I do have a correction; Adobe Spark is gone. History. As in it has gone to the vapor land of software.
Things are a little goofy at the moment. What was publicly visible for a person to test out is now in the menu. You might have to click more to get to the tools.
The product formerly known as Adobe Spark has a new name and some new features. I found out about it via Twitter. Not from a corporate account, but via a friend's post. Been a long while since I was on the site.
I've messed around with Adobe Spark Video. I had to learn to work within the constrictions. And once you did it was...ok.
But then, as it happens the new stuff makes you forget about the old stuff. Because the new stuff is a whole lot easier to us.
And a serious reduction of constrictions. Even for free.
For the record, I don't have a problem paying for software. I do it. But I have to be able to get something out of it and not have to go to another program to finish it up. Like I did with Spark Video.
But this is a new day and a new user experience.
For your account and if you have an iPhone or Android device you now have access to:
Premier Rush
Photoshop Express
Those of us that are desktop users can have access to Premier Rush.
You will have access to some but not all of the features of these programs. If you want full access it will cost you $10 a month. I tried Rush once but I don't remember it much. This might be a good opportunity to give it a second chance.
This is just a head's up.
Maybe during the holiday down time I can take a look at it and see if it is worth diving into.
And, honestly things happen. Businesses make changes. It was no longer cost effective for them to continue to support a product that they acquired from Sony.
What folks objected to was inferring that the proposed upgrade still called Movie Studio was to a similar product. It wasn't.
They were not exactly clear or transparent out it.
Time marches on.
So I get an email.
For a product called Vegas Edit. Never heard of it before.
I go take a look.
Vegas Edit is actually Vegas Pro 19.
Ok, kinda being transparent.
Better than not at all being transparent.
Is it 2021 consumer friendly? Meaning it can help you make vertical, TickTok, YouTube shorts type videos? One of the questions that I would have is how much of a learning curve is involved?
Don't know.
When I get a chance, and it might take a while, I'll check out some of the video reviews of the software.
The company that works on updating the Vegas line of products decided to stop supporting Vegas Movie Studio software. They want to concentrate on Vegas Pro. That software is going to be continuing and will be supported.
The parent company is Magix. They have a line of video editing software known in Europe as Movie Maker Pro or Video Deluxe.
Magix or the Vegas programmers should have been straight up honest and told folks that Vegas Movie Studio and Studio Premium are being discontinued.
And,
If you would like to check out our other line of video editing software we have an entry level product called Movie Edit Pro.
If they would have done that, few people would have kicked up a fuss about it.
But that isn't what they did...
They re-named their European consumer friendly editing software as Movie Studio 18.
If a user paid for the upgrade and discovered that it was another product, Magix won't give a refund.
Unless the user lives in the European Union.
I don't know what they call it in the EU, but around these parts that is known as a bait and switch. Not good business practice and illegal as hell.
The way it is being done is the skank part.
I'm a current customer of Magix. I use some of their other software. Honestly, I think this is a marketing plan that went so bad, so fast.
If they make a change or correction, I'll post about it.
October 2021 Update: Toot the horn folks - Jumprope is no more. Kicked the bucket a few months ago. I really like the focus on making it super easy to create a tutorial. Ah well, they come and they go.
Historical Page of the Deceased App
There are some of us that honestly just like to share what we know. But there is a gowning media market regarding selling via education type products. Nothing wrong with that. People have been doing it for centuries.
The tech has changed but the desire to share what we know is in our blood. One of the companies that make it easy to create education products is called Jumprope. Users can create educational guides that can be shared on social media or on a blog or website.
The How-To guides can be:
Photos with captions
Photos with audio
Photos and video
Video with captions
How it Works
This is an example video from the company explaining how to create a guide.
What You Will Need
For creating a Jumprope guide, mobile users will need to download the app via Apple App Store or Google Play.
Devices
Android phones and tablets running Android 6.0 or higher.
Apple phones and tablets running iOS 11.0 or higher.
Desktop Browsers: you can view Jumprope guides via any browser but you cannot create them.
What Can You Do With a Jumprope Guide:
Quickly create how guides and videos.
Use it to demonstrate skills and expertise.
Use it as a means to generate income with affiliate links to the products used in the guide.
Repurpose prior content.
It is one of the quickest ways to create educational type content.
It is bone easy to do and it cost you nothing to check it out.
There are new apps on the block. And then there are the old reliable bit of kit. Sometimes remembered. Other times, an old favorite is shoved up in the corner.
