Info for first time film makers?

Question by Jack L: Info for first time film makers?
I will be making my first full length film in a couple of months. I don’t have any suitable equipment or any prior experience. I am on a tight budget. I have a macbook pro that does come with iMovie but I was thinking to upgrading to Final Cut. Any advice? So basically I need info on equipment on a budget (primarily a camera and editing software), tips or tricks for making good amateur movies, and any sources you think will give me good info. Thanks greatly

Best answer:

Answer by toasterphantom
Ouch. Full length film, a couple months, and no suitable equipment in the same line. A bit of a downer.

Not hopeless however. I’m figuring you have a script, actors, and some volunteered help by now then? You seem quite calm, so I’ll figure you do. If you don’t have the script squared away, do that first. You can format it with celtx or something. (http://celtx.com/ )

As for cameras. For low budget I would recommend looking at something in the Canon Vixia line. As high as you can afford. They’re cheap, but they’re good. (To test the quality of your camera, type in the name of the camera in youtube. If you search “Canon Vixia HG30” and watch some of the videos in 1080p ir 720p, you’ll get a feel for the kind of quality they can produce.)

After you get a camera, you’ll want to get a microphone. I would get a rode videomic (for $ 150), a VC1 extension cable (for about $ 15), and the cheapest wooden mop pole you can find. Take the videomic, screw it onto the mop pole, and use the extension cable to plug into your camera. Instant cheap and good quality boom mic. If your audio is bad (the camera’s audio will not be good enough for a feature-length film) then the movie is a bust from the start.

You can look at final cut, and look at the Sony Vegas Pro. See which is better for you.

As for lights, just use can lights and halogen work lights. Whatever lights you can get your hands on. Make sure you light things well, and as neutrally as possible. You can color correct in after effects. The worst thing people do is record with really warm (yellow/red) light. It looks bad. You can warm it up later, shoot with as neutral a light as possible.

Try building your own stready cam and camera dolly. There are dozens of tutorials online, so I won’t bother you with them. Film Riot (search them on youtube) had a good tutorial on building dollies and steady cams, as well as a few other things.

Make sure you take the scene many times! Over the shoulder shots, close-ups, wide shots, and many other angles to put together in post production. You’ll be glad you did.

Have patients, and find a good source of music (copy righted is out if you want to make any sort of money off of it). If you have any questions (especially any fx makeup or prop related questions, my specialty) just email me at toasterphantom@yahoo.com ! I love answering questions in more detail.

What do you think? Answer below!