STEP 1: Import Your Pictures Import pictures *Note:

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1 STEP 1: Import Your Pictures Transferring your still pictures to your PC is the first step in making your own slide show. Then you'll need to import them into Windows Movie Maker. A tip before you begin to assemble your slide show: Pictures that are wider than they are tall (landscape orientation) fit the shape of computer monitors better so use horizontal pictures whenever possible. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Movie Maker. In the Movie Tasks pane under Capture Video, click Import pictures. You'll be prompted to import your pictures, so browse to the folder where you keep your photographs. You can select several pictures in a single folder by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking each picture. When you've selected your pictures, click Import. If you have pictures in other folders to import, click Import pictures again and repeat the process. Your pictures will appear in the Collections pane of the Movie Maker window. *Note: The image or audio file you import into Windows Movie Maker is a representation of the original source file. The file remains in the folder or location from which it was imported. You can delete or rename pictures shown in the Collections pane of Movie Maker without actually deleting or renaming the original picture. You can also add special effects to the pictures within Movie Maker and the original pictures aren't ever modified.

2 STEP 2: Import Your Audio Windows Movie Maker lets you work with audio in a variety of ways. You can import a CD track or MP3 music file as background music for your movie or create your own voice narration. Using Movie Maker and a microphone you can record your voice-over directly into the audio / music track in the timeline view. However, for this project you will be recording your voice and music into an MP3 file using a freeware program called Audacity, and then importing it following the steps below. In the Movie Tasks pane under Capture Video, click Import audio or music. Browse to your folder that contains your previously saved MP3 file (narration and background music) and select it. Click Import. Change to Timeline View by clicking Show Timeline. Drag your audio file onto the Audio/Music track. SAVE Your PROJECT! Name it filename_ver1 *Note: It is a good idea to save your project and give it different version names as you continue to work on it. This approach will allow you to go back to a previous version if something goes awry without starting from scratch.

3 STEP 3: Add images to the Storyboard When you import pictures, they're added to Movie Maker as collections. Collections aren't automatically added to your video, so you should click on Show Storyboard, and then drag your pictures from the Collections box into the storyboard (one image per box). STEP 4: Add Titles and Credits Titles and credits let you enhance your movie by adding text-based information to your movie. You can add a title to various places in your movie: at the beginning or end of a movie, before or after a clip, or overlaying a clip. The title plays for the specified amount of time, and then the video clip or picture displays in your movie. In the Movie Tasks pane, under Edit Movie, click Make titles or credits. You'll be prompted to choose where to add the title and select a style for your title screen. You can preview your slide show by clicking the Play button in the preview window. STEP 5: Add Transitions A video transition controls how your movie plays from one video clip or picture to the next. You can add a transition between two video clips, pictures or titles, in the storyboard or timeline. The transition plays before the one clip ends and while the other clip starts to play. In the Movie tasks pane, under Edit Movie, click View video transitions. The Collections pane will become the Video Transitions pane. Drag the video transition to the boxes between two pictures on the storyboard.

4 STEP 6: Add Video Effects (Optional) A video effect determines how an image, picture or titles displays. A video effect is applied for the entire duration that the picture or title displays in your movie. In the Movie tasks pane, under Edit Movie, click View video effects. The Collections pane will become the Video effects pane. Drag and drop the video effect on to the image on the storyboard. The video effect box will become highlighted when the effect is applied. SAVE YOUR PROJECT Name it filename_ver2 Step 7: Adjust the Timeline At this point you will want to match your voice recording with your images. Using the storyboard template is a useful way to pre-plan which images will appear at certain points in your script and for how long they will display. Click Show Timeline above the Storyboard. Listen to your audio by clicking play. You can use the pause and rewind buttons to pause or rewind your audio. Decide at which points of the audio your image will appear and for how long it should be displayed. The time is displayed as hours:minutes:seconds.hundreths of a second (h:mm:ss.hs). To increase the duration of an image, select it, then move the mouse to the right border of the image until the pointer becomes a red arrow. Drag the picture's right border to the right. To decrease duration, drag the red pointer to the left. *Note: You can click the magnifying glass with the plus (+) sign a couple of times to zoom in on the timeline. SAVE Your PROJECT! Name it filename_ver3

5 STEP 8: Refine Your Project Before you finalize your project and save it as a movie, you may want to review it and add some additional touches. To review your project in the full screen mode click on the icon above the control panel. Play your project and check that your images are appearing at the appropriate times and durations. Return to your timeline view and make your adjustments. STEP 8: Save Your Video All that's left to do now is save your video. In the Movie Tasks pane under Finish Movie, choose to save the slide show to your computer. By default it will be saved to your My Videos folder in My Documents. *Note: If you burn it to a recordable CD, Movie Maker will help you select a format that fits your use.