A very important component of your Movie Studio is the movie-editing software. The movie-editing software we will use in this course is called Windows Movie Maker.

There are several reasons for choosing Windows Movie Maker:

1. It is easy to use once some one shows you how.
2. It is rich in features: add music, pictures, titles and credits.
3. It comes included with a fun collection of transitions and special effects.
4. It has AutoMovie feature – takes your raw video and auto-edit it to a music of your choice at the touch of a button.
5. It is Free. It comes with your Windows XP or Vista software.
6. Bottom line: You can make some really cool home movies to impress your family and friends pretty quickly.

The video tutorial below shows you:
- A quick big-picture overview of the software (each feature is covered in detail in Part III of the tutorial)
- Where to find the software on your Windows PC or
- Where to download it for free if you cannot find it on your PC.

NOTES

Windows Movie Maker comes pre-installed (free) with Windows XP or Windows Vista. I’ve seen the software on these 3 folders so if this is your first time, try all 3.
Start -> All Programs
Start -> All Programs -> Accessories
Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Entertainment
The logo for Windows Movie Maker looks like this. It’s a visual cue for you to locate the software for the first time:

Windows Movie Maker can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft site as well. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx

If you cannot locate it on your PC or are unable to download from the site for any reason, click Contact Us for help.