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Windows Movie Maker

Michael Muchmore
 & Michael Muchmore Contributor

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Possibly the simplest (and funnest) way to combine your video clips into a presentable digital movie. - Windows Movie Maker
4.0 Excellent

The Bottom Line

Possibly the simplest (and funnest) way to combine your video clips into a presentable digital movie.

Pros & Cons

    • Ultimate in ease-of use for video editing.
    • Stabilization.
    • Choice of transitions.
    • Auto preview of effects.
    • Voiceovers and other audio features.
    • Good sharing options.
    • No contrast or saturation adjustments.
    • Effects aren't adjustable.

Windows' included video editing software is all about simplicity: There's really no simpler way to combine your clips into digital movies with titles, transitions, background music, and effects. In earlier releases, the program was so simple that it wasn't capable of doing things people commonly needed, but little by little, stuff like voiceover recording and even anti-shake have made their way into what is now a very useful free app for digital video editing. Let's be clear, Movie Maker still lacks a lot of effects and tools you get in Apple's entry-level video editor, iMovie, not to mention enthusiast-level products like Adobe Premiere Elements or CyberLink PowerDirector, but for basic needs and ease of use, it hits the mark.

Installation
You can only install Movie Maker as the Essentials bundle, a free set of lifestyle and utility apps for Windows 7 and Windows 8 that also includes Windows Photo Gallery. The single installer for all the Essentials apps offers an initial option of installing everything or letting you choose which to install. Since you may not need the Family Safety program, for example, I recommend the latter installation option. Movie Maker installs as a desktop application in Windows 8, and unfortunately, is not available for Windows RT tablets (though they do have alternatives like ArcSoft ShowBiz).

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Interface

Like iMovie, Movie Maker uses a simplified version of the standard video editor timeline, with clips represented by "long thumbnails." The first frame is shown at full contrast, while the following ones are faded, in a distinction between this look and iMovie's. The thumbnail tracks optionally show you the audio waveforms along the bottom, so you can see where the loud and quiet parts of your video lay. You get five size choices for the thumbs, which is probably enough, and a zoom control at the bottom lets you stretch out these clip representations. You can trim or split clips using the cursor insertion point combined with edit buttons. It's quite easy once you get used to the unique editing system used by the app: you click at a point in your clip, and can then drag the resulting insertion line around the timeline.

Movie Maker Timeline

Final Thoughts

Possibly the simplest (and funnest) way to combine your video clips into a presentable digital movie. - Windows Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker

4.0 Excellent

Possibly the simplest (and funnest) way to combine your video clips into a presentable digital movie.

About Our Expert

Michael Muchmore

Michael Muchmore

Contributor

My Experience

I've been testing PC and mobile software for more than 20 years, focusing on photo and video editing, operating systems, and web browsers. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech and headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team. I’ve attended trade shows for Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.

I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft misstep and win, up to the latest Windows 11.

I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical music fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.

Technology I Use

For everyday work, I use a good-old Dell tower with 16GB of RAM, a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti GPU that runs on Windows 11. I pair it with a 4K Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 monitor and a Logitech MX Vertical mouse. For offsite work, I use a 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Camera-wise, I moved to mirrorless from a Canon EOS 80D with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. I now have a Canon EOS R7 with a 100-400mm lens, but I miss my DSLR for several reasons.

In order of usage, the software I turn to most frequently is the Edge web browser, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Firefox, Brave, and WhatsApp. I use the Windows Phone link app to see everything on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone, which has excellent telephoto capability.

For fitness monitoring, I have a Fitbit Charge 6 and use an Anker Smart Scale P1. I’m also a streaming fan, so I subscribe to both Amazon Music Unlimited (especially for its Dolby Atmos content) and Qobuz (for its high-res sound quality and classical catalog). I recently added a Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which sounds surprisingly good given its low price. To holler commands instead of using a remote control, I have the Amazon Fire TV Cube in the living room, which lets me verbally tell the TV what I want to watch. It hooks up to an LG B4 OLED TV. I have a Sonos One speaker in my kitchen that also ties in with Alexa, as does the Echo Dot 2 With Clock in my bedroom. For serious listening, I have B&W 601 speakers plugged into a Conrad-Johnson Sonographe amp and preamp, with a Cambridge Audio AXN10 streamer as source. For reading, I also have a Nook GlowLight 3.

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