Making Movies with Windows Vista

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Lesson 1
Windows Movie Maker is a computer program for making movies. It comes free with every copy of Microsoft Windows Vista. So if you have Windows Vista, you have Movie Maker. In this first lesson, you'll learn how to start Windows Movie Maker and how to identify and use the various tools it provides for making your own movies. You'll download some sample video that you'll use throughout the course to learn movie-making skills in a practical, hands-on manner. When you finish this lesson, you'll know your way around the Movie Maker program, and you'll be ready to start creating a movie.

Lesson 2
The first step to creating a movie is to get the video into the Movie Maker program. We'll start working on the second step today, which is to break the video into smaller clips, so you can keep the clips you want and get rid of the ones you don't want. By mastering these skills, your finished movie will contain exactly the video you want; nothing more and nothing less.

Lesson 3
In this lesson, you'll learn how to arrange your video clips in Movie Maker's Storyboard. You'll discover how to play the Storyboard, so you can see how your movie will look to others. And you'll explore how to make changes, fix mistakes, and take total control of what will show in your movie, and when. By the end of this lesson, you'll have already created your first finished movie. But the fun is just beginning!

Lesson 4
Today you'll spice up your movie with special effects and transitions. These are a lot of fun, and they can really add pizzazz to any movie you create. Movie Maker offers numerous effects and transitions, like 3D Ripple, Flip, Spin, Fade In, and Fade Out. You can try them all out, and apply those you like best to your movie. This lesson is a student favorite.

Lesson 5
There's no rule that says a movie can only contain video. In this lesson, you'll learn how to add still photographs to any movie you create. You'll discover that you can combine multiple photos into a slide show, complete with cool transitions and special effects to maximize visual impact and wow your audience!

Lesson 6
Today you'll master the skills needed to add your own custom titles and credits to the movies you create. These will add a professional touch to your movies. And as you'll discover, you can use your own words, your own colors, and your own print styles. You can make text appear on any video clip and any still photo within your movie.

Lesson 7
By the time you get to this lesson, you'll have already mastered all the basic skills needed to create just about any movie you wish. But there may also be times when you want to tweak something just a little. Maybe you'll want to make one photo appear for a little more time, or make a title appear for a little less time. The Movie Maker Timeline, which you'll discover in this lesson, lets you make those small refinements that help you perfect your movie. And as you'll discover in subsequent lessons, the Timeline offers additional options to make your movie even better.

Lesson 8
Nothing jazzes up a movie like sound effects and background music. Today you'll find out how to add both to any movie you create. You'll be astounded by the impact that custom sounds can make on your movie. And you'll be amazed how easy it is to add them!

Lesson 9
As if custom sound effects and background music aren't enough, you can even narrate your movies. That's right; you can record your own voice and have it play as your movie is playing, just like the documentaries you see on TV. All you need is a microphone and the skills you'll learn in this lesson.

Lesson 10
By the time you've reached this lesson, you'll have all the skills needed to create fun, professional-looking movies. Now it's time to discover how to share your finished movies. We'll focus on sharing your movies by e-mail and by publishing them on the ever-popular YouTube Web site.

Lesson 11
Today you'll discover another way to share your movies with others: CDs and DVDs. Yes, with the right equipment, you can create your own CDs and DVDs of your movies. You can even make the same kinds of DVDs that you buy or rent at a video store. People won't even need a computer to watch your finished movie—they'll just pop a DVD into their DVD player and watch it on TV!

Lesson 12
Now that you know how to create fun, professional-quality movies with your Windows Vista PC, you'll want to start applying these skills to your own videos and photos. In this lesson we'll walk through the steps to getting video from tape, DVD, memory cards, and hard drive cameras into your computer. Then you'll be able to import that video into Movie Maker and start applying your newfound skills to producing fantastic movies from any video and photos you have!