How to Use Window’s Movie Maker

At first it may seem as if making a movie is a daunting task, but I can show you how to make a movie in under ten minutes, with programs that are probably already on your computer! I would like to introduce to you Window’s Movie Maker; one of the most user friendly movie making programs available to those less-computer-savvy individuals.

There is probably one of many reasons why you need or want to make a movie. It could be for a class project, for a family event, or just out of sheer movie making desire. In order to make the editing process easy here are a few things you should prepare before starting to make your movie.

1.       You need either a collection of videos or pictures which will be the main visual aspect to your creation.

2.       You need some good background music that fits the theme of your movie.

3.       Window’s Movie Maker must be available on your computer. If you do have the program on your computer, the following path should allow you to access it: START=>PROGRAMS=>ACCESSORIES=>ENTERTAINMENT=>Windows Movie Maker.

4.       You will also need either a DVD, CD, or flash drive to which you will save your movie. You have to option to save the final movie to the computer hard drive, from which you can upload it to an internet sharing website (e.g. YouTube), but to play it on your television you must have some sort of removable storage device.

After you have gathered everything above, go ahead and open Windows Movie Maker. Now let the fun begin!

First, import all of you videos, pictures, and music into the new project by selecting “Import” from the drop down menu. You will now have a library of all these clips on the main project page. To create the movie, just drag elements you want in your movie down to the timeline. You can move things around as much as you want, add effects to the pictures and video, and also add transitions in between different clips!

You can also add a title to the beginning of your movie, and credits at the end by selecting the appropriate item from the drop down menu.

When you have finished editing, you can export your movie and save it to your computer of removable storage device. Then all you need to do is cook some popcorn, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!