Just waiting for the right person to accept him/her/they and enjoy simplicity.
Pablo by Buffer has been around the bend. Probably was created when the bend was being formed. I don't know. I do know it is a simple, quick way to create social media graphics with text.
And that it is a free web app.
Getting Started
When you first land on the page an ad for another Buffer app called Buffer Remix will appear. Has a lot of nifty features for Android and Apple devices.
If you are not interested checking out the app, click the Dismiss link (down at the bottom in white text) or click any place away from the image and on the screen.
You can format images for:
Pinterest
Square format, good for audiogram covers, Facebook ads or other sites that prefer the square format
Twitter or YouTube
But wait, there is more.
If you want to add a logo image inside of the photo you can do that too. Can add text, change the font and move it where you want.
There are templates and 600k of free images to help you get a jump on your message or social media comment.
And that is about it. No importing audio or video. No whiteboard animation. Just a simple graphics editor to help you create text and photo social media content.
Or you could use your imagination and come up with new ways to use the images.
There are people that want a basic video editing software and don't want to use their phone or tablet.
Or can't.
This includes a lot of Windows and Android users who haven't found what they need in terms of an app or software..
Animotica is an affordable video editing software that has a easy user experience, social media export options and being able to see a full size rendition. Animotica comes in three versions, Free, Lite and Pro.
In this post, I want to take a look at the Quick Tools section. There are some goodies.
What You Will Need
Familiar with navigating to folders on your computer. Drag and Drop or knowing how to find a file or folder on your computer.
Understanding that this is a basic video editor that does a lot of things. Some you want, some you don't.
If you do have audio or video on your mobile device, knowing how to transfer it to your desktop.
Devices
Windows 10 only.
Might work on a large size Windows tablets.
Disclosure
I purchased the full version of the software last year. Some of the items displayed on my screenshots may or many not be available to Animotica Free or Lite users.
Also, I have a heck of a lot of software. I have a problem. I know it.
Quick Tools
This is the dashboard of the software. There is a lot of useful stuff, some of it accessible to free users.
Among the tasty treats are things that come up when you need them. Who among us hasn't had the need to extract a mp3 from a video:
Or need to only add background music:
And this is probably the time to mention the payment plan and functions.
Free Plan:
Access to the basic program features
Can freely switch between aspect ratios
Export in 720p
Limited transitions, stickers and effects
Videos are watermarked.
Lite Plan:
All of the features of the Free Plan plus
Access to all transitions
Export in 1080p
No watermark.
Pro Plan:
All of the features of the prior two plans:
Access to all transitions, overlays, animated gifs and effects
Export in 4K
Color adjustment, correction and effects
Animated text effects.
I usually mention payments options toward the end of a post. But I know how some of you think.
"Ah, I just want to trim my video. And it will do it for free? Score!"
You will be able to do that. But under the free version, your video will export as 720p with a watermark.
This is why reading is fundamental.
Now this is just the Quick Tools section, not the main video editing program.
If you are interested in that, check out the above video. Animotica straddle the fence about being an entry level video editing program with some decent features.
It isn't for the person that want or needs something like Hit Film or DaVinci Resolve. But if you need something that can get the job done at an affordable price, this might be something to examine for your needs.
Lot of things going on in the social media space. In March 2021, Unsplash was acquired by Getty Images. Big whoop you might say.
Well, it kinda is.
If you use Unsplash for making audiograms, IG stories or any kind of social media content. Can't begin to count the number of YouTubers using Unsplash photos inside of their videos.
Millions of people around the world contribute photos to Unsplash. Those photos have been used by social media services such as Canva, Relay That and dozen more.
Getty Images is a huge stock imaging company. Their holdings include historical photos, video and so much other content. It primarily deals with corporate and professional customers.
The current word is that Unsplash will remain a separate company. But I would expect that at some point, a few Getty images would be mixed in for purchase. Or there could be an opportunity for Unsplash contributors to access some income opportunities.
For those of us in the social media space it could have an effect on how long social media providers will continue to offer Unsplash images.
Or will the also be required to include items from Getty Images?
I don't know.
But if you have a project you kinda, sorta want to do - you might want to get a move on it.
This is the full demonstration of how to create a simple audiogram using Adobe Spark Video.
I intentionally limited to creating a very simple podcast audiogram, however Spark Video allows you to add text, captions, music and other design elements.
The free version gives you access to everything you need but the video will be watermarked. If you keep it simple and uncomplicated you will do fine. Start loading it up with everything and the kitchen sink, and there will be issues.
