Experience with old Windows Movie Maker...🎞🎬

Note: You must be extremely careful when it comes to searching and downloading this particular old video editing software from various random sites out there. I'm not guarantee if most of them might offer some sort of fake file installers of themselves that contains any kinds of malware that may harm your computer's or laptop's entire operating system instead.

This ain't my filler article that explains about my previous article that explains about the update of the video editing software that I ever used on my current laptop that I'm using these days in general. However, I recently tried yet another video editing software that is pure free (but not trial), and it is literally the previous iteration of that particular free Windows 10 video editor that is now gone, thanks to how they decided to get rid of it in the latest version of the Photos app, unless I'd love to use the Microsoft Clipchamp instead, which I also clearly stated it briefly in the same update article of those video editors that I ever used in my current laptop... Okay, of course you probably mentioned this particular iteration of the said Windows's official free video editor before, the old Windows Movie Maker. Even though I recently use it for a bit for basic video editing (which basically just it), but I already found some of my short results when it comes to how I'm recently using it. So, without further ado, let me explain particularly about my experience with this particular old Windows video editor, right away. 🎞

There's nothing else that I could particularly say to it though, apart from the fact how Microsoft no longer supporting this particular video editing software back in January of 2017. Well, that doesn't stop it by how I was able to search it online by simply downloading the software itself until I found the installer file itself in particular, called "Windows Essentials 2012" (wlsetup.exe). With the old .NET Framework 3.5 that was already installed on my current laptop's Windows 10 operating system by default since I acquired from then (or I did it somehow by downloading and installing it particularly from one of those monthly updates from Windows Update, oh boy), it's not really a big deal for installing it either way (unless if it wouldn't present yet, I must download and install it anyway, otherwise it wouldn't work at all)... There were certain options for installing certain programs that was bundled with the "Windows Essentials 2012", such as Messenger, Mail, Writer, and most importantly, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker. Of course I obviously just chose Photo Gallery and Movie Maker only, because why not. 🎞

Upon I successfully installed and decided to open it, there's nothing else that I could particularly say to it as it works just fairly okay, until I decided to have some fun by importing some of my own photo and video files on the project file. While it literally has limited features unlike majority of the other kinds of video editors that I mentioned in those two of my article that explained about my experience of me using them, it does it's basic job as what I expected for (ranging from all kinds of basic editing that I can deliver on it, until how I'm able to export my edited video footages from it just fine), albeit the UI of it looks so different compared to the beloved classic version that used to exist in everybody's computers or laptops with Windows XP/Vista installed back in those days. Even then, this particular video editor is somewhat better compared to that free Windows 10 video editor that used to exist, thanks to how it obviously has certain features that didn't present in that free Windows 10 video editor, being one of them is the transitions between two photos or videos (albeit you can only set it between from 0.5 seconds to 2 seconds though)... Again, it does it's own basic job when it comes to editing my own videos in general, but it does have certain flaws while I'm editing any of my own video footages on it. Those are:

1. It takes a while to import certain video files with higher resolution and larger file sizes.
2. The edited video footage sometimes drop some frame rates while I'm tried to play it through the preview pane, unless I have to "fix" it specifically using two options from the settings of this whole video editor (can you guess about what are those two options that I'm talking about, although if I somehow "fix" it through both of those said options, it eventually leads into another problem where the whole software itself just performs partially unstable).
3. While I put some music tracks or sound effects on the project, it's so awkward while I tried to move those bars around it no matter what.
4. No option for adding shadow effects on the texts.
5. No "Picture-in-Picture" option, and so for how it doesn't have an option to remove black bars on the pictures that I added them on the project.
6. No option for turning the main editing pane from both storyboard and timeline modes, which used to exist in the classic Windows XP/Vista versions of it.
7. While I'm applying certain hefty stuffs to the project that consists of (mostly) certain edited video footages, it sometimes causing the whole program itself to freeze and crash. It also makes the matters worse once it crashed, it sometimes refused to open until I must restart my whole laptop's operating system in order to make it work.

