Windows Movie Maker software can be used to create, edit, and share videos on a home computer. The movies are created with just a few drag and drops of the best scenes from any video for professional looking home movies. The software can be used to create video e-mails or DVDs. Movie Edit Magic software can be used with Windows Movie Magic to create a DVD of a home video.
Using Windows Movie Maker is a great way to capture home videos from a digital camcorder and convert them into movies which can be uploaded to a web hosting server or to a video sharing service. This software program is part of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). If you do not have Windows XP, it can be downloaded from the Windows website for free.
In Windows Vista 20 new effects are included, along with new transitions and DVR-MS support. Additional support is provided for HDV camcorders. Windows Vista no longer supports analog video, such as videos from VCRs and Webcams.
Windows Movie Maker Requirements
Windows Movie maker is an easy to use software program which requires little or no technical knowledge for making a professional looking movie. All that is needed is the desire and ability to be creative. To take advantage of the capabilities of Windows Movie Maker the following computer hardware and software are needed, as a minimum:
- Digital camcorder – any digital camera which has a Firewire or USB connections for transferring videos to computer
- Computer that has USB or Firewire connections – for connecting to digital camcorder and external hard disk
- External hard disk that has USB connections – to store home movies which have been created
- DVD Burner – for recording movies
- Computer made in the past three years or at least a 600 MHz processor – preferably higher processor speed
- 1 GB RAM or more – preferably more
- 20 GB of free hard disk space – to have enough room to store and work with videos
- Head phones – for ease of listening to audio when editing a movie
Home Movie and Video Software
Windows Movie Maker provides the tools to make a home movie look professional. The features of these tools include:
- Transitions – adding fades, flips, and slides from one scene to another scene. The movie can be made to look older, change the brightness, or speed up scenes
- Adding titles and credits – to give the movie professional looking titles and credits with just a few clicks.
- Add music – inserting background songs in the movie to support scenes and add dramatic effects.
- Add narration – add voice narration to the movie to help add to the atmosphere or give details events which need added explanations.
Professional Quality Home Movies
There are many types of movies which can made into professional quality movies using Windows Movie Maker, some examples are:
- Family vacations
- Trips to the car race track
- Children’s sporting events
- Children’s music concerts or recitals
- Family holiday events
- Family reunions
- Weddings
- Births
- And many other family situations
Windows Movie Maker software provides the average person, with little or no computer technical skills, the ability to turn any video into a professional quality movie. This software provides the opportunity to share quality movies with family and friends on DVDs, along with the ability to upload them to video sharing websites.
