Video cameras

[LilMissScareAll]

What's about the cheapest video camera I could get that's fairly good quality? As long as it's good enough for making an independent film on... I'm poor but I'm planning on making horror movies eventually(hopefully I'll be able to make one next year), and I just wanted to know what the average cheapest price was for a fairly good camera.

[Kurdt78]

Hi,

It all depends on how much you have to spend.
Let your budget dictate what camera you get...just make films, dont worry about the quality.

At the top end id look for the Canon XL1s - a good 3ccd camera. (i own one) or the Sony VX2000, both about the same price $4000

If not try for any Sony or Canon models...Panasonic good also.
If you cant afford a 3chip ccd camera, get the best quality 1 chip.
Make sure it has DV in/out fire wire connection so you can down load and up load onto your PC.

Hope this helped... Good luck!


Keith
www.keithsfilms.com

[LilMissScareAll]

Thanks for replying. :)
I definitely don't have $4,000 to spend :( I'm poor... I have a cheap video camera right now but the picture quality and sound is not very good... :o

[darthvonpokemon]

Even if you're just shooting on the family camcorder, you still have to be able to capture your footage into the computer for editing. You can do a lot of really cool things there so don't sweat it. Just make sure you have good lighting to start with.
CK

[LilMissScareAll]

Thanks :)

[darthvonpokemon]

No prob, LilMiss. My entire first film which I'm still shooting has costed about $20 altogether so don't money (or lack of it) discourage you. If you need any help, feel free to give me a hollar. I help out a lot of film makers (music, editing, secondary footage, acting, crew, etc.). I know it's a pain to put together most of the time LOL
CK

[LilMissScareAll]

Ok...thank you! :D
I doubt I'll be spending much on my movie either...since I don't have much to spend and I'm not sure that I'll make any money back from it. But at least it'll give me some experience and it'll be fun making it.

[darthvonpokemon]

That's why I got started. I was kind of disappointed in some of the films I was doing music for and decided to branch out and do my own. Any time.
CK

[LilMissScareAll]

What got me to thinking of making my own movie is watching other movies, that were terrible and just made no sense at all... and I thought "I could do so much better than this...at least my movies would keep people interested, I think, and they would be able to understand them."

[darthvonpokemon]

Once again, great minds think alike :D
CK

[LilMissScareAll]

:D

[Ronald Gardocki]

Especially for horror on a low budget, I don't think you'll need a top quality video camera.

The thing is, most people want their short films to look like a Hollywood movie, but they never will. You can either try (badly) to make it Hollywood-ish, or you can revel in the fact that it was shot on DV.

DV footage recorded using hand-held cameras, for example, makes things appear more 'real', almost documentary-like - a fact that Hollywood is only now picking up on (and I'm not just talking about Blair Witch).

In short, unless you plan on blowing your video up to 35mm filmstock, getting a top of the line camera isn't too important. Getting good actors and sound recording - as well as editing the damn thing - now that's the tricky part.

[LilMissScareAll]

Thanks for the reply... I can't afford a big, professional Hollywood camera anyway...I just didn't want something that was extremely bad quality.

As for the editing, I know some people who have edited videos...a couple of my friends make German Expressionist Films quite often...they have a bunch of dvd's they made. I was supposed to get to be in one of them sometime... but I'm hoping maybe they'll help me some with my video editing.

[N0Hypocrites]

Good lighting is also very important as well when filming. Video tends to look quite harsh under bright, direct light so soften it by using pieces of regular window screen or transclucent plastic("diffusion"). It will make a world of difference in how your footage will look.
CK

[LilMissScareAll]

Originally posted by N0Hypocrites
Good lighting is also very important as well when filming. Video tends to look quite harsh under bright, direct light so soften it by using pieces of regular window screen or transclucent plastic("diffusion"). It will make a world of difference in how your footage will look.
CK


Thanks! :)

[flabby_man22]

cameras dont matter really, as long as you have one you can make a killer flick

















Note:editing program
actors
idea
(all of the above might be needed also)

[Hal_Delrich]

:) lol :)

[ADOM]

MANUAL SETTINGS. Whatever camera you get look for these key features:

Digital Format (miniDV or D-8. miniDV is proabably easier to work with at this point and there are more options)
Firewire in/out and if possible analog out for making VHS copies.

Manual settings. You want to be able to manually control as many things as possible, but especially focus and exposure. Manual white balance is a big plus, or at least preset lighting settings.

An external mic input. Most consumer/prosumer cameras have an on camera mic that is only useful very close up.

Lots of people look for low light capability. This usually makes use of gain and results in that grainy look.

For small cameras image stabilization is helpful. A flip out monitor and extra battery are great. You may also want to invest in a monopod (about $30 for a decent one.) You can really make use of one of these. Twist the head and rest the rod on your shoulder and your little camcorder becomes a shoulder mounted cam. Hold it high on the neck and you can get near steadicam type shots with a light camera.

