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Tips for making your own movies
Most movies are made just for the fun of watching them. Professional filmmakers will make a script before they start filming. Then they go ahead and start shooting scenes that they want or need. Most of us, amateur filmmaker, don't make such a plan. We just go on a holiday trip and take our video camera with us to record just what we stumble upon. Or we see the kids doing something interesting at home, grab the camera and start recording. Nevertheless, even with this attitude, it is possible to make movies that are entertaining enough to watch, even for those not directly involved.
Based on my own experience making movies I have learned some important lessons that determine the quality of the final movie. Below you will find some tips about how to achieve an entertaining movie without really planning ahead.
1. During filming
Don't try to save money on tape.
Remember that the footage that you shoot is the base material
for your final movie and that you are going to edit later
on anyway. It is better to shoot a lot of scenes that you
eventually are not going to use then coming short of material
to choose from. Most of the time you can't go back and shoot
the scene again.
Show the environment
Often it is nice to give the viewer an idea about the environment
in which the action takes place. A single scene with your
friends walking in a city street often does not mean much
if you don't also have a shot of the city or street as a whole.
Stop moving and zooming
Unless your subject is moving and you want to keep it within
your view, there is usually not much need to move your camera
a great deal while filming. The viewer does not have the same
situation awareness that you have while you are filming. Excessive
movement makes it difficult for the viewer to concentrate
on subjects. The same can also be said about zooming in and
out. The fact that video camera's have a zooming function
does not mean that you have to use it all the time! Just don't
use it too much.
Change positions
Other then moving around with your camera while filming, you
should try to change position in between scenes. Looking at
the same subject from different perspectives greatly increases
the overall picture of the viewer.
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