New to filmmaking . . . .

[Ash Plissken]

Hi, I'm 13 and starting with filmmaking, but I've done some research, and have done like two previous projects with the camera.

Writing and directing are easy, but I'm having a problem with editing and lighting.
I was wondering if you guys could help.

Okay, I'm not sure what the hell to do with lighting. I've heard about bulbs, but I want to know about what equipment to get, and the cheapest stuff.

As for editing, I'm gonna get the Adobe Premiere for a very,very low price, but I was wondering about the cameras . . . .

I have new sony Hi8 camera, and I wanted to know if it can be editing on computer? All I have been hearing is about DV or D8, but nothing on Hi8.

Also I've heard of the I.Link thing, if my camera doesn't have one, how can I get one. . . ?

Any info would be valuable, I'm shooting my first original feature this summer, and would appreciate any help.

[ThomYorke]

You really believe directing is easy?!?!?!?! Wow! I've always considered film directing to be like directing for the stage, but trying to co-ordinate lights, props, blocking, sound etc all at the same time........and don't even make me start on having to work with actors!

My equipment is as follows:
Video 8 Sony Handicam
Adobe Premiere 5.1
Pinnacle DC30+ Video Capture card (this is the essential bit) - if you're using an Imac, then ILink is amazingly useful, but you need a DV Camera for it to work for you.

I think, as long as you get an analog capture card for your computer (I assume it's a bit of a beefy machine) you'll be fine. I made short films with the equipment like yours for 2 years, and it never gave me any problems.

[Higgy]

It really all depends on what you're planning to do with your movie. If you're planning to show it to your friends, and just sort of experiment with your equipment, then I'd say just make it easy for yourself: put the footage on a VHS cassette and edit it on a good VCR (people like to pretend you can't edit on a VCR, but just as long as you're careful it works pretty good).
If you want to enter contests and try and make some money, and if you're planning to keep at it, it's probably worth the money to buy yourself a good DV camera, which is a lot easier to edit with.
I'm fourteen and I'm shooting my first "real movie" this summer. Sounds a lot liek what you're doing. I'd love to hear about your production.

[LA mind]

Speaking of Adobe Premier, here's a question.

Me and my friend are editing our first collaboratory movie on my friends computer. And we're using the Adobe Premier. We got the footage down and the whole movie is almost complete, except for the sound wich we will add in a couple of days. So my questiong is this and remember that I am new to this program so this question will probably sound really stupid...

After we're finished editing, can we hook the cmputer up to a VCR and copy the film to VHS tape? In Adobe Premier you watch the film in a little window, so me and my friend are concerned, that if we copy the footage to tape, it will copy the whole computer screen including the desktop and windows and stuff? Can anyone tell me any info on copying from Adobe Premier to VHS tape? Thank you.

ASH: Don't worry about cameras too much for now. Truth is you can make a spectacular movie on any kind of platform, digital, tape or film. In the end, people (i'm not speaking for everyone) don't tend to look at how a film "looks" but rather how it plays. I'm sure if your films are energetic and movien, such tiny details as lighting and cameras won't effect it...(much). BTW, what's your feature movie about, can you send me a synopsis, my e-mil is in my profile. Good luck.

[stop_thief]

LA Mind, that "little window" you are talking about in Adobe Premiere is just the preview window.

What you need to do is go to "Make Movie"
and render a final file in the form of an .avi or something.

Once you have the file rendered, you connect the VCR, start recording, and play the full file fullscreen.

You'll need to fool around with the settings (the movie's output size) and desktop display properties to get a proper output for video.

Computer monitors and televisons tend to differ so it can be a pain in the ass.