OVERVIEW
In order to create a photo essay, you will need to use an application that allows you to combine, edit, and adjust photos and audio and export the resulting project in a compressed format suitable for sharing on the web (such as m4v, mov, or wmv).
If you use Windows, your best bet is to use Movie Maker, as described below, but you could also try PowerPoint. You can also search Google for free (or cheap) slideshow creation applications that you download and use as well as apps you can use directly on the web. If you find a nifty tool, please let me know so that I can check it out and share it here as an option.
WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER
If you use a Windows computer and would like to make your audiovisual essay on it, give Movie Maker a try. It’s not as slick and fancy as iMovie, but it has most of the same features you would use to create a photo essay, and it comes free with the Windows OS.
If your PC is running the XP or Vista versions of Windows, you should already have MovieMaker installed on your computer. Click on your Start menu and type MovieMaker into the search box. A link to the application will most likely appear near the upper right corner of the search results window. Click on that to launch Movie Maker. (You might first right click on it to pin the application to your Start menu so that you can find it again more easily.)
If your PC is running Windows 7, you will need to download Windows Live MovieMaker for Windows 7.
NOTE: The Windows computers on campus should all have Movie Maker, so you can use it even if you’re on campus without your own laptop. Just carry the Movie Maker project file (and/or your photos and audio file) with you on a USB thumb drive.
INSTRUCTIONS
For instructions, browse the handouts under the Video Capture and Editing Tools category or under the MovieMaker tag archive.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
For more help with using Movie Maker, including instructions for the newer version, search Google. Type your OS version and the app name into a Google search box like this: Windows Vista Movie Maker help (you might even try using photo essay instead of help)
Here are some Microsoft help pages for Movie Maker:
- Using Windows Movie Maker to Present Still Photos
- How to Use Windows Movie Maker
- Getting Started with Windows Movie Maker
- Use Movie Maker to Create a Narrated Slide Show
