With some modern video cameras, particularly ones that record to MPEG, MOD or MOV files, there are compatibility problems in Windows Movie Maker. The files will often work when imported, but cause slow performance and regular crashes. The best thing to do is to convert these videos to formats that Windows Movie Maker is more comfortable with.
WMV and AVI files are Movie Maker-friendly. In general - WMV files are lesser quality but run more efficiently on slower computers. Large AVI files are higher quality but take up much more hard drive space and require a more powerful computer to process. If you plan to output your video for DVD or broadcast, stick with high quality AVI. If your output is Web, WMV files should be fine. Sometimes trial and error is necessary, but for older computers or school computers, WMV files are recommended.
To convert our incompatible files to those formats, we can download a program called Prism Video Converter. The free version, which you can download HERE, is enough for our purposes.
Prism Video Converter
To convert your files, follow these instructions:
- Install & open Prism Video Converter.
- Drag your video files into Prism.
- Set a folder to save your new files in (Output Folder).
- Select .WMV or .AVI as your Output Format.
- Click on Encoder Options
- For WMV, use these settings then click OK:
For AVI, use these settings for full quality PAL format (PAL format is the Australian standard, adjust accordingly):
- Click Convert, and all the files will convert to .WMV or .AVI.
- Open Windows Movie Maker.
- Click on File -> Import into collections. Then select your converted files to import.
Your files are now in Windows Movie Maker, ready to be edited!
If you're new to Movie Maker, check out these Windows Movie Maker tutorial videos.
Additional tip: You should check that the video format and aspect ratio are correct for your footage before importing into Windows Movie Maker. For most digital video cameras in Australia do the following in Movie Maker before import:
Click on Tools -> Settings. Then click on the Advanced tab and check that the Video Format is set to PAL and that the Aspect Ratio is set to 16:9.
Inspired?
CuriousWorks is a tiny company in Sydney, Australia. We have 4 staff and no ongoing funding. Every contribution you can make to the toolkit - in your own way - will help us advocate, maintain and evolve it into a permanent resource for all of us!
Here are four ways you can contribute to the toolkit and help us keep it going.
- Let us know if you use any of these ideas, workshops or techniques in your community - simply comment on the posts you find most useful and share links to your work so we can check it out! If you want a private, community-minded space to share your media - and keep the copyright - check out CuriousWorks' portal for doing just that, All Around You.
- If you end up devising any projects in your community through the toolkit, we humbly request for you to share this little badge on your project's website.
- We'd love to post about workshops, ideas and tips that worked for you - if you'd like to contribute, please contact us at toolkit@curiousworks.com.au.
- Donate to CuriousWorks. As we're a registered Australian charity, all donations over $2 are tax deductible. Stipulate in your donation that you'd like it to go to directly to the toolkit and we'll make sure every cent is spent on evolving and maintaing this resource for the benefit of communities everywhere looking to tell their story.
Non-commercial use restrictions
You should be mindful that the free version of the Prism encoder is, according to the Prism website, "for non-commercial use only", and that 'commercial' can be a rather ambiguous notion.
There are free alternatives without a 'non-commercial' restriction, one being SUPER © by eRightSoft.
I conceded that SUPER is probably not as user friendly as Prism appears to be from te screenshots above, and could be deemed troublesome for users without some patience and care.
-spxl