Video cameras

[dawn-of-the-dum]

Originally posted by The STE
that one Tyco makes

[Rotted Soul]

I'm looking into getting the Cannon MV750i 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/...sp?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!