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How to Edit Film & Video

Basic movie and video editing is a more accessible skill than ever with the inclusion of editing software on most new operating systems on the market. One such program is Windows Movie Maker. This editing software allows anybody with a camera and a concept the ability to manipulate and create personal movies with music, effects, narration, titles and more. Editing actual film with a program like Movie Maker requires transferring the film content into a digital form, such as a DVD. The IFO (Information) content on the DVD can then be transferred to a wmv (Windows media video) file for editing.

Things You'll Need

  • Windows Movie Maker
  • Video and audio files
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Instructions

  1. Download Windows Movie Maker

    • 1

      Type in the web address, www.microsoft.com, to access the Microsoft homepage. Click "Downloads And Trials" in the menu at the top of the page and select "Download Center" from the list of destinations. Click "Download" in the middle of the page, then click "save file."

    • 2

      Scroll to the drop down menu in the middle of the page titled "Top Downloads For:", click the arrow to open the list of possible download categories and select "Windows Media." Click the "Go" button next to the drop down menu. A list will populate with the title "Most Popular Downloads." From this list, select the latest version of Windows Movie Maker.

    • 3

      Click "Download" in the middle of the page, then click "save file."

    Basic Editing with Windows Movie Maker

    • 4

      Open Windows Movie Maker. Choose the video files you wish to import from your hard drive to your clip collection.

    • 5

      Click the "Import Video" button under the "Capture Video" section in the Movie Tasks menu at the left of the screen. Select your video to import from your hard drive. Check the box next to the "Create clips for video files option" and click "Import." The video has been divided into sections and the clips should now be stored in your "Collection" folder in Movie Maker.

    • 6

      Locate the "Timeline" window at the bottom of the program window. This is where you can manipulate the length, style and content of your video clips.

    • 7

      Drag and drop the video clips you wish to edit from your Collection into the Timeline. You can rearrange the order you wish the clips to be played by dragging them into place in the Timeline.

    • 8

      Add a title to your video by selecting the "Make Titles and Credits" option from the Movie Tasks menu to the left of the window.

    Adding Music

    • 9

      Add music to your movie by clicking the "Import Audio or Music" button under the Capture Video section.

    • 10

      Select your audio file and click "Import." Drag the file from your collection to the place in the Timeline you want the music to begin playing.

    • 11

      Drag the right edge of the file to the place in the Timeline where you wish the music to stop.

    • 12

      Right-click anywhere on the audio file in the Timeline to access additional effects such as "Fade Out," "Fade In," "Volume" or "Mute."

Film Production

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