Tip #3443 - Windows Media Bonus Pack - Part 3
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Windows
Media Bonus Pack - Part 3
Are you ready? I sure
hope so, because here it comes! The third and final part to our Windows
Media Bonus Pack adventure is here. Come along with me as we finish up
this article series!
If you have been following
this series so far, you probably have already seen some improvements in
your Windows Media Player by using the bonus pack supplied free by Windows.
However, in the same
pack, there is a super bonus of add ons for Windows Movie Maker, so if
you have this and use this on their computer, I will now tell you a little
bit about what’s in store for you. I will also go over how you can
use these add ons for yourself.
By the way, if you
haven’t done so already, why not read my series on the Windows Movie
Maker? You can find them here,
here and here.
With those, you will be able to see how you can vastly improve the quality
of your home movies for free! Now, back to the bonus pack.
Assuming you have
downloaded and installed the media bonus pack, let’s now go to the
Programs menu and locate the bonuses for Movie Maker
(see below):
If you select Movie
Maker Creativity Kit, you will then see four options (see picture above).
Let’s start with:
Background
Music
Movie Maker comes
with a limited amount of music as the standard, so this is a very welcomed
addition to spice up your movies.
Open Movie
Maker and on the side menu, select Import Audio or Music.
Next, go to where
the files are stored (probably here: C:\Program Files\Windows Media Bonus
Pack for Windows XP\Movie Maker Kit, unless you chose to put it somewhere
else). Once you're there, select the files you want (below, I show all
of them selected and ready for the import:
Then click on Import
and you should then see them available for selection in Movie Maker, like
this:
You can then drag
them to the Timeline, depending on when you want to use them (see the
articles about using Movie Maker for more on this).
Now, let’s talk
about:
Sound Effects
This can really enhance
your movies. For example, a creaking door, a dripping tap, a car passing
by and so on. It just adds that little bit of extra atmosphere to the
show.
The procedure is very
similar to adding the music. Go to Import Audio or Music
and then fine the correct place on your hard disk where the files are
stored. Then import them just like you did before.
Below, you'll see
the various categories into which the sounds effects are divided:
Then, an example of
the contents in one such folder, ready to import one sound effect:
Again, drag to the
Timeline when you want to insert it into the movie.
Finally, we have:
Video Title
Images
Here we have a nice
selection of titles for a variety of occasions as short video clips, which
can be inserted at the appropriate points in your movie.
This time, on the
side menu in Movie Maker, select Import Pictures.
When the selection
screen comes up, do make sure to check the box that says "Create
clips for video files."
Yet again, they will
appear as available in Movie Maker:
Dragging to the Timeline,
as and when needed, will bring them into your film.
So, there you have
it! The complete works as a free gift from Microsoft to make your media
experiences even better.
Oh, by the way, if
you are not satisfied with what you have got for free, there is a Plus!
SuperPack, which gives you even more to play with, if you're interested.
So, please go and
enjoy the Media Bonus Pack and take your media experiences to a whole
new level!
Also, if you missed
out on Parts 1 and 2 of this series, refer back to Wednesday's and Thursday's
newsletters via this link.
Enjoy!
~ David Woodford
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