My Place My Space ICT Tutorial for Moving Image

Illustrated Transcript

1_Introduction to Windows Movie Maker

Welcome to the My Place, My Space ICT tutorial for Moving Image.

The aim of this instructional video is to introduce you to the different features that are available in Microsoft Windows Movie Maker.

We will introduce the basic functionality of the software by taking you through the editing of a short sequence from theMy Place, My Space 'How to Film' video. We will show you how to import video, edit clips and add transitions and credits to your sequence. Make sure you have your storyboard handy as this will help you to edit you clips in the correct order.

2_Check your video settings

First we need to check our video settings. Select 'Options' from the 'Tools' menu.

This will bring up the 'Options' Inspector window. Check the Video properties; the Video format should be set to PAL and the aspect ratio should reflectyour video camera settings,which is most likely to be 16:9. Once you're happy with your settings, click 'OK'.

3_ Importing your video

Now you are ready to begin editing your movie clips. You can import video from an external device or from a folder on the computer. To do this, select 'Import Video' from the 'Movie Tasks' pane. This will bring up an explorer window.

To import video from a device; plug the device into the computer, navigate to the video device in the browser and click import.

To import video from the computer, navigate to the folder that contains your clips.In this instance, we need to import five clips into the software. Highlight all the files and click 'Import'.

A progress screen appears while the files are importing, the time of the import will depend on the length of the clips, so be patient if you're importing a number of long clips.

The imported clips can be viewed in the 'Collections' folder in the toolbar. Click on the drop down arrow to view the individual clips.

4_Timeline & Storyboard views

Once we have imported the clips, we are ready to edit the clips together. We use the timeline at the bottom of the screen to create the sequence. There are two views of the sequence which can be toggled between by clicking the 'Show Storyboard' button. The 'Storyboard' mode displays a simplified view of the clip sequence.

To return to the numerical timeline, click on the 'Show Timeline' option.

4_ Create a sequence

To create a sequence, drag and drop the clips from the collections folder onto the timeline in the order indicated by your storyboard. To review, click on the timeline and press play in the preview pane.

To add another clip to the sequence, simply drag and drop the second clip beside the first.

Youcan quickly scrub through the sequence by holding down the mouse button and dragging the play head along the timeline.

5_Edit audio in the timeline

You can alter the audio levels of your sequence. Click on the small 'plus' symbol in the timeline to display the audio file associated with the video.

This audio file cannot be extracted from the video clip but its volume can be adjusted. Double click the audio track to bring up the 'Audio Clip Volume' controller. Just move the slider left or right to change the volume or click the check box to mute the sound.

6_Editing your video clips

You may needto cut or trim your clips, to improve your edits. A useful tip is to maximise the view of the sequence using the 'Zoom In' icon to make more accurate edits.

Select the clip and move the mouse to the end, the mouse arrow will turn red. Click and drag the red arrow tothe left to trim the first clip. If you trim off too much, drag the clip to the right to reinstate any footage.

7_Adding video effects

You can add video effects to your clips, but only use these sparingly as they can overwhelm the sequence. Select 'View Video Effects' in the left hand task pane. To review an effect, scroll down the list, select, and press play in the preview pane. Use video effects to change the appearance of individual clips.

7_Adding video transitions

You can also add video transitions to your sequence. Again, only use these sparingly as they can overwhelm the film. Select 'View Video Transitions'from the 'Movie Tasks' menu.

Video transitions are used to manage the change from one clip to another. To review a transition, scroll down the list, select, and press play in the preview pane.

To add a transition, click on the timeline and move the play head to the chosen insert point between two clips. Now drag and drop the transition onto the timeline. Press the space bar to preview the transition.

If you want to remove the transition, go into storyboard mode; select the transition and press delete.

To complete the sequence, continue dragging and dropping the clips onto the timeline.

8_Adding credits

Once you've finished editing your sequence, you can add some credits. To do this scroll down the 'Movie Tasks' menu and select 'Make Titles or Credits'. Next, select the titles' position.

We want to add the titles to the end of the sequence, so we select 'Add credits at the end of the movie' option and type our details in the boxes provided.

Start with the title and then move through the boxes, in order, from left to right. Again, you can review the credits by pressing the play button in the preview pane. Once you are finished, click done and the credits will appear in the timeline.

9_Exporting & Saving your Film

Once you are finished, you will need to save and export your movie. Scroll down the 'Movie Tasks' menu and select 'Save to My Computer'. This brings up the 'Save Movie Wizard'. Enter the file name and navigate to the destination folder.

Click 'Next', this brings up the 'Movie setting' dialogue box, which allows you to review the file size and settings details.

As we want to save our video for the web, we need to change these settings.We select 'Show more choices' and then chose'Other Settings'. This option reveals a drop down menu of different formats. For playback on a good broadband connection, select 'Video for Broadband 512Kbps' and click 'Next'. This will bring up the 'Saving Movie' progress bar. Once the movie has fully exported, select the 'Play movie when I'm finished option' and click Finish. Your movie will now automatically play.

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