Tips & Tricks for Making Movies

You don't have to be a film student to have a love for making movies. In actuality, modern user-friendly equipment makes homemade cinematography possible for anyone with a camera, a computer and an imagination. Even boring, old vacation slides can be turned into a theatrical masterpiece with special effects, narration and music. With the right tools, a little skill and some knowledge, movie making can be a creative outlet and enjoyable hobby or even a stepping stone to a new career. The following are some tips and tricks at each step of the movie-making process to help you along.

Instructions

1. 

   Start with a script. Any cohesive and easy-to-watch story takes a little forethought. Even a string of home-movie clips needs a starting, middle and ending point in order to prevent the audience from becoming disoriented. If you are looking for a script, try beginning with a short story. Get a narrative down on paper and then turn that into a script. You can also ask friends or family members if they are holding onto any stories that could be made into a script.

2. 

   Design your story board. A story board is a visual shot by shot set of images from the script, with the dialogue written underneath each shot. When your script is ready you can type up your shot sheets. Shot sheets are lists of the shots you need to tape on which days and times. You can hand draw your storyboard. Even stick figures are acceptable.

3. 

   Cast your movie. You will have to go through a talent agency to hire professional actors. You don't need professional actors to get your movie on tape. Any number of willing family or friends will do the trick. Assign parts to the most likely volunteer or let them choose. If you are lucky enough to know some professional actors, ask if they will be in your movie in exchange for a copy of their performance for their reel.

4. 

   Get your equipment and crew ready. You will need a video camera. VHS, digital or Hi-8 are good examples of common tape cameras. You will need a tripod to keep your shots steady. Unless you are shooting all the scenes outside in daylight, a light kit is a necessity. A typical 3-light kit includes a key light, a fill light and a back light. They usually come with filters and umbrellas that you can play with to find the best looking setup.

5. 

   Begin taping. Arrive early to have plenty of time to set up. For each scene that takes a few minutes to shoot, there can be hours of set up and testing. Allow for plenty of time to shoot, change sets and shoot again. If you don't have a clapboard, you can have one of your actors verbally say which scene and take it is.

6. 

   Upload all of your b-roll into your computer naming each shot as you go along for organizational purposes. Drag your clips into the time line in the order they appear in the script then cut them a smoothly-flowing story. There should be one video track for the b-roll and another track for transitions. Finally add audio. There will be one audio track for the sound on the tape another for music and even a third for narration.

Tips & Warnings

• Get all your actors to sign release forms for their performances. If your actors are children, you can tape each of their lines close up another time. Capture a couple minutes of ambient sound at each scene to make sure you can run it under all dialog.

• Double check to make sure you get all rights cleared for any music used in the film.

Resources

• Movie Editing