advice pleaaase

[Righar]

'Right. I just went to the camcorder shop the other day, however as they are "sponsored" by canon they are trying to sell me a, guess what ... ? Canon camcorder !! They didn't have much choice and I don't have ?1700 to put into that camera, so there.

Can anyone help me out and advise on which camera I should pick ? Am wanting to make short films, so I'd go for mini-DV format. Having the widescreen option is a plus. Am willing to put something like ?500 into it... for now.

Please let me know which camera you're advising I should use ? Any replies greatly appreciated, thanx !

[belovedmonster]

Digital 8 is the way to go! Cheaper than DV both in terms of hardware and the actual recording medium. But it is a digital format and has all the benefits of DV cams.

[noddy754]

I'm also a Digital 8 fan, and I used to think the 8mm tapes were a lot cheaper than Mini DV, but they're not - at www.pricebuster.org.uk, Mini DV is ?2.29, 8mm is ?1.49. Anyway, I bought my camcorder second hand from Jessops www.jessops.com/used but you might get a better deal off eBay.

If I were you I'd buy a half decent tripod as well - around ?150. Oh and make sure you get a camcorder which has DV IN, or one which can have it enabled with software from www.lynxdv.com or www.smartdv.co.uk (I used lynxdv's product and it worked fine. It also gave me a manual white balance option which I didn't have before. I have no experience of smartdv though). Some camcorders don't have DV IN which means there's no way of transferring your film from your computer back to your camcorder.

I wouldn't bother with widescreen - you lose a lot of resolution by using the widescreen mode on cheap camcorders and if you really want to, you can achieve the same effect when you edit your film.

If you want to record dialogue then you'll need sound recording equipment - I intend to hire some when the time comes.

You might want to budget for some lighting equipment, even if it's just a few reflectors.

There's my $0.02 as they say!

[Mark Jackson]

this website is great for that sort of info:

http://cspry.co.uk/links/video_digital.html

just about covers everything you need to know about what camera/sound/editing gear, recommend you book mark this one.

also look through an issue of What Camcorder to compare at a glance what is out there.

Jackson Film

[belovedmonster]

screwfix direct sell these things called site lamps... they are like spot lights on tripods. Only ?25 each. Get 2 of them and make some reflectors using tracing paper, or tinfoil. Theres your lighting

B&Q sell extendable paint rollers which would make for great mic boom. Just get a cheapish shotgun mic from someone like Audio Technica... Theres your sound

then youve pretty much need everything you need, cept you might wann invest in a Wide angel lense for shooting indoors.

At the mo im just using a cheapo tripod, but by all acounts the expensive ones are well worth it.

So all in all, theres alot of bits and bobs you need but you can make stuff yourself and use other things. SHould cut down on costs, which im guessing is an issue if you only wanna spend ?500

[GREATwarEAGLE]

I'm in the extreme minority opinion on this forum. I suggest super 8 film.

[Tom Servo]

i used to shoot super 8 maybe two years ago, i still love the way it looks but its such a pain to send it from my home (pennsylvania, usa) to california to have it developed for an exhorbitant amount of money. DV has proved easier and cheaper (in the long run), but there's something so cool about super 8...ahh...
mendon

[Alex]

But your initial camera expense is significantly lower. By the time you have spent the equivalent for a camera, you should have been able to make 2-4 films.

Sometimes the experience and result matter more than having a digital camera from the get go.

[Alex]

Well. If a budding filmmaker's first projects don't rely heavily on dialogue, then definitely shoot your first few films on Super-8 film.

It's an amazing education in every aspect of filmmaking. The types of Super-8 projects that make the most sense are music videos that tell stories, and commercials.

Another idea is to find a campy movie with dialogue that you love, and reshoot your own visuals but keep the existing dialogue from the existing movie.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 07, 2003 10:30 PM: Message edited by: Forum-405 ]</font>

[eidde]

I agree

Camera - 20 UK Pounds
Projector - 50 UK Pounds
3 min filmstock - 15 UK Pounds

Still less than 100 UK pounds for a 3 minute film.

DV Cameras are how much?