FilmForth Online Guide

How to Use FilmForth

FilmForth online guide provides the detailed instruction about the features of video editing. And you can get whatever you want while you are making movies with FilmForth.

Installation, Launch and Uninstallation

Installation and Launch

Installation is safely and securely handled through Microsoft Store using the following instructions.

1. Go to www.ioforth.com/filmforth/.

2. Click the [Download] button at the upper right of the Home page. It will take you to the Microsoft Store web page of FilmForth: Slideshow, Video Editor, Movie Maker.

3. Click the [Get] button.

4. You may need to address a dialogue to allow Microsoft Store to handle the Get link. Click [Allow] to open your Microsoft Store app locally.

5. Click the [Install] button when the Microsoft Store is open. It will start almost immediately and the progress bar will appear. Once the program is installed, confirm it and [Launch].

6. Clicking the [Launch] button can open the program immediately. Locate the program listed as FilmForth in alphabetical order on the Start Menu. The Home screen will appear after launch.

guide The FilmForth Home screen.

Uninstallation

1. Click the [Start Menu] on the Windows Taskbar.

2. Locate FilmForth on the Start menu.

3. Right-click the program icon to open FilmForth’s options menu.

4. Click [Uninstall]. The program will be removed from your file system.

Getting Started

FilmForth Quick Start Video

This is an overview of the basic editing workflow in FilmForth.

FilmForth is quite easy to use. It's the best free video editor for all movie makers who want their work without a watermark.

The TIMELINE in this video

0.30 - Download and install FilmForth

0.40 - Create a new project

0.45 - Import media

1.25 - Cut out a video clip

2.00 - Add Audio in the video

2.24 - Transition editing

3.00 - Export video

Planning

Video editing usually starts with a plan.Whether you create an outline with a few notes on a scrap of paper or get into great detail for a longer production, planning is a virtual necessity for success in envisioning and creating your final product. You will need to work through the following steps:

a. Plan — Outline your ideas, convey your messages and tell the stories. It may take some time to collect your ideas, but doing that will be worth the efforts. You need to consider one thing—creating recurring elements if you want to make a video series. For example, you may want the condition—a standardized introduction and an ending, together with useful information, logo and other resources link you want to promote. It might be good to use recurring elements, particular graphic themes and color schemes. You want to create and save these contents to make your video a better quality and more professional.

b. Collect — Gather the parts for your video. This means recording appropriate video segments, collecting photos, locating quotes, listing step-by-step procedures, creating or obtaining audio components (possibly scripts for voice-overs), etc. If you want to use the logo, you need to create and save it separately along with lead-in and other reusable graphics.

c. Assemble — Add your collected objects to the video project.

d. Revise — Edit the order transitions and timing within the video.

e. Save & Export — Save the video project and export it for use.

f. Publish — Publish or present your video.

Creating Your Project

1. Launch FilmForth. This can be done from the Start menu after installation by clicking the FilmForth program icon alphabetically listed under ‘F’. The Home screen will appear.

2. Here you can see the [New Project] button and [Open a Project]. Click the [New Project].

3. Click Add VIDEO/PHOTO CLIPS to add your projects.

4. Click “ALL PROJECTS” to exit. The “Save the Project Before Closing” Screen will appear.

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5. Change the pre-filled values as desired.

Project Name Path

Project Name: Define the project name. It will be pre-filled with "Project_X” where X=number.

6. Click the Save button if you want to save your projects.

7. [Optional] Click Discard to remove your projects in FilmForth.

Contact Support

There are three methods for you to choose to contact support if you have any questions.

A. For your convenience, FilmForth has a support contact link right in the program. There is no need to track support contact information separately or even open your email client. All you need is an active internet connection.

1. Open a project in FilmForth.

2. In the upper right corner of the project window, you will find a small yellow icon. Click the icon and open the Contact Support window.

guide The Contact Support screen

3. Enter your email address in the Email field. While this is optional it is necessary in order to get a response.

4. Type your message in the Detail field. When you start typing, the [Send] button will become active.

5. Click the [Send] button and your message will be on its way to FilmForth technical support. A confirmation screen will appear.

