How to make your own movie

This article looks at how to make your own movie. Making a film used to be a very expensive business, but now with software and digital cameras available for the home market, it's never been easier to produce your own masterpiece.

The home market

Once upon a time, making a movie was well beyond the reach of mere mortals. Only the Hollywood elite had the money and the facilities to produce a motion picture. However, now with good quality digital cameras on sale at reasonable prices, and more importantly desk top professional editing facilities available for your home computer, your movie dreams can become reality.

Script

Every film - whether a feature length, animation or a ten-minute short - starts with a script, and if you are thinking of making a movie, you presumably have an idea of what you plan to film. If you are struggling to write the script, then there are many good books available that can give you some useful tips. “Story” by Roberts McKee is one of the best books on screen-writing, giving in-depth analysis of every aspect of the story.

Shooting the movie

When you have your script finished, it's now time to actually film the movie, and unless you are using animation, you will need some actors. You could use some of your friends, but in truth, friends rarely make the best actors. Professional actors require payment for their services. So, if this isn’t in your budget, you could try a local drama college or theatre group. You may find some actors willing to help you for free on order to boost their CV. Costs Unless you have access to a lot of money, you will probably be shooting on a budget, and while the best cameras can cost a lot of money, look at the best options within your price range. You may be surprised at what you can afford to buy or hire. Hiring studios and building sets is a costly business, so look at the cheaper option of shooting on location. When filming on location, you should always scout ahead, and be sure that you actually have permission to film there.

Editing

After all the filming is in the can, it's time to edit your movie, and programs such as Avid and Final Cut can be picked up for your home computer. There are even some very good free editing packages. Even special effects packages such as After Effects are reasonably priced, which will add a professional and high-end look to your film. One thing to consider is your hard drive. Video files are large, so a feature length film will take up gigabytes of hard drive space.