I have to say I've tried using Adobe Spark Video for a number of years. I've had crashes. We've cussed each other out. I think we are now at a point of understanding.
Respect it for what it is.
It is an opportunity to simplify.
To be creative within the limitations.
To embrace that minimalistic view about Adobe Spark Video will give you peace of mind.
One issue I should have gone into more detail in the video. If you upload a clip from your podcast using the music upload feature you might have to chop the audio into clips. And there is a chance that Spark Video might believe that you uploaded music and start to repeat your audio at the end of the video.
Nothing a little tweaking in a video editing program can't take care of, but you should be aware of it.
Folks are looking for various ways to promote their content. Or increase awareness.
One way to do that is by using a software program to create an audio single slide movie.
Commonly known as a podcast audiogram. Not to be confused with the hearing diagnostic evaluation also called audiogram. Other names for it are Soundbites, Audio Clips, Audio Visualizations and Trailers.
One more thing. There are music visualizations apps for musicians to upload music with a synchronized visualization. Some of those apps and software have overlapping similarities with podcasting audiogram creation apps. There is so much stuff out there.
The music visualizations are used by DJs and musicians to post their work to the public or draw them to websites. I could also see this working for poets as well.
Where was I? Oh yeah.
On the basic level, it is the joining of an audio sound file and a photo mashed together to make a video. Once you have the video, you can post it on social media sites.
Podcast audiograms can be used:
an introduction to a new podcast.
as a teaser clip of an episode.
as a full episode of a podcast, depending on length.
promotion tools and more.
Creating Podcast Audiograms
It is as easy or a hard as you want or need the process to be. Not being cryptic.
If you are a desktop user, you have everything you need. However it isn't necessarily easy.
For example, if you have a slide presentation program like Keynote or PowerPoint, you can make an audiogram. But you need experience with the software, understanding audio, image and video formats for your social media services and put the whole thing together. Not for newbies.
Or you have video editing software, create an image track, an audio track, import your assets and export to .mp4 video. You still have to make sure it conforms to various social media requirements.
Smartphone apps can make the process easier to make but you might lose some choices and options. If you want more options, you have to pay for them.
There are on-line services like Headliner, Invideo and Wavve that really make the process easy. And if your audio hosting service has an affiliation with one of the above services it is twice as easy.
How Much Is This Going to Cost?
Depends. Anywhere from free to $150 or more a year.
Freemium kind of deals - you get all the services however a logo could be watermarked into the video, you get a lower resolution or some other kind of limitation.
Many of the services offer a subscription plan with added features, social media formats and sometimes storage.
Hindenburg Lite is a recording app for iOS phone or iPad only. There is and will never be an Android version. The actual name of the full version of the app is Hindenburg Field Recorder. With the app, you can record, edit and export audio. It is a bit quirky but it is worth more than a surface look.
The lite version has all of the features of the paid version of Field Recorder except that there is a 60 second recording limit. Most folks would balk at that limit, even for free.
For time challenged folks that need hit it and quit recording, this could be something to consider.
If you can deal with the limitations and are willing to work with it; Hindenburg Lite could be an app that gives you value in the long run.
Audiograms/Social Media
Recording audio for audiograms or your social media account.
Bonus Content
Recording mini episodes on the go.
Give a quick opinion on a breaking story related to your show.
Using it to build content for your longer podcast.
Recycling Old Tech
Reuse of an old iPhone/iPad as a mini recording tool. If you have access to Wi-Fi you are good to go if the device OS is still functional.
Advantages:
It is free.
Able to record audio in 44.1 kHz or 48kHz with choice of .WAV, .AAC or ALAC
Has built in audio compression.
The app features are unrestricted except for the 60 second time limit.
Disadvantages:
60 second recording limit.
Can only increase the Gain while recording.
PC users will find it fussy about exporting audio to another location.
If you want to do more to your audio, you will have to export it to an audio editing program.
The Fiddley Parts
Editing: I have average size hands. On an iPhone 6s, I could not select the editing handles. Might be easier on an iPad.
Exporting and You Have a Mac: Not going to be an issue for you. You have AirDrop or you can use the Apple Cloud or other cloud services. Or connect directly to your Apple computer.
Exporting and You Have a PC:
If the audio is small enough you might be able to email it to yourself. There may or may not be a size restriction from your email service about large files. .WAV files by their nature are large files.
However if you have a cloud storage account like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox that might be the easiest path to get the recording off of the device.
Is it for you?