6. An email will be sent to the address provided by [email protected] with the subject of [Request Received].

B. You can contact us through this link: https://www.ioforth.com/contact/

1. Go to https://www.ioforth.com/contact/

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2. Fill in your name, email address and the problems you have encountered.

3. Fill in a verification question and Click the Blue [Submit] button.

C. Contact us online to help you solve the problems more easily and quickly.

1. Go to https://www.ioforth.com/

2. You can see an Online Chat Window at the bottom right of the homepage.

3. Fill in your name, email address and the problems you have encountered.

4. Our support will chat with you if you send the messages.

Settings

Settings enable users to adjust the basic functions and it is the most convenient entry based on personal references to customize video projects. And it is one of the most user-frequency factors in daily lives.

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Language Settings

1. In the upper right corner of the Home Page, you will find a gear-shaped settings icon. Click the icon and open the Settings Window.

2. Select the language from the drop-down menu.

3. Restart the app to see your changes.

Save Video

1. In the upper right corner of the Home page, you will find a gear-shaped settings icon near the yellow contact icon. Click the icon and open the Settings Window.

2. Change the video resolution, video quality, and frame rate as you desired, in case you need to adjust it in the future.

3. Click the Close button to exit the settings mode.

Project Settings

Project setting plays a crucial role in image or video editing procession if you want to use the general transition and image duration. There are two main settings in the FilmForth Project screen — Transition and Image.

Using Transition

A transition always happens when one clip finishes and another begins. All image or video objects need these transition effects like the circle in, circle out to move between clips.

1. Open the project to add pictures or videos in FilmForth.

2. Click the [Project Settings] button and you will find the Project Settings screen.

3. Click the Transition and choose the general transition effects that you desired. By default, all transitions are set to None.

4. Change the Transition Duration by click-and-drag on the slider’s position indicator. By default, the duration time is 1 second. The transition time can be anything between 0.2 and 2 seconds.

5. Click close to exit the general transition setting.

Changing Image Duration

As for image objects, image duration is concerned to be one of the most indispensable elements in video editing.

Suitable for Image Objects

1. Open the project to add pictures in FilmForth.

2. Click the [Project Settings] button and you will find the Project Settings screen.

3. Click the Image icon and change the duration time as you desired. By default, the duration time is about 4 seconds.

4. Click close to exit the general image duration setting.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio refers to the ratio of its width to its height.

1. Open the project to add pictures or videos in FilmForth.

2. Click the [Project Settings] button and you will find the Project Settings screen.

3. Click the Aspect Ratio icon and change the aspect ratio as you desired.

4. Click close to exit the aspect ratio setting.

Quick Tools

Video objects are becoming a key factor in conveying your thoughts or feelings. Sometimes, you may search for quick and useful tools to edit your work. For your convenience, we locate quick tools on the left panel of the Home page. With quick tools, you can create and edit videos easily and quickly.

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Trim Video

When recording a video, you’ll likely end up having more footage than you need, so for your video to look on point, you’ll need to do some post-production and cut the unnecessary parts.

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1. Click the Trim Video icon on the left panel of the Home Page.

2. Choose the “Select a Video File” and add a video object in FilmForth.

3. Drag the white slider bar to control the start and end times of individual video objects. Or you use the Set Start and Set End button to trim your video. Move the yellow playhead to the position the video should begin and click [Set Start] to reposition the beginning of the object. Move the yellow playhead to the position that you want to stop and click [Set End] to reposition the end of the object.

4. Confirm it and click the blue [Save Video] button at the bottom side of the Trim Video Screen.

5. Choose the video quality and frame rate as you desired.

Stabilize Video

Shake in the video is inevitable. Many people want to get it fixed or stabilized. See and learn how to use the built-in video stabilizer to make shaky footage or video smoother.

