What Camera To Use...

I've never filmed anything serious before and my friends and I are hoping to make a 1.5 hour movie this summer, similar to Clerks. Almost all, if not all filming, will be done inside. My biggest concern at this point is a camera, because I know they are really freakin' expensive. I'm also wondering if we'll need a boom and where I can get one...

Any suggestions of cameras or advice in general would be great!
 
Now that you've take some time to browse the "Camera Talk"
forum, you seen my recommendations - probably several times.

So you see that cameras aren't as freakin' expensive as you thought.

If you are using a mic, you will need a boom. You'll need a lot of
other equipment, too. What do you have now? That way we can
give you more advice.
 
Even though Clerks was not the best looking film technically, you will need a lot more than a camcorder to make a movie, as directorik stated. What is your budget?
 
Well, like I said, none of us have done anything like this before, so unless some of the things you need are just common household items, chances are we don't have them :(

I'm currently thinking that a Everio GZ-MG630S could be nice for what we need...
http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028496&pathId=119&page=10

Any comments on that?
It doesn't have the three essentials that you saw when you read my
camera suggestions. But if that's the only camera you can afford, then
that's the camera you will have to use.

No need for a boom because you won't be using a mic - you'll use the
one that comes with the camera. Your audio quality won't be very
good, but that's one of the challenges when making your very first
movie without ever doing anything like it before.

You'll also find some do-it-yourself lighting tips here on indietalk, so
you can try some of those tips. You might find you could use a
tripod to put the camera on so not every shot is handheld. But if
you can't find one (or afford one) you could always prop the camera
on a table or a desk to steady it.

You've set yourself quite a challenge. Do you have a really good
script? That's what made "Clerks" work as well as it did.

When do you start shooting?
 
Since we're all in school until June 3rd or so we won't start filming until summer. We're writing the script now, but it's very loose and we'll be getting into more detail on the scenes once we actually film them. Also...our budget is probably around $2,000. I don't know at all what to look for in a camera, and I thought that once looked good. I guess it's not that great.
 
You're right. It lacks some essentials. But it's cheap, and that
might have to do.

When you checked the other posts about cameras (and mine
are all over:lol:) were there any on that list that you might
be able to afford? Each one has the essentials that would
work on a no budget, "Clerks" type movie.

Is the $2,000 for all the equipment or for the entire movie?
I wonder if there is someone in your school that has a camera
and could be part of the team?
 
Nobody I know of at school has a nice camera, and I'm not going to start asking around and buddy up to somebody because they do have one, because that's just rude. I would say that $2,000 would just cover the camera, and anything that goes with it, like a boom, tri-pod, etc. unless those are pretty cheap. (Like less than $100).
 
I'm not going to start asking around and buddy up to somebody because they do have one, because that's just rude.

Depends how you go about it, I 'spose. :)

For all you know there's a guy/gal at your school with an awesome camera, whose dreams of being a cinematographer have been dashed because noone's ever asked him/her to shoot a film.

Costs you nothing to stick a flyer up on the school bulletin-board, asking if there are any cinematographers about with their own gear. You might meet a few people. In any event, everyone wins. You get a camera-operator (hopefully somewhat decent at it), and they get experience working on a project.

Might get some flakier commitments, if at high-school, but it's not at all uncommon for filmmakers to check & see what they can find for free from complete strangers. (Well, don't go getting too friendly with complete strangers, if you're in HS - stick to fellow students, for now)

Just make sure your pre-production plans are well organised beforehand; you don't want to answer any questions they may have with, "Err.. dunno."

Good luck with your project. :cool:
 
Nobody I know of at school has a nice camera, and I'm not going to start asking around and buddy up to somebody because they do have one, because that's just rude. I would say that $2,000 would just cover the camera, and anything that goes with it, like a boom, tri-pod, etc. unless those are pretty cheap. (Like less than $100).
:huh:
Filmmaking is a collaboration of artists all looking to improve their portfolio or resume. You're looking at it the wrong way. You can find an aspiring DP, producer, possibly a sound mixer... After the first film you have connections. It's networking.
 
Well, on the other hand, I don't want to tell the whole school about this. It's just something for me and my friends to do this summer, before they all leave for college, I guess (most of my friends are seniors). We don't want any "outsiders" involved.

Erm, I guess I can find out if I can put a poster up...
 
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Well, on the other hand, I don't want to tell the whole school about this. It's just something for me and my friends to do this summer, before they all leave for college, I guess (most of my friends are seniors). We don't want any "outsiders" involved.
If you are serious about filmmaking, you will soon realize you're going to need people that know what they're doing to work with. If you're just messing around to pass the time over summer for fun, that's cool too. Good luck.
 
Well. Ultimately, I'd like to get this released somehow, not too sure about the details there. But I think we're going to do this pretty professionally, but we can manage to do it ourselves without too much outside help. I do have some co-workers that do their own stuff (http://www.myspace.com/gelastica) and I'm planning on asking them any questions that come up.
 
Nobody I know of at school has a nice camera, and I'm not going to start asking around and buddy up to somebody because they do have one, because that's just rude.

That's too bad.

All my movies were done in school with people I asked to help.
I knew a girl who got a new camera and immediately recruited
her to shoot a movie. She didn't think it was rude, she loved
using her new camera.

She ended up being the DP of eight of my movies and went on
to make a living as a loader, assistant camera and camera operator.

I met a guy in one of my classes who was a really good artist.
Turns out he was also a great sculptor. I got him involved to use
his talent and he became interested in makeup effects just like
me. He went on to be a illustrator for movie posters.

I always help others others out, too. I own a top of the line camera
and I meet people all the time who ask for my help. I'm an "outsider"
to their group but I love helping out and getting more experience
and getting some use out of my camera.

Maybe sometime down the line you'll see that asking others to use
their talent and equipment to help you make a movie is not rude.
"Outsiders" are the life blood of movie making. You open yourself
up to some amazing talent when you let those "outsiders" in.
 
I see. I never really saw making a movie like that before. However, I would like to buy a camera myself, mostly because I'd like to use it again. If we could get back on topic, that'd really be great... :)

Another question...

Is it just as easy to get Mini-DV onto a computer as it is a hard-drive camera? How about other formats? This is one of my biggest concerns with buying a camera...I don't have a whole lot of technology around the house and don't want something that will be a pain to put on a computer to edit.
 
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