High-definition (HDV) editing in Movie Maker works again

I meant to post earlier that I was able to resolve my issues regarding editing of HDV video. I still don't know why the problem occurred, but I have a fix. After several calls and chat sessions with the Windows Vista SP1 Support group I found that loading the FFDShow codec fixed the problem. I can again see my HDV video (in dvr-ms format) and can edit it in Movie Maker.

Something about the steps still leaves a weird taste in my mouth because this did work before SP1, and the MPEG-2 codec and corresponding filters should have worked after the SP1 upgrade. Why I had to load some 3rd-party codecs for this scenario is still a little puzzling.

If I get a chance, I might restore the image from my Windows Home Server just before the SP1 upgrade and try it again... or I might just leave it alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it... right?

Still trying to get HDV video to work consistently in Movie Maker

Well, shortly after I finished my prior post, I realized I still had a problem. Though the Hotfix in KB 943195 fixed my green video problem (captured HDV video (.ms-pvr format) would appear green during playback in Movie Maker, in Media Center and in Windows Media Player), I discovered I still had a problem during capture. I wouldn't get anything appearing in the capture preview, yet the video was coming in fine and I was able to edit the video after the capture was done. I decided I would live with the issue for awhile and see if Vista Service Pack 1 would fix anything.

So late last week, the update to SP1 happened on my computer. The first thing I checked was playback of HD video. It worked fine. Then I tried capturing and *it worked!*. I was so excited, at least until I tried to edit the video. It now appears as all black (sound but no video) when I try to edit. This is true straight from the collection or from the project timeline. It's even true when I open up a project that just last week was working fine.

Hmm... anyone have an idea? Could it be related to the ATI HD2400XT video card or the drivers? It seems likely since swapping video cards to an nVidia got everything working as expected. However, I have the latest Catalyst drivers for the card.

Oh well, the saga continues.

What it Takes to Edit High-Definition (HD) Video

Back in 2006, I reviewed the Canon HV10 and toyed with the idea of purchasing a high-definition camcorder for our family. At the time limited availability, high cost and limited editing options were all issues. Fast-forward 18 months and these issues are being resolved. Perhaps this is the year when HD video finally turns the corner with respect to general consumer acceptance. At least it has in our family.

I've been following HD camcorder choices for awhile. I've had my eye on the HV20 since it has garnered praises from reviewers and consumers alike. But finally last month several things happened. First since Canon announced the release of the next model (HV30), the prices on the HV20 began to decrease. Several sites reduced the price a lot, and certain stores even had clearance sales where the HV20 went below US$300. That's when I picked up ours.

The second factor is that software now regularly supports editing of HDV tapes. The latest packages from Adobe, Pinnacle, Sony and Ulead can handle HDV. In addition, the Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions come with a version of Movie Maker that can handle HDV capture and editing.

Since we had one PC in the house with Vista loaded, I figured it would be a good time to test the process of capturing and editing the video. Just like standard definition video from a mini-DV camcorder, it is a simple process. You connect your camcorder via a firewire cable, turn it on and set it to VCR/Playback mode. From there on, after a prompt or two, Windows Movie Maker will automatically rewind, capture the footage and place it in your WMM collection.

Things were going well at this point, so I figured editing would go as smoothly. I was wrong. What I discovered was that our Pentium 4 (3.2GHz) with 1GB of memory was not enough to prevent some skipping and lagging in the video during editing. While I probably could have managed well enough to get it edited, I figured a new PC was in order. Several online forums recommended going for a "quad core" processor, 3 to 4 GB of memory, lots of disk space, a decent video card, etc. so that's what I got. After a hiccup or two with an incompatible ATI video card and a Windows hotfix, the system was finally able to preview and edit the HD video.

So there you are, with an HDV camcorder, a suitably modern PC and the included version of Movie Maker, you can edit HD video. If you'd like to see the results, I've uploaded some video I shot last weekend.

Windy Day Fun with Granny and Gramps

No doubt over the next few months I'll have more experiences to report, so stay tuned. This is only the beginning.

Custom 'Directed By' Title

There was a request on the forums for a two-line title where the first line was smaller than the second and where the spacing was a little tighter. This would work well for a series of credits at the beginning or end of your movie.

