Introduction to Windows Movie Maker 2

Transcription

1 Introduction to Windows Movie Maker 2

2 2 Introduction to Digital Video... 1 What is digital video...1 Digital video file types and compression...1 Hardware what you need to edit video...1 PAL and NTSC...2 Aspect Ratio...3 It s all in the planning storyboarding / scripting...3 Moviemaker overview... 4 Interface...4 Non-linear and non-destructive editing...5 Moviemaker projects...5 Capturing Video and importing files... 6 Capturing video from your digital video camcorder...6 Importing other files (e.g. pictures and audio)...8 Working with Collections...8 Editing Video Storyboard view...11 Timeline view...12 Adding clips to the timeline...12 Editing and trimming clips on the timeline...12 Transitions...13 Video Effects...14 Adding Audio...16 Adding Titles and credits...18 Video Output Saving the finished movie...21

3 1 Introduction to Digital Video What is digital video Digital video is most simply defined as Video stored in a digital file. It can therefore be stored, copied and played back on a computer. Unlike analog video, there is no loss of quality when digital video files are viewed and copied. A film stored on a DVD is stored digitally whereas footage stored on an ordinary VHS tape is analog. It is possible to import footage from a VHS tape into a PC (and therefore convert it into digital format) using an analog capture card connected to your PC. Digital video file types and compression Just as there are a number of different file types for pictures (e.g. jpeg, gif, tiff, bmp), there are a number of different file types for digital video. Compression technologies and video file types can get quite complicated and Moviemaker is very good at helping you choose the appropriate setting. Compression Digital video files generally need to be compressed when they are rendered from moviemaker. The way that this is achieved is by the compression system (or CODEC) looking at the various frames and then working out the differences in the pixels between them. Only these differences are recorded, so for example if you are recording someone sitting down in an office talking, only their body and head moves the shelves in the background stay still, so the codec knows that it only has to record the changes in pixels around the body area. Codecs There are a number of various codecs which are able to compress or shrink digital files. They are called codecs, because a video needs to be compressed and then decompressed (COmpressed /DECompressed). Moviemaker will do the compression when you export and render your final movie, whereas your video player (e.g. windows media player) will decompress the video so you can view and hear it. Filetypes Examples of filetypes are:!.mov apple s quicktime format which can use various codecs!.wmv windows media video a compressed file type!.avi This file format can use various Codecs The issue of Codecs is further complicated by the fact that some of the file types (such as.avi and quicktime files) are able to use various different CODECS whereas others such as.wmv and.mpg use their own compression technology. Hardware what you need to edit video In order to create and edit your own movies, you will need:! A camcorder (preferably a digital camcorder) - 1 -

4 ! A computer (with a firewire connection)! A firewire cable (to connect the camera to the computer)! Video editing software (e.g. moviemaker)! a director s chair with boss written on the back Camcorder Digital camcorders come in all shapes and sizes and prices range from around ,000. I would recommend that you purchase a camera which uses the mini DV format tapes (shown on the bottom left below) Mini dv tape Computer (with a firewire port) Moviemaker is probably the most resource hungry program you will ever use on your computer. The higher the specification of your computer, the better the program will run. You will need a PC with lots of RAM (at least 256mb), a quick processor (e.g. Pentium 4) and a good deal of hard drive space. If your PC doesn t have a firewire port, you can install one yourself if you have a spare pci slot available in your pc. In order to import full screen resolution video to your computer, your PC will need a firewire port. Some digital video cameras are able to export lower resolution video using a USB cable we will not be looking at USB capture in this manual. Preparing your PC As digital video files are generally quite large, it is a good practice to fine tune your PC to optimise performance.! Defragment your hard drive! Use an external hard drive to store video (if you can afford it!)! Close down any other programs when running moviemaker! Keep your PC updated (turn on automatic updates)! Use Disc cleanup to delete old temporary files and empty recycle bin PAL and NTSC You may have noticed when you bought a TV that it has PAL written on the side of it. PAL is the video format standard followed bu Eruope and Australia, with the US, Canada and Japan using NTSC. The standards differ in the number of lines of dots used to make the picture PAL uses 625 lines from top to bottom and displays 25 frames per second (fps). NTSC uses 525 lines and displays 30 frames per second. You need to check that your moviemaker project is set to the right mode (tools > options > advanced tab) 2

