In the $100-200 range, you’ve got lots of commercially available home recorders. Companies like JVC, Canon, and Panasonic have relatively cheap cameras that are mobile, effective, and look great. Even something like an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch works great especially because it’s easy to transfer videos recorded on your iOS device to iMovie. iOS devices have very astonishing cameras for what they are, and since most people have a phone already, then you don’t have to go out and spend extra money. You could also attach an accessory over your iPhone camera like an Ollo clip, which hovers around $60-$100. The Ollo clip comes with four lenses. Cheap cameras can look great, for example: “The Blair Witch Project” was filmed on an RCA camcorder bought at Circuit City for very little money. In the $500-900 range, you’ve got really solid Panasonic and Sony models that have been used to make films like “Open Water”[2] X Research source and lots of documentaries. If you’re serious about making films and making more than one film, consider investing in a solid camera. Also in that range are SLR and Mirrorless cameras which can usually shoot in 4K. On an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple Mac, there is an app called iMovie (free on the App Store). It lets you make quick, easy films, yet still, look professional.
You can upgrade to more complex and professional editing software like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro. If these are not available two free but very professional movie editing tools are available Open Shot and DaVinci Resolve which you can get for free and use.
Businesses and restaurants are often hesitant about letting amateur filmmakers use their property for filming, but you can always ask. Often, people will be excited about the idea of being included.
If you live in a college town, consider putting up flyers in the drama buildings to see if any local talent might be interested. You might be surprised at how excited most people are to be included in a project like this.
Think about the movies you like to watch or the books you like to read and consider what makes them so interesting. Is it the characters, the action, the visuals, or the theme? Whatever it is, keep that element in mind as you plan your movie. Write out a list of all the props, locations, and actors which are currently available locally then develop a film around this. Keep a dream journal, dreams like films are visual stories and dreams. Keep a notebook with you for writing ideas down. Read the news stories in the papers. Have a basic idea, and work with that. Narrow it down as you go along while writing the plot.
It’s been said that all stories have one of two basic premises: A stranger arrives and shakes up the normal way of things, or a hero departs and goes on a journey. [5] X Research source Make sure your story has a beginning, in which the scenario and the characters are introduced, a middle, in which the conflict builds, and an ending, in which the conflict is resolved. Most stories have exciting points that make them awesome. However, too many can spoil the play.
A screenplay writes out all the dialog, attributed to each character, along with some physical directions, exposition, and camera movement. Each scene should start with a brief description of the scene (i. e. Interior, night). [6] X Research source Think cheaply as you write. For your purposes, it may be much better for the story to cut out the epic 30-minute car chase and instead cut straight to the aftermath. Maybe your lead protagonist is laid up in bed, bandaged, wondering, “What happened?”
This process makes a long film go more smoothly, and will help you anticipate difficult scenes or sequences to film. You can try shooting without storyboarding, but it will not only help you visualize your movie but will also help you explain your vision to the other members of the crew.
Films rely heavily on the costumes to communicate essential character traits to the viewer. “Men in Black” is a key example.
If possible, using actual locations is easier. Green screens can look very fake in certain locations but you can use one if you want. It’s more simple to film in a diner than make a room look like one.
Costume, hair, and makeup design could be in the same category as a very small production. On a large production, this person would choose (and maybe even sew) every costume used in the film. On smaller productions, this position is usually merged with another job.
Test the range of your actors. If you know that one of them will have to cry in a sad scene, make sure he or she can do it before you contract for the project. Avoid scheduling conflicts. Make sure your actors can be available on-set when you need them. Be careful of stunts that may injure your actors. A big part of acting is nonverbal communication. Look for actors who can express how they’re feeling and make you feel a certain way without having to say anything. [10] X Expert Source Travis PageVideo Content Specialist Expert Interview. 27 June 2019.
Filming some “screen tests” would be a good idea. Give your actors the chance to practice while being filmed, and give the crew a chance to coordinate their actions.
Make sure everyone’s on the same page at the start of each day for filming each scene. It can take a lot to get a whole cast, crew, and location appointment together at once, so it might help to write out and distribute an itinerary at the beginning of the process.
Some people say to shoot multiple takes from multiple angles because it will be more interesting in the end, giving multiple options for the editing process. As a very general rule, professional filmmakers shoot each scene in a wide shot, medium shot, and close-up of important elements.
Making jump cuts will hold the viewer’s interest and set the tone for an action movie, but long, lingering shots have a powerful impact as well, but done badly this can be very boring. Consider the beginning of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. You can also edit to music, which is a fast and effective way of editing; you can also edit to music on a quiet section of the film, by choosing music that provides the right mood. Editing between various angles can quickly show multiple things going on in the same scene. Use your editing system’s split or razor tool to create smaller clips from multiple shots, and then mix and match. You’ll get the hang of it quickly, and with digital movie making, your mistakes are always saved by Undo.
Remember that if you are planning on distributing a film using found music can cause problems, so it is best if you can get music specially composed for the film; plus there are many skilled musicians out there who would love to get experience.
Also don’t forget to upload your movie to YouTube or Vimeo, or if your movie gets accepted into a theater, don’t upload the movie to YouTube as you won’t make as much money on YouTube vs. the box office, just upload teasers and stuff like that, and don’t forget to advertise other places than YouTube!
