Beginnig videos for the Home Movie Maker

This article is aimed for the average person who wants to start making good movies. The first thing to consider is where you stand with equipment. Do you already have a camera? Is it the right kind? These are some of the questions you should be asking. I will write this article in a way that implies that you have absolutely no equipment. If you do, that's great; use this article as a way to ask yourself, does what I have fit what I need? or will my camera work for me?

It might seem obvious, but the first necessity for making movies is a camera. There are hundreds of thousands of models of cameras out there and I won't give you suggestions on which model to choose, that's your job to find reviews. One of the first things to think about when buying a camera is what format to use. There are many different kinds, some of the most popular are DVD, Hard Drive, Flash Memory, MiniDV or Digital8. In the professional field, you will always see some kind of tape (Never DVD or Hard Drive). That's because any format other than tape will sacrifice quality. But for the home video maker, that's sometimes not a bad thing. It can save you lots of time searching through an one hour tape to find your daughter blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. With any format like DVD, Hard Drive, or Flash Memory, you can find your videos in a heartbeat. Each of these has their upsides too, dvd can be played directly in a dvd player, but won't fit into a macintosh dvd drive. Hard drive can hold a lot, and flash can be exchanged easily. It's up to you to to choose what suits your needs. HD cameras are becoming the rage today, I have to say that for the home movie maker, don't waste your money. Buy a more expensive non HD camera if you have the budget. You want to get image stabilization (even with a tripod) and a good zoom. Some cameras take still photos as well, but I have yet to get a camera that takes good ones. Cameras with built in lights are a waste of a light. The light makes your subject look bad. Expect to pay anywhere from 300-800 dollars. Remember to buy what you need, not what the salesman sells you (although they can be helpful sometimes). Try Best Buy, Sears, Circuit City, or even Costco for a good deal. If you are in a pinch, try craigslist but be ware of scams.

You might want to consider a tripod for stable shots (a wedding for example) or for when you don't want to hold the camera. Just choose a tripod that feels stable and doesn't have jerky movement. Expect to pay around 20-50 dollars.

After you have shot your movie, you'll most likely want to edit it on the computer. All computers come with some form of movie software. Windows Movie Maker is very primitive and can't do much. Apple computers come with iMovie, a good beginners software. Avid FreeDV (works on windows and mac) Wax, and Zwei-Stein are all pretty good free software for editing your videos. If you choose to buy one, I wouldn't recommend a really expensive one. They have a steep learning curve, and if you don't know how to use them, they don't yield good results.

I hope this is helpful in gathering your equipment together. Have Fun.