Take a look at the video and if that is something you would like, click through to the post on Adding a Custom "Directed By" Title to Windows Movie Maker. Incidentally there are versions for either XP or Vista.

Custom Negative and Bloom Effects for Vista Movie Maker

Here's a couple new effects for the Vista version of Movie Maker. The first two effects are called 'Bloom In' and 'Bloom Out'. They create a bright glare to come from lighter items in the video. If you use Bloom Out at the end of a clip, and Bloom In at the beginning of the next, you can get a cool transition, that you've probably seen a lot on TV. The other effect is a Negative effect which reverses all the color values. Preview a video of the Bloom and Negative effects

To install: Click on the icon above which will download the custom negative and bloom effects. Save the installer, then run it to install the custom code you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have the new effects the next time you start up Movie Maker.

If you have any questions on these effects, feel free to post in the forum topic on the Bloom and Negative Effects

Custom Resize Effects for Vista Movie Maker

When dealing with pictures and videos in different sizes, it's often useful to be able to stretch or squash the clips to fit within the screen. You might also want to crop the edges or add a border. The following package of 'Resize' effects lets you do all those things. Preview a video of the 'Resize' effects

To install: Click on the icon above which will download the custom resize effects. Save the installer, then run it to install the custom code you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have a several new effects for adding borders, cropping, stretching, squashing and fitting to screen.

If you have any questions on these effects, feel free to post in the forum topic on the Resize Effects

Custom PSP Overlay Title

Following my series of custom Movie Maker image overlays, here's an overlay where your video appears on the screen of a PSP. This looks best with widescreen video, but you can use standard 4:3 video too.

To install: Click on the image above which will download the custom PSP Overlay title. Once it is saved, run the installer which will copy the required image and .xml files.

To use the new title

Go to 'Tools' > 'Titles and Credits' > 'Title on the selected clip'.

Click on 'change the title animation'.

Under your list of one line titles should be a new one called PSP Overlay

Pick it then click 'Done'.

Stretch the title so that it extends for the length of your clip.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the original forum post that inspired this title.

Custom TV Overlay for Windows Movie Maker

One of the neat things you can do with custom titles is to resize the video and overlay an image. Using this technique, you can easily overlay an image of a TV screen, for example. (Click here for a sample video with a TV overlay).

Note: This title has been designed to work with either the XP version or the Vista version of Movie Maker. It also works whether your project has a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio.

To install: Click on the image above which will download the custom TV Overlay title. Once it is saved, run the installer which will copy the required image and .xml files.

To use the new title

Go to 'Tools' > 'Titles and Credits' > 'Title on the selected clip'.

Click on 'change the title animation'.

Under your list of one line titles should be a new one called TV Overlay

Pick it then click 'Done'.

Stretch the title so that it extends for the length of your clip.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the original forum post that inspired this title.

Custom Contrast Effects For Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker should have come with some standard effects to decrease/increase the contrast of your video. However, since it doesn't, I had to create some of my own.

Click on the icon above which will download the custom contrast effects. Run the installer and it will install the custom code and icons you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have a couple new effects for decreasing contrast and a couple for increasing contrast. If you need a stronger effect, apply the effect several times. You can also customize the .xml if you want other contrast settings. Enjoy!

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the original forum post that inspired these effects.

Compositing and Translucency now available for Vista Movie Maker

One of the most popular custom transitions in Windows Movie Maker (XP) is one called "Comp A add B" that allows you to composite two clips together. For example, if you had a clip of a firework or an explosion, you could composite that on top of another clip. Rather than explain it further, take a look at this sample compositing clip of an explosive bear

Until now, there was no easy way to have this same "Comp A add B" transition under Vista Movie Maker. It took a little bit of work, 2 DLLs, an .FX and .XML file, but I finally got it to work.

While I was at it, I added the translucency transitions that allow you to play two clips simultaneously, but blended together. There is also a *bonus* camera jiggle effect. If you watch to the end of the video, you'll see the whole image shake as the explosion hits. That was done with the 'Camera Jiggle' effect.

