"*AM I way off base, is there better easier to use, or cheaper to purchase. I have access to student pricing for the Creative suite3 or 4, so it's not beyond reach."

Winsows comes with MovieMaker. Apple comes with iMovie. With either OS you have, you're covered for the basics.

Most DVD burning utilities (Roxio, Nero, etc.) come with a video application to do this as well. A basic video editing app - usually to output to DVD, but theyoften can export to a small variety of formats - Quicktime, AVI, mpeg, etc.

As far as for "purchase"... Well, I guess define "cheap":

Adobe Premiere Elements last time I checked was $99 - might even be cheaper right now. This would be my foremost reccomendation. I've used the Creative Suite since v1.5 (and Premiere since v6, and Photoshop and AE since versions5), and I've dabbled with Elements - I was really surprised at what it can do. And yes, it exports to a good variety of formats.

Pinnacle Studio is also around the $99 range - might be cheaper - I know there's a $150-ish version that includes a breakout box (BoB) and a cheap greenscreen. Again, simple to use, and exports to a variety of formats.

Avid used to have FREE DV - you can guess the price. Maybe you can find a copy floating around, I dunno.

I suggest these since you mentioned you have access for only a limited time - you might think of things you could have done after the access has gone.

Hope this helps-

-Lew ;-)