Windows Movie maker is a great introduction to movie making for your business and will introduce you to the basic concepts of making movies for your business and the best thing is that is is free.
There are two versions that we use for making videos for business and the first is version 6 and the second in Version 2012.
Version 6 uses a time line and is great if you want a lot of control.
Version 2012 is also good but does not have a time line so is more for compiling different files into the final product so a lot simpler but still quite powerful.
Here are the links:
Version 2012 Download – Version 6 Download 32 and 64
If you decide to go with version 6 then you may want to add the K Lite Codec Pak which will allow for importing of mp4 files and much more.
Files are usually saved into WMF files which convert great in youtube and the other free video sharing sites.
Here is one of our students videos which covers the basics.
If you use xp then you will find it in your accessories folder. There are plenty of tutorials around for this.
This is a great little piece of software as you can add other clips, record audio to add to the clip which means you could make a silent movie then add audio to it later.
The latest version and some tutorials can be found here.
In fact version 6 is almost the same as Camtasia editor. It will usually install in accessories/entertainment.
Editing clips
You have several options for editing clips:
- Splitting a clip. You can split a video clip into two clips. This is useful if you want to insert either a picture or a video transition in the middle of a clip. You can split a clip that appears on the storyboard/timeline of a current project, or you can split the clip in the Contents pane.
. - Combining clips. You can combine two or more contiguous video clips. Contiguous means the clips were captured together so that the end time of one clip is the same as the start time of the next clip. Combining clips is useful if you have several short clips and you want to view them as one clip on the storyboard/timeline. Similar to splitting a clip, you can combine contiguous clips in the Contents pane or on the storyboard/timeline.
. - Trimming a clip. You can hide parts of a clip you do not want in your project. For example, you can trim the beginning or end of a clip. Trimming does not remove the information from the source material; you can clear the trim points to return the clip to its original length at any time. Clips can only be trimmed after they have been added to the storyboard/timeline. You cannot trim clips in the Contents pane.
Drag the trim handles, which are shown in the following illustration, to trim the unwanted portions of the clip. - Creating clips. You also create clips from video clips after they have been imported or captured in Windows Movie Maker. This lets you create clips at any time when working in Windows Movie Maker. By separating video clips into smaller clips, you can easily find a particular part of your captured or imported video to use in your movie.
Splitting your Video
You will use the Split Movie option to split your video clip into two pieces.
- Place the seek bar in the location where the split is to occur.
- Click on the Split Video button . The movie is split into two pieces. At this time, both pieces are placed on the Timeline or the Storyboard.
Add a Transition
Using video transitions, video effects, and titles
You can enhance your movies by adding different elements to your movie, such as the following:
- Video transitions. A video transition controls how your movie plays from one video clip or picture to the next. You can add a transition between two pictures, video clips, or titles, in any combination, on the storyboard/timeline. The transition plays before the one clip ends and while the other clip starts to play. Windows Movie Maker contains various transitions you can add to your project. Transitions are stored in the Video Transitions folder in the Collections pane.
. - Video effects. A video effect determines how a video clip, picture, or title displays in your project and final movie. Video effects let you add special effects to your movie. A video effect is applied for the entire duration that the video clip, picture, or title displays in your movie. You can add any of the video effects that appear in the Video Effects folder in the Collections pane.
. - Titles and credits. Titles and credits let you enhance your movie by adding text-based information to your movie. You can add whatever text you want, but you may want to include information such as the title of your movie, your name, the date, and so forth. You can change the appearance of the title or credit, in addition to changing the title animation, which determines how your title or credit displays in your movie.
Save your Project
At this time, it would be a good idea to save your project. Saving the project allows you to come back to this video and continue working on it at a later time. With movie maker you have the choice to save as a Windows Media File or an AVI.
- Click on the Save button on the toolbar.
- Browse and select the folder where you would like to store this project.
- In the File Name field, give this project a name.
- Choose Save.