Save your movie to your computer

Published: August 8, 2006

Saving a movie that you created in Windows Movie Maker as a file on your computer will give you the highest-quality movie file. Later, you can watch the movie by double-clicking it, which opens and plays it in Windows Media Player. Computers will probably always support common video formats, so saving your video to your computer is also a great way to make sure it will always be accessible.

To save your movie to your computer

1.	Open your movie in Movie Maker.
2.	In the Movie Tasks pane, under Finish Movie, click Save to my computer.
3.	The Save Movie Wizard appears. On the Save Movie File page, type a name for your movie. You can also choose a folder to save it in by clicking the Browse button, but My Videos (the default) is usually the best place to save your movie. Then click Next.
4.	On the Movie Setting page, click Next to accept the default setting of Best quality for playback on my computer. (you can select "show more choices" for more options if your file ends up being over your desired file size in Megabytes.)
5.	Movie Maker saves your movie, which might take several minutes. On the Completing the Save Movie Wizard page, click Finish. If Play movie when I click Finish was selected (it is selected by default), the movie will automatically play in Windows Media Player.

Now you can watch your videos anytime by opening your My Videos folder and double-clicking your movie. While the movie is playing in Windows Media Player, press ALT+ENTER to show the movie in full-screen view. Then press ESC to return to your desktop.

If you want to share your movie across the Internet, the most convenient ways are to send it in an e-mail message or save it to a Web site. However, both these methods reduce the video quality so that the movie downloads faster. If you want to share the high-quality movie you created by following the steps in this article, you can copy the movie to a CD or store it on a USB flash drive. Then you can share the movie with friends or family members by giving them the CD or flash drive, which they can use to view your masterpiece on their own computers.

Episode 003 - 4:3 v. 16:9
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This is an example of how fullscreen 4:3 compares to widescreen 16:9

Previous Episodes:
Episode 001 - filmmaking shots
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Remember that no shot description will be exact, which is why its a must to either do a storyboard, or a sample shot list, that describes your vision to your Director of Photography. One person's mid shot (MS) is another person's medium shot (also MS).

Episode 002 - Depth of Field
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This is an example of Depth of Field, but also shows you how to simulate Depth of Field with a consumer single chip camera.