Overview
Windows Movie Maker 2 is a free download from Microsoft that allows you to easily
create movies on your computer. It is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s I-Movie, and while
it lacks some of the abilities of Apple’s program, it will likely provide you with the most
of the features you need to create short digital movies.
Movie Maker 2 is an updated version of the original Movie Maker that is included with
Windows XP. You can download the free update at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker/downloads/moviemaker2.asp.
In order to run either version of Movie Maker you must be using the Windows XP
operating system.
The Process
There are 4 basic steps to creating a movie using Movie Maker 2:
1) Digitizing your source materials, i.e. get the videos, pictures, and sounds that will
make up you movie onto your computer in digital format;
2) Import them into Movie Maker collections;
3) Edit your movie by arranging the video clips, pictures, and audio files in the order
you wish and applying transitions, titles, narration, etc.
4) Save your movie in a format that is appropriate for delivery on the web or on
compact disc.
To digitize still images: this involves either scanning photos or moving images taken
with a digital camera from your camera to your hard drive. We will not be covering these
tasks in this workshop. ATS has a scanner that you can use to digitize still photos or
slides and we will be happy to schedule a time with you to show you how to do this. To
move images from your camera to your hard drive, follow the instructions provided with
your camera or use a stand-alone card reader. Movie Maker will accept standard jpg, gif,
tiff, & bmp, formats, along with a few other less common formats.
To digitize audio: use third party applications such as Sound Recorder (a standard part
of the Windows OS) to record audio using the input on your soundcard, or other
programs to “rip” the audio from cds. Again, this is beyond the scope of this workshop,
but ATS will be happy to work with you individually if you have questions.
To capture video: Movie Maker will let you capture video from a video camera (or
VCR) connected to your computer. You will need the appropriate hardware to
accomplish this task. Setups can vary widely, but in general, to capture video from a
digital video camera you will need a firewire or IEEE 1394 port on your computer and an
appropriate cable to connect your camera and your computer. This is the ideal setup,
since the video is already in a digital format and can be copied from the camera to the
computer without any loss in quality. If you want to capture video from an analog source,
such as a VCR or a Hi-8 camcorder, you will need an analog-to-digital converter. This
can be either a card that is installed inside your computer or an external device to which
you connect your video device and your computer (usually through a USB port). The
device takes the analog video and digitizes it. Microsoft provides a brief guide for various
hookups at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker/getstarted/cameratopc.asp. Once
again, ATS has the equipment to help you digitize video. Contact us to make an
appointment. You can also use a webcam to capture live video, and we will demonstrate
that process in class.
Regardless of the device and hardware setup you have, the process for capturing the
video using Movie Maker is basically the same:
1) Click on “Capture from video device”
2) Select the device from which you will be recording your
video click Next
3) Enter a file name for the video you will be creating and
click “Browse” to select the location where you will save
your video. Click Next
4) Video Setting Selection: For the purposes of this workshop, we will choose “Best
quality for playback on my computer.” Please note that there are several options
available under “Other settings.” Please see the section entitled Saving Your
Movie at the end of the handout for a more detailed description of these settings
and their usage.
5) Click “Start Capture” to begin recording from the device. “Stop Capture” ends
the recording. Note that you can create multiple clips by simply selecting “Start
Capture” again. This screen allows you to preview your video as you record and
see the approximate length and size of your video. Check the box to allow Movie
Maker to create clips at pauses or scene changes.
6) When you click Finish, Movie Maker will import the video into a new collection.
Import Your Files into Collections
Once you have all your source files on your computer, you need to import them into
Movie Maker so that you work with them. Movie Maker does not actually move or
change your original files. It simply makes note of where they are and creates an internal
“pointer” to them that it uses. As a result, once you begin a Movie Maker project, if you
move or delete your source files Movie Maker will not be able to find them and your
work will be ruined.
To import files, simply click on the type of file you would like to
import, video, pictures, or audio.
1) Browse to the location where the files are stored
2) Select the files you want to include.
To Add Narration:
You can record narration for your movie directly within Movie Maker. Because the
narration is stored on the same track as the audio/music (see above), you cannot have
both narration and background music at the same time. Audio that was imported as part
of a video clip is stored separately, so you can have narration and the ambient audio from
your original video playing concurrently. To record narration, you must have a
microphone connected to your computer.
• Make certain you are using the timeline view;
• Drag your timeline indicator to
the spot in the video where you
would like to add narration; the
Audio/Music line must be empty
at this spot;
• Click on the icon of the microphone;
• A new screen appears; here you can adjust the input level of your microphone;
o Speak normally into the microphone and watch the level indicator;
o The level indicator should not go into the red, but should come close;
o Adjust the level up or down as required;
o Repeat the process until the levels are set appropriately;
• Click the “Start Narration” button to start recording;
• Your film will begin playing in the video monitor from the spot you indicated;
• Speak into the microphone;
• When you are finished, press the “Stop Narration” button;
• You will be prompted to save your file;
• The recorded narration will automatically be added to the collection currently
open and added to the Audio/Music track timeline.
Adding Titles:
Adding text titles to you film allows you, for example, to display the title of your
masterpiece at the beginning of the film, or to put a person’s name onscreen during an
interview segment, or to create the list of credits at the end of the film (you know, that
part of the movie that is still playing as most people start to leave the theater).
• Click on “Make Titles or Credits”
• You have the choice of creating a title at the beginning
of the movie, at the end of the movie, before and after
individual clips, and on an individual clip.
• Select the placement for the title you would like to
appear in your movie.
• Another screen appears where you can enter the text.
• Enter the text that will appear on the title.
• Click Change Text Font and Color to select fonts and colors.
• Click Change Title Animation to select how the text appears on the screen.
You can have it scroll across the screen, for example, or have it fill in like
dripping paint (particularly effective using red font for those slasher flicks).
Digital video files can be huge, many gigabytes. At maximum quality, one hour of video
can take up 13 gigabytes of space. You have to play a balancing game between file size
and the medium you plan to use to deliver your movie. Your students will not download a
100mb movie you have made. The chart below is frequently cited on the web and lists
estimated download times for file sizes based on connection speed. You should note,
however, that this chart is overly optimistic and assumes maximum download speed at
each connection speed. Network traffic and a variety of other issues will usually
significantly increase the time required.
Estimated Download Times
Although there are any number of video file types (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MOV, etc.),
Windows Movie Maker will actually only save movies in one of two files types, AVI or
WMV, and it will only save AVI in one setting (the highest quality). WMV stands for
Windows Media Video; hence Windows Movie Maker’s fondness for WMV.
WMV files are good for the web (depending upon the settings used) and can be used for
streaming video with the right server. The bad news is that if you want to create a DVD
to play on your television you will have to use another piece of software to convert your
WMV file to a format that can be used to create a DVD (i.e. MPEG-2).