Microsoft Windows Movie Maker Handbook (Book & CD-ROM) [Paperback]

Bill Birney (Author), Matt Lichtenberg (Author), Seth McEvoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2000

Whether it's Graduation Day, baby's first bite of birthday cake, or your own rock video, this handbook makes it easy to create and share movies over the Web. Movie Maker software is part of the new Windows Millennium Edition operating system, and this book delivers inside insights direct from members of the Windows Movie Maker team. With it, users learn how to record audio and video source material, create storyboards, edit and arrange footage, add titles, music, sound effects, and voice-overs -- then store, play, or send! The companion CD-ROM comes loaded with ready-to-use audio, still images, and video content.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (a.k.a. Windows Me) endows Microsoft's everyday operating system with considerable multimedia capability, including video editing. The Microsoft Windows MovieMaker Handbook explains how to use the video-editing tools that ship with Windows Me to assemble video presentations. Perhaps more importantly, the authors relate knowledge about moviemaking--enabling you to plan and create videos that are more emotionally moving, persuasive, and technically attractive. They do a good job of communicating the importance of high production values in every video creation, whether professional or amateur, and appropriately place the editing tools themselves second in importance, behind good conceptual thinking.

In a typical section, the authors explain differences in editing styles. Documentary editing in the cinéma vérité style, for example, involves stringing together clips, often out of chronological sequence, in order to convey a larger truth about the subject. They explain camera moves ("dolly in," "pedestal up"), too. Coverage would be better if authors had included examples from famous movies and television shows (the jerky camera in "Homicide," the window in the series of dissolves at the beginning of "Citizen Kane"). Sections on Windows MovieMaker and the other Windows Me tools are adequate--it's the background information on moviemaking that gives this book its value. --David Wall

Topics covered: Fundamentals of cinematography, video editing, and the other technical aspects of moviemaking, as facilitated by the tools that come with Microsoft Windows Me. Sections deal with planning shots, writing scripts, arranging lights, and capturing video to digital format. Coverage of the Windows MovieMaker software documents the editing suite fully, from the everyday user's point of view.

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (November 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735611807
• ISBN-13: 978-0735611801
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,431,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Puts you in the director's chair., November 3, 2000

By 

Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Windows Movie Maker Handbook (Book & CD-ROM) (Paperback)

Microsoft brings the ability to make movies right to the desktop with Windows ME. This book takes that adventure and shows you the techniques that will have you making, editing and showing movies to your friends in no time flat.

Of course you do need to have a camcorder, a computer and Windows ME installed, but other than that this book is all you will need. Divided into three parts, The Basics, Movie Maker and Advanced uses the book makes sure you understand the concepts and best of all you learn as you go.

In Part 1 you learn about making movies, planning, production tools, shooting and editing and finally distributing movies. In part 2 you the chance to take your movies and put them in the Movie Maker application, you'll also start organizing, editing and sharing the movies with family and friends.

Finally part 3 has you doing more advanced techniques like working with stills, adding sound effects and how to use the media player to play the movies you have created. The Cd-rom include has media player version 7, some ready to use videos and stills to practice with, images and sounds and a few other production tools.

If you are into the creation of movies or want to have some fun with home movies this book should allow you the let out the creative genius inside. Overall a very good book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book to teach you how to film, June 24, 2002

By 

Yi C. Chang (Chino, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft Windows Movie Maker Handbook (Book & CD-ROM) (Paperback)

Not only the handbook for Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, this book introduces the ways to film to make your home movie more interesting. Instead of shooting without any plan, home video amateurs can really take advantage of the suggestions in the book for better planning to get better entertaining result.