1. Click the Stabilize Video icon on the left panel of the Home Page.

2. Choose the “Select a Video File” and open it in FilmForth.

3. Define the output file name as you desired.

4. Locate the folder where you would like to save your files.

5. Click the blue [Save] button in the Stabilize Video Screen.

6. [Optional] Click [Show in Folder] to open Windows Explorer at the location of the file.

7. Click the [Close] button to close the Stabilize Video Screen.

Extract MP3

Some of you may want to extract the music from the video clip. Quick tools enable you to extract and you can listen to the music whenever you want.

1. Click the Extract MP3 icon on the left panel of the Home Page.

2. Choose the “Select a Video File” and open a video object with music in FilmForth.

3. Define the output file name as you desired.

4. Locate the folder where you would like to save your files.

5. Confirm it and click the blue [Save] button at the bottom side of the Extract MP3 Screen.

6. [Optional] Click [Show in Folder] to open Windows Explorer at the location of the file.

7. Click the [Close] button to close the Extract MP3 Screen.

Rotate Video

There are two types —Rotate and Flip. Rotate will pivot active video objects 90 degrees with each click. Flip allows users to flip objects vertically or horizontally.

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1. Click the Rotate Video icon on the left panel of the Home Page.

2. Choose the “Select a Video File” and add a video object in FilmForth.

3. If you want to use the rotate effect, click the [Rotate Left] or [Rotate Right] icon to shift the object 90 degrees per click. If you want to use the flip effect, click the [Flip Horizontal] or [Flip Vertical] to change the horizontal or vertical orientation.

4. Confirm it and click the blue [Save Video] button at the bottom side of the Rotate Video Screen.

5. Choose the video quality and frame rate as you desired.

Adding Picture, Video and Color Clip

Pictures and video objects are some of the most important parts of your video project. FilmForth can import many images and video types to help you complete your project.

Filmforth supports all of the images and video types in Table 3 below. The type of file matters because it affects the image quality (e.g., color depth and compression type) and features (e.g., animation and transparency).

PNG JPG JPEG BMP GIF WEBP
MP4 WMV AVI WEBM TS 3GP
3GPP M4V MOV MKV MTS M2TS

Portable Network Graphics. An image file format. Originally designed as an open-source alternative to GIF format. Supports 24-bit and 48-bit color and transparency with lossless compression.

Table 3 - Supported File Types

Adding Picture or Video

Pictures and videos are the key components of videos you will create in FilmForth. Adding them from existing files is simple.

1. Open the project to add pictures or videos in FilmForth.

2. Click the Add Object [+] button to the right on the Timeline display. A Windows Open screen will appear.

3. Use the Open screen, navigate to the storage location of the object you want to incorporate into your video.

4. Click on the object to highlight it in the file panel.

5. Click [Open]. The object will be added to the project timeline immediately after the last object in the timeline.

Editing Video or Image Objects

Several features are included in FilmForth to help you control the objects added to the timeline. This feature bar is available at the bottom of the program screen when clicking on the [Edit] tab.

To apply functions just click on the feature. The descriptions for each object are shown in Table 4 and contain any additional information necessary for applying the tool. Controls are context-sensitive because static pictures and video objects are fundamentally different. Use the blue [Back] arrow on the left side of the feature bar to exit all features.

A. Suitable for Video Objects

guide Edit Feature Bar
Split Trim Speed
Volume Detach Audio Effect
Crop & Motion Transform Rotate
Flip Freeze Frame Duplicate Delete

This feature enables users to split an active image object into two parts at the point where the timeline indicator is positioned. The duration of the objects will add up to the duration of the original object. Simply position the red timeline indicator over the active object and click the [Split] icon.

Table 4-1 - Additional Features for Edit

B. Suitable for Image Objects

guide Edit Feature Bar
Split Duration Rotate
Flip Crop & Motion Transform
Effect Duplicate Delete

This feature enables users to split an active image object into two parts at the point where the timeline indicator is positioned. The duration of the objects will add up to the duration of the original object. Simply position the red timeline indicator over the active object and click the [Split] icon.

Table 4-2 - Additional Features for Edit

Adding Color Clip

The color clip allows you to have a colorful effect on your video objects. Adding it is really simple and convenient. Here’s how.

