More with Movie Maker
Remember, AtomicLearning (www.atomiclearning.com) has some video tutorials on Movie Maker.
Task 1: Getting the movie files to your computer
1. Connect digital camera to computer, using the included USB cable or a card reader.
2. The computer detects the memory card and will ask you what you want to do with the files.
Select the “Camera and Scanner Wizard,” choose the “My
Videos” folder, and think of a descriptive name for your
clips. (Tip: If you like, you can select the option to have the
movie clips deleted from your camera after they are moved
to your computer.)
3. In your “My Videos” folder, you should
now see your movie clips.
Task 2: Importing movies into Movie Maker
1. In Movie Maker’s task bar at the left, click on “Import video” under
the “Capture Video” task.
2. Navigate to your “My Videos” folder and select your video clips.
(Hint: To select several clips, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the
desired clips.)
3. Once the video clips
are slected, click the Import
button. It may take a few
minutes to complete the
import process.
4. You will now see the
videos in the large Collection
area of Movie Maker.
5. You may also add
any photos by clicking on the
Import your video clips into Movie Maker, selecting desired clips “Import pictures” under the “Capture Video” task.
1|More with Movie Maker
Task 3: Editing the Clips
1. Drag the clip you would like first to the bottom “timeline” of Movie Maker.
2. Drag the clip you would like second, right after the first one in the timeline. Repeat with other
clips.
3. If you want to re-order the clips, select the clip you want to move,
dragging it in front of the movie
where you’d like it. You will see a
solid blue line indicating your
cursor’s position.
4. Switch to the Timeline view by
clicking on “Show Timeline,” located right above the assembled
movie. Although you
can edit in the
Storyboard view, the
Timeline view enables more precise edits.
5. Select a clip you would like to edit and click on the “Play” button in
the Preview Monitor.
6. For removing the last portion of the clip: Play the
selected clip and pause it at the point where you would
like to trim it. Under the Clip menu, select “Set End Trim
Point.”
7. For removing the first portion of the clip: Pause
the selected clip where you would like it to start. Under
the Clip menu, select “Set Start Trim Point.”
8. For getting rid of footage in the middle: Pause
the clip where you would like to trim it. Under the Clip
menu, select “Split.” In the Timeline, you will now see the
clip split in two. Play the new portion, pausing it where you would like the it to start. Select “Set
Start Trim Point” in the Clip menu. If you want to remove the end part, repeat step 6.
Task 4: Audio Adjustments (Optional)
1. To Mute the volume of a selected clip: Once
selected, go to the Clip menu > Mute. This is especially
helpful when you want to add music later or record
your own narration.
2. The entry or end sounds of a clip can be
abrupt, particularly if the clip before it is quite
different. To fade in sound on a clip, select the clip, and go to the Clip menu > Fade In. Likewise,
to fade audio at the end, select the clip, and go to the Clip menu > Fade Out.
3. To adjust the overall volume of a clip, select the clip, go to the Clip menu > Volume. Drag the
slider to the right to make it louder and to the left to make it quieter.
2|More with Movie Maker
Task 5: Adding Titles
1. Click on the movie clip on (or before) which you’d like to add a
title.
2. In the Movie Tasks bar, select “Make titles or credits.”
3. In the next window, determine whether
you’d like the title at the beginning of the
movie, before or on the selected clip, etc.
4. After you have typed your text, you have
the option to click “Done, add title/text to
movie” or choose tasks under “More
Options.” Changing the text color is
especially helpful to improve contrast.
Title animation
5. By adding a title
animation, you can potentially change the position of the text, add emphasis, improve legibility
over a busy picture (I like News Banner for this), and some creativity. A
good rule of thumb is to limit the number of animation styles within a
movie and choose those that fit help achieve the desired mood.
6. Play your clip (or movie) through, checking for text legibility and length of
time displayed. You can adjust the length of a title much like you can with a video clip, by
dragging on the ends or moving a title by selecting and dragging it elsewhere.
Task 6: Transitions and Effects
Effects (such as colorations) are added directly to a movie clip and transitions are added in between
clips.
1. Go back to the Storyboard view
2. Locate the Video Effects and/or Transitions under step two of
the Movie Tasks pane or in the Tool menu > Video.
3. Watch the effect/transition in the Preview Monitor to check it
out.
4. Drag the chosen effect onto a clip to apply it. Transitions are
dragged to the small rectangle in between two clips. View the
applied effect, pressing Edit > Undo or Ctrl+Z to undo.
Video Effects
3|More with Movie Maker
You can easily determine where
transitions are located by
looking for a blue transition (a)
symbol , and the effects (b) with
a blue star symbol.
Video Transitions To remove an effect at a later time, go to Tools > Video
Effects, and click on the “Remove” button.Clicking directly
on a transition and hitting the Delete key will remove it.
Task 7: Adding Music/Audio
1. It is helpful first to determine exactly how long your movie is. Under the File menu, go to
Properties. You will see the duration.
2. To select the best music, use your preferred music player program and either find a song that
fits the “mood” and/or one that is about the correct length (or can be easily cut).
3. Under step 1 of the Movie Tasks pane, click “Input Audio or Music”. From your “My Music”
folder on your computer (or wherever you designate), locate your audio file, typically in mp3 or
.wav format. You will now see the file in the main Collections pane.
4. Switch back to the timeline view.
5. Drag the audio into the preferred position timeline (audio line). You can move it or
shorten the length. Tip: For easier editing, zoom in so you can see the sound waves.
6. Just as with movie clips, you can split a song (see Task 3, step 8 above) and remove the middle
portion.
7. In lieu of music can also narration,
recording your own voice. Click on the
Microphone icon in the
timeline window. – be
sure you have a functioning
microphone plugged in!
Final Check!
At this point, you can add credits (Make Titles or Credits under the “Movie Tasks” pane) and watch the
entire movie, making sure your movie is all finished.
4|More with Movie Maker
Task 8: Saving your Movie and Exporting
1. Under the File Menu, go to “Save Movie” (or Step 3 of the
Movie Tasks pane).
2. Decide where you intend on showing your movie – an email or
your computer, for example. If unsure, it is better to save to your
computer, as you can later re-save it in a smaller format.
3. Name your movie and determine where you intend to save it,
such as your “My Videos” folder.
4. Note the file size section at the bottom of the window. Ensure you have plenty of space
available on your computer. Click Next.
5. Once rendering is complete, your file may now be played using Windows Media Player.
6. To save to a CD, place a blank CD in your drive, select “Save to CD” from the Movie Tasks menu,
and proceed.
7. To save to e-mail, select “Send to e-mail” from the “Movie Tasks” menu. (If you know your
recipient can get email larger than 1 MB, you can change this amount under the Tools menu
>Options?E-Mail – Advanced tab).
5|More with Movie Maker