Video+Editing+Software

Week 2- September 6, 2010
===You can listen to my Movie Maker 2 tutorial podcast at [|podbean] or visit my blog for the [|podcast] and [|review]. ===

===This week’s activity took me out of my comfort zone big time! We had to experiment with video editing software. I chose to use Windows Movie Maker and Wax to make changes to an existing video. I have never made a video, much less edited one. So, this was a scary, frustrating, and exciting experience all wrapped up into one! ===

===I found that Movie Maker was much more user-friendly. It was easy to import an existing video, and it supports many different file extensions. Wax would only accept the file extensions AVI and WAV, so everything else required a converter. I was able to make sound and transition changes in Movie Maker with great ease, whereas Wax was a little more difficult to maneuver in. Movie Maker seems to make good, basic videos, but it’s missing some of the bells and whistles that are present in other video editing software. It doesn’t allow you to change video speed or adjust volume levels at specific locations. Wax, on the other hand, is able to create both two-dimensional and three dimensional special effects. It also offers a variety of presets, which are combined elements to create a unique effect, to make your video more sophisticated. ===

===Both video editing programs have their advantages, but for the beginner, I would suggest using Movie Maker. This would be a great instructional tool in the classroom for elementary and secondary teachers. You can check out exciting ways to use video as an engaging instructional strategy at Mathew Needleman’s website, [|www.videointheclassroom.com]. ===