How to turn your home movies folder into a movie that everyone wants to watch? The secret of any good film is editing. Windows Movie Maker can turn your movie collection into a single masterpiece, complete with credits, soundtrack and spectacular transitions. Follow this guide to create a professional-grade amateur video.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Getting Started
Step 1. Download Windows Essentials
This is a free software package from Microsoft that contains Windows Movie Maker as well as some other Windows programs. You can find the installation file on the Microsoft website.
Windows Movie Maker is included with Windows Vista and XP, but must be downloaded on Windows 7 and 8
Step 2. Open Windows Movie Maker
You can find it in the Start menu under all programs, or you can do a search for "movie maker" and select it from the results.
Step 3. Familiarize yourself with the interface
Windows Movie Maker 2012 is organized in a similar way to Microsoft Office. You can navigate between the various options by selecting the tabs at the top of the window.
- Home - this is the main tab of Movie Maker. You can use this tab to add video, images and audio to your project. You can also select pre-generated themes for the movie, rotate the image and upload the project to websites like Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo.
- Animations - this tab allows you to add transitions between movies.
- Visual Effects - this tab allows you to change the color and tone of the image. You can turn it into black and white or maximize color saturation.
- Project - You can make general changes to the entire project by adjusting the audio mix and changing the look of the video.
- View - this tab allows you to zoom in and out of the timeline, change the size of previews, and observe the audio waveform of your movie.
- Edit - this menu appears after you add the first movie. You can use this tab to crop it, set a new start or end point, adjust fades, and stabilize the video.
- Options - this tab appears after you have added a music file to your project. You can set start and end points for music, fades, and file separation points.
Part 2 of 3: Making a Movie
Step 1. Add your movies
Click on the Home tab and then click on the "Add Videos and Images" button. This way you can browse your computer's folders for a video file. You can also drag and drop files into the main window to add them to your project.
- If you want to make a slide show, or add still images to your project, you can add images just as you did for videos.
- If you have a webcam connected to your computer, you can click the "Video webcam" button and record a video directly into your project.
Step 2. Move your movies
When you've added some videos, you can drag and drop them to rearrange them however you like. This can be very useful if you need to add a movie later but want to put it in the center of the movie.
Step 3. Edit the videos you added
Select one of the videos and click on the Options tab. Move the cursor to where you want to trim the movie. You can set that point as Start or End, or you can split the video at that point by clicking the appropriate button on the Options tab.
If you can't get the cursor to a specific point, you can enter the exact time in the field
Step 4. Add transitions between your movies
Select the first video and then click on the Animations tab. The Transitions section will show you the animations that will play at the beginning of your movie.
To add a transition between the first and second video, select the second video in the project. You will be able to choose from the available transitions. Use the arrows at the end of the Transitions list to see more options
Step 5. Add a soundtrack
Click on the Home tab. If you want to add a narration voice to your video, click the "Record narration" button. This will allow you to record your voice if you have a microphone.
To add a music file to your movie, click the "Add Music" button. You can choose whether to download songs from free online sources or add music files from your computer
Step 6. Add titles
You can add a title at the beginning of each movie if you want. This can be especially useful for presentations. Click the Add Title button on the Home tab. This will create a title screen and open the Format tab, which will allow you to change the text properties and background color.
Step 7. Add the credits
By clicking the "Add credits" button on the Home tab you can add credits to the end of your project. You'll be able to add more than one screen if you need to mention multiple people, and you can use the Effects section of the Format tab to create vertically scrolling credits like those from real movies.
Part 3 of 3: Finishing the Movie
Step 1. Preview your creation
When you're done creating your movie, use the "Full Screen Preview" button on the View tab to watch the movie from start to finish. Take note of anything that isn't working properly or that can be improved.
Step 2. Share the video directly to a social network
You can use the Sharing section of the Home tab to upload your video directly to sites like YouTube and Facebook. Movie Maker will ask you in what resolution you want to save your video, and then ask you to log into your Microsoft account. Once you have done so, you will be able to upload the video, if it meets the guidelines of the site you are uploading it to.
You will need to have a verified YouTube account to upload videos longer than 15 minutes
Step 3. Save the video to your computer
Click the arrows below the "Save Movie" button on the Home tab to open the list of predefined formats you can use to save your video. Choose the device on which you will watch the video, and Movie Maker will convert it automatically.
- The first option is the one recommended for your specific project.
- You can choose "Create Custom Settings" to specify exactly how you want to encode the video.
