Turn on the web camera. For most webcams, this simply involves plugging it into the USB port. If you have a built-in webcam, such as in the MacBook, there is no need to turn on the camera.
Open the video editing program and choose "New Project" from the file menu. Name it something that you will remember later.
Open the Capture tool. In most programs "Capture" is located in the File menu and will open a screen that previews what will be captured by the webcam. If nothing is displayed, you may need to manually select the webcam from the File menu.
Position the camera now that you can see what will be captured. If you are shooting a person, be sure not to cut off the top of the head. A standard medium close-up, according to Media College, leaves just a little space between the top of the head and the top of the frame and cuts the bottom of the frame just below the subject's shoulders.
Light the shot. This is one of the most important elements to making a pleasant-looking image. Standard lighting technique is called three-point lighting and requires a light on the subject's face at about a 30 degree angle, a light from the opposite side (called a fill light), and a light hitting the background (the back light).
Press "Capture" or "Record," and begin shooting the movie. The program will record everything to the computer memory.
Press "Stop" when you are done. The video should now be in the video library.
Pull the captured video from the video library into the timeline.
Edit the video in the timeline. Cut out parts you do not like and add effects and music if you like.
Select Export from the File menu. This will bring up a prompt asking you to choose a format. What you choose will vary depending on what you intend for the movie, but common file outputs for Web video are MOV, AVI and MPG. Be sure that the export destination is set to a place you will recognize, such as Desktop.
Select "OK" and export the project to a movie file.