To create a cinematic masterpiece in Windows XP, you use the Windows Movie Maker. First you create a project, and then you open a movie and organize clips in a storyboard. Then you can record your own narration (for which you need to have a microphone attached to your computer).

Let the moviemaking begin!

1. Choose Start, All Programs, Accessories, Windows Movie Maker to open the Movie Maker window.

2. Choose File, New, Project to open a new blank Movie Maker file, and then save the file in the My Videos folder with the name My Movie Project.

3. Choose File, Import Into Collections to open the Import File dialog box.

4. The dialog box opens in the Movie Maker folder. Use the Look In drop-down list to locate the folder where the movie file that you want to open is saved. If you don't have a movie, use one of the sample files in the Movie Maker folder.

5. Select the file, and then click the Import button to open the file in the Movie Maker window.

You can also import a movie directly from your video camera. Simply click the Capture from Video Device link in the Movie Tasks pane of the Movie Maker, locate the device and follow the directions provided. If the Movie Tasks pane isn't visible, choose View, Task Pane. You can import one movie, place clips from it on the storyboard of your project, and then open other movies (one at a time) and add clips from them to your storyboard to create a movie edited together from various sources.