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Using Windows Movie Maker
While you can buy a variety of quality movie editors, all Windows® XP-loaded computers ship with the latest version of Windows Movie Maker, an easy-to-use application specifically designed for home movie-making with DV (digital video) or mini-DV camera.
Capturing recorded video
Connect your DV or mini-DV camera to your PC with an IEEE 1394 cable, and set the camera mode to play your recorded video.
- In the Movie Tasks pane, select Capture Video
- Click Capture from Video Device
- On the Video Capture Device page, select Available Devices and click your DV camera
- Follow the prompts to name and save your captured video file
You can also take advantage of Windows Movie Maker’s advanced features to customize settings for capturing video and audio.
Capturing live video
Windows Movie Maker also allows you to capture video directly to your hard drive without first saving to tape:
- Connect your camera to your computer
- Set your camera to capture live video and audio
- Launch Windows Movie Maker
- Proceed as described in the previous section
- (To prevent audio from playing over your speakers during live capture, select Mute Speakers.)
Turning clips into movies
Windows Movie Maker makes it easy to create movies by helping you develop a storyboard, edit your clips, and add music.
Develop a storyboard:
- In the Collections view, double-click each clip to preview it
- Select the clips you want
- Drag the clips to the Storyboard in the order you choose
Edit your clips:
- In the Timeline view, click the clip you want to edit
- Drag the Preview scroll bar to the point at which you wish to trim the clip
- On the Clip menu, click Set Start Trim Point and Set End Trim Point as appropriate
Add music:
- Click Import Audio or Music
- Find the music track you want and click Import
- In the Storyboard, drag the music track from the Collection view to the Audio/Music level of the Timeline
Saving and sharing your movies
You can save your movies on your computer’s hard drive, save to CD, send in an email, or post to the Web. Just keep in mind the better the quality, the larger the file size.
Use Windows Movie Maker’s Save Movie Wizard to save and share your movies.
Save to hard drive:
- Select Save to My Computer
- Enter a title and choose a place to save your movie (the My Videos folder is the recommended default location)
- Click Next
- Select the quality setting for your new movie
- Click Next again to save your movie
Save to CD:
- Select Save to CD
- Enter a title for your movie and a name for your CD
- Click Next
- Select the settings that will maximize the movie’s quality while ensuring it fits on the CD
- Click Next again to save your movie
Send in email:
- Select Send in e-mail
- Windows Movie Maker will automatically select a quality setting acceptable to most email systems
- Click Next
- Your default email program will launch a new message with your movie attached
Send to the Web:
- Select Send to the Web
- Enter a title
- Click Next
- Select the quality setting for your new movie
- Click Next again to save the movie
- On the Select a Video Hosting Provider and Sign In page, click Sign Up Now to view a list of video hosting providers
- Choose a provider and follow the onscreen instructions to transfer your video to the Web
You can also burn your saved movie to a DVD, playable by your friends and family on any DVD player or suitably equipped PC. While Windows Movie Maker can help with the preparation, if you are not running Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005, you will need to purchase a separate application to burn a DVD.
(Please note, this guide is only an introductory overview. To achieve optimal results, always follow the manufacturer’s instruction manuals for your equipment and software.)
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