UPDATE: Windows Movie Maker, now discontinued, was free video editing software. We’ve left the information below for archive purposes. Try one of these three great, free alternatives instead.
The AutoMovie function in Windows Movie Maker puts your computer to work to edit video and audio clips, making a finished movie with very little work by you.
Begin by opening a Movie Maker project and importing your video clips.
From the “Edit Movie” panel, select “Make an AutoMovie.”
Select Editing Properties for Your AutoMovie
In the window that opens, you can select the editing style that you want to use for your footage. The style you choose will be determined by the video footage that you are using, and what you want your final movie to look like.
After choosing your style, click “Enter a title for the movie.”
Give Your AutoMovie a Title
Now you can choose a title for the movie. This will appear on the screen before the video begins to play.
If you want music in the background of your video, click “Select audio or background music.” If you don’t want to add music, skip to step 6.
Select Background Music for Your AutoMovie
You can now browse for the music that you want to use in your video. Most likely the files should be saved in your “My Music” folder.
Adjust Audio Levels for Your AutoMovie
After selecting your music you need to decide how loud you want it to play. Use the audio levels slider bar to adjust the balance between audio from your video and audio from your background music.
If you want to only hear the background music slide the bar all the way to the right. If you want the music to play softly underneath the recorded audio footage slide the bar most of the way to the left.
After adjusting the audio levels click “Done, edit movie.”
Let Movie Maker Create Your AutoMovie
Now Movie Maker will analyze your footage and assemble your movie. This may take a while depending on how much footage you are using.
When the analyzing and editing is done the finished movie will show up in the storyboard of the Movie Maker program.
Add Finishing Touches to Your AutoMovie
Unlike iMovie’s Magic Movie, which creates a movie using all of your footage, the Movie Maker AutoMovie selects and uses only certain clips. So, when you watch the finished movie you may find that some of your favorite scenes are not included.
If you want to change anything in the finished AutoMovie it’s easy to go in and add the omitted scenes, or adjust clips and transitions.
Share Your AutoMovie
When your movie is finished you’ll want to share it with family and friends. The “Finish Movie” panel will help you easily export the final movie to DVD, your camera or computer, or the web.
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