Windows Live Movie Maker

Windows Live Movie Maker

Among the various programs available for creating movies in the comfort of the home, Windows Live Movie Maker stands out. It allows users to convert their photos and videos into movies that look amazing and only take a minute or so to make. Best of all, the program is completely free and allows sharing in multiple formats, including via mobile devices, computers, and TVs.

The Basic Setup And Use

This program is setup in a familiar way to those who have experiencing using other Microsoft programs, with the menus and various actions in a visual ribbon. Users simply drag and drop their photos and videos onto the storyboard/timeline. When finished, they click the AutoMovie button which will complete the movie, including transitions, zoom and pan effects, a title, and the option of adding a song currently on the hard drive. Additional functionality is somewhat limited, but impressive for a free product, including:

• Picking the starting and ending points for video and audio
• Fading the songs in or out
• Splitting and trimming videos

Microsoft also includes many methods of publishing or sharing the finished video, including:

• Saving the video in HD
• Making the video mobile friendly
• Uploading to Facebook or YouTube via a plug-in
• Burning it on a DVD
• E-mailing it

What File Types Are Supported?

To ensure that the program is easy to use, Microsoft included support for all the most common file types in Windows Live Movie Maker. File types that are supported by the program include:

• Windows Media
• Windows Media Video (WMV)
• Microsoft Recorded TV Show
• DV-AVI
• 3GPP
• 3GP
• PNG
• Bitmap
• TIFF
• GIF
• JPEG
• Motion JPEG
• MPEG-1
• MPEG-2

In addition to supporting these various file types, Windows Live Movie Maker supports the ability to record voiceovers. This includes an audio mixer and the ability to use the program with a group of stock music services which are free to use.

Is Windows Live Movie Maker The Same As Windows Movie Maker?

It is common to believe that these two programs are identical and a quick online search will show you that this confusion is widespread, with the names sometimes being used interchangeably. In reality, however, Windows Live Move Maker and Windows Movie Maker are separate programs. Windows Movie Maker is more limited in its support for various files, only allowing users to import them through the computer’s hard drive or via the camera, although there are many file formats. Windows Live Movie Maker, on the other hand, offers more input methods. There is a similar story for exporting the finished product as Windows Movie Maker only lets users export as WMV or DV AVI files while the Live version has additional formats available. The Live version also allows users to share their files more easily via YouTube, Facebook, and more as well as save them to SD cards if necessary. The actual process of editing is also much simpler in Windows Live Movie Maker. While the other program requires users to drag all files into your timeline, that is not the case with this one.

Who Should Use Windows Live Movie Maker?

Windows Live Movie Maker is a simple to use program that is free and creates videos with a polished appearance. As it completes the process for you in minutes and requires minimal effort, it is an excellent choice for beginning to intermediate users. Those interested in complete customization of their video may require more features than the program offers, but the average user will find the program intuitive to use and effective.