5 Aspect Ratio This is the relationship between the width and height of the picture. Normal TV has an aspect ratio of 4:3 (4 across, 3 down) whereas widescreen has an aspect ratio of 16:9. Some video cameras can shoot in both modes. You need to check that your moviemaker project is set to the right mode (tools > options > advanced tab) It s all in the planning storyboarding / scripting The most important thing to remember is that having all the equipment doesn t mean you ll automatically make a great film! The most important thing to do at the outset is to have a good idea of what you are going to film. A storyboard is a useful method of planning your film, and can take any format from being just a very simple bullet pointed list to detailed artists sketches. Having a storyboard will also help you when you are out on location filming, serving as a useful reminder of what footage you need to take. Depending on the format of your film, you may also want to create a script. 3

6 2 Moviemaker overview Moviemaker is free to download and install from the Microsoft website and is pre-installed on all computers with the Windows XP operating system. The latest version at this time (March 2005) is version 2.1. Interface The interface is made up various panels, monitors and a storyboard / timeline across the bottom. Tasks / collections pane If the tasks button is depressed, then this pane shows the common tasks which you can get moviemaker to perform such as importing video, adding titles etc. Collections contents pane Where you can select clips, effects and other source material to use (by dragging it to the storyboard/timeline) Storyboard / timeline window Swap between storyboard view and timeline view by clicking the show storyboard or show timeline button. The timeline window is where you carry out most of your editing 4

7 Preview monitor If you select a clip in the collections contents pane, this will show you a preview of the clip. If you are in the timeline, then it will show you your edited movie. Use the controls (e.g. play, forward etc) to control the clip. Non-linear and non-destructive editing Moviemaker is a nonlinear video editor which means that you can cut and paste video clips in much the same way as you cut and paste text and paragraphs in word. You can trim clips to make them shorter, extend clips (making them longer i.e slow motion) and apply special effects and transitions between clips. The idea of nonlinear editing is also known as non-destructive editing because the original clips which were imported onto the computer remain completely untouched, unlike in the days of film where the clips were literally cut. When you have finished editing the movie, the computer will render and create a new video file based on the edit decisions you have made (using the timeline) the original clips are completely untouched. Once you have imported clips into your moviemaker project, leave the clips where they are until you have finished rendering your final movie. If you delete a clip, then moviemaker will show it as a red cross in the collections contents window. Moviemaker projects Your moviemaker file is called a project with the file extension.mswmm 5

8 3 Capturing Video and importing files Capturing video from your digital video camcorder Before capturing, check that you have set the video properties in moviemaker. Click Tools > Options and then click on the Advanced tab. Check that you have selected the video format to PAL and aspect ration to 4:3 (if you recorded the footage as 4:3). It is also recommended that you don t run your camera from the battery but from the mains socket as some video cameras switch off automatically after a period of inactivity. Connect your digital camcorders to the PC through a Firewire cable. This is officially called IEEE 1394, however Sony calls it i.link - it s all the same! Then select Capture from Video device from the tasks pane The Video capture wizard appears asking you where you want to capture the video to On clicking the next button, the video setting dialog box appears. This is where you have to decide the quality and size of the video you are about to capture. Remember that if you set this to be a compressed format then the file size will be smaller, however if you wanted to output the video to a DVD or full screen video, then the quality would be poor. 6

9 For full screen editing (i.e. if you wanted to output to full screen dvd or output back to tape), then you should choose digital device format (DV-AVI) On clicking next, you will be given the option of capturing the entire tape automatically or capturing parts manually. Using the manual capture option will give you a set of controls which allow you to control the camera from moviemaker! If you have create clips when wizard finishes ticked, then moviemaker will create a number of different clips based on the major scene changes when the footage is imported into moviemaker (see clips and collections below). Click start capture when you are ready Preview window Camera controls When you have finished capturing the clip, click the stop capture button. 7

10 Importing other files (e.g. pictures and audio) You may want to use a photograph or image in your video - Moviemaker can import jpeg files (which is the image file produced by digital cameras.) Moviemaker can also import a wide range of audio formats including windows media audio (WMA), WAV and MP3. To import these assets, select File > Import into Collections. To change the default still picture duration If you want to change the default still picture duration, select Tools > Options and click the advanced tab. Change the Picture duration to the correct value. Working with Collections When you import assets into your project, they are placed inside a Collection. Moviemaker has 3 collections to start with, namely Video Effects, Video Transitions and Collections. 8