That's just some info. I have a camera I use for professional stuff, but my vacation camera has most of these features and I find them useful when I need to use it as a main camera because we are shooting in small place or public area and do not want to draw attention with a bigger camera.

[LilMissScareAll]

Thanks! :)

[The STE]

that one Tyco makes

[dawn-of-the-dum]

Originally posted by The STE
that one Tyco makes

[Rotted Soul]

I'm looking into getting the Cannon MV750i (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001I51B4/ref=br_lf_ce_5/026-7381508-5888458) for a similar purpose.

Anyone have any expereince with one of these?

[The_Return]

Id like to make a horror film, and will use this advice as soon as I a)save up enough money and b)Think of a good Idea that DOESNT require budget

[HappyCamper]

You could even try to find a Super8 camera off of ebay, they can be fairly cheap, but you may have problems when trying to find a place to develop the film.

As far as cheap digital camcorders, go with any camera made by:

Canon, Panasonic, or Sony, I'd stay away from the others, haven't heard to many good things about other brands

but definitely make sure you will be able to hook it up to your computer so you can do editing

[filmmaker005]

I am a film producer/writer and any MiniDv camera will work very good for your films.
People will tell you, that it has to be 3CCD.
However any camera even 3CCD has to be seen before you buy.
Go to a local Camera shop and try out a bunch of cameras. I like sony cameras, and canon. 1CCD are better than VHS, VHS-C, HI8 and S-VHS. You will get 500 lines on one and that is alot better than 240 lines on a VHS Camcorder. Also you can upload to PC with Fire Wire 1394 cable and edit and then record back out to MiniDv or if you have a DVD burner in your PC burn to that. Pinnacle Systems makes pretty good hardware and software for small productions on a budget, also Roxio. Now if you want to get bigger later on then you will want something like Adobe Production Bundle or Avid Express Pro HD etc. Just get a good look at the camera and take a tape with you and record from each camera and then play back before you leave the store. Also filters, etc. will make a great diffrence in picture quality. I am not to fond of the Panasonic 24p cameras, because let's face it, you can never really get 24p on video. The only way to do this is use 16mm or 35mm film stock. But I am going on now with too much detail. Just look at each camera and them make the right choice for you.
Also search the internet for camera reviews.
Good Luck.

[LilMissScareAll]

Thanks for replying...I got a JVC mini dv for Christmas...my friend has one like it, and I saw some short films he made with his and it looked pretty good so I decided to get that one.

[elias]

Check out this Panasonic miniDVd, 3 Chip...

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/shop/detail.asp?dpno=394427

Great deal if you ask me:)

Look forward to hearing more about your projects in the future:)

Good luck with your endeavors and above all, have fun doing it;)

[LilMissScareAll]

Thanks...I'll let everyone know when the movie is finished. :)

[Elliot_Voorhees]

Yeah, I'd like to hear from other independent horror movie directors and actors. Seeing as I'm a young'n I've been doing acting classes for 3 years now, and me and 4 friends have made a 'production team' where we make movies together. We will get other people to do small cameo roles but we work on it mainly. I need some good tips on how to make good blood and guts, and B grade but cool home made special effects. Thanks, Ell voorhees.

[elias]

Originally posted by Elliot_Voorhees
Yeah, I'd like to hear from other independent horror movie directors and actors. Seeing as I'm a young'n I've been doing acting classes for 3 years now, and me and 4 friends have made a 'production team' where we make movies together. We will get other people to do small cameo roles but we work on it mainly. I need some good tips on how to make good blood and guts, and B grade but cool home made special effects. Thanks, Ell voorhees.

That's great that you guys are so actively pursuing things:) As far as tips on cheap gore FX... well I'm guessing you probably already know the formula for blood... but if you don't, here it is:

Karo Syrup

Red Food Coloring

That's pretty much the basic formula just mix accordingly to get the right shade of color.

You can also add a hint of darker food coloring (i.e. blue or green) to give the mixture a darker more oilier quality. Or you can add a little milk or cream for a more pussy effect.

As far as guts and entrails, there are lots of ways to achieve this it all depends on your budget and preference. There's the obvious choice of any and every form of meat product, depending upon what you're trying to achieve. Just be careful of food poisoning & be aware of the maggots;) I won't be liable if you end up bent over you toilet puking you guts out;) You can use the long thin balloons for making balloon animals for intestines. Blood soaked paper towels, torn, shredded and glued to the face or body with spirit gun can achieve some fairly nice results.

If you've got a little money, buy an effects makeup book from one of the masters like Dick Smith and start experimenting. Liquid latex is actually pretty inexpensive so that can be very useful, but it's a bit hard to work with unless you really know what you're doing - that's why I suggest buying a book or two, and/or just experimenting a bit.

Hope all that's been of some help! Good luck with you endeavors:) Look forward to hearing how things go!

[Elliot_Voorhees]

Yep, thanks man. I copied and pasted that all and I'll look over it on the weekend. I won't be looking at spending over 50 bucks for anything. Well this is australia, so for you 'mericans thats about 23 bucks. Dunno, well thanks. Ell Voorhees.