Depends. It is a free app. If you can roll with the 60 second time limit and how to work with audio then I think it is a score.
The paid version of the app is $29.99 and for that you get unlimited recording time. There is no other difference in the app that I can see.
For casual or frugal folks, I think there are more appropriate user friendly apps for you.
Mac Users aren't going to have problems working with .AAC and .ALAC files. Slide them into GarageBand or your audio editing programs and get on with the day.
PC Users are going to need to export audio as WAV files. Or hunt down converter software. For PC Audacity users, you are going to need to install a plug-in for .AAC audio files.
If you lean nerdy or like to figure stuff out - it could work for you.
If not, it might be more trouble than it is worth.
There are other recording apps that are a tad easier to work with. But the sound quality and variety of export options are not to be ignored.
Greetings. It has been a while, but as most of you know I've been audio podcasting. When there is news or something of note I will posted it.
I got an e-mail from Sony that my personal information was being
transferred to Magix, I followed up and found out that all of the
consumer lines (what they call assets) have been sold to the Magix.
Vegas Pro
Movie Studio
Sound Forge Audio Studio
Sound Forge Pro
Acid Music Studio
Acid Pro
For the time being nothing will change; but there will be a transition to the new owners. There were good training videos on the Sony site as well as a forum with a lot of historical information.
Not really clear if that is going to migrate as well. Magix is a good company; not too fond of trying finding info on their website; it takes some digging and often you have to register. In the past I had to sign in multiple times to get to the info that I needed at the time.
That said, I have found some goodies over yonder when I needed them.
June 2018 Update: Hi folks. I know it has been a while. I'm working on other projects that are not video related. Most of the consumer video world has switch to mobile. What I had to offer is no longer relevant for contemporary smartphone video production.
That being said, a lot of folks (who refuse to upgrade operating systems) still use some form of Windows Movie Maker. If you are upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1 and have an existing copy of Movie Maker there shouldn't be any problems.
Microsoft doesn't support Movie Maker 12 for Windows 10 you have to figure out what is wrong and how to make it right.
The worse news is that you can no longer obtain Movie Maker from Microsoft's web site. If you see links to it from other sources do not download it; it may have been tainted with malware.
Serif Movie Plus - Discontinued. Rest in peace, it was good to me.
Sony Movie Studio is now Magix Movie Studio. If you have a prior version of a Sony video editing software product you might be able to upgrade to a new version for a reduced cost..
Yes, you will have to pay for it. I know that can be a problem for some folks.
There are other free options but please be a savvy consumer. Not everything free is safe, easy or good. I'll keep an eye out for items of interest but for now,
How do you express a universal concept? The Noun Project is trying to create pictograms that can express a concept without the use of written or spoken language.
So, back to the question and inspiration for my project; explaining how to take medicine when the other person can't read or doesn't understand your language?
This is a video about the project:
Now, here is where it gets interesting. Researching my project I found out that many countries use pictograms in addition to written language to communicate medical concepts. If you are thinking of a rural African village, think again.
The pictorgrams concept is used in Ireland, India and in the Americas. Hopefully it will pick up steam in the U.S. but it is a process. So, how do you get your hands on them?
There are a number of ways. If you have Adobe Voice you are good to go, this is the service that provides the art work.
If you are on Android or another operating system then you can register at the site for a limited free account. On the free account you are limited to Public Domain images. You will have to hunt them down; they are not easy to find.
I was only able to download three a day but I wasn't trying to load the whole image bank. There are low lifers that would download and sell the images so I completely understand the restrictions.
If you need more you can purchase individual images or access the creative common images that require attribution. The pricing plan that starts at $10 a month. If you only are need an pictogram occasionally this could be a keeper.
Images seem to scale well in my video editing programs. You have to see if your software or app is accommodating to it.
Com-Phone isn't designed for people like me but I'm taking a shine to it. It is an Android app for storytelling that is designed for older smartphones and devices. It is simple; you can take a photo; add audio and text and then transmit the story to YouTube or via e-mail.
Now I really need to stress that this app was designed for folks that do not have computers, high end tablets and other types of gizmos. I installed it on my old Samsung MP3 media player that has Android 2.23 on it.
I think there is a place for people that want to compose creative projects but need to keep it really simple.
Twitchy but Ok
In Photo mode I was a little confused that the photos were reversed. They recorded normally on the device but when you take the photo the image was flipped.
I recorded audio using the app, it was ok but occasionally heard scratching. It might have been the quality of the mic or this might be more I was moving around. I'll need to do more testing.