Note: These transitions reimplement existing custom transitions available for Windows Movie Maker for XP so if you have XP, instead go to the Windows Movie Makers forums and search for 'comp a add b' or 'translucency' When I get a chance, I might republish an XP version, just so you can get my pretty icons.

Instructions for installing:
If you don't already have the Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Redistributable Files installed, run that installer first.
You will also need to have the latest version of DirectX End User Runtimes (Aug 2007) installed.
Next, click on the icon above which will download the custom compositing and translucency transitions. Run the installer and it will install the custom code you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have these new transitions:

Compositing (A add B) - for best results, one clip should be on a black background. Things like explosions, flames, snow fall, raindrops, etc. work best.

Show A, Show B - these just show clip A or clip B respectively. These are useful when you want to cut away to another clip without affecting the overall timing of your main clip.

Translucency 10% through 90% - these blend the two clips so you can see both at the same time.

You'll also have the bonus effect:

Camera Jiggle - causes the picture to shake slightly as if the camera was jostled.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the original forum post that inspired these transitions.

Custom Letterbox Effects for Vista Movie Maker

There have been lots of requests on the forums for a letterbox/widescreen effect which adds black bars to the top and bottom of your video. Well, I went one step farther and added a couple more effects that let you have the bars appear and disappear. Here's a sample video of the moving letterbox effect.

Note: These effects take advantage of the new effects architecture of Vista Movie Maker and therefore will not work in XP. It is a Vista-only effect. There are other solutions for XP such as a letterbox title.

Click on the icon above which will download the custom letterbox effects. Run the installer and it will install the custom code you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have new effects called:

Letterbox

Letterbox (In)

Letterbox (Out)

Custom Bubble Warp Effect for Vista Movie Maker

I was playing around with Vista Movie Maker and came up with this custom "Bubble Warp" effect. It's rather subtle and looks best when applied to pictures with short durations. If you apply it to video or to longer duration photos, you may not even notice the effect.

Note: This effect takes advantage of the new effects architecture of Vista Movie Maker and therefore will not work in XP. It is a Vista-only effect.

Click on the icon above which will download the custom bubble warp effect. Run the installer and it will install the custom code you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have a new effect called "Blaine's Bubble Warp". Enjoy!

Custom Color Fade Effects for Vista Movie Maker

Vista Movie Maker comes with standard effects to apply a grayscale or sepia tone effect to your pictures or video, but one thing it lacks is an easy way to have video gradually fade to or from grayscale or sepia to full color. I've created a package of custom effects that let you add this ability to Windows Movie Maker.

Click on the icon above which will download the custom color fade effects. Run the installer and it will install the custom code you'll need for Vista Movie Maker.

After installing, you'll have the following new color fade effects:

Grayscale (Color In)

Grayscale (Color Out)

Sepia (Color In)

Sepia (Color Out)

Note: These effects take advantage of the new effects architecture of Vista Movie Maker and therefore will not work in XP. They are Vista-only effects. For users of XP, you can achieve this same look manually: Fading between grayscale and color in XP Movie Maker

Custom Dreamy Look Title Overlay for Windows Movie Maker

I've just reworked my prior "Dreamy Look" overlay so it works in XP and Vista. Here's a sample Dreamy Look Video

Note: This title has been designed to work with either the XP version or the Vista version of Movie Maker.

Click on the image above which will download the custom Dreamy Look title overlay. Run the installer (CustomDreamyLook) and it will install the custom XML code and the image file you'll need.

To use the new title

Go to 'Tools' > 'Titles and Credits' > 'Title on the selected clip'.

Type the text you want to appear below the photo as a caption or, if you don't want any text, type a single space.

Click on 'change the title animation'.

Under your list of one line titles should be a new one called Dreamy Look

Pick 'Dreamy Look', then click 'Done'.

Stretch the title so that it extends for the length of your video.

You might want to apply the "Fade In From White" and "Fade Out To White" effects to your clip, so that it starts and ends on a full white frame.

Custom Photo Album Title for Windows Movie Maker, Updated for Vista

Have you ever wanted to make your photos or videos look like they are part of a photo album? (See my sample album) If so, I've just created a custom title overlay that can be used in Windows Movie Maker. It makes it look like your photos or video are mounted in a photo album, with a white edge and notched photo corners.

