How to Make a Horror Movie With Windows Movie Maker

1. Create a storyboard for your movie. Draw the scenes that you plan to shoot, either on paper or on your computer. If you use paper, scan the storyboard pictures into your computer. Use Windows Movie Maker to edit the storyboard into a video. Make sure that you're in 'Storyboard' mode. Under 'Capture Video,' select 'Import pictures.' Navigate to the folder where your storyboard pictures are stored. Select the images you'd like to use and select 'Import.' Drag the images from the 'Collections' window to the Storyboard at the bottom of the screen.

2. Begin shooting scenes for your horror movie. Use the storyboard video that you created in step 1 as a guide. As you shoot your footage, visualize what the completed horror movie will look like. If you're working with a very low budget, avoid using elements such as extreme gore and creature suits or masks. Instead, use subtle costumes and makeup. Shoot scenes with a considerable amount of light and dark contrast and long moments of silence and inaction. This will help to build suspense in the finished horror movie.

3. Transfer the horror movie footage to your computer. Open Windows Movie Maker and click 'Capture from Video Device.' Click 'Next.' Give the video segment a title and choose which folder to save it in. Click 'Next.' Select 'Best quality for playback on my computer.' Click 'Next' again. Click 'Start Capture' to begin recording. Click 'Stop Capture' and 'Finish' when you're done.

4. Click and drag the horror movie clips from the collections window into the storyboard. Click 'Show Timeline.' Select 'Video' from the 'Clip' menu to make several segments from one video clip. Edit your video by rearranging the video clips or clicking and dragging the lines at the right and left of the clips.

5. Click 'Show Storyboard.' Click 'View video effects.' Click and drag the video effects you'd like to use to the video segments you want. Certain effects, such as 'Greyscale,' 'Fade Out to Black,' 'Threshold,' 'Slow Down, Half' and 'Film Grain' can be used to create a horrifying effect.

6. Click 'View video transitions.' Click and drag the transitions to the boxes between the video clips in the storyboard. Avoid cheesy transitions such as 'Fan,' 'Diamond' and 'Shatter.' Instead, favor subtle effects such as 'Fade,' 'Dissolve' and 'Wipe.'

7. Choose the scariest, most suspenseful music you can find. Click 'Show Timeline' in Windows Movie Maker. Click 'Import audio or music,' select the music file and click 'Import.' Click and drag the music file from the collections window to the 'Audio/Music' track. Click and drag the edges of the file to the right or left to change the duration of the music.

8. Create or find sound effects for your horror movie. Import them into Windows Movie Maker. Click and drag them from the collections window to the 'Audio/Music' track. If you would like to have both music and sound effects at the same time in your horror movie, you must edit them together using a separate program, then import the entire audio track into collections.

9. Select 'Save Movie File...' from the 'File' menu. Select 'My Computer.' Click 'Next.' Give your horror movie a name and click 'Next' again. Choose 'Best quality for playback on my computer' and click 'Next' to begin saving the movie to your hard drive.