11 You can t delete these 3 collections, however you are able to add your own collections to the Collections container. Creating deleting and copying collections To create a new collection, right click an existing collection and right click and select New Collection. To copy a collection, right click on it and select copy To delete a collection, right click and select delete. This doesn t delete the source files, just the collection. Creating new Clips If you have a lot of footage, it is useful to be able to split it up into separate Clips. Again, this doesn t affect the original source video footage. When you capture video, if you tick the create clips when wizard finishes then moviemaker will do its best to create these separate clips based on the major scene changes and changes in the time code. Sometimes, however, you may wish to create more clips. For example, if you have taken 40 minutes of footage of someone giving a talk, rather than just working with one clip and then having to keep trimming it on the timeline, you can split the footage up into clips in the collections pane. To split a clip, select it in the collections pane and then use the playback controls to reach the point at which you want to split the clip. Then click the split clip button. The new clip will appear in the contents pane and you can then rename it, or drag it into another collection in the collections pane. Playback controls Split clip button 9

12 Relinking lost clips If you move any of the source footage, you will see the clip displayed in the contents pane with a red cross. To relink, select the clip, right click and then select browse for missing file. 10

13 4 Editing Video By splitting up your source footage into clips, you will make the final editing of the video much easier. The editing stage is where you will cut out the footage you don t want, and reorganise the footage, audio, images into the final movie. The editing is carried out in the bottom window, where you are able to switch between 2 views, Storyboard view and Timeline view using the show storyboard or show timeline button Storyboard view This is usually the view you can start your editing. Drag the clips, transitions or special effects from the contents collection into the storyboard. Reordering clips on the storyboard You can change the order of clips on the storyboard by selecting the clip you want to move and dragging it to the point at which you want it to appear. Deleting clips on the storyboard Delete a clip from the storyboard by selecting the clip, right clicking and selecting Delete. Remember that this doesn t affect the original source footage. To show more clips on the storyboard You can t use the zoom buttons, however you can drag the blue horizontal divider downwards to view more storyboard icons. Previewing your movie from the storyboard Click the play button in either the preview monitor or above the storyboard. 11

14 Timeline view Once you have set out the basic order of your clips, click the show timeline button and you will be given more details about each clip and how each clip will work on the timeline. The timeline is split into separate tracks showing the various elements which make up the final movie including:! Video! Transition you can add transitions between clips! Audio This is the audio which accompanies the video above. You can mute this audio by right clicking on the audio track and selecting Mute.! Audio / Music This is the track containing any narration or additional imported music.! Title Overlay Shows the duration and position of any added titles If you don t see the transition or audio tracks, click the + icon next to the video track to expand them. Use the zoom buttons to zoom in and out of the timeline these are especially useful when you want to get accurate cuts. Adding clips to the timeline To add a video clip, drag it from the Collection Contents pane to the timeline s Video Track. To add an audio clip, such as a song, drag it to the Audio / Music track. Editing and trimming clips on the timeline You can edit clips by either clicking and dragging the clips. Hover the mouse over the edge of the clip and the pointer changes to a double headed arrow. Click and drag the clip to shorten it. As you drag, you will see a highlight box which displays the new length of the clip in seconds. Alternatively, use the preview controls to play the clip to the point at which you want to make the cut and select Clip > Select Start Trim Point (if you want to trim off everything to the right) or Clip > Select End Trim Point (if you want to trim off everything to the left). REMEMBER THAT THE ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL IS NOT AFFECTED BY TRIMMING CLIPS IN THE TIMELINE 12

15 Transitions Adding a transition Transitions are special effects which are used to add impact between two adjacent clips on the timeline. For example, instead of just cutting between two clips, so that the viewer sees one clip end and the next one begin, a fade transition will fade the first clip into the second clip. The easiest way to add a transition is from the storyboard view. Click the Video Transitions collection in the left hand pane so you see a view of transitions in the collection contents pane. Then, drag the required transition between the 2 clips you want to have the transition applied to. When a transition is inserted between 2 clips, Moviemaker also inserts a cross-fade between the 2 audio tracks i.e. the first clip fades out as the second clip fades in. Remember that adding transitions will shorten your movie length. In the example below, I have applied a checkerboard transition between the 2 nd and 3 rd clips You can also apply transitions in timeline view by dragging a transition between 2 adjacent clips. Removing a transition To remove a transition, you can just select it in the timeline or in the storyboard and press delete. To change a transition, just drag another transition on top of the transition you want to change. 13

