So you're making a movie?


Do you have a school assignment to make a documentary about your summer experiences or global climate change, or maybe a narrated movie about your neighbourhood. Or do you just feel like making a short movie to show to your friends and family? To make it easy for you to get started, I am going to show you how to use the Creaza's MovieEditor.

To start using the movie editor, you need to select a Theme. In the movie editor, you will have access to film clips, music, and sound effects, as well as your uploaded media files. This gives you the opportunity to make a movie using film and sound clips from Creaza, as well as your own material.

The movie editor has three main components:
The Library, Media Window, and Timeline.

Let's take a look at each of them:

Creaza's MovieEditor

 

1. The Library

The area on the top left of your screen is the library window. Here you will find all the material available for you to use in your movie.

  • Creaza’s videos, in various categories
  • Music
  • Sound effects
  • Graphics
  • Your media files

2. The Media Window

If you click on a media file in the library, you can watch a preview in the media window on the right hand side on the top of your screen. To play the clip, you need to click the play button.

Play button

This is where you can play back film clips, listen to music and sound effects, or look at your uploaded image files. At the bottom of the media window, you can see a visual indicator that shows you where you are in the media file.

Visual indicator for playback

If you click on the timeline marker, you can drag it back and forth to find the part of the clip you want to edit into your movie.

3. The Timeline

This is where you actually work on your movie. You drag film, sound, or music clips, as well as your still shots, down to the timeline. You can play them all back individually by first clicking on the clip you want to see and then the play button in the media window.

Video/Still Shots

When you place a clip on the timeline, a series of functions that allow you to edit/adjust your clip are activated. In the media window, buttons appear that allow you to set an In point and Out point for your clip. You can also edit your clip directly on the timeline, using the timeline marker and the splitting tool. You can also change the order of your clips by dragging them to wherever you want them. Still shots have a set duration, which you can shorten by editing them as described above, but if you want to extend the amount of time they are shown, you need to insert several still shots after each other.

  • You can also zoom in and out on the timeline using the scroll wheel on your mouse.
  • You can move the timeline marker to a certain point on the time line, and play back your movie from that point.
  • You can use your arrow keys to navigate along the timeline.
  • You can change the size of the media window, library, and timeline by dragging the borders between them.

Sound

There are volume controls to the left of each track on the timeline. You can mute the track by clicking on M. If you click on S (solo), all the other tracks will be muted. You can also adjust the volume level.

Audio tracks

You have three soundtracks at your disposal. One is intended for music, where the sound will always snap to the current film clip, so the music can be looped.

In the other two sound tracks, you can add sound clips that will be independent of the current film clip.

You can also adjust the sound level for individual clips on the timeline. You can set the sound level as a curve, by clicking the top of the clip. Then, you will see red dots/nodes that you can use to adjust the level however you like. This also allows you to fade out sound over time.

Audio effects

If you want to record sound, set the timeline marker to where you want your recording to start, and click the record button. Your recorded sound will be added from that point and you can edit it and move it wherever you like afterwards.

Graphics & Effects

Graphics

You drag graphics down to one of the two graphic tracks on the timeline.

You can edit graphics containing text by clicking on the T button.

Button with the letter T

 

You can also move graphic objects back and forth in the image by using the buttons.

Two buttons showing how to move layers

 

You can change the duration of the graphic just like you do with video and sound.

You can also set the opacity level for the image in the same way that you adjust sound levels.

Graphics layer

 

This allows you to fade text and graphics in and out.

Effects & Transitions

When you have added a clip to your timeline, a button marked as a pencil will appear on the timeline.

Edit button with a pencil

When you click on it, a window containing effects and transitions opens.

You can determine the duration of your transitions by setting In and Out points. You can add several effects to the same clip.

Playing Back Your Movie

When you have put together several clips and want to play back your movie, you need to use the buttons on the left hand side of the screen, under the library. You can play, stop, and pause your film, or switch to full screen mode to play back your movie in front of the class.

Remember to save your work as you go!

Good luck!