New & updated June 2009. This screen-by-screen tutorial shows you how to begin using the free Windows Movie Maker video editing program.

1. Windows Movie Maker Introduction to Video Editing Mindy McAdams

2. Video editing requires a lot of computer memory. Reboot the computer before you begin. Shut it down and restart.

3. Launch Windows Movie Maker from the Start menu.

4. Most important: Before you begin, select the correct settings. These must match your CAMERA settings. If you SHOT at 16:9, you must select that here! Tools menu > Options Tab: Advanced

5. Start a new project in Windows Movie Maker. File menu > New Project Saving the project file does not alter your original clips.

6. Save your project now. File menu > Save Project As … Be very careful to save it inside the same folder that contains your video clips!

7. Name the project file and click Save.

8. If you needed to transfer video from your camera, then you would capture.

9. Alternatively, you can import your files this way. (Two buttons at top of screen: Tasks and Collections . The Movie Tasks menu appears when you select Tasks .)

10. You can import many files at once. Hold down the Shift key and click to select.

11. Wait until all files have been imported.

12. You may need to click the “Collections” button to see files.

13. Grab and drag the left edge to enlarge the viewer.

14. Play and pause the clip. Then split it.

15. Normally you split a clip 2 times, so you will have 3 clips . Grab the clip you want and drag it down to the Storyboard panel.

16. After you have edited one clip, save the project again (to be safe). WMM is likely to crash or freeze , and you will lose your work.

17. Now select a different clip to split and then add to the Storyboard.

18. Edit the new clip in the same manner. Split it twice , cutting some from the beginning, and then, some from the end.

19. Grab the clip you want and drag it down to the storyboard panel.

20. At any time, you can move the clips forward or backward in the storyboard. This changes the order in which the clips will play in your final movie. Grab the frame and drag it to the left.

21. Save your project often.

22. Adding an audio track to the project

23. Before adding an audio track, switch from Storyboard to Timeline view. (The button toggles between the two.) This is Timeline view. This is Storyboard view.

24. Import an audio file from someplace on your computer. The format can be WAV or MP3. Click the + to see this expanded Timeline.

25. The audio file will appear this way.

26. Grab the audio file and drag it to the Audio/Music track.

27. You will see your audio track in Timeline view (but not in Storyboard view). If the length of the audio file matches the length of the video, there is nothing more to be done. Save the movie, and enjoy it!

28. You can adjust the volume of the audio on any individual video clip.

29. To mute (or otherwise change) the audio on one of your clips, right-click the audio that is attached to the clip. Then use the menu shown here. Right-click the audio ... ... then select from the pop-up menu.

30. You can use more than one audio clip on the single Audio/Music track. However, you cannot add or layer tracks.

31. You can import multiple audio files.

32. Drag each audio file to the Audio/Music track. Slide it left or right there. In this way, you can add interview material or narration.

33. Adding titles and credits to the project

34. Before adding titles and credits, switch from Storyboard to Timeline view. (The button toggles between the two.) This is Timeline view. This is Storyboard view.

35. Select “Make titles or credits” from the Movie Tasks list.

36. To place credits at the end of the movie, choose the credits option. There are four options for titles , but only one for credits .

37. Type the credit lines separately in the white box at top. Change the animation effects, font or color using the two blue links indicated above. When finished, click “Done, add title to movie.”

38. You can change the color of the background or the font. You can also change the appearance of the font.

39. Use this menu to change the appearance of the font.

40. Your credits will appear at the end.

41. To create a title at the beginning of the movie, choose one of the four options for titles. There are four options for titles , but only one for credits .

42. In the Timeline, place the cursor where you want the title to appear. Then type the title in the white box at top. Change the animation effects, font or color using the two blue links indicated above. When finished, click “Done, add title to movie.”

43. You can choose to have the title appear on top of the video images. If you do, this is how it will look while you are editing. But no worries, the image seen here will NOT appear in your movie!

44. You can move the title. Grab it and drag it, left or right.

45. You can move the credits too. Grab the box, and drag it down to the “Title Overlay” track, and then slide it left or right.

46. Exporting the movie file

47. When you have completed all the editing, you will make a movie file . File menu > Save Movie File … (This is different from the project file.)

48. It is important to save the file at a high quality. Choose: My Computer Saving the movie file: Step 1

49. Name the file and choose where to save it. Name it … Browse to choose a folder to save it in. Saving the movie file: Step 2

50. Be careful to note where you save it. Saving the movie file: Step 3

51. Click “Show more choices …” to get a menu. Saving the movie file: Step 4

52. By saving a DV-AVI file, you will have more options for compressing it for the Web. Choose: DV-AVI (NTSC) Saving the movie file: Step 5

53. You can upload the new, high-quality .avi * movie file directly to YouTube . If you want to add the movie to the Web in some other way, you can experiment with different methods of video compression. * AVI is a video format. It is much higher quality than WMV. The file size will be large, about 1 MB per second.

54. Windows Movie Maker Introduction to Video Editing Mindy McAdams http://mindymcadams.com/