Digital Video Editing

Digital Video Editing
with Windows MovieMaker

Belton ISD

Getting Started

Windows MovieMaker is a free video editing tool that comes with Windows XP. MovieMaker makes editing digital video for classroom projects easy and fun.

What you will need

Video files

These can either be downloaded from United Streaming or other sites on the Internet, captured from your digital video camera, or copied from your digital camera (many digital cameras have a movie mode). Movie Maker accepts any of the following formats: .asf, .avi, .m1v, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv2, .wm, and .wmv

Windows MovieMaker

The Windows MovieMaker is installed by default on all Windows XP computers. It is also available for free download on the Microsoft website.

Locating MovieMaker

To locate Windows MovieMaker on your computer, you may need to search around in your computer files. It is usually located at:

C:\Program Files\Movie Maker

If you do not see this folder, you may request the program from the Technology Helpdesk or download it from the Microsoft website at:

as long as your computer has Windows XP.

Creating a Shortcut

In the folder, right-click on the file labeled moviemk and choose Send to desktop. This will create a program shortcut on your desktop that you can use to open MovieMaker.

The MovieMaker Desktop

When you open MovieMaker, you will see the desktop. On the left hand side is a list of common movie tasks. In the center is a space for Collections, and on the right is a preview window. At the bottom is the storyboard.

Organizing Your Files

Before you start a new Movie Maker project, you will want to create a folder that contains all the clips, photos, and audio tracks you want to use. As long as you are working on the project, you need to avoid moving any files out of the folder. Movie Maker does not actually import any of the files used into the program, so if you move any files you’re using during the editing process you will mess up your video. It’s best to start off with everything in one place.

Creating a New Project

To create a new project, select File > New Project. Then press the Save button, and give your new project a title. Your project will be a separate file from the clips you are using, and from the final movie you export. It will have the file extension .wswmm.

Capturing Video Footage from a Video Camera

To import video you have recorded on a digital video camera, you will need to connect the camera to the computer using the IEEE 1394 (Firewire) cable. You need to be using whichever computer has the IEEE 1394 port on your campus.

NOTE:
Only certain computers in the district have a IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port, but there should be at least one of these on each campus, usually on a lab computer.

1. Find the IEEE 1394 cable

The cable should be located in the camera bag with the camera. It looks like this:

2. Connectthe camera

The camera port is usually hidden under a flap on the side of the camera. On this Canon digital camcorder, it is located under a flap on the side labeled AV DV. Hook one end of the cable into the DV port.

3. Connect the other end of the cable to the computer

Look on the back of the computer for the port. On a laptop, check the sides as well. On Dell computers, the 1394 port is neatly labeled with the text “1394”. If the port was installed elsewhere, it may not be labeled, but should be a small metal port that looks like this:

Hook the other end of the cable into this port.

Turn the camera on to the Play/VCR setting.
When you turn on the camera, you should see a message box pop up letting you know you have a digital camera connected to your computer. Select Capture Video using Windows Movie Maker, then click OK.

If for some reason, this message does not appear, within MovieMaker, click on the Capture from video device link in the task pane.

You are now connected to your camera in Windows Movie Maker and can start importing your digital video using the Movie Maker wizard.

The Video Capture Wizard appears. In the first screen, enter a file name for your captured video. By default it will save the file into your My Documents/My Videos folder, but if you prefer to save to a different location you can change that by clicking the Browse button.

In the next step, select the video settings you prefer for input. The default is Best Quality for Playback on My Computer. This is the Movie Maker preferred setting, and the GISD preferred setting. Each minute of video saved with this setting will take up 3MB of space. Click Next to continue.

NOTE:
The Digital Device format (DV-AVI) should never be used for classroom projects. Video saved in this format consumes about 1 GB of space for each 5 minute section. This is about 10 times larger than the space allotted in your home folder. You can very easily fill up an entire hard drive with less than 90 minutes of DV-AVI formatted video.

7. In the next step, select Capture parts of the tape manually. This will allow you to select what you would like to import while you play the tape. Uncheck the box that says Show preview during capture (you can preview on the camera itself and not on the computer screen.) Then click Next.

8. On the next screen, get your video tape to the point where you want to start importing using the rewind/fast forward buttons on the camera, then click the Start capture button. When you reach the end of the video that you want to import, click Stop capture. You can fast forward to another section of tape and continue to import, or you can click Finish at this point.

Movie Maker will then import your video footage into the Collections window, with clips created each time the camera record button was pressed, or when there was a change in the view. It also saves the entire section of video in your My Videos folder, with the file extension of .wmv.

Importing Pictures, Music, and Other Video Clips

You can import pictures, music, and other video clips, such as video clips from United Streaming, by using the Movie Tasks pane on the left hand side of the screen.

Import Video

The import video option will allow you to import video clips in any of the following formats. Downloads from United Streaming are in the .asf format:

.asf, .avi, .m1v, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv2, .wm, and .wmv

Import Pictures

The import picture option will allow you to import pictures in any of the following formats.

.bmp, .dib, .emf, .gif, .jfif, .jpe, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff, and .wmf

Import Audio

The import audio option will allow you to import audio in any of the following formats.

.aif, .aifc, .aiff .asf, .au, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .snd, .wav, and .wma

Please note that any time video is imported, Movie Maker will automatically create a new collection. However, any time pictures or audio are imported, they are added to the currently open collection.

