If your computer has a video camera, you can use it to create your own movie files. The documentation on software used with the camera should provide the details on how to create such movies and information about the formats. If the movies are stored in a proprietary format, it will also be necessary to locate software that allows conversion to MPEG or QuickTime format (recall that Sparkle will allow conversion between these two formats once the movie is in one or the other). The camera software may already include such utilities, or instructions on how to obtain it.

There are also various programs that will allow you to construct movies from individual image files, somewhat like a conventional movie reel is created by putting together frames of still pictures. Check the MIT HyperArchive site for programs that will allow you to create movies from still frames. For example, here is a truly spectacular movie (warning: 780 KBytes) created by NASA using still images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. This movie is as close to the viewscreen from the bridge of the Enterprise as we are likely to get in real life! (Here is an explanation of what you are seeing in this movie, in case you are interested.)

Finally, we note that the program GifBuilder described in the section on animated GIFs will allow a movie in QuickTime format (and thus one converted from MPEG to QuickTime with Sparkle) to be converted automatically to an animated GIF file.

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