Camtasia is the way to go for professional video editing. Being able to do the screenshots/webcam and then the audio, take out the “ums,” zoom in, include smooth transitions, add other multimedia if you wish (PowerPoint, videos, music). Camtasia has an automatic save feature for YouTube and screencast making video submission easy. Online tutorials are short and to the point. Free trial (Windows and Mac versions are available).

I use Pinnacle Studio software. I could just download it. I’ve used it for exactly what you are talking about and it’s easy. They have good videos to help you learn and many options for how many bells and whistles you want.

Movie Maker is not bad. For a small investment Pinnacle Studio does a lot more and it’s easy to learn.

Check out Pinnacle Software. Cheap and easy.

I would highly, highly recommend Sony Vegas Platinum 9.0. It’s extremely powerful and very cost-effective.

For video editing software, I recommend Sony Vegas. It has a consistent interface through the whole line, from beginner product to professional. It didn’t take me long to figure out how to use it. Plus Sony Vegas is very reliable, which can’t be said for most other PC video editing programs. It’s reasonably priced on Amazon (under $100) and the Platinum pack includes a great sound editor. Plus there are many free video tutorials on YouTube on how to use it, and free online forums where you can ask questions. I’ve been very happy with Vegas, and furthermore can painlessly upgrade to a fully professional-level editor if and when I need it.

For my home video clips to send to family I use Muvee Producer.

For pro work I use SoundForge for sound and Vegas for video, both from Sony. The software is great, but for someone who has no experience in production the learning curve could be straight up.

I use Adobe Premiere, but Premiere Elements might work for you. It’s about $100.

For years I have used Ulead Video Studio Pro X2 that was just recently purchased by Corel. I find it easy to use and the price is under $200.