sounds like youre pretty keen on the audio side and just now getting into the video side. i'm focusing on ideas you presented like 'amateur' and 'shooting a 15 minute story' and that youre thinking of doing this in the 'late fall, early spring'. i suggest going to your local Target store and buy whatever is your favorite miniDV cam of the ones they have there. that's a perfect place to start and dont forget the tripod.
there are many others who might get into arguements about all kinds of other stuff and we cant overlook the ever present discussions about what's "the best". trouble is "best" is a moving target. when i get into something new i start with the cheap stuff cuz sometimes i realize, six steps into it, that i dont like this "new" thing as much as i thought i would. if you start with the cheap stuff then there's no heartache when it sits on a shelf for two months or when you finally decide to liquidate through ebay or even when you decide to step up to the next level and hand this stuff off to your little brother. it's like starting with a pencil and paper before deciding to buy a full compliment of drafting equipment, or cheapo watercolors befores oils and canvases or like learning to drive using a... well youre getting the idea. dont make "making a film" into deciding all the perfect stuff that you think needs to accompany making a film. a film is a story being told with pictures. that root thing, the most important thing, is the story. is it a picturesque kind of story? can you use your camera and editing skills to make it into one? then shoot it with your cheapo miniDV camera and your inexpensive tripod and shoot it all outdoors in the early morning light so you dont have to get hung up on many of the details of lighting and dont use any dialogue so you dont have to get hung up on all the details of audio either, at least not right away.
my first short film for film school was this: a guy is awakened in the morning by a phone call. he answers the phone. listens. then gets up and runs. he runs all the way through the city and finally arrives at the hospital emergency room. that's it. it took about six hours to shoot and after editing it was about three minutes long. shoot a simple story like that and, when youre ready, begin adding layers. add sound effects. add music. add another character. then add some dialogue. edit it several times to try and change the timing. re-shoot it as a comedy. then as a horror story. then as an action-adventure. then as a porn film or whatever. add more interior scenes when youre ready to practice with some lighting. but dont burden yourself with all that extra stuff when youre starting. start something simple. finish something simple. rinse and repeat. then when fall or early spring rolls around youll be confident and ready to shoot your 15 minute short or youll be on to the next new thing without any heartache at all.... and if you dont spend too much money on camera or tripod initially youll have some money to actually learn the craft of filmmaking. read some books and watch some movies. the silent films from 1900 thru 1920s show what you can do without any of the technology we have available today. i'd also recommend buying a big book on Film History at your local book store. then maybe buy a book titled Portable Video. i read it while in film school and found it to be a quick and dirty kind of "just give me the answers" type book slanted toward situations those news guys probably find themselves in a lot when theyre showing up somewhere to shoot something that's happening right now. just my suggestions for where to start.
in the beginning just do it. then later do it well.
good luck.
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sounds like youre pretty keen on the audio side and just now getting into the video side. i'm focusing on ideas you presented like 'amateur' and 'shooting a 15 minute story' and that youre thinking of doing this in the 'late fall, early spring'. i suggest going to your local Target store and buy whatever is your favorite miniDV cam of the ones they have there. that's a perfect place to start and dont forget the tripod. there are many others who might get into arguements about all kinds of other stuff and we cant overlook the ever present discussions about what's "the best". trouble is "best" is a moving target. when i get into something new i start with the cheap stuff cuz sometimes i realize, six steps into it, that i dont like this "new" thing as much as i thought i would. if you start with the cheap stuff then there's no heartache when it sits on a shelf for two months or when you finally decide to liquidate through ebay or even when you decide to step up to the next level and hand this stuff off to your little brother. it's like starting with a pencil and paper before deciding to buy a full compliment of drafting equipment, or cheapo watercolors befores oils and canvases or like learning to drive using a ... well youre getting the idea. dont make "making a film" into deciding all the perfect stuff that you think needs to accompany making a film. a film is a story being told with pictures. that root thing, the most important thing, is the story. is it a picturesque kind of story? can you use your camera and editing skills to make it into one? then shoot it with your cheapo miniDV camera and your inexpensive tripod and shoot it all outdoors in the early morning light so you dont have to get hung up on many of the details of lighting and dont use any dialogue so you dont have to get hung up on all the details of audio either, at least not right away.
my first short film for film school was this: a guy is awakened in the morning by a phone call. he answers the phone. listens. then gets up and runs. he runs all the way through the city and finally arrives at the hospital emergency room. that's it. it took about six hours to shoot and after editing it was about three minutes long. shoot a simple story like that and, when youre ready, begin adding layers. add sound effects. add music. add another character. then add some dialogue. edit it several times to try and change the timing. re-shoot it as a comedy. then as a horror story. then as an action-adventure. then as a porn film or whatever. add more interior scenes when youre ready to practice with some lighting. but dont burden yourself with all that extra stuff when youre starting. start something simple. finish something simple. rinse and repeat. then when fall or early spring rolls around youll be confident and ready to shoot your 15 minute short or youll be on to the next new thing without any heartache at all. ... and if you dont spend too much money on camera or tripod initially youll have some money to actually learn the craft of filmmaking. read some books and watch some movies. the silent films from 1900 thru 1920s show what you can do without any of the technology we have available today. i'd also recommend buying a big book on Film History at your local book store. then maybe buy a book titled Portable Video. i read it while in film school and found it to be a quick and dirty kind of "just give me the answers" type book slanted toward situations those news guys probably find themselves in a lot when theyre showing up somewhere to shoot something that's happening right now. just my suggestions for where to start.
in the beginning just do it. then later do it well.
good luck.