Part One: The Preparatio

First, you need to invest in some equipment. You may already have some of these items since you obviously have an interest in films. Perhaps you have made many family movies, put them on your computer and done some editing with excellent results. Now you'd like to take it one step further and make a film to enter in a competition or just as a further practice exercise. Or possibly you want to try it out to see if you are interested in studying film making in college. Well, whatever your reasons - it is a time consuming but satisfying endeavor.

As for that list of basic equipment you will need:

Computer System that can capture video
Video editing software
Sound editing software
Camcorder
You may need other equipment as you continue but this is what you need to get started.

Pre-Production:

Now that you have your equipment, it’s time to get on to the fun part. If you don't have a planned story line it's time to create one. It must be interesting to you, your cast and your prospective audience. Your children acting cute won't do it unless you plan to submit it to "funniest home videos." Of course the ten thousand dollar prize would be satisfying. But, back to work here.

After deciding on a story line the writing can begin. This is when you realize how many facets there are to preparing and filming before you even approach the end of your project. Do you need help in laying out a plot, several sub plots, the people who will talk to each other, interact in all ways and contribute to an interesting tale of happiness, intrigue, murder or ???? For a plot that is complex enough to be exciting it's good to gather several writers or even a group of writers together.. All the input will provide variety.

Once you lay out the basic premise of your story, the point you hope to make and the ending (it may change later as you progress but you must start somewhere), and a list of characters you can begin to write. Make yourself write for a certain number of hours each day. There can be a minimum and you can exceed it whenever you want to. But don't allow yourself to skip whole days or the momentum will be lost.

The next three steps are write, analyze what you've written and rewrite. Today's cameras allow you the luxury of seeing exactly how your film looks as you go along. Then you need a Shooting Script which gives the characters their lines. This is really the script plus details such as position of actors, how and where they move as they talk. The director uses this as a basis for giving "directions." In addition, you need to plan out things like camera angles, scenery, special effects and other production details. You may have heard big time producers and directors talk about "dailies." This is when they all gather to view and critique the filming they have accomplished during each day of shooting. You may want to adapt this habit into your own schedule.

You can start with a basic time frame for completion of filming. Your speed will depend on how many actors you are paying, if you can use the location as long as you wish, the lighting and the weather. A basic time frame is excellent but - you will definitely be making changes in it as you go along. It will rain OR someone will be sick OR two of the actresses will annoy each other OR one of the actors will tell too many jokes. People will laugh when they should cry and pronounce a word wrong or stop to use breath spray before a kissing scene. You never know, that might provide an improvisational moment in the movie.

Just deal with all problems immediately before they become major. The Shooting Script will always require some adjustments along the way as you film. Those details the Shooting Script refers to keep everyone on track regarding details which make the story come to life. A Storyboard can be hand drawn to further describe the scenes and camera angles as you go along. If the creative plan is put down on that storyboard you can keep in mind how and where your scenes are being filmed. If it strays too far from your original plan, the storyboard will help get you back on track.

Practical "equipment" has to be provided. You have actors and actresses who must eat lunch if you work a full day. You need to plan out the costumes. You need to advise everyone of what locations they should go to on which days. You need assistants for everything from preparing lunch to running out to buy an item that someone forgot to provide. Remember, this is your first real movie. Even if you have experience with home videos and travel videos and have done an excellent job with them, this is different. This is your pathway into the "professional" world of film making for profit and you can expect to be challenged as you follow your path. The success or failure of the movie will be placed directly in your lap.

See Part Two: The Actual Filming

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