If you’re new to video editing and just downloaded MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 2019 Premium, this beginner-friendly walkthrough breaks down exactly how to go from a blank project to a finished, polished video – using a fun real-world example project: a “Star Wars Lightsaber Unboxing” video.
Whether you’re editing home movies, YouTube content, or a client project, these are the core skills every new editor needs to master first.
1. Setting Up Your Project
The tutorial opens with the most important first step: configuring your project correctly before you start editing. In the Create Project dialog, the presenter:
- Names the project (in this case, “Star Wars Lightsaber Unboxing – Mr King”)
- Sets the Movie Settings to HDTV 1080p 16:9 (1920 x 1080, 29.97fps) – the standard format for YouTube-ready HD video
- Leaves the Audio Sample Rate at 48000 Hz, the standard for video audio
- Chooses a save folder and clicks Create Project
Once inside the main workspace, the first thing to do is save your work immediately via File > Save Project As… – a simple habit that prevents lost progress later.
2. Understanding the Interface
Before touching any footage, the tutorial covers the layout of Movie Edit Pro’s workspace – the media/file browser, the preview window, and the timeline – so beginners know where everything lives before diving in.
3. Adding Clips and Images to the Timeline
Next, the presenter opens a folder containing video clips and image assets, selects a video file, and simply drags and drops it onto the timeline. A logo image is added the same way, dropped onto its own track above the main video.
To control how long a still image appears on screen, right-click the clip and choose Change Photo Length, then set a custom duration (in this example, 4 seconds).
4. Navigating and Zooming the Timeline
As your timeline fills up with clips, precise navigation becomes essential. The tutorial shows how to:
- Zoom in/out on the timeline by holding Ctrl and scrolling the mouse wheel
- Use the timeline marker (the orange playhead) to jump to an exact point, watching the timecode display for precision
- Use the Back to Beginning of Movie button to quickly preview your edit from the start
5. Fading Clips In and Out
For a professional touch, the presenter demonstrates how to fade a clip (like the logo) in or out by dragging the small white handle circles that appear in the corners of each clip on the timeline – no separate effects panel required.
6. Using Chroma Key for Special Effects
This is where the tutorial gets creative. To composite an explosion effect over the footage, the presenter uses the Chroma Key effect, found under the Effects menu, selecting Black as the key colour to remove the background and make the explosion transparent.
The explosion clip is then repositioned and resised using the Size and Position tool, and duplicated (copy/paste) to layer multiple blasts across the scene for extra visual impact.
7. Adding Text and Captions
To finish the story, a closing message is added using the Caption Basic template from the Templates menu. The text is customised with a Star Wars-style font to match the theme of the project – showing how templates can be quickly personalised rather than built from scratch.
8. Adding and Mixing Background Music
No video is complete without music. The presenter drags an audio track in from the Audio tab, then:
- Lowers the volume to around -15dB so it doesn’t overpower any dialogue or sound effects
- Applies a fade-out at the end so the track doesn’t cut off abruptly
9. Finishing Up
The tutorial wraps up by mentioning the final step – exporting and uploading the finished video to YouTube – capping off a complete beginner-to-finish workflow in under 12 minutes.
Key Takeaways
- Always configure your project settings (resolution, framerate, audio sample rate) before importing footage
- Save your project immediately and often
- Drag-and-drop is the fastest way to build a timeline in Movie Edit Pro
- Use Ctrl + scroll to zoom the timeline for precise edits
- Chroma Key lets you layer effects like explosions or green-screen footage over any scene
- Templates (like Caption Basic) speed up adding titles and text
- Keep background music around -15dB and fade it out for a polished finish
This tutorial is a great starting point for anyone picking up Movie Edit Pro 2019 for the first time – proving that with just a handful of core tools (timeline editing, chroma key, captions, and audio mixing), you can produce a fun, professional-looking video in one sitting.
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