What program(s) do you use?

[Dee, Group Creator]

There are many software programs available for the creation of book preview video. Some programs are free, while others are a bit pricy.

What software program(s) do you prefer to use in the creation of your book preview video?

If you could afford to purchase any program for the creation of a book preview video, what would your dream setup consist of?

Dee Marie

[Christie]

I've just used the Windows Movie Maker that came with my computer. It's free, so why not? LOL

I don't know enough about movie software to even know what I'd buy if I had the money to do so.

Christie

[Dee, Group Creator]

Hey Christie,

It appears that Windows Movie Maker is the "number one" program used for creating book preview video.

This fall, I will be reviewing Adobe's CS4 Master Suite, for an international computer graphic web site [and for my upcoming magazine:]. The suite includes several "movie making" software applications. I will be sure to compare them to Movie Maker for ease of use and creative output and post my findings to our group's thread.

Dee Marie

[Christie]

That will be great, Dee Marie. I look forward to hearing what you think of it. :-)

Christie

[Linda]

I also use Windows Movie Maker and am very happy with it. I'm addicted now and have a lot of YouTube vids up, besides the trailer. Planning to use WMV to make an author reading clip sometime.

[Dee, Group Creator]

Hey Leaustin,

Thanks for your input. How long have you been using Windows Movie Maker, and what do you think about the program's learning curve?

Oh, thanks for brining up another great marketing promo, the author "reading clip."

I enjoyed your book preview video (please post a link to it on our "Share Your Video" thread. What made it so unique is that you used a voice-over instead of text to tell the story.

I am putting your book on both the group's book shelf, and on my personal to-read shelf. What a fascinating story.

Welcome to the group.
Dee Marie

[William]

As posted in another topic, the software I use is a combination of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements, with audio recording through the open source program, Audacity.

For those who are on a tighter budget I also recommend InkScape (an open source/free program like Illustrator) or Paint.net (an open source/free program very similar to Photoshop). No suggestions for open source video though, as I prefer Premiere.

If I need to do more intense recording though, I use the Ubuntu Studio Operating System (Linux) and Ardour. Haven't had to do that yet for a book trailer though - just music recording.

[Dee, Group Creator]

Thanks for the input William.

Which version of Elements do you use? I am reviewing Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Elements 7. I just installed the programs last week, and I am still exploring all the features.

If I get stuck I may give you a shout-out!

Dee Marie

[Linda]

I've been using Movie Maker guess about 2 years now. It has a good Help function, but I had to discover a few tricks myself. A lot of drag and drop, so pretty easy. Very good and does a lot, but of course no fancy professional stuff. There's a free MAC version, too. Thanks for the compliment. - Linda

[Dee, Group Creator]

Hey Linda,

If you have the time, please share any of your tips and tricks in using MovieMaker. I am sure we can all gain from your expertise.

Dee Marie

[William]

I'm using Photoshop and Premiere Elements 7 - the new one that just came out.

[Dee, Group Creator]

Hey William,

Does Premiere Elements 7 have a "zoom in and zoom out" function for still images? As in...can you zoom in and scroll around an image of your book cover as part of your book trailer video?

Dee Marie