16 Changing the duration of a transition To change the duration of a transition, you need to switch to timeline view and drag the second clip either left (to shorten it) or to the right (to lengthen it). Whilst dragging the clip, you should see a blue wedge which shows the overlap between the 2 clips. Changing the default time for transitions You can change the default time for transitions by selecting Tools > Options and then clicking the Advanced tab. Enter a value in the Transition duration. Video Effects Video effects are filters which change the appearance of a picture or video clip. They can be used to fix the video (e.g. brighten darkly shot video) or enhance it artistically (e.g. make the film look like a 14

17 watercolour or make it look older). You can preview your effects by clicking the play button in the preview monitor although often the effects in the actual outputted final movie look better than in preview mode. Many digital camcorders also allow you to apply special effects (e.g. sepia tone etc), however you are advised to shoot footage without using any effects for a number of reasons. Firstly, you can apply and get more control over the effects within Moviemaker and secondly, if you apply a special effect to the original source footage through the camera, you can never remove the effect. Be careful with effects although fun to play with, they can be a real pain to watch! The most common effect is the fade-in or fade-out effect (e.g. fade out to black think Blair Witch). Adding an effect Click the Video Effects collection in the left hand pane so you see a view of the Video Effects in the collection contents pane. Then, drag the required video effect on top of the clip you want the effect to be applied to. You can also apply effects to still pictures e.g. ease in on a particular area of a photograph. When an effect is applied to a clip, you should see a blue star to indicate that the clip has an effect applied to it. Adding multiple effects You can apply up to 6 effects to any clip. Say for example, you wanted to brighten the clip before applying a film grain effect, then drag the brighten effect on first, followed by the film grain effect. To view which effects a particular clip has applied to it, right click on the clip and select Video Effects. You should see an Add or Remove Video Effects dialog box (see below). You can then remove or add further effects and change the order that effects are applied. Effects are additive and they are applied in the order from top to bottom of the Add or Remove Video Effects dialog box. Be aware that some effects cancel others out, for example an ease in effect will cancel an ease out effect. 15

18 Changing playback speed (e.g. slow motion) To change the playback speed, use the slow down, half or speed up, double effects. To slow down the video even more, just apply the slow down, half effect again (and again ) If you are synchronising your film to music or audio, then it is necessary to apply any effects relating to the playback speed before adding the audio. Adding Audio Audio is often overlooked by video producers. If the audio quality and editing is poor, then the whole film will suffer. Moviemaker has got only 2 audio tracks with one of those tracks being tied to the video. You are able to mute or change the volume of both of the audio tracks so for example, if you just wanted to have a background music track playing, then mute the video s audio track. Adding audio to the Audio / Music track To import an audio file, select File > Import into Collections. Moviemaker is able to import a number of formats including:! Mp3! Wav! Aif!.wma Once you have imported audio files (e.g. mp3 s or wavs) into moviemaker, just drag the audio clip from the contents collection to the Audio / Music track. Audio clips can be placed anywhere along the Audio/Music track (unlike video which can only be added next to adjoining video clips.) Adjusting the balance of volume between the Audio track and the Audio / Music track By clicking the Set Audio Levels button, you can control how much each of the audio tracks will be exported in the final rendered move. If you set the slider to be all the way to the left, then any audio placed in the Audio/Music track will not be heard. Likewise, if the slider is set all the way to the right, then the audio which accompanies the video will not be heard (e.g. a music video). This is a useful tool to use just before you finish rendering the final movie to get the balance between the 2 audio tracks right. 16

19 Adjusting the volume of individual clips You can set the volume of clips placed in either the Audio/Music track and the Video Audio track from the timeline. To adjust the volume of a clip, select the clip in the timeline, then right click and select Volume. Adjust the slider to set the volume, or to mute (silence) the clip, check the checkbox. Notice how the wave form in the timeline will change to reflect the change of volume. Fading a clip in and out If you want the clip to fade in or out, select it in the timeline, right click and select Fade in / Fade out. You have no control over the length of the fade. Adding narration You can narrate the timeline by clicking the narrate timeline button. The Narrate timeline dialog box appears. Select the Audio input source (e.g. microphone) and then when you are ready, click the Start Narration button. The narration will be recorded from the current position of the playhead in the timeline. If you have another audio track further on in the timeline and you don t want to move it along, then tick the Limit narration to available free space on Audio Music track. 17

