Getting Started in Filmmaking, From Beginning to End

If you’re looking to start making some films, you may already possess a lot of the things you need to get started. If you’ve got some sort of camera, a computer, and some basic video editing software then you’re probably all set. If you want to really get serious though, it’ll take some investment. Check out this list of different things you need to start making your films appear more professional.

Software

Many computers come standard with some basic video editing software. This is good if you’re interested in making low-budget films for your personal use, but if you’re serious about filmmaking then you need to upgrade to something better. Investing in a program like Final Cut Pro will let you edit things you never had the opportunity to before. With all the different kinds of effects you can use, you’ll find a program like Final Cut Pro is a great investment.

Good software will also let you edit the music and scores in your films. This is great because you can get all your free music downloads @ www.kazagold.com and edit them as you see fit. You’ll see that the things you can do with good video editing software are essentially endless. Investing in a program like Adobe After Effects will give you access to insane visual effects. You’ll be surprised at what you can create.

Camera

Surprisingly, you’ll find that you can find a great quality camera that you can use to create awesome videos for cheap. Search some local websites in your area for a used camera, but if you’re looking for a new high definition camera you’ll still be able to find one that doesn’t break your budget. Depending on what it is that you’re filming, a GoPro camera might be a good choice. GoPro cameras are very rugged and can be taken under water and through extreme conditions. There’s no need to invest in a camera that you won’t need, so choose a cheaper yet higher quality model if that’s all you need.

Marketing Tools

If you believe your film is of high enough quality that you want to share it and possibly enter it in film festivals, you’ll need tools to market it. There are lots of ways to do this, some that cost lots of money and some that are free.

First off, you should create a captivating trailer for your film using your video editing software. Make sure the trailer has information on the website for your film, which you should also create. There are plenty of websites that cater to independent filmmakers, so search around to find one that fits what you need (including your budget). After creating the trailer and your website, use social media to market your film. Create a Facebook for your film and have all of your friends “Like” the page, and encourage them to share your trailer. The more buzz you can create, the better.

Image credit: http://www.enfew.com/

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The Next Internet Millionare

The Next Internet Millionaire series on Revver is quite popular right now. In the style of reality TV shows (my least favourite genre I might add), 12 individuals compete for an online opportunity. There are a series of tasks they complete as individuals and teams. There are some interesting individuals. This first episode goes for an hour. The man behind Simpleology, Mark Joyner, participates in this first episode.

It's Time for a New Bottom Line

YouTube Founders Still At Work

In The Age:Empowering People One YouTube Clip at a Time, founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley discuss their current projects at YouTube.

It seems life hasn't changed a lot, although they are obviously wealthier:

"They both received Google stock now worth more than $US325 million, but their lifestyles haven't changed that much so far, they said.

"Hopefully, we come across as accessible and humble," Chen said. "I try to spend as much time with the same friends and people that were around before the whole user phenomenon started. I do pay for more dinners now than I did.""

The article states that YouTube is seeking to clean up their current stock by getting rid of the clutter and copyright infringing material. They don't intend to compete with some of the slicker new sites coming online and realise people want to watch themselves. They recognise that YouTube has empowered the individual to have an audience and they intend to continue to support that.

Mashable : Poll

Mashable have an interesting post on which sites pay the best. I have to say that from trying Metacafe, Revver and Blip TV, Revver has paid me over $800US. My clips aren't popular. I haven't received a cent from Metacafe and have only earnt .90c from Blip TV and obviously haven't received that.
In fairness to the above sites, I have only uploaded 5 videos to Metacafe and currently have only 3 on the site that are crawling along. I doubt that I will make it to their minimum views though, so am not bothering with it. I have 13 clips on Blip and haven't really put much time into it. I am intending to though, so I guess it will be fairer to assess Blip, when or if I put more effort into it.
I have put over 400 clips on Revver but very few of them have received more than 100 views. I have also been using Revver since March last year, but only tried Metacafe and Blip later in the year.
What the poll says about it being difficult to assess apples for apples as we used to say about quotes for curtains, is true. I guess it depends very much on individual needs. Their assessment is possibly only useful for a clip that is likely to get 10 000 views. Oh I wish!

Whilst I've been away on Holidays......

Magnify has announced it's launch of .09. I love this site. If you make videos and want to create a channel I would recommend Magnify. If you like watching videos and want to create a channel to share your video's, again Magnify. The possibilities are endless. It is a really useful site. I look forward to seeing the changes that are coming. They have over 1800 channels now.
They are supportive and encouraging. It is getting quite good traffic also for some of my videos. My videos are not really viral, but more sharing sights I've seen on my little trips, so the traffic I get would be small compared to those who are intentionally going for the audiences. You can create a channel based on any topic that interests you. I encourage you to check it out.
You can share the revenue they earn through revver accounts and google adsense, which makes life simple.
Revver has been very quiet for me whilst I was away. In saying that I have not earnt a cent until I put a couple of new clips up when I returned. I have received over a hundred views per day on one of my magnify channels but this hasn't translated into any revenue from Revver, so I am surprised by that.
Both Magnify and Revver have forums and I have noticed in the forums that others have also seen a slowdown in their revenue from Revver, so I guess the Christmas/New Year period has been a quiet one. Those forums are a great way to stay in touch and lesson the panic when things don't seem to be right. It always seems better when others are experiencing the same thing, don't you think?

One to watch

Confession

I am amazed that I have made hundreds of dollars on Revver, not thousands as others have but hundreds and I have really only put on mostly short video shots that are in no way professional or edited even. I think I did play with two but play is definately the word. I want to move on to producing better videos, but find it hard when what I am doing seems to be returning something and I have very limited time available to me to play around with this stuff.
I read today on Nalt's site "Will Video for Food" about George Lucas changing directionl I have added the feed from his blog to this blog because if you are interested in online videos or viral videos, I think his blog is probably a simple and informative place to start. He has heaps of great information on there if you are interested in getting online with your videos in any capacity.

Revver Recovery

I don't know about other revver users but I have found my stats are recovering nicely from the drop they received when the new revver 1.0 started. I had began to think that it would no longer be worth the effort, minimal that it is, and have been pleased to see that my patience has paid off.
I have been away on holidays for a week and continued to receive a modest trickle whilst not uploading any more clips.
There are so many video sites online now. I still think revver is the best and I like the simple and reliable way they communicate and improve the site.
Good for them. Good for me.

What We Are

This is really popular at present. I can see why. It's quite amusing.

Magnify - sunday drive

Magnify is a site that allows you to have collections of videos and manage your own channel. Others can review and comment on the videos, but I haven't seen a lot of commenting or reviewing. It is still in beta though, so early days.

Sunday Drive

Posted to Falling Brick
on August 12, 2006

View Details | Hosted At Revver | Download

Revver vs Metacafe

Revver has made some changes already. It's looking good. I am really happy with Revver and have decided that Metacafe is not for me. I love the simplicity and clarity of Revver. Although Metacafe emailed me which possibly massaged my ego a little, I gave it a go and don't think it is for me. I notice some other Revver users are having good successes. To be fair, if you are interested you should read this article by Nalts. His site Will Video for Food, is a good source of information and he makes it his business to inform. I'm just playing.


Before:


After:

Falling Brick: The Channel

Falling Brick: Simple and Unique pleasures
I have put my clips on this channel.