I’m a PC user wanting to edit some AVI format video files for use on my website. My goal is to do some titles, fades, etc. Is there anything better, less expensive and easier to use than Roxio Media Creator?
-Ken Rothacker
A. You already have a passable movie-editing-and-creating program as part of the Microsoft Windows operating system on that PC of yours. Click on Start and then select All Programs. Open the folder called Accessories at the top of the list of programs. You should find the Windows Movie Maker either in the list of Windows Accessories or in the folder called Entertainment.
Sometimes the Windows Movie Maker gets listed in that initial All Programs list.
Somewhere in those three areas, you are almost certain to find one of the world’s least appreciated software gems. Through the years, Microsoft has included moviemaking powers in Windows, and the first reception was a global ho-hum because it was drastically outclassed by stand-alone dedicated movie software such as the Roxio Media Creator software you mention.
Windows Movie Maker improved, however, and it now presents users with a screen display and a set of tools that can turn out amateur videos far beyond the description you give of “titles, fades, etc.”
Both the latest version in Windows XP and the new Windows Vista deliver modest but also extensive moviemaking tools for family and business use. It starts by sensing the scene changes in a movie either as it is fed into the computer by a connected USB/FireWire video camera or as imported movie files in most common formats, including the AVI type you are using.
Each scene change is clipped as a separate element of the whole, which makes quick work of editing out junk. You then can move the various scenes on a timeline to tweak the exact show desired.
Transitions included now approach the variety in stand-alone programs, and the same can be said of the slick and simple text-overlay editor that turns out stuff that could pass for Hollywood titles and credits.
The library of video effects isn’t up to powerhouse programs along the Roxio line, but there are, nevertheless, a rather large number of possibilities that can be found easily under the Tools item in the Windows Movie Maker display.
Once a movie is edited, the Windows software permits exporting it in the full gamut of file types and resolutions, from DVD-quality DV files to down-and-dirty small ones ready to attach to e-mail messages in the Microsoft WMV format.
Audio editing and syncing still is pretty limited, but there is a simple slider tool that lets one crank up sounds or shut them down on a clip-by-clip basis.
I can say this: After years of messing around with home videos and YouTube-type nonsense, most of what I’ve done can be matched by careful use of the Windows built-in software.
Contact Jim Coates at askjimcoates@gmail.com.
