Digital Home Movies

Making great digital movies requires knowing some of the basics about digital video cameras. Electronics stores tend to advertise features with exciting statistics, hoping marketing hype will reel you in to the store and convert you from gawker to DV camcorder owner. This part of the topic will help direct you toward important camcorder features, […]

Shooting Digital Movies: Basics

Most digital movies are of familiar things, such as family, nature scenes, or maybe a live event of some kind. Thinking about what you want to accomplish with your movie, prior to recording, will result in a better-looking final product. While it isn’t necessary (or even probable) to storyboard most live recording opportunities, keeping some […]

Shooting Digital Movies: Advanced

This part of the topic will help you make the most of elements of the recording environment you can’t control, while offering suggestions about ways to get better quality audio and video out of any situation. Without investing in an expensive three-CCD camcorder, low light is the amateur movie maker’s worst enemy. Especially for digital […]

Importing Video (Digital Home Movies) Part 1

Before creating the next Oscar nominated movie, raw video footage needs to be transferred to your computer for editing. Raw video footage might be in one or several formats when you start. Some of it could be on VHS tapes and some on MiniDV media used by your digital video camcorder. Using footage emailed to […]

Importing Video (Digital Home Movies) Part 2

Capturing a Movie Segment 1 With your DV camera connected to your PC and turned on to playback mode, click the arrow next to Capture Video to expand the section. 2 Click Capture from video device. 3 Type a file name for your captured video, make sure the folder where you want to save the […]

Exporting Video to Tape or CD (Digital Home Movies)

The goal of any movie maker, from home movie enthusiasts to professional cinematographers, is to output something for other people to watch. Other people may consist of your children’s grandparents or it may be the audience in a local movie theater. Either way, your movie needs to be exported from Windows Movie Maker to a […]

Editing Video with Windows Movie Maker (Digital Home Movies) Part 1

Editing video is an organizational process involving the creation of a story from your raw video footage. Editing helps you eliminate the moments where the DV camera was pointed at your shoes, in addition to creating a logical flow of events. Editing can be as simple as choosing not to include specific video clips in […]

Editing Video with Windows Movie Maker (Digital Home Movies) Part 2

Adding a Clip to the Timeline 1 Click the Collections button. 2 In the Collections pane, select the Collection containing the video clip to be added. 3 Drag and drop a clip on the point in the Timeline you want to insert the clip. INTRODUCTION Clips may be added to a movie in the Timeline […]

Effects, Transitions, and Titles (Digital Home Movies) Part 1

Once you determine the order of video clips and trim them to fit the parameters of your movie, it’s time to add additional production features. Effects serve several purposes in movie making, including artistic enhancements, color correction, and unique image manipulations. Transitions are inserted between scenes, helping to identify a change in the storyline of […]

Effects, Transitions, and Titles (Digital Home Movies) Part 2

Adding a Title to a Movie Clip 1 Click the movie clip you will be adding a title to in the storyboard. 2 Choose Tools, Titles and Credits from the Menu. 3 Click Add title on the selected clip on the storyboard. 4 Type the text for the title slide. INTRODUCTION Adding titles directly to […]