1. Click the Add Object [+] button to the right on the Timeline display and choose Add Color Clip. Or you can just click the “Edit”>“Add Color Clip” button at the bottom side to add it.

2. Click the object that you want to edit. By default, the duration of the color clip is 3 seconds.

3. To apply functions just click on the feature. The descriptions for each object are shown below and contain any additional information necessary for applying the tool.

Edit Color Split Duration Duplicate Delete

This function allows users to change the color of the clip as needed. Users can change the opacity, angle, RGB and HSV with this feature. Click on the object and then click the [Edit Color] icon to adjust the color.

Using Transitions

When more than one graphic element is added to the timeline, a transition icon is added between the objects. You can easily control the transitions between the objects by accessing the transition feature.

guide The transition Icon

Adjusting Transitions:

1. Click the Transition icon between the graphic objects where you want to control the transition. This will display the transition options over the Timeline window.

guide The transition options

2. Click the desired transition option to choose the behavior of adjacent objects. The object entering the preview will appear to push the existing object off the screen in the direction of the arrow. By default, all transitions are set to None.

3. Change the Transition Duration by click-and-drag on the slider’s position indicator. The transition time can be anything between 0.2 and 2 seconds.

guide The Transition Duration indicator

4. Click the blue [Back] arrow box at the left of the toolbar to exit the Transition Options.

Adding and Editing Text

Text is an integral part of conveying information during the presentation of a video. Use it to help you deliver messages with labels, punctuate main points, add captions, insert thought bubbles, and more.

Adding Text

1. With your project open, move the Timeline Indicator in the Timeline window to the position where you want to insert the text in the project.

2. Click on the [Text] icon on the toolbar at the bottom of the FilmForth screen. This will enter Text mode and reveal the Text toolbar.

guide The Add Text icon on the toolbar
guide The Text toolbar

3. Click [Add Text] at the left of the toolbar. This will insert a text box in the preview panel with the words “Please input the text” and place a Text item in the project timeline.

4. Click the [Edit Text] button to the right of [Add Text]. This will reveal the Text screen. You can also double-click directly on the text box to open the screen.

guide The Text screen

5. Enter the desired text in the text box. (Type the desired text in the text box.)

6. Format the text using the features in the Text screen. Note the Text features in Table 5. Any formatting applies to all of the text in the active text box.

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10

Choose Font. Click the down arrow to open a drop list to select from. Type in a letter to quickly navigate to the name of a font

Table 5 - Text Tools

7. Click the [Back] arrow on the left of the toolbar to exit Text mode.

Editing Text

There are several ways to edit the text box, this can be done on the Preview screen or using the text tools. On the Preview screen, you can reposition the text, resize the text and rotate the text box. With the text tools, you can access the Edit Text screen, Split the text, Set Start position of the text in the timeline, Set End position of the text in the Timeline, Duplicate the text, or Delete the text. The following sections assume you have created a project with at least one existing text item.

Editing text on the Preview screen

1. With your project open in FilmForth, click on [Text] on the toolbar. This will reveal text items that you have previously created for the project in the Timeline and change the toolbar to text-specific tools.

2. Click directly on the text item you want to edit in the timeline. This will move the timeline indicator to the beginning of the text item and display the text in the Preview panel.

3. Use the options in Table 6 to edit the text.

1 2 3

Table 6 - Text Editing Options

4. Click the blue Back arrow on the far left of the toolbar to save the changes.

Edit text using the Text toolbar

1. With your project open in FilmForth, click on [Text] on the toolbar. This will reveal text items that you have previously created for the project in the Timeline and change the toolbar to text-specific tools.

2. Click directly on the text item you want to edit in the Timeline. This will move the Timeline Indicator to the beginning of the text item and display the text in the Preview panel.

3. Click the desired toolbar item in Table 7 to edit the text.

Edit Text Split Text Set Start
Set End Duplicate Delete

Open the Edit Text screen by clicking the [Text Edit] icon on the toolbar. This will open the Edit Text screen, allowing you to perform all options in Table 4.1.