Note: This title has been designed to work with either the XP version or the Vista version of Movie Maker.

Click on the image above which will download the custom Photo Album title overlay. Run the installer (CustomPhotoAlbum) and it will install the custom XML code and the image file you'll need.

To use the new title

Go to 'Tools' > 'Titles and Credits' > 'Title on the selected clip'.

Type the text you want to appear below the photo as a caption.

Click on 'change the title animation'.

Under your list of one line titles should be a new one called Photo Album

Pick 'Photo Album', then click 'Done'.

Stretch the title so that it extends for the length of your photo.

Repeat as needed for each photo or clip.

Custom Torn Page Titles in the style of Veronica Mars, Updated for Vista

The UPN show Veronica Mars opens with video of the various cast members and torn notebook pages showing their names. I was inspired by a post on the Windows Movie Maker forums, to create a similar look.

Note: These titles have been designed to work with either the XP version or the Vista version of Movie Maker.

Click on the image or the link above. Run the installer (CustomTornPages) and it will install the custom XML code and the image files you'll need.

Sample video: Veronica Mars Style Intro
Download: Torn Pages Custom Titles

To use the new title:

Go to 'Tools' > 'Titles and Credits' > 'Title on the selected clip'.

Type the text you want to appear on the torn page.

Click on 'change the title animation'.

Under your list of one line titles should be new ones called Torn Page (Bottom) and Torn Page (Right). Pick the one you want to use.

For my example, I switched fonts to a serifed Playbill font, but you can choose any font or leave it as the default.

Click 'Done'.

Stretch the title so that it extends for the length of your clip.

Repeat as needed for each title.

Custom Speed Effects for Movie Maker (XP & Vista)

Movie Maker comes with a couple standard effects to speed up or slow down your video. If you find that you need more control over the speed, you can download these custom Speed Effects with different incremental speeds.

Note: These effects have been designed to work with either the XP version or the Vista version of Movie Maker.

Click on the picture of the tortoise and the hare above which will download the custom speed effects. Run the installer (CustomSpeedEffects) and it will install the custom XML code you'll need.

After installing, you'll have new custom speed effects for

Slow Down in increments of 25%, 50%, 66%, x3, x4, x6, x8

Speed Up in increments of 25%, 50%, 66%, x3, x4, x6, x8

Custom TV Ratings Titles updated for Vista

Are you using Windows Movie Maker to edit your home videos? Have you ever wanted to add the TV Ratings to the top of your home videos? I created a set of custom titles that can be used in Windows Movie Maker to add the various TV Ratings (Y, Y7, G, PG, 14, MA) to the top left corner of your video.

Note: These titles have been designed to work with either the XP version or the Vista version of Movie Maker.

Click on the rating logo above which will download the custom titles for TV Ratings. Run the installer (CustomTVRatings) and it will install the custom XML code and the image files you'll need.

To use the new titles, go to 'Tools' > 'Titles and Credits' > 'Title on the selected clip' > 'change the title animation'. Under your list of one line titles should be 6 new ones called:

TV Rating (Y)

TV Rating (Y7)

TV Rating (G)

TV Rating (PG)

TV Rating (14)

TV Rating (MA)

If you want an additional subtitle, type it into the text fields, otherwise just type a single space. Click 'Done'.

Vista is here!

I'm up and running with Vista Home Premium. I like the new Aero glass look and have been playing all the new games (Inkball, Chess Titans, Mahjong Titan). My latest task, though, is to get heavily into Movie Maker. Movie projects appear to import fine into Vista, but it's going to require time to get replacements for all my custom titles, transitions and effects. Bit by bit I'll be updating my site with versions that will work on XP or Vista, so keep your eyes open.

Windows Vista available at the end of the month

I've been beta testing Windows Vista with the newest version of Windows Movie Maker and DVD Maker for several months now. I even have a pre-release of the final version installed. For those of you that can't wait to try it you only have a little more time to wait. Windows Vista is supposed to be widely available at the end of this month (January 30, 2007). Start counting down...