In Hollywood, they call this an "L cut," because professional editing software, such as Avid, where I used to work, uses a timeline with the video track above and the audio track below. Windows Movie Maker does, too.

If the video from a clip is displayed in advance of its audio ("video advance"), it looks kind of like an "L" on the timeline.

If the audio from a clip is heard before its corresponding video is shown ("audio advance"), this is called a "J" cut, because it looks (a bit) like a "J" on the timeline.  Together, J cuts and L cuts are known as "Split Cuts" because they split cut of the audio from the cut of the video.

Think of your on-the-scene reporter, setting up a politician's speech, with the podium in the background - the establishing shot.  They keep the reporter talking while the  video cuts to the arrival of the speaker on the stage, and the audio stays with the reporter and only goes to the politician when he begins his address.  So, this would be a video-advance cut, or an "L" cut.

I'm not sure this can be done with Windows Movie Maker, because you have to detach the sound track from the video; then trim the video back without trimming the sound; then do the same in reverse with the adjacent clip, trimming the audio back without trimming the video; then splicing them together without losing synch.

I do plan to do some things with Windows Movie Maker, soon.  Maybe I'll ponder that one and see if I can figure out how to do it.

Of course, anyone who already has should feel free to chime in.

Thanks once more, Darrell. A very clear and concise explanation of a technique I'd like to use sometime. I hope it can be done in Movie Maker. While you're doing things with that program I'd be grateful for some advice on effects and transitions. There are so many included its difficult to sort the really useful ones from the merely decorative (and/or annoying!). You thoughts on this subject would be very useful.

What the pros say about transitions is to use 95% fades and butt cuts, and only use those fancy window blinds and checkerboards and the like once in a blue moon.  You can tell video amateurs by how enamoured they are of special transitions and effects, which turn out to be very annoying.  Let the video tell the story.

There is a kind of language of transitions.  For example, there is a kind of 'clock' transition, where a radial line turns, starting at 12 o'clock, revealing the new scene behind it.  This is used to indicate the passage of time. You can also use a slow fade through black to indicate the same thing, and that is usually what the pros do.

I use left-to-right slide transitions to indicate a change of perspective -- say, from FlipShare to a browser -- and then, maybe, use a right-to-left slide when I'm returning to FlipShare.  I sometimes use a kind of rotating block transition to indicate a complete change of subject matter, but that's kind of unique to instructional video.

Sometimes I use a direct fade from one clip to the next as a way of eliminating unnecessary material in the middle, while maintaining continuity.

Most of the transitions are useful only for very specific purposes, e.g., adding different transitions between slides in a slide show might add some interest, but I still like slow fades best, for those most part.  Think about how to avoid jarring the viewer when you change from one scene to the next -- unless, of course, that is the effect you're after.

Effects can be used to enhance color or brightness, or to give an old-timey sepia tone, or old-timey film graininess.  You can produce an etherial feeling with blurs.  Mostly, though, just avoid the effect temptation. Use the time and effort to light your scene properly and edit tastefully, instead.

There are whole books written on these and related subjects, and you might want to stick 'video editing books' into the Amazon search engine on our home page and take a look at some of the available titles.  There are books written for every level of experience, there (e.g., the inevitable Digital Video for Dummies.)

Darrell,

I have a problem with Windows Live Movie Maker. I take my movie that I made in Flip Share. In Flip Share I go to Share,online and others and put my movie on my desktop. From there I add my movie clips to Windows Live Movie Maker.When I make the movie from windows Live Movie Maker, the audio is frist before the video. In other words the sound is faster than the video.I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but now I am running Windows 7. Is this have anything to do with this problem? I would appreciated if you could help me out with this problem.

Thank you

Da buzzard

Happy New Year, Buzz!

I just did the same experiment and got the same results, and I could swear this has worked for me before. Perhaps FlipShare has changed its codec in V5.

There are different solutions for editing Flip files with Windows Live Movie Maker in full resolution. It turns out to be interesting enough that I'll write an article about it for members. In the meantime, I'll send you a note.

Are you using Windows Vista or Windows 7?  The reason I ask is that everything works fine if I use Windows Movie Maker V6, which comes with Vista.  I'm pretty sure it is no longer shipped with Windows 7.  (You have to drag the files into Windows Movie Maker's work area, because the .mp4 file type isn't offered in its Import dialog.)

This has to do with the 'codec' (compress/decompress algorithm) used by FlipShare, vs. the one used by Windows, for .mp4 files.  In the case of Windows Movie Maker, it doesn't come pre-installed, so it finds the codec FlipShare installed.  In the case of Window Live Movie Maker, it's supposed to support .mp4 files, so it has its own codec for that file type.  The problem is, it appears to be a slightly different variety.

It's also possible that Windows Movie Maker V6 will run on Windows 7, so I'll check this out, too.