Table 7 - Text Toolbar Editing Options

4. Click the blue [Back] arrow in the far left of the function bar to store the changes.

Adding and Editing Audio

Another powerful addition to video production is audio. Whether in the form of music, sound effects or voiceovers, audio adds a whole different dimension to your content.

Audio can be added using imported tracks, tracks available in the FilmForth library, or it can be recorded within the program.

Adding Audio

1. Open a project that already has graphic objects on the timeline, and click the Audio feature on the bottom bar of the project screen. This will open the Audio function.

guide The Audio feature icon
guide The Audio feature icon

2. Click the Add Audio [+] icon to the left on the function bar display. The timeline panel will display two areas. To the left will be a Suggested Music panel which has a selection of pre-recorded songs that are free to use. To the right is the Import Audio panel.

3. [Optional Add Suggested Music] To add an audio object from the Suggested Music:

a. Roll over the desired object in the Suggested Music listing. Use the play button to preview the music before adding it to your production.

b. Click the [+] button just to the right of the highlighted object. It will be inserted into the timeline below the graphic objects.

4. [Optional Add a Local Audio File] To add audio by importing a local file:

a. Click the blue [+] labeled Add Local Audio. A Windows Open screen will appear.

b. Use the Open screen, and navigate to the storage location of the audio object you want to incorporate into your video.

c. Click on the object to highlight it in the file panel.

d. Click [Open]. The object will be added to the project timeline immediately below the existing graphic objects in it.

5. To add voiceovers, use FilmForth’s Voiceover feature to record them directly.

a. Click the [VoiceOver] function icon at the bottom of the project screen. This will display a Microphone icon and a timer.

b. Click the Microphone icon to start the recording. The Microphone icon will change to a Stop icon. Below it will be a Pause option. The elapsed time will be displayed on the timer.

c. Use the Pause icon to temporarily pause the recording. Use the Stop icon to stop the recording and save it to the project timeline.

6. Click the blue [Back] arrow to exit Audio mode. The Audio objects will no longer appear on the timeline when you exit the Audio mode. The objects remain in the project and can be revealed by clicking the Audio feature icon again.

Notice: It is possible to add multiple Audio objects. It will be possible to control all of them separately.

Editing Audio

Several features included in FilmForth can help you control the added objects. The feature bar becomes available when entering the Audio mode by clicking the Audio feature icon at the bottom of the screen. To apply the functions, just click on the icon. The descriptions for each object are shown in Table 8 and contain any additional information necessary for applying the tool. Use the blue [Back] arrow on the left of the function bar to exit the audio function.

Add Audio Voiceover Split Trim
Volume Set Start Duplicate Delete

Allows users to add audio objects using the Add instructions.

Table 8 - Additional Features for Editing Audio objects

Using Picture-in-Picture

While the Picture-in-Picture feature functions in a similar way to other graphic objects, using it can add dimension and production quality to your videos. A simple example is to insert a video of someone doing a voiceover for the main video behind them. There are interesting and creative ways to use this feature that go well beyond a simple timeline. Of course, you need to plan things to do and have the images and/or video components already created and available.

Adding a Picture-in-Picture

1. Open a project that already has graphic objects on the timeline, and then click the Picture-in-Picture feature on the bottom bar of the project screen. This will open the Picture-in-Picture function.

guide The project screen’s feature bar

2. Click the Add Pic in Pic [+] button to the left on the function bar display. A Windows Open screen will appear.

3. Use the Open screen, and navigate to the storage location of the object you want to incorporate into your video.

4. Click on the object to highlight it in the file panel.

5. Click [Open]. The object will be added to the project timeline immediately below the graphic objects.

6. Click the blue [Back] arrow to exit Picture-in-Picture mode. The Picture-in-Picture objects will no longer appear on the timeline when you exit the mode. The objects remain in the project and can be revealed by clicking the Picture-in-Picture feature icon again.

