How to Make Your Own Digital Movie

With the technology available in today's digital cameras, anyone can make a digital movie, whether it's a simple home movie or a full-length feature. You can purchase a reasonably priced digital camera and then edit the movie on your computer, using software that either came with the camera or was purchased separately. The days of boring home movies are over with all the options available to the new digital movie maker.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Digital camera with video capabilities, or Digital camcorder Memory disk (for longer films) Computer Editing software DVD burner DVD -- R disks

1. Write a script. At the very least, jot down on paper exactly what you want in your movie. You should know in advance how you want to set up the scenes and how you want people to act. Ad-libbing is fine, but some of the best digital movies are at least partially scripted to make sure the desired result is achieved.

2. Scout for locations. Take your video camera with you as you look for places to shoot your movie. Even if the movie will be filmed in your own living room, video the room empty to see how the background will look on the screen before you make the movie itself.

3. Get talent. For home movies, this will probably be friends and family. For a more elaborate type of movie, contact colleges near you and talk to the film department. Often you will find students who will appear in your film for nothing more than the experience. Some high schools will also allow you to contact students looking for an acting career in the future.

4. Film your movie once everything is in place. Don't be afraid to stop the camera and re-shoot a scene. Your video editing software will allow you to cut out and rearrange entire sections of your movie.

5. Edit your movie. Most cameras and camcorders come with software to let you do this. Many allow for adjusting brightness and contrast or other options to enhance the video. Professional cameras, like those used in the motion picture industry, require you to purchase editing software.

6. Create a file that can be burned onto DVDs when you are happy with the final result. Or convert the movie to a format for the Internet. Your software should be able to do either of these functions.

7. Burn a back-up copy of your movie to DVD, both in raw form and in final form. Digital movies take a lot of hard drive space and by making copies on DVD; you can safely delete the files from your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Microsoft XP and Vista come with a program called Windows Movie Maker. This software may be all you need to edit your movie. Prices for video editing software run from less than a hundred dollars to more than a thousand. If you are going to purchase software, look for the program that best suits your needs. If you decide to get serious about your movie making, there are dozens of books available for every step of the process. An Amazon search for 'film making' will reveal hundred of titles.