If there are no high-level professional needs, to edit a video on a Windows PC, a program, that Windows Movie Maker, rather forgotten by Microsoft, that still works well and makes it easy not only the import of videos from the camera or from smartphones, but also their assembly and modification. Windows Movie Maker is still one of the easiest programs to use, 100% free.
Among the main options, Windows Live Movie Maker allows you to split and cut videos, change the speed, add music in the background and edit videos by adding visual and transition effects.
Before you get started, you need to make sure you have the latest updated version of Windows Live Movie Maker .
The program is still part of Windows Live Essentials therefore, in selecting the programs to download, install or update, you must deselect all the others.
In Windows Movie Maker it is very easy to import videos or photos into a project to edit them into a single movie .
They are automatically inserted in a sequential timeline, one after the other and can be dragged with the mouse to the position you want.
This way you can easily change the order of the videos by moving them on the timeline.
Windows Movie Maker does not allow you to create any "empty space" on the timeline, so every second of the new movie must be filled with a photo, a video or an image with an inscription or a transition effect.
Likewise, when you remove a clip from the timeline, the other videos move to fill the gap left, shortening the overall length of the new movie.
To remove a video from the timeline, just press on it with the right button and press on Delete .
It is also possible to cut, copy and paste the various clips inserted in the timeline using the relative commands or also using, respectively, the various combinations of CTRL + X, CTRL + C or CTRL + V keys.
Two or more clips that make up the timeline can be duplicated by selecting them while holding down the CTRL key.
Clips added to Movie Maker to be mounted together in a single movie cannot be overlaid, but you can choose their duration.
For example, if you add images or static photos, you can choose how long they should be visible before moving on to the next item.
To do this, move from the top menu to Edit, select the clip and write the duration in seconds or preview and press the set end point button.
Also in the edit menu there are buttons to cut or split a video into separate clips .
You must therefore position the play cursor where you want to divide.
The video is then divided into two independent clips which can be moved on the timeline or modified with different effects.
Instead, the crop tool allows you to select the start and end points of a clip (using the cursors on the preview), then extracting the piece and eliminating the rest.
Finally save the crop to confirm the deletion.
The trick of video editing with Movie Maker is all in the combined use of these two tools: by dividing a video and then using the clipping tool it is possible to reassemble a recorded video by deleting the boring or uninteresting parts and making a more pressing movie as if it were the service of a newscast or a movie trailer.
For each piece of cut video it is possible to apply different visual effects while in the passage from one piece to another it is possible to select a different type of animation.
From the preview pane you can always see the result of the changes.
If you make a mistake, you can instead press the CTRL + Z keys to undo the last action or to delete the new clip generated after trimming or after splitting and reimport the original video to start over.
Unfortunately there is no way to merge or combine clips into one video with Windows Movie Maker.
The only possibility is to create a project with the clips to combine, save the movie as WMV and then import it again into the main project.
The playback speed of a clip can also be changed for a video with the option found in the Edit menu.
Then select the video you want to be faster or slower and change the speed value.
When you change the speed of a video clip, Windows Movie Maker removes the audio from it.
If you want to keep it, you must first extract the audio from the video with a different program such as Audacity or AoA Audio Extractor and add it as a music track, which will still be out of sync.
You can easily add background music to the video with the relative button.
The volume of the music and that of the video are independent and can be changed from the respective menus.
To change the volume of a single video clip, select it and then, in the edit section, click the volume button and move the cursor.
The same can also be done for music by clicking on the Music Tools menu at the top.
In the Project menu there is also the button of the Audio Mixer, to balance the audio of a video and the music in the background so as not to create confusion.
For video and music you can also have an audio fade in or out at three different speeds: slow, medium and fast.
Finally, from the main menu, it is possible to add a title, a final acronym with the awards, a caption superimposed on the clip, a video recorded live with the webcam or an audio comment made using the microphone.
With Windows Movie Maker it is also easy to rotate a video using the buttons in the Home menu, to rotate a selected clip left or right.
Video editing in Windows Movie Maker could not be simpler and it is a pity that Microsoft does not update this splendid program by adding more advanced features.
Note that, in addition to the visual and sound effects, it is also very easy to upload a movie to Youtube directly from the main interface of the program or even share it on Facebook.
In other articles, for those who want something more, I remember:
- Best free video editor programs to edit videos on PC
- Online video montage to edit videos with remixes and special effects