Notice: It is possible to add multiple Picture-in-Picture objects. It will be possible to control all of them separately.

Editing Picture-in-Picture

Several features included in FilmForth can help you control the added Picture-in-Picture objects. The feature bar becomes available when entering the Picture-in-Picture mode by clicking the feature icon at the bottom of the screen. To apply the functions, just click the icon. The descriptions for each object are shown in Table 9 and contain any additional information necessary for applying the tool. Controls are context-sensitive because static pictures and video objects are fundamentally different. Use the blue [Back] arrow on the left of the feature bar to exit all features.

When you insert images or video objects, you will find the differences of the feature bar. We have two kinds of the feature bar.

A. Suitable for image objects.

guide The Edit Feature Bar — for Image
Add Pic in Pic Split Opacity
Set Start Set End Flip
Effect Duplicate Delete

Allows users to add Picture-in-Picture image objects using the Add instructions.

B. Suitable for video objects.

guide The Edit Feature Bar — for Video
Add Pic in Pic Split Trim Speed
Volume Opacity Chroma Key Set Start
Flip Effect Duplicate Delete

Allows users to add Picture-in-Picture video objects using the Add instructions.

Table 10 - Additional Features for Picture-in-Picture objects

Exporting Videos

The project files for your productions are created in a proprietary format and cannot be distributed for use in presentations. This is why exporting your video is the last important step in the video creation process. Once the video is created, you can distribute it and use it for presentations.

FilmForth makes the export process extremely easy. You can use the Save Video icon to distribute your videos or to create components that you can reuse such as video intros and branding material. You will still be able to edit your projects after exporting using the original project files.

Exporting Your Video

1. Open the project that you would like to export for distribution.

2. Click the blue [Save Video] button in the bottom right panel of the FilmForth project screen. You will find a [Save Video] screen.

3. Choose the video resolution, video quality, frame rate as you desired. By default, the image or video objects would be 720P, 10 Mbps ~ 12.5 MB [Standard] and 30fpbs.

4. By default, FilmForth will check the “Export with a watermark” and “Use hardware-accelerated encoding”. Confirm it and Click the [Save] button.

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5. Navigate to the place where you want to store the video file.

6. [Optional] Rename the file to something you will remember. By default, FilmForth will use the project name and the selected file type.

7. Click [Save] and the video file will be generated and stored in the place you have indicated. Depending on the complexity of the creation, saving may take some time. A progress screen will appear, followed by a screen confirming that the video has been successfully generated.

8. [Optional] Click [Show in Folder] to open Windows Explorer at the location of the file.

9. [Optional] Double-click the file to check that the playback has been generated successfully.

10. Click the [Close] button to close the Export Confirmation screen.

Adjusting Watermarks

By default, you can find the words “Created with FilmForth” on the bottom left when exporting your video objects.

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As a free product, we hope more users will know FilmForth and strengthen our brand influences. We would be very grateful if users keep the watermark. However, for certain reasons, users may not want to export their videos with watermarks, and they can remove watermarks via these steps.

1. Open the project that you would like to export for presentations.

2. Click the blue [Save Video] button in the bottom right panel of the FilmForth project screen. You will find a [Save Video] screen.

3. Choose the video resolution, video quality, frame rate as you desired. By default, the image or video objects would be 720P, 10 Mbps ~ 12.5 MB [Standard] and 30fpbs.

4. Uncheck the “Export with a watermark” and finally you will get the video objects without a watermark.

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5. Navigate to the place where you want to store the video file.

6. [Optional] Rename the file to something you will remember. By default, FilmForth will use the project name and the selected file type.

7. Click [Save] and the video file will be generated and stored in the place you have indicated. Depending on the complexity of the creation, saving may take some time. A progress screen will appear, followed by a screen confirming that the video has been successfully generated.

8. [Optional] Click [Show in Folder] to open Windows Explorer at the location of the file. Double-click the file and check whether the watermark has been removed successfully.

9. [Optional] Double-click the file to check that the playback has been generated successfully.

10. Click the [Close] button to close the Export Confirmation screen.