MOVIEMAKER TUTORIAL

ORGANIZE FILES

IMPORTANT! Place all the necessary files you'll be using for your movie project in the

same folder (images, videos, audio, and the MovieMaker project file). Your movie will not work if all the associated files aren’t in the same location. Movie Maker 'remembers' the last

known location of all the imported files - so any changes with the file locations, or even file names would lead

to missing files in a project.

IMPORTING FILES

After all the necessary project files are in the same folder, it’s now time to import them into Movie Maker.

The pictures and video clips can be imported by clicking either of the two Add videos and photos buttons

Note that you have the option to change the sizes of the images in the timeline depending on your preference.

To do this, just click on VIEW and choose the size you want.

ADDING MUSIC OR NARRATING USING A MICROPHONE

You should import music early since the music will affect how the images will be edited in the timeline. To

import the music file just click the ADD MUSIC icon. To narrate your movie, choose Record Narration (laptops

have built in microphones)

The music/narration file will appear as a bar below the images; its duration is visually depicted by the length of

the bar:

MOVING/EDITING IMAGES

Move the image files according to the order of appearance in the movie by manually dragging the thumbnails

left/right/up/down.

Adjusting the time duration of the image will dictate how long a certain image appears in the movie. To edit

the time duration of images: select an image, click EDIT below VIDEO TOOLS in the Function Menu and set the

desired time duration either by choosing one of the pre-set time durations in the drop-down list, or by typing

in the exact time duration.

Music stops here

EDITING VIDEOS

Video files have more editing options and can be found in VIDEO TOOLS > EDIT. The video-editing features

include:

Audio Settings Adjustments: includes Video volume adjustment (no sound to full sound) and Fade in and

Fade out speed selection

Video Speed Adjustment: create dramatic "slow-mo" effects or create "high-speed, fast-paced" action

scenes

Split Tool: enables you to split your video into two or more segments by moving the vertical bar to the

specific point/time you'd like the video to be split and clicking the SPLIT icon.

Trim Tool: allows you to remove certain parts of the video and/or to specify the starting and end points of

the video. You could do this by following either of these two methods:

o Manually move/drag the vertical bar to the specific point/time you'd like the video to start, then click on

Set start point to trim the video at the specified point. Do the same to set the endpoint, clicking Set end

point this time; or

o Click on the Trim Tool icon > a new sub-toolbar will appear > set the Start point and End point by

typing in the exact times or clicking the up and down arrows > click Save Trim.

EDITING MUSIC

Music files have editing options similar with those of videos. These can be found on the Music Tools Tab. The

music-editing options include:

Audio Settings Adjustments: includes Music volume adjustment (no sound to full sound) and Fade in and

Fade out speed selection

Split Tool: enables you to split your music file into two or more segments by moving the vertical bar to the

specific point/time you'd like the music file to be split and clicking the Split icon.

Set start time: allows you to set the point in the timeline when you'd like the music to start playing. You

could do this by either typing in the exact start time or clicking the up and down arrows.

Set start/end point: an exact equivalent of the Video Tools Trim Tool, this enables trimming of the selected

music so it starts/ends at the specified point in the timeline, which could also be done in two ways:

o Manually move the vertical bar to the specific point in the timeline where you'd like the music to start,

then click on Set start point to trim the music at the specified point. Do the same to set the end point; or

o Set the Start point and End point by typing in the exact times or clicking the up and down arrows.

ANIMATION & TRANSITION EFFECTS

Transition effects allow you to give a distinctive special effect on how your movie plays from one video clip or

picture to the next. You can add a transition between two pictures or video clips in any combination on the

storyboard/timeline. To do this:

Transitions are added at the start of images/videos, so click on the item where you'd like the transition to

start (i.e. the second of two images should be selected to add a transition between them)

Click on the Animations tab > click the drop-down button > hover the cursor over the thumbnails to see

the preview of each transition in the preview screen > select your chosen transition effect.

Set the time duration of the transition either by typing in the exact time or choosing from the pre-set time

durations (from as fast as 0.25 seconds to as slow as 2.00 seconds).

An opaque triangle will appear on the side of the item thumbnail indicating the transition effect has been

successfully applied

If you intend to use the same transition for all your pictures and video clips, just click the Apply to all icon

If you want to only apply a certain transition effect to a select number of pictures and video clips, you can

use the Ctrl+arrow key or Ctrl+Shift to batch select the items and then click the transition you'd like to use

and set the time duration.

PAN & ZOOM EFFECTS

Pan and zoom effects refer to the movement of the image or video within the viewing screen. Pan effects

include movement in the horizontal (left/right), vertical (up/down), diagonal or even rotational directions, while

Zoom effects are zooming in or zooming out of the screen (in combination with pan effects). To add these

effects to your project:

Select the picture or video clip you'd like to add an effect on.

Click on the Animations tab > click the drop-down button > hover the cursor over the thumbnails to see

the preview of each effect in the preview screen > select your chosen pan & zoom effect.

VISUAL EFFECTS

Movie Maker also has a bunch of visual effects that you could apply to images to give them a distinct feel or

artsy look. While these are not commonly utilized, these can be extremely useful for special scenes where their

effects are tailor-fitted for, like black and white for vintage scenes/flashbacks or spectrum colors for disco-type

scenes. To use these effects:

Select the image/video you'd like to give a visual effect > click the Visual Effects tab > choose your desired

effect.

There is also a brightness adjustment setting you could use for your images/videos.

Like with the transitions and pan and zoom effects, you have the option to apply a certain visual effect to all

of your images/videos by clicking the Apply to all button.

NOTE: Transitions, pan & zoom, animations and visual effects should only be used to yield

good results for your project. Do not use every transition/animation/visual effect. It doesn’t

look good and it makes the project file size huge.

AUTOMOVIE THEMES

Movie Maker also offers AutoMovie themes which you could use to instantly give your project the necessary

movie elements in just one-click of a button. Each AutoMovie theme comes with its own pre-defined set of

animations and visual effects that serves as a guide/suggestion on what you could do with your set of images

and video clips in your timeline. You will find them on the Home Tab.

ADDING TITLES, CAPTIONS, CREDITS

Text can also be added in your movie project: titles are added at the start of the movie, captions added in the

middle, while credits are added in the end. These can be added by clicking either the Title, Caption, or Credit

icons in the Home tab. Texts appear as peach-colored bars at the bottom of the pictures and video clips in the

timeline.

SAVING YOUR MOVIE

To save your project as you go along, choose SAVE PROJECT (AS) under the File Tab.

Use SAVE PROJECT AS the first time you save it and SAVE PROJECT after that.

When you are finished, and want to save your movie with

everything embedded in one file, under the File Tab choose

SAVE MOVIE and then choose FOR COMPUTER.

Save it as an MPEG-4 to embed in PowerPoint