How to Make a Movie in Easy Steps

Take a look at all your video – which clips do you like? Which clips really speak to you and compel you to share them? Choose everything you want to be in the final video, and make note of it. Then only bring the video you want to use into your editing project. That saves you a lot of time. Don’t forget to look through photos, too, because they can help make a memorable video.

It's easy to think that you should immediately discard videos that have problems. But don’t always reject video clips you really like just because they have some kind of a problem, like being shaky. From basic image stabilization to a set of a color-correction tools to fix bad color in video or in photos, VEGAS Movie Studio has the tools you need to rescue footage you didn’t think you could use.

Professional video editors never work without a plan, so make one! You need to know what you want your video to be before you start. Great videos tell stories, and yours should too. Decide what story you want to tell, and let it guide your decisions on which clips to use and how to use them. Also decide how you’re going to use transitions, text, and music. All of those elements help you tell the story you want to tell. A plan is vitally important to getting all of it done right.

A rough cut basically means assembling your video and photos in the order that tells your story and changing them around as needed to get them into a perfect sequence. Don't worry about precise edits at this point. Just get your clips into the proper order. This can often be the most fun part of editing, because you’re really letting your creativity loose as you put your plan into action. Don’t be afraid to experiment, and don’t worry if you think something doesn’t really work at this stage. Change whatever you need; it’s much easier at this step than it will be further down the road.

VEGAS Movie Studio features a storyboard view, which makes laying out your footage in a rough cut quick and easy, just like arranging photos on a table. The storyboard makes rough cutting easy, quick, and fun.

The last step is to create the final video file for viewers to watch. This is called rendering, and it's where you finalize your film and create a new, complete video file for your audience to watch. Different ways of showing your video, like putting your video on a streaming service like YouTube or burning it to DVD for people to play at home, have different requirements. Fortunately, video software like VEGAS Movie Studio includes easy-to-use templates which do the work for you; just choose the right template, and with a click, your video starts rendering. When it’s done, you’ll have a brand new video to share.

VEGAS Movie Studio also makes exporting for YouTube or other streaming services a snap; with just a single click, VEGAS renders your video to the right format and automatically starts the upload process!

Following those basic steps makes creating your own videos simple and easy, but VEGAS Movie Studio offers an even easier way, with the Guided Video Creator. It guides you through the entire process step-by-step, and lets you choose your video clips, arrange them, and add all the titles, FX, music, and text you need, all in a single window. It couldn’t be easier! Once you feel comfortable enough to take control of the process yourself, go to the timeline and unleash your creativity. From your very first video edit to more advanced editing as you learn and grow, VEGAS Movie Studio has you covered.