Well, there you have it for my experience of me using this old Windows Movie Maker in general. After that actual riddance of that free Windows 10 video editor, I don't think if I'm able to find yet another free (but not trial) video editing software that may work just decently on my current laptop with it's own modern day 🥔 specifications, just clearly stated as what I already explained in my previous articles about themselves... If you have plenty of good memories when it comes to editing your own video footages using one of these, feel free to say your experience with it in the comments section if your memory still serves them right in your own mind. That's it for what I could say to this, and as always, thanks for reading this particular article. 🎞

SquirrelStampede: The Man Behind His Plants vs. Zombies Toys...🐿

Pretty sure you probably mentioned this particular YouTuber in few of my articles that explains about my own Plants vs. Zombies stuffs, ranging from my main series of my aforementioned collection of themselves (which it only lasted about 4 parts, and that was it), until all the way to how I briefly mentioned this particular legend in few of them. Well, of course I watched almost all of his review videos of themselves since his first review video of them that he published back in 2014, and I obviously fascinated by how he reviewed certain of his toy or figure sets that I always wanted. Without further ado, let me particularly explain about my whole story about how I discovered this particular YouTuber who is well-known for reviewing any sort of Plants vs. Zombies stuffs.

a. First time discovering him...🐿

Courtesy: his YouTube channel

Before I discovered him and his first legendary Plants vs. Zombies toy review that he ever uploaded and published on YouTube in 2014, I casually watched any kinds of Plants vs. Zombies stuffs, ranging from the usual gameplay videos that I encountered from then (which majority of them that I watched were obviously from the original TD game, followed by the earliest days of it's sequel), until all the way to certain IRL collectible stuffs from themselves (which were hard to come by in it's days, unlike how I particularly encountered them since post-2014 and onwards). Everything particularly about how I watched them on YouTube were all that simple, until I found that one upcoming slideshow video from somebody else who featured some of my wanted Plants vs. Zombies mini figures. After that particular video that I watched, I eventually watched the actual review video of the aforementioned set of themselves, and believe or not, it was reviewed by the legend himself, SquirrelStampede! Even though I also discovered certain YouTubers who reviewed them in their hands specifically after he published his own review of them, I had to admit if his review of themselves were the best ones among all of the ones that I ever watched on YouTube, followed by certain other YouTubers who reviewed them in it's days too (for this case, The Review Spot, FGeeTV, Pixel Dan, and etc.). This also made me fascinated by how he acquired even more of Plants vs. Zombies collectible stuffs after his first one that he reviewed it just earlier, and so for his series of "Plants vs. Zombies Toy Play" too.

As for his own channel itself, he also reviewed any collectible stuffs besides Plants vs. Zombies. Those were Super Mario, Pac-Man, Minecraft, some random official Lego sets, and many more. You probably wondering about how come his channel is nicknamed like so, it's because he's literally a squirrel enthusiast (if I'm not mistaken), judging by how he briefly featured certain of his squirrel mini figures and certain toys as his usual cameo in majority of his review videos, including most of his Plants vs. Zombies review videos that I ever watched. 🐿

b. The Plants vs. Zombies sets that he reviewed...🐿

Courtesy: his YouTube channel

Since his first one that he reviewed them back in 2014, there were even more sets that he acquired since then until few years later. Excluding certain of the cheapo Chinese alternative sets or bootleg sets that he got, here are the lists about the official Plants vs. Zombies sets that he acquired for his collection:

1. K'NEX Series 1-5 blind bags (all 8 figures per each of the series [4 plants and 4 zombies, respectively], which the last 2 series were based off from Garden Warfare 2),
2. Various Jazwares sets (both from original TD game and it's sequel),
3. Certain Diamond Select Toys sets (both from original Garden Warfare and it's sequel),
4. Certain K'NEX building sets (Football Mech, Cone Mech, Pirate Seas Plank Walk, Crazy Targets [Garden Warfare 2], Boat Blast [Garden Warfare 2], etc.), and
5. 2015 Burger King toys of the whole franchise itself (limited edition set, and it even included that one mini LCD handheld game among all of them)