You can export video out as a .mov file. I did a test viewing using QuickTime Pro. It seems that the display size is 640x640 and the audio is recorded at Mono at 8kHz; it does sound like old school phone. Well, that explains the scratching sounds.
Viewing Issue
I tried to view the video on my device and it wasn't recognized. It doesn't seem to be a variant of mp4 but straight up .mov. I saved it as an HTML file and tried to open with a web page. The plain vanilla browser would not let me do that so I need to install Opera on my player.
You certainly can export the video and work on it in your video editor of choice.
Before some of you get you panties in a bunch this software can be of advantage to folks that have limited devices and want to tell a story. It is also of value to those artists or poets that want to compose a work in sequential order without editing.
This gizmo has possibilities. More testing is required.
You have your idea. You have put it in a fixed form on paper or in a cloud. How are you going to show it? How will you tell your story? With what tools? How much time have you
got? How will your audience technologically receive your story? Will it
eat up their data plan?
What method would best serve your story? You have a lot of choices; the ideas below are just touch points/idea generators.
I have a expansive view of how to create a video. If you work it right a series of screen captures with narration could be a big hit. Who is to say that a well planned GIF can't be a digital story or a means of delivering a tutorial?
Ken Burns made bank on using history, old photos and narration with his documentary on the U.S. Civil War. The New York Times Video unit is telling strong stories by using music, narration, photos and video.
And X=Unknown?
Yes. Because Microsoft is coming out with a new presentation format called Microsoft Sway. Other vendors are searching for ways to help users and creatives to tell stories more effectively without building from scratch. A new app could show up a week from now that will blow your socks off in simplicity.
There is another reason why you should think of this now.
Lets say you decide using photos and audio is the way to go. Your energy is now directed to getting the photos, recording your audio and finding the software that will help you assemble your story quickly.
That might be Animoto, Smilebox, Slidely, Roxio PhotoShow. It might mean using a presentation software like PowerPoint, Keynote or OpenOffice Impress. It could mean laying out cash money for something like Photodex Producer; if you want a professional level of control.
No, I'm not backsliding - Pitcherific is an interesting web app that could help folks do a lot of things, give a proper elevator pitch, make a short presentation, or maybe help you to crystallize an idea for a video or podcast.
Let me be clear that my understanding of the intended purpose of the web app is to help people structure a verbal presentation. That is kinda nifty and the price is right (Free, at the moment).
But it is also the structure of basic storytelling. And for those of you doing really short videos this could be a keeper.
I don't know how long this web app will last but give it a try. Especially if you are giving a presentation on a dry subject.
The Yelp app will allow members of the review site to record video; up to 12 seconds and upload it to the site. Me thinks this is a new kind of Pandora's box but I need to provide a few details before quibbles.
This is a free iOS app for iPhones and iPads. It is a 30MB download so if you got bandwidth or lack of space issues on your device issues you should deal with them before downloading. There is a promise for an Android version but, well...
I'll believe it when I see it.
This could be a really good thing or a really bad thing Let me point out a legal thing. Many stores and restaurants prohibit recording photos and video in their establishment. You can be asked to leave if the owner, or their authorized representative, ask you to do so.
This does not stop the thousands of meal photos delivered to Yelp, Twitter and Facebook. I'm just pre-warning you some places will not let you snag a shot; no matter what your intentions.
There isn't a lot of info about where the video is stored. I hope it is on the device in the Gallery but one never knows these days.
So, this could be helpful if you are a Yelper that wants to show your favorite store or lunch spot. It is nothing that you couldn't do with Vine or Instagram. Still, it could be fun if you want to do a review with a bit of video.
It seems that everybody and her cousin is coming out with an explainer video web app or software.
A few days ago, a friend shared with me an explainer video on a political topic. It was a combination of live action and pseudo animation software. It presented the point of view seamlessly. But I didn't agree with all the ideas presented. This is where critical thinking skills kick in but that is a topic for another blog.
Explee is a web app for creating
animated explainer videos. Similar to Adobe Voice, you can upload your
own .jpeg or .png images or use the images provided to create a video
about a subject, idea or concept.
The video below is a good example of what you can do with the software:
There is a free version that you can obtain via an e-mail address and password. The video will have a watermark and other limitations. Paid versions allow users to download .mp4 videos to upload them to Vimeo and YouTube.
I tried out the free version on an idea project that I'm thinking about. Because I signed up for a free account, I can't embed the video but this is a link to the video page. It is really rough but I was able to knock out a concept video in about 15 minutes.
