1. Open Windows Movie Maker.

Click Start > Programs > Windows Movie Maker.

You can also click Start > Run and type "moviemk" (without the quotation marks).

2. Ensure that you have the proper settings in Windows Movie Maker.

By default, Windows Movie Maker is set up to deal with clips that are at a 4:3 aspect ratio. If you're used Handbrake to capture a clip from a DVD, though, it's quite likely that your movie file has a 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio. So you'll need to ensure that Windows Movie Maker won't make your video look weird. (It may look smushed or stretched if you don't have the right aspect ratio selected.)

• Click Tools > Options.
• Click the "Advanced" tab.
• If you have a 16:9 video make sure that radio button is selected. If you have a 4:3 video, make sure that radio button is selected. If you're not certain, try moving onto the next instructions. If, in playing your video in Windows Movie Maker, it looks strangley smushed or stretched, try changing this option.

3. Import your video into Windows Movie Maker.

You can do this by dragging and dropping the video onto the main blank area of Windows Movie Maker, pressing Ctrl-I, or you can click File > Import into Collections.

4. Drag your video to the timeline.

You'll need to drag the video to the timeline at the bottom of the screen in order for you to edit the file. The timeline should have text on it that says something like, "Drag Media to the timeline to begin making a movie."

You'll need to ensure that the timeline is visible at the bottom instead of the storyboard. If you do not see a timeline at the bottom of Windows Movie Maker, click "Show Timeline" at the bottom of the screen. (It will say "Show Storyboard" if the timeline is already visible.)

5. Select where you'd like your video clip to start.

You'll need to determine at what point you want your final video clip to begin, and where you want it to end. To do this, you'll essentially be "cutting off" the portions of the video you don't want.

Move the little blue slider on the timeline at the bottom of the screen to the point that you want your clip to start. You can also press the spacebar (or click the play button in the embedded video window) and just watch the clip until you find the part you want. Once you find that starting point and the blue slider (aka "playhead") is there, click Clip > Split. This will separate the video on the timeline into two discrete pieces at the point you selected.

Obviously, you'll want to do away with the clip that precedes your set starting point. Accordingly, click once anywhere in the box of the first chunk of video (i.e. the chunk you want to get rid of it). You should see more clearly that there are two pieces because the piece you've selected should be highlighted in white and the other pice should be gray. Press the "Delete" button on your keyboard to remove this chunk of video. (You can also right-click on it and select "Delete.")

6. Select where you'd like your video clip to end.

You'll follow the instructions above again. This time, though, you'll want to delete the second chunk of video instead of the first (since you're tossing the video that's what's after what you want).

7. [OPTIONAL] Add any effects or transitions, if desired.

Often it's nice to have a video clip fade in and fade out from and to black. Windows Movie Maker actually makes those two effects particularly easy to add. Just right-click on the video in the timeline and select "Fade In" and/or "Fade Out." You can apply both, one right after the other.

Note that you can apply numerous other effects by right-clicking on the video in the timeline and selecting "Video Effects."

You can also add text by clicking Tools > Titles and Credits.

8. Save your new video clip.

Windows Movie Maker does a nice job of compressing video to a good file format - as long as you are on a Windows platform. It outputs a .wmv file, which should embed quite nicely into PowerPoint, should you desire to do so. It will be viewable on a Mac, but it may not be so friendly about embedding into a Mac version of PowerPoint.

• Click File > Save Movie File.
• Ensure that "My Computer" is selected and click "Next."
• Enter a name for your file. (I highly recommended that you avoid using spaces. So, for example, instead of "Leeroy Jenkins" use "LeeroyJenkins".) Select a location you'd like the file saved. Click "Next."
• Select "Best Quality for Playback on my computer (recommended)." Click "Next."

Allow for the video to compress. It may take some time, depending on your computer and the length and size of the video you're compressing.

Feel free to "play movie when I click finish," if you so desire. You now have a nicely-compressed movie file that can easily be inserted into PowerPoint!