c. My interaction with him, and eventually...🐿

Courtesy: his YouTube channel

Believe or not, I actually had plenty of my great moments when it comes to how I enjoying his Plants vs. Zombies reviews particularly since then. Of course I started by commenting on most of his review videos, especially for those of his K'NEX blind bag opening codes. Even though it was all that normal at first, until I somehow "overwhelmed" by all of those replies with either jumbled letters or words (which I realized if most of the people commented like so were done by their infants instead of casually from themselves), or even offense replies specifically for no reason whatsoever (especially in one of his aforementioned review of themselves, and for this case, it was K'NEX Plants vs. Zombies Series 3 blind bag opening codes, because I commented it right after he published that particular video)... Despite all of those messes that they made to me through plenty of them, that didn't stop me to get my own K'NEX Plants vs. Zombies figures on my own collection too, particularly for most of the plant figures that I always wanted the most.

Even though there were plenty of Plants vs. Zombies enthusiasts like I do in his comment section of majority of his reviews of themselves (including that one particular geek that I already mentioned for a bit in one of my older articles that I made it from a long time ago, I think), that also didn't stop me for getting famous in his review videos, and he eventually did it specifically in that one review of two K'NEX Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 building sets that he did so in 2017. However, I didn't watch it particularly right after he published it due to I always bothered by all of those messes on that one aforementioned review of one of those K'NEX Plants vs. Zombies blind bag opening codes that I mentioned just earlier. So, I decided to watch it approximately after more than a year since he published it, and I was surprised by how he literally featured that one picture that I made on one of my Instagram accounts that I own (which obviously consist plethora of my Plants vs. Zombies collectible stuffs), which was this one!

Yep, thanks to the fact I'm also an electric fan enthusiast, he clearly did it because according to himself, it was one of the greatest fan shot that he ever seen so far, although I actually took that particular picture using my old 2010 Nokia feature phone (don't ask me particularly about why I took it using that particular old 🥔). Not only just that, he also liked and commented bunch of my pictures that I posted on the aforementioned Instagram account as well... Now, as for how I decided to take a conversation through direct message chat with him particularly on Instagram, I casually said "Hello" to him, without my own intention of me asking about anything about his legendary Plants vs. Zombies collection in the first place. Well, you probably recognize this exact moment as what I clearly stated in one of my older articles about how I casually met him just like what I stated just earlier, until how I actually got most of my favorite Plants vs. Zombies mini figure that I always wanted straight from him for free, but not all of them though.

🆗, back to where I initially met him through the Instagram's direct chat between myself and himself. After I said "Hello" word casually like what I clearly stated earlier, he immediately offered me to do some free giveaway of his Plants vs. Zombies figure sets exclusively to me, and I obviously requested most of the K'NEX plant figures that I wanted the most, albeit not all of them though (specifically for the ones that I still missed since then until today). It took a while for my conversation between myself and the legend himself, and he eventually sent me several of K'NEX Plants vs. Zombies blind bags for free, in addition of one of my most wanted plant figure that was packed in a transparent zipped bag, and even the appreciation note straight from himself. As for the figures themselves per each of the bags that he sent it to me, I already listed them in the same original article about how I specifically did this to him as well.

Courtesy: his YouTube channel

Well then, there you have it for my greatest moments when it comes to how I discovered this particular legend who is well-known for reviewing certain Plants vs. Zombies collectible stuffs that I always wanted since his debut review of themselves until the last one that he reviewed, unless if certain of his Chinese alternative sets or bootleg sets of them would count, because I simply don't care with those of the said sets that he reviewed them anyway (because I still literally can find them much easier until this day, even with completely different sets that they sell nowadays). In conclusion, his reviews of Plants vs. Zombies sets are the greatest among all of the ones that I ever watched on YouTube, especially for certain ones that I always wanted. It also made it unexpectedly better on me, specifically about how he featured myself in one of his Plants vs. Zombies building set reviews, and followed by how he exclusively offered me by sending some of his Plants vs. Zombies mini figure sets to me for free... To wrap up this particular article, if you also have some good memories when it comes to watching his own contents, specifically about his Plants vs. Zombies reviews, feel free to let me know particularly about it in the comments section if you remembered it though. As always, thanks for reading this particular article, and cheers!