20 Adding more than one Audio / Music Track Moviemaker has only one extra Audio / Music track which can be limiting if you want to add, for example, background music and narration. To get around this limitation, you can create a movie first, together with titles, background music, transitions etc and render it to your hard drive at a high quality setting. You can then bring this movie back into Movie Maker, ensuring that the Create clips for video files checkbox is not selected. The background music and video sound will then be contained on the Video s audio track and then the narration added on the Audio / Music track. Adding Titles and credits Moviemaker allows you to easily add titles and credits to your movie in a wide range of formats and styles. Adding titles and credits is usually left until the end of the video editing project. Titles can be added to either the Title Overlay track (in which case, they will superimpose any video playing at the same time on the Video track) or into the Video track. Adding titles and credits To create titles, click the Make titles or credits wizard under the edit movie pane. 18

21 Make titles or credits If you want the titles or credits to appear over a clip, select the clip in the timeline before clicking the Make titles or credits link. The adding titles wizard appears with the following options:! Add title at the beginning of the movie! Add title before the selected clip! Add title on the selected clip! Add title after the selected clip! Add credits at the end of the movie You can change the text font and colour and change the title animation from the wizard. Choose the font carefully, bearing in mind your film s content and the size of the exported movie. If the film. Moviemaker will automatically keep your text from appearing too close to the edges, as some televisions won t display the picture at the edge of the screen. This is called the title safe area. To edit a title in the timeline, just double click the title clip to view the title wizard dialog. From the timeline, you can drag the ends of the title clip. This will effectively change the speed of the title s animation. Title animation The title animation is split into three categories:! Titles One line uses the same font and font size. If necessary, text will be wrapped.! Titles Two lines Uses the same font, however the top line uses a larger font than the second line.! Credits Multiple lines the top line is a large font, with the rest being smaller. 19

22 First line First line Second line Second line The title animation allows you to make your titles fade in, or scroll up etc. To create a Star Wars effect, choose the Scroll, perspective as the animation. Moving a title between the Title overlay track and the Video track Usually, you will add a title to the Title Overlay track, however you can add a title to the Video track. If a title is added to the Video track, it is treated much like an ordinary video clip, and will shift any other video clips across. Video Track Title Overlay Track From the timeline, you can drag titles between the Title Overlay track and the Video track. If the title is not overlaid on a video, the background colour will not show through. Adding video effects to titles You can add video effects (such as sepia tone) to titles in the same way as adding effects to ordinary video clips just drag the effect to the title. You can only apply effects to titles or credits in the Video Track, not the Title Overlay track. Adding titles to 2 tracks at the same time To create a more advanced title effect, you can add a title in both the Video track and the Title Overlay track. Download extra free titles You can download free titles and backgrounds from 20

23 6 Video Output Once your project has been edited, you can output the finished movie in a number of different file formats and levels of compression. Moviemaker has a very good wizard which guides you through the process of saving your movie and choosing the right options. To save your movie, either click File > Save Movie File or choose from one of the options under the Finish Movie task pane. Saving the finished movie This option will save the movie as a file on your computer. Any transitions, edits, titles and effects are rendered into a single video file onto a folder on your computer. Firstly, you are asked where you want to save the movie Browse to the location at which you want to save your movie and click next. The save movie wizard then appears At this dialog box, click the Show more choices link. This will give you more control over the size and compression applied to the rendered movie. It is recommended that you check the Other Settings radio button which will give you a number of output choices. 21

24 Which file type? Windows Media can generate 2 types of file, namely a AVI and WMV. An AVI is an uncompressed video file format which is uncompressed and therefore creates the largest files and is suitable if you want to use the video in another application (e.g. if you want to use a DVD authoring application to create a DVD). On the other hand, WMV files can only be used by computers with Windows Media Player installed. Which setting? The drop down list gives a number of choices from Video for dial up access (e.g. if you wanted to target your movie for internet users) to High Quality Video. Where do you want to save the movie? You can save your movie to a number of locations direct from Moviemaker:! My Computer one of your hard disks (e.g. C Drive)! Recordable CD Only available if you have a recordable CD Drive! Create smaller movies! The web Only available if you have a hosting account with a video hosting provider.! DV Camera Only available if your DV Camera has a DV-in option What about making a DVD? Unfortunately, Moviemaker is not able to produce movies in DVD format. To create a DVD, you will need to use or purchase an additional DVD authoring programme like Sonic MyDVD (which costs $49.99 direct from the Sonic website ). This will convert your final movie into mpeg-2, the DVD format. It also allows you to create menus of your movies. 22