No matter how you got your project to where it is, manually or using AutoMovie, you can personalize it with transitions, effects, still pictures, and text pages.

You can personalize your movie in a number of ways, including adding video transitions between clips, incorporating video effects into clips, and adding still pictures and/or pages that contain text between clips. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. As you progress with Movie Maker 2, you’ll learn to do much more. You’ll see some of these other options as you work through this section; feel free to experiment with those options along the way.

In the following tutorial, you’ll learn the easiest and fastest ways to import still pictures, import music, and add video effects, video transitions, and title and credit pages. All of these will add depth to your movie and make it more enjoyable. The best part, though, is that you’ll learn the shortcuts for doing it quickly.

1. Open Movie Maker from Start | All Programs | Accessories |

Entertainment | Windows Movie Maker.

2. Click File | Open Project. Locate the project saved in the previous

example (or any project in progress) and click Open. The clips created

by Movie Maker will automatically be added to the storyboard or

timeline.

3. To add a still picture, in the Movie Tasks pane, select Import

Pictures. In the Import File window, browse to My Pictures, and

double-click any picture. The picture will appear in the Collections

pane; simply drag it to the storyboard to add it.

4. To add background music, in the Movie Tasks pane, select Import

Audio Or Music. In the Import File window, browse to My Music,

and double-click any song. The music will appear in the Collections

pane; simply drag it to the storyboard to add it. Since audio clips

can only be added in timeline view, the interface will switch if

necessary.

5. To add video effects, click Show Storyboard.

It’s easier to drag and drop using this interface.

Next, under Edit Movie in the Movie Tasks pane, select View

Video Effects. Choose any effect  and drag and drop the effect

onto any clip. Brightness, Increase and Brightness,

Decrease are good options for many clips, as are Ease In

and Ease out. Once video effects are added, a star will appear in the

clip.

6. To add video transitions, verify that storyboard is selected, as in

Step 5. Next, under Edit Movie in the Movie Tasks pane, select

View Video Transitions. Choose any transition and drag and drop

it in between any two clips. Transitions are applied when the clips

change. Transitions are denoted in the boxes between clips.

Click the Play button to view the effects so far.

7. To add another text, title, or credit page, under Edit Movie, select

Make Titles Or Credits. Under Where Do You Want To Add A Title?

make the appropriate choice. You can add a title page (to add text

before, on, or after any clip, select the clip before making a choice):

■ At the beginning of the movie

■ Before the selected clip

■ To the selected clip

■ After the selected clip

■ At the end of the movie

When finished, click Done, Edit Movie. With your project complete, you can now create the movie and share it with others.