Create better home movies

Free editing
Whatever was used to film your footage, the chances are that it contains lots of bits you would rather do without: failed attempts to capture something specific, embarrassing moments, dodgy camerawork or useless shots of the inside of your lens cap.

This is perfectly normal. In fact, if even 10 per cent of what you have filmed is fit for public consumption, then you are doing pretty well. And that’s precisely where editing comes in. It allows you to cut out all the junk and preserve only the best moments from your film.

It’s also possible to augment a video project further by adding effects, music, transitions and text to give it that professional sheen.

The surprising news is that you don’t need to invest in any expensive software in order to achieve this. All that’s necessary is the free, easy-to-use program that comes with your computer: Windows Movie Maker.

Of course, there are plenty of alternatives available, including Adobe Premiere Elements 7, Cyberlink Powerdirector 8 and Pinnacle Studio 12, all of which offer advanced options, such as Blu-ray output. But, in truth, it’s perfectly possible to produce something great using just Movie Maker.

In this feature we will explain how to use the version of Movie Maker that comes with Windows Vista. You will find it by going to Start, selecting All Programs and then clicking on the Windows Movie Maker icon in the list that appears.

There is also very similar version for Windows XP.

Importing video
To work with video in Windows Movie Maker you need to import it into the program. This can be done either by importing raw video files that you have transferred to the computer’s hard disk (such as those from memory card or hard disk-based camcorders, mobile phones or digital cameras) or by importing footage from a camcorder tape.

Let’s take a tour of Movie Maker. Along the bottom of the screen is the Storyboard. This is where you will arrange your clips. On the right is the Preview window, where you can view any changes you make.

In the middle of the screen is the Collections pane, where any footage you have imported should be visible. On the left is the task pane, a series of links to common tasks, some of which will have a bearing on what appears in the Collections pane.

Click on ‘Effects’, for example, and the Collections pane will switch to displaying effects rather than video clips. Click ‘Imported media’ to return to your library of clips.

Once files are imported, editing them into a video is simple. Drag and drop clips from the Collections pane on to the Storyboard in the order you want them to appear. The order can be changed in the Storyboard by dragging and dropping clips where you want them.

Once all the clips are in order you will have the basics of a video. Now it’s time to refine the project further.