How to Put Two Movies Together to Make One

Combine two videos you recorded to make a new video.

Video-editing allows you to combine two movies to make one in a number of ways. Play one video after another to create a double-feature. Splice different scenes or shots together to create a whole new video or play an audio-only video file over a video file to create a new sound for the video. Most video-editing software works only with specific file formats, typically .mov and .wma. However, many programs work with many other formats.

Instructions

1. Open a video-editing program such as iMovie, Windows Movie Maker or Final Cut Pro. Click on the "File" menu and select "New Video."

2. Convert the files to an editable format, if necessary. Download a video format converter from the Internet and install it. Open the file by double-clicking on it and press the "Select File" button. Highlight the first movie and click on the drop-down menu. Select the appropriate format and press the "Convert" button. Repeat the process for the other movie. Typically, you want the video to be in the .mov format. However, some video editing programs use different formats.

3. Click on the "File" menu and scroll to "Import to Library" or "Import." Browse through the pop-up window until you locate the first video file you wish to combine. Highlight it and press the "OK" button. Repeat this process for the other movie file.

4. Drag and drop the first movie onto the timeline.

5. Click on the "Add Layer" or "Add Level" icon, usually found in the toolbar. Drag and drop the second movie onto the timeline.

6. Rearrange the movies as desired, by dragging and dropping them into different parts of the timeline. If you want to combine different portions of each movie, such as combining the first ten minutes of one with the last ten minutes of another, crop the video using the crop tool.

7. Click on the "File" menu and scroll to and select "Render." Wait for the video to finish rendering and click on the "File" menu. Then scroll to and select "Export."

References

• International Development Research Center: Video Editing Guide; Peter Zimba and Sany Cambell; April 2006
• Department of Communication Faculty: Movie Maker Audio and Video Editing Instructions; Patrick Hardwood