Have you seen the high quality videos that students are producing? They rival the skill of the pros at film festivals even though they are amateurs without funding. The tools are so sophisticated now that anyone can do it. Here's how to get started.

Today, the tools for producing excellent short films are affordable and easy to use. Those tools can empower students of almost any age to produce personal masterpieces-complete with the look and sound of Hollywood productions. It's also a snap to share the finished product on DVD, the web, and virtually anywhere else.

To see some great examples, take a look at the winning entries from the 21st Century Connections' video contest.

The making of a movie
There are many different types of movies, and each one is made differently. However, they all go through the same process.

Preproduction
A movie starts off in preproduction, where the idea for a movie is conceived and planned out. In this part of the production, it could be as simple as jotting down the shots you want to have, or it could be as complicated as writing an entire script and drawing storyboards for every shot. For the most part, the more time spent in preproduction, the better the movie will be. Professionals spend 80 percent of their time in preproduction. If you are making a movie with a purpose, knowing what you want before you pick up a camera will save you a great deal of time later. If you are unsure of what the final outcome is going to be, you will end up shooting a lot more footage than you need and spending lots of extra time editing it.

Production
Once you have a vision in mind, you pick up the camera and move into production. The digital video cameras today are incredibly good at capturing images and sound, and there are ways you can make your footage look like the movies. Be sure to check out video shooting tips so that your movie does not have the tell-tale signs of an amateur production, like a shakey picture, too little light, poor sound, or too much zooming. Take first-rate footage to make your movie a success.

Production How Tos: Capture the action on tape:

First, determine what you want to tape. Decide what is most important and make sure it is most prominent on the screen. If what you are highlighting is the happiness of a particular person, move the camera close to that individual so that you can see the expression on his or her face. If what you want to show is a large family gathering on a lake, back up so that you can see all the members of the family and the lake. In filmmaking terminology, this is called the field of view. Take a look at the different shots below and notice that the Extreme Long Shot highlights the surroundings of an individual while the Extreme Close-up highlights the expression on a face. During a production, it is a good idea to mix up the shots so that you get a sense of surroundings and emotions.

Second, follow the three S's rule of Straight, Steady, and Smooth. For best results, you should use a tripod whenever possible. A leveled tripod will keep your video camera straight and steady. When you pan the camera left or right or tilt it up or down, you want the movement to be smooth as well. Try to avoid the zoom as much as possible. If you do have to zoom, try to also make it smooth and slow. Over-zooming is a frequent mistake of all amateurs.

Third, make sure that you have the right amount of light. Video cameras struggle to figure out how much light they should let in. If you position a person in front of a window with lots of light in the background, the camera will think that it must not let in too much light and will darken everything else, leaving your person as a darkened figure against a bright background.

Likewise, a person in direct sunlight will have deep shadows under their eyes as the camera struggles to deal with the other bright spots in the shot (Deep shadows pic). It is usually a better idea to shoot video in the shade, to even the light and eliminate deep shadows.

Fourth, make sure the camera can hear what it is supposed to record. Remember that the closer the camera is to what you want to be able to hear, the better. The camera is going to record the sounds of whatever is closest to it better than those sounds that are far away. Most cameras also have the ability to attach an external microphone to assist in picking up the right sounds.
While these four things are listed in order, they all have equal importance in video. Nothing is more frustrating than watching a video in which you cannot hear what you are supposed to, or see what is going on, while being made sea sick by a handheld camera that is zooming in and out. These four skills separate the professional from the amateur. If you pay attention to them, you too can shoot like a pro.

Digital Video Tips
Straight, steady, and smooth
Use the 3S's rule to make your footage look professional.

Lighting
Make sure you have the right amount of light to capture the scene.

Capturing sound
Use an external mic to get better sound.

Field of view
Make what is most important visible.

Framing the shot
Compose the shot in appealing ways, and make your movie more visually interesting.

Where to put the camera
Change the look and feel of a shot by moving the camera around and getting different perspectives.

Tape management
Two simple steps will help you manage and locate your important footage on the tapes.

Editing process
Do not try to edit the movie with perfection the first time through. Edit your movie in passes, using the assembly, rough, and final cut process

Postproduction
After you have captured the footage, you are ready for postproduction, simply known as "post." Here you will download your footage onto the computer and edit it together using a non-linear digital video editor like Adobe® Premiere® Elements. These simple-to-use programs will allow you to trim video clips, put them in order on a timeline, and add transitions between clips, as well as music, sound effects, voice-overs, and special effects.

Distribution
After you have a finished movie, you are ready to send it out into the world. Since it is digital, you can send it in an e-mail, post it to a web page, or burn it to a DVD. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages.

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