So let’s go! Roll camera, shout action, and amaze yourself with all you can do with Microsoft Windows Movie Maker 2. Fun, focused, and easy to follow, this guide shows how to dive right into your first or next movie, complete with special effects, voiceovers, credits, even a full soundtrack—right from your computer. Using simple drag-and-drop moves—and the guidance of a Windows Movie Maker expert—you’ll produce many of the same impressive effects you see on the big screen every day. Plus, you’ll get cool project ideas and all the how-to’s for putting your filmmaker’s imagination to work!

Start with the best shots

• Capture new video—even reuse your VHS footage
• Drag scenes into a storyboard or timeline, shape your story in minutes!
• Build a library of audio, video, and still images

Add awesome effects

• Make cinema-style transitions, such as fades, dissolves, and wipes
• Easily create titles, crawls, and credits
• Amplify your story with narration, music, and sound effects

Perfect it, then present it!

• Use easy tools to fine-tune your audio and video
• Premiere your movie on a PC or over the Web
• Burn your production to a CD or DVD

Shake your Movie Maker

• Create a highlights “reel” of favorite moments
• Document your family’s roots with photos, news clippings, and interviews
• Produce fun movie trailer parodies
• Create video karaoke for your PC

Can you do amazing things? Yes you can!

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1. Making Movies with Movie Maker 2

   1. Chapter 1 Create Your First Amazing Movie

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. Getting to Know Movie Maker 2
      3. Creating Your Movie
      4. Glossary

   2. Chapter 2 Adding Flashy and Classy Video Effects

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. Dressing Up Your Video with Transitions
      3. Spicing Up Your Clips with Video Effects
      4. Working with Video Transitions, Effects, and Still Pictures
      5. Adding Titles and Credits
      6. Making AutoMovies
      7. Learning More About Importing Video and Still Images
      8. Making Your Workspace Match Your Style
      9. Glossary

   3. Chapter 3 Enhancing the Soundscape

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. Designing Your Movie’s Audio
      3. Adding Music and Audio Clips to a Collection
      4. Adding and Editing Audio Clips
      5. Adjusting the Audio Levels
      6. Adding Audio Transitions
      7. Adding Narration
      8. Glossary

   4. Chapter 4 Preserving Your Movie Collection

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. Setting Your Options
      3. Organizing Your Projects
      4. Rounding Up Source Files and Importing Them
      5. Converting Your Source Files
      6. Saving and Backing Up Your Files
      7. Glossary

   5. Chapter 5 Sharing Your Movies

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. Compressed vs. Uncompressed Files
      3. You’ve Made Your Movie, Now Save It
      4. Ready for Primetime: Saving and Distributing Your Movies
      5. Learning About Burning DVDs
      6. Glossary

2. Exploring the Fun Zone

   1. Chapter 6 Create Your Own Living History

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. Step 1: Select a Topic
      3. Step 2: Round Up the Source Files
      4. Step 3: Import the Source Material
      5. Step 4: Review Your Clips in the Collection
      6. Step 5: Make a Great Introduction
      7. Step 6: Add Clips to the Body
      8. Step 7: Add the Ending
      9. Step 8: Finish It

   2. Chapter 7 What the Manuals Didn’t Tell You

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. Learning About Camcorders and Capture Devices
      3. Turbo-Charging Movie Maker
      4. Glossary

   3. Chapter 8 Running the Show from the Director’s Chair

      1. Coming Attractions
      2. What’s the Big Idea?
      3. It’s All in the Script
      4. Storyboards: Seeing Your Story Emerge
      5. Preproduction: Cheap is Good!
      6. Production: Fun on the Run
      7. Postproduction: Putting the Pieces Together
      8. Glossary

   4. Appendix Movie Maker 2 System Requirements

      1. Understanding System Requirements
      2. Upgrading Computer Components
      3. Downloading and Installing Movie Maker 2
      4. Troubleshooting Tips and Suggestions

   5. Appendix About the Authors