Many people would like to make their own movie and with the digital age well and truly here, movie making is more accessible than ever before, to the point where all you really have to have are a camera and a computer.
For those just starting out there are some simple but important guidelines that can increase both your enjoyment and success when you first make your own movie.
Understand the entire process.
Film making has been around for a long time now and there is a tried and true system for preparing, filming and editing your movie together.
The steps in this system really don't change whether you make your own movie in your back yard or make a major Hollywood blockbuster, just the scale is different.
There are three main stages when making a movie: pre-production, movie production and post production.
The first stage, pre-production, is where you lay the foundation for the shooting (the movie production stage) and editing (the post production stage) of your film.
Pre-production is where you should do the most work as you don't want to be trying to shoot your film and find that you're not sure what shots you need, or start editing your film and find that the scenes won't cut together well.
In short, in pre-production you plan the smooth running of the movie production and post production stages.
At the very least make sure you have an accurate shot list, shooting schedule, props and costume list.
For a basic amateur film shot at just one or two locations this should meet your needs for the movie production and post production stages.
Out of these, a shot list is the most important.
You need to ensure that you have what is called cover for all your scenes.
This means that you have planned out in advance the minimum number and types of shots you need to be able to cut your film together in post production.
A mistake here can mean you simply can't edit your film together due to shots not matching up so be sure you get this bit right.
A rule of thumb for cover is to have one wide shot that includes all actors in the scene and then a close-up or medium close-up of each actor for the entire scene.
After this you are free to get more creative because if any future shots don't turn out you will still be able to cut your scenes together with the initial basic shots.
For a basic movie production I suggest you allow an hour of time for each minute of script that you have plus, if possible, at least another hour as backup each day.
There are many different things that need to co-ordinate with each other when shooting your film and you need the time to ensure they all sync together.
Be aware that if you are shooting outside, light will change significantly from morning to afternoon to evening and you need to schedule your shooting to avoid potential lighting and shadowing issues.
(Don't start shooting a scene under a shady tree, break for lunch and come back to find the tree isn't so shady anymore!) Practice working with actors a little before shooting your film as well.
Understand that acting is not easy and be patient if you are working with inexperienced actors.
The best way to get a good performance out of an inexperienced actor is to make sure they are having a good time and understand it's O.
K.
to make mistakes.
Your actors need to feel comfortable to be willing to try new things and perform with energy.
When it comes to editing the best thing you can do for yourself is to know your editing software well.
Editing tends to be a long, fiddly, technical job and you don't want to be learning to use the software as you go.
To achieve smooth transitions as you cut from one shot to another the general rule is you cut on action or movement.
If you are editing together a scene that is a conversation without a lot of movement look for the moments where you would naturally want to see the actor's reaction or watch them as they talking as an indication of the best editing points.
Through all this it is also important to remember that when you make your own movie you can always throw all rules out the window, do things completely your own way and see what happens! To do this with your first movie would be a little like trying to write your own music without first learning to play an instrument, however, so I suggest you get a few short films under your belt following the more traditional process and then get a little more experimental.
Good luck!