You can use files from multiple collections in the same project. To switch between collections, use the dropdown at the top of the screen.

Editing Video

Once you have the video, pictures, and audio files imported into Movie Maker collections that you will want to use in your movie projects, you can begin to layout your movie.

Using the Story Board

The Story Board is the easiest way to layout your project. It works a lot like the slides in a PowerPoint presentation. Just drag video clips or pictures into position from the collections area onto the Story Board in the order you would like them to appear in the movie.

Adding Video Effects

You can add special effects to each clip using the built in effects in Movie Maker. Click on View Video Effects in the Tasks pane to see all your options.

To add an effect to a video or picture clip, just drag and drop it on the clip in the storyboard. Items with special effects applied to them will have a blue star in the corner. You can add more than one effect to a clip.

To view all effects applied to a clip, just right-click on the clip and choose Video Effects.

Adding Video Transitions

You can add special transitions between each clip just like you can create transitions between slides in PowerPoint. Just click View Transitions to view your options.

To add transition between a video or picture clip, just drag and drop the transition on the arrow between clips in the storyboard. Items with transitions applied between them will have a blue arrow in between them.

Adding Titles & Credits

You can add titles at the beginning of a movie, on a specified clip, and you can also add credits to the end of a movie. Just click Make Titles or Creditsin the Tasks pane, then select the option you prefer. In the title pane, you can type the text you want to appear, and then use the links to change the title animation or the font/color.

Working with a Timeline

Once you have your clips in the order you want, with the transitions, titles, and effects you want, you can switch to Timeline view to edit your video clips if you need to adjust the length or crop out certain parts. In Timeline view you can also add audio. To switch to Timeline view, click on the link abouve the Storyboard that says Show Timeline.

Across the top of the timeline is a minute counter that allows you to view the length of the movie. You can zoom in or out on the timeline (showing the minutes in greater or less detail) using the zoom buttons with the plus or minus signs at the top of the timeline.

You can trim your video clips in the time line view by dragging either edge of the clip in the direction you want to trim off. As you drag your cursor, you can watch in the preview window to see the video you are removing.

You can split your clips at any point in the preview pane by playing the clip until you reach the point you want to split, then clicking the split button. You can also capture a still picture from the video by using the photo button in the preview pane.

You can preview your movie at any point on the timeline by dragging the blue cursor line to the point where you want to begin, then pressing the play button in the Preview pane.

You can adjust the length of timepicture clips appear in the timeline by dragging the corner of the picture in increase or decrease how long it will appear on the screen.

To add audio to your movie, drag an audio clip from the collections pane down to the Audio/Music line in the timeline.

To add narration to your movie, place your cursor on the slide where you would like to begin narrating, and click on the microphone button at the top of the timeline. Then click the Start Narration button. You can then begin talking and the narration will be added to your movie. When you are finished, click Stop Narration and save the file.

Saving Your Movie

When you are done with your movie, you are ready to save and export it. In the Task pane under Finish Movie, select Save to My Computer.

In the next window that appear, give your movie a name and select where you want to save it. Movie Maker will default the saved location to your My Videos folder, located in the My Documents folder. Then click Next.

For Classroom Projects:

The following window allows you to choose what format you want the movie saved in. The recommended format is Best format for playback on my computer. This option is best for projects you’ll be using in the classroom.

For DVD Projects:

If you’re saving the projects to DVD, you might want to select the High quality video (large) option under Other settings. (To see this option, select show more choices, then select it from the drop-down.)

For Web Projects:

If you’re posting the projects on your website, you would want to choose Video for Dial-Up Access or Video for ISDN.

Please note that you can save the movie in multiple formats if you want one version for DVD, one for the web, etc. NEVER save the video in DV-AVI format on a school computer since this file format uses so much space.

The settings listed above produce a .wmv file, which can be played on any computer with Windows Media Player. If you plan to save the projects to CD, you do not need any additional software.

NOTE:
If you’d like to save your projects to DVD, and you have access to a DVD burner, you will need additional DVD creating software. For Windows Movie Maker projects, the recommended software is Sonic MyDVD, because it is one of the few programs that can convert .wmv files to DVD. This software assists with the DVD menu creation, burning the file to DVD, etc. More on the DVD creation process can be found on the sites listed on the resource page.

Useful Resources for Movie Makers

Websites

United Streaming

Great video clips and images for use in the classroom and in Movie Maker projects, available to all GISD educators for the 2006-2007 school year. Ask your facilitator for an access code.

Windows Movie Makers

This excellent site is the personal site of a Movie Maker user and has many, many resources for both Movie Maker and PhotoStory. The user forums are particularly helpful if you need special assistance with a particular problem or issue.

Windows Movie Makers

Atomic Learning

Free online video tutorials on how to use various aspects of Windows Movie Maker.

Software

Sonic MyDVD

The software that allows you to create DVDs from Movie Maker completed video files.

Pixelan

Great collection of hundreds of additional effects and transistions for Movie Maker, including effects that will allow you to zoom in or out on video clips, and add pan/zoom (PhotoStory-style) effects to both video and photos in Movie Maker.

Books

Microsoft Windows Movie Maker 2: Do Amazing Things
by John Buechler

All of the expertise from the creator of the WindowsMovieMaker.net site in a book format.

Microsoft Windows Movie Maker 2 : Visual QuickStart Guide
by Jan Ozer