Filters, Tools and Utilities
Slideshow with Windows Movie Maker
By Shelleyrae Cusbert 2008
Feb 23, 2008, 03:17

Creating a CD/DVD slideshow of your layouts for sharing with family and friends is quick and easy - you can add music, narration, transition effects, text and more in just a few minutes and play them on a computer or CD/DVD player, or even your i-pod or mobile phone, for everyone to admire.

There are many packages available for creating slideshows ranging from simple free products to more sophisticated commercial programs. An internet search will reveal plenty of options – many with a trial download that will allow you to compare the features the software offers. Software recommended by members in the Scrapbook-Bytes Forum has included Adobe Premiere
(may come bundled with Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements), Pinnacle(comes bundled with Microsoft Digital Image Suite Plus), Photodex's Proshow Gold and on a MAC Fotomagico
If you don’t want to splash out on a package for creating CD/DVD slideshows then Windows XP comes preinstalled with Windows Movie Maker, a deceptively simple program that is packed with features. If you have wanted to try something like this, then this program is a great place to start. You can use Windows Movie Maker to create shows from videos and as well as still pictures

If Windows Movie Maker isn’t listed in your Program Files then go to My Computer> C://> Program Files> and scroll to find the Movie Maker folder. Open the folder and double click the exe icon to launch.

ADDING IMAGES
Your first task is to import the layouts you want to use into the program – the layouts should be in JPG format.
Click Import Pictures and browse and select the layout you wish to include in the slideshow.

Drag and drop the layouts in your preferred order on the story board strip.

You can change the position on the story board by dragging and if you decide you don’t want a particular layout included then simply right click and delete it from the story board menu.

Check how the layouts flow by clicking the preview video play button on the right hand side. You may want to adjust the contents of the storyboard to increase or decrease the size of your slideshow or make adjustments to the length of time each image is displayed.

ADJUSTING SHOW LENGTH
To adjust the display timing of each image, click Show Timeline above the story board strip.

The timeline shows how long each image is to remain on screen and the current total time the slideshow will run. By default each image will display for 5 seconds. You can increase or decrease the display time by positioning the cursor on a layout in the timeline (use the zoom option to differentiate each clip more clearly), click and then drag the red double head arrow to increase or decrease the display time.

Once you are happy with the time line, switch back to the story board view by selecting Show Storyboard.

ADDING TRANSITIONS
From the Edit Movie Menu, select View Video Transitions. This brings up a selection of transition effects that can be applied to allow one image to flow into another. It is as simple as dropping and dragging your chosen effect into the storyboard between images.

Use the movie preview to view the transitions and make any adjustments you like.
Once you have the transitions in place, you can add a title, text and credits page to your slideshow.

ADDING TEXT
Choose Edit Movie> Make Titles or Credits and from the options choose which task you want to perform.

To add the title choose > Add title at the beginning of the movie.

Type the title and then select Change the text font and color

Select an effect for the title – it will be previewed at right

You can further edit the text or click Done to apply.
To change the text or other options at a later date, right click on the image in the timeline and choose Edit text.
You can also opt to insert text in between clips as well as overlaid on clips.

To finish the display you can opt to create credits or insert any other text as desired.

With the imagery completed you can now opt to add a soundtrack. This may be by narrating or by including music tracks.

ADDING AUDIO (NARRATION AND MUSIC)
To Narrate a track using a microphone, make sure the timeline indicator is positioned where you want to insert the narration and click the narrate icon.

Choose Start Narration and speak into the microphone – click stop to stop recording.

Save the narration when the save dialogue appears

The narrated track will be added to the timeline. And can be cropped or moved as desired by dragging.

To add music to the timeline choose Import audio or music and select the track you wish to use. A wide variety of music formats are supported. The can be a track from your personal music collection (for personal use only) or a track that has been downloaded from the internet. A good source of free instrumental tracks is http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

Browse to find your music choice and import it into the collections.
In timeline view, drag and drop the music file into position. You can trim the track to fit specific times and include multiple tracks.

Use the preview to test the slideshow and once satisfied you are ready to save the slideshow.

SAVING AND SHARING
Under the Finish Movie menu select from the options. You should save a copy to your hard drive both for safe keeping but also if you wish to burn the movie to DVD.
Follow the directions of the wizard to save the movie.
To save the movie as a file type compatible for DVD burning (you can also choose from formats for a variety of other playback devices) choose the Save to My Computer Option and then choose to view other options.

Select the format from the drop down menu – in most cases this will mean choosing DV-AVI (NTSC) (or PAL depending on your region). Save this file and then use third party burning software like Nero or Sonic to burn the file onto a DVD for playback in DVD players.
To save to CD choose that option and again follow the instructions.
The Email option will automatically compress the movie for it to be sent. In this case the 13.8 MB file was compressed to just 551kb – ideal for emailing to friends and family but it sacrificed a great deal of quality.

You can also download some add on packs from Microsoft that contain templates, music, sound effects and a few other things. Visit