How to Reverse a Video With Windows Movie Maker

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Making videos play backward may not reveal secret messages, but it can be a fun way to edit your movies. Although you cannot automatically reverse a video clip in Windows Movie Maker, you can manually take a snapshot of each frame you want to reverse and then shorten the snapshots to the length of a single frame of video. This is a lengthy process since each second of video takes at least 12 frames.

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Step 1

Add the video file that you want to reverse to Windows Movie Maker. Click "Add Videos and Photos" from the "Home" tab and browse to the video clip you want to reverse. Double-click it.

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Step 2

Locate the first frame in the video that you want for your reversed video. Move the slider under the video box on the left until it's at the exact place you want. Note the time code: The first number is the position of the slider in the movie. The second number is the total length of the video clip.

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Step 3

Click the "Snapshot" button from the "Home" tab. Browse to a folder where you can save several pictures since you will have an individual picture for each frame of the reversed video. Click "Save." The snapshot will be added to your video timeline, and your slider will be moved to the position right before the snapshot.

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Step 4

Move the slider to the next frame after the one you just took. It will be 0.08 seconds later in the time code -- for 12 frames a second, 0.04 for 24 frames a second. Take another snapshot. Repeat this process until you reach the end of the section you want to reverse.

Step 5

Right-click the photos in the section on the right. Choose "Select All." Click the "Video Tools: Edit" tab and then type "0.08" in the "Duration" box. Press "Enter." Note that if you are doing 24 frames a second, this will be a "0.04" second duration.

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Step 6

Click the video portion in your clips section -- it has the reel marks on either side of it. Press "Delete." Press the "Play" button to see your reversed clip.

Step 7

Click the "Home" tab and then click "Save Movie" to save the file as a Windows Media Video file that can be played on your computer. You can also upload the file to YouTube, Flickr or Facebook with the buttons in the "Share" section of the "Home" tab.

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