Most digital cameras have a short video-recording function and it's mostly underused.

The quality of the clips may be nowhere near that of video from an expensive camcorder, but they're great for getting short clips and sending them via email to far-flung relatives.

Over the following pages we will show you how to liberate those clips and transform them into mini epics using the free editing application Windows Movie Maker that's included with Windows XP.

Get started
The first step is to find Movie Maker on your hard disk. Go to the Start button, select All Programs, and go to Windows Movie Maker.

If it can't be seen, return to the Start menu, choose All Programs and then look in the Accessories folder. If all else fails, click on the Search button, then on All Files and Folders and enter 'moviemk' in the search pane.

If the search function doesn't turn up the file, Movie Maker may not be installed. You can get it by downloading Windows XP Service Pack 2, which we would recommend anyway for its security benefits and extra features.

You can download Service Pack 2 from the Windows Update website but don't forget to back up important documents and create a Restore Point before installing it.

Using the main window
Movie Maker's window is split into four parts, with a main toolbar at the top containing buttons to help control the function of the other windows.

The left pane shows either the Tasks or Collections view, and these can be switched between using the buttons on the main toolbar.

The Tasks view allows you to add footage or sound, apply effects and access the program's built-in help files. The Collections view shows files, effects or transitions for use in your project.The middle pane provides a preview of clips or effects you are working with.

The pane on the right-hand side is a mini version of Windows Media Player, so the film can be previewed as effects and edits are applied.

The final pane runs along the bottom and shows the footage as a storyboard, with thumbnail images to identify clips. Different bits of footage can be copied from the Collections pane into the Storyboard, moved around in the movie, and transitions and effects inserted from the Collections pane.