For the most part it went well. I had some problems when I was typing text and I couldn't get back to editing out a mistake. It was easier to delete it and add it again. Really minor things like that. The music was provided by the service; it was a easy as drag and drop it into the staging area.
I need to do more testing using it but it is a viable option for teachers,
explainers and folks that don't have a video friendly concept. I have to stress that it is easy to put a video together. It takes time to make a good video.
So if you don't want to spend cash money on an iPad and apps that may or may not work or you need a way of prototyping an idea or concept this might be the way to go.
Last time I mentioned how folks can use almost any version of Windows Movie Maker to extract a photo from a video. And if you have under ten photos this is doable. But what if you want to get a bunch of photos from a video clip?
If you have Sony Movie Studio, the consumer level video editing software you can do it in a snap. If you don't have Sony Movie Studio then check out the video editing software that you are using, it might have that feature. Eh, maybe. More about that at the bottom of the tutorial.
Step 1: Place the Video on the Timeline
It is assumed that you know how to put a video clip on the timeline. I would strongly suggest that you edit or trim to just the segments that contain the photos you want. Keeping the video under 1minute in length is good, 30 seconds is better.
Here is why: 30 frames per second x however many seconds of video = a heck of a lot of photos. You really need to trim your video to get just what you want or you could have thousands of photos on your hard drive.
Step 2: Select Your Hard Drive Location
Click the Make Movie Button and select, Save to Hard Drive.
Step 3: Select a Location and the File Type of Your Photos
Make sure that you know which folder your photos will be saved. You also have an opportunity to select the file type. If you know that you are going to make animated gifs then select gif. If you are planning to make a photo montage then jpeg would be a better choice. When you are ready, click the Render button.
When completed you will have a photo with either hundreds or thousands of photos.Yes. It can be a lot of photos.
What Is the Catch?
Yeah, there is one. Sony redesigned their entry level video editing software. There is Movie Studio and Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13.
Sony removed a lot of features and made Sony Movie Studio more user friendly. Kinda. From a quick sweep of the manual, I do not think that the entry level version allows you to batch convert from video to photo.
I believe that Movie Studio Platinum 13 does allow you to do the conversion. The older versions of the software also perform the batch conversions.
There are times when you might need to convert a small section of your video to photos. There are a lot of good reasons for this; you might want to make a montage or a gif animation.
You don’t necessarily have to buy an app or software to do this; you might have what you need already installed on your computer.
I was just about ready to purchase software to convert photos to video when a wee small voice in the back of my head said, "Hey, don't you have software that can do that?"
Besides some of those video to photo software sites look real dodgy. I
don’t want malware, spyware or a whole bunch of yuck installed on my
system.
That small voice also reminded me that I'm on fiscal lock down for the next couple of weeks. When I thought about it, I have a number of software programs that can grab a photo from a video so I'm going to share how to do that.
Cuz I'm a giver.
Windows Movie Maker and all prior incarnations. I'm using the current Windows 7 64-bit version but you can even do this on the XP version of the program.
Step 1: Load Your Video into Windows Movie Maker
Step 2: Move The Cursor to the Location Where You Want to Extract an Image
Click the area in the video you want a copy of the image. You are looking for a black vertical line that will match the image in the Preview screen. The photo is going to be the same size as the video. Meaning, if you recorded at 1280x720 your image is going to be the same size.
Step 3: Click the Snapshot Button-thingy
Yes, it is that simple. Click the button to open the place where the photo will be saved. You can accept the system generated name but I would suggest changing it into something you will remember.
For those of you on an older version of the program there is a camera icon on the Preview screen. It works the same way.
In my version of Windows Movie Maker the photo will be saved in the PNG format. Not a bad thing unless the program you plan to use the photo doesn't accept PNG images. Now days that is rare. Not to worry; if it doesn't you can always go an image editing site like Autodesk's Pixlr to convert the image.
And that is it. No muss. No fuss. And you can save yourself $20 and potential harm to your system.
Now, this is ok if you have at best five to ten photos to extract. If you want to extract 100 at a time then this isn't the way to go.
Anything Else?
Yes. The modern version of Windows Movie Maker plays a lot nicer with a video files formats. It will accept most but not all variations of MP4 videos. It doesn't like videos that are associated with the Quicktime format.
The quality of your photos is going to be as good as the quality of your video. If you are thinking about making prints from the images it might be okay or it not quite up to snuff for anything larger that a 4x6 photo. Then again, something could be better than nothing.
