or a public meeting.
- Think of about three to six clips of video that would tell the story, mixing wide, medium and close-up shots. Then shoot the clips with a camera.
- Capture the video into a computer that is equipped with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker and save it to the hard drive.
- Edit the clips together to make a movie. Add voice-over narration, music and transitions.
- Then output the video for display on a Web page.
