Here's your guide through the ins and outs of making your very own movies. Just don't expect any popcorn, writes Richard Jordan.
If you want to make a movie, it's best to have a film studio backing you. You get paid well, will see your name on the silver screen as part of the credits and in all probability will walk the red carpet. But what about us average Joes – with no technical know-how or fancy equipment?
Luckily, the one thing accessible to most people is a video camera.
But if you have a celluloid dream and no wish to shimmy on a Hollywood red carpet yet, there are still ways to milk your handycam's potential for both picture quality and sound.
GETTING STARTED
Unlike the gargantuan video cameras of the past, today's video cameras could be mistaken for large mobile phones – they come with hard drives and in-built flash memory (cutting out the need for tapes) and tip the scales at a little over a pound. In order to make a short film or even a respectable home video, you'll need some sort of editing software.
Today, what with the amount of downloadable software on the internet, there's no excuse to bore your dinner guests into watching badly produced film or home video of your last summer vacation with the missus.
And just because the studio in your basement isn't equipped with professional software doesn't mean you're going to find it impossible to pull off anything close to a decent film.
There are dozens of free video editors available on the internet that allow you to pull off subtitling, custom animations, sound effects and graphics, just like the pros.
THE EDITING GAME
Depending on what type you buy you can choose between Windows Movie Maker (PC) or iMovie (Mac). Both of them should come with your computer when purchased and you probably already have Windows Movie Maker (WMM) from XP service pack 2.
"With a decent collection of transitions and video effects, WMM is an excellent starting point for any amateur filmmaker," says Mohammad Bin Souqat, film director, who now works with Dubai One.
One of the things Bin Souqat strongly recommends is to buy a tripod along with your handycam. Although he admits the camera loses its USP, the mobility factor, he claims it'll make editing much easier.
"Most people just shoot everything, jitters and all, especially for home videos," he explains. "While that's good, if you know your way around your editing software, it's so much more convenient to shoot one frame, then stop, and go on to the next. It just gives the film a much better look by breaking down the frames into shorter clips. Although it might have been done from your basement, it doesn't hurt to give it a little class."
However, Bin Souqat insists to always check your camera for any bundled software, especially ones for editing. More often than not, this software will just plug and play on your computer and will obviously be compatible with all your editing needs, filmed from that camera. Most Sony, Canon and JVC handycams come with proprietary editing software.
While the WMM is a good choice for beginners, filmmaker Moath Bin Hafez thinks it could be a bit much for complete novices. Moath, whose Arabic film On the Line was screened at the UAE pavilion at Cannes, thinks that the fewer options offered on iMovie make for an easier learning curve and allowed him to hone his filmmaking skills.
Much like the WMM, iMovie comes with nearly all of the offerings as its PC counterpart but with an interface that is much easier to grasp. "The best way to learn is to do a short course and then tinker with the software yourself," says Moath. "You can get proficient using this technique and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll learn with some direction."
THE THING ABOUT SOFTWARE
The problem with downloading free movie editing software is large file sizes that take days to complete. However, there are a few out there that once downloaded on your computer, can compete frame for frame, with the best of purchased licenced software. Some of the better free ones are Virtual Dub for PC only, HyperEngine-AV for Macs, Jahshaka: a free open source software that gives users powerful editing options, and Zwei-Stein, an editing tool for Macs, PCs and Linux-based systems.
But if this is the case, then why should customers shell out hundreds of bucks for professional software when these would do just fine? "Among a few other things, professional software like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier and Avid Xpress Pro do have one big edge over free software and that's in the colour correction department," says Moath. "What that does is it breaks down individual colours, as opposed to the full block of film, giving you more control over the picture. Although it might not be noticed by an amateur, a trained eye can pick it up. This is very useful as again, it gives you more control during the editing process for transition effects, inserting graphics and titles." Adding titles, video effects and transitions especially in WMM are a breeze, even for a complete novice – there are play-by-play directions and it'll take some doing to go wrong.
SOUNDS GOOD
"Your music score is like the backbone, in a sense, to your visuals," says Chester Misquitta, a freelance sound designer/mixing engineer explaining the need for a good background score. Anyone who's seen Jaws or Psycho knows what he's talking about. A good background score can be the difference between a well-made film and a documentary.
However, getting free music software off the internet can prove to be a bit complicated. You can download a free demo or trial version of a particular software. But be warned, demo versions don't always have all the necessary functions you need, some don't even allow you to save your completed sessions.
Misquitta recommends Reaper for PCs, Buzz for Linux, and Mu.Lab and Audacity for the Mac – these come with most of the bells and whistles and are offered either free or are available for a nominal charge. He also endorses WMM's music editing capability. "WMM is perfect for just pulling out a track that you like from a CD or an mp3 and placing it in line with your film. It also gives users a couple of audio tracks, so you can cross-fade from one track to the next, and is very easy to use and does the job perfectly. Similarly,
Garageband is available for Mac users and is as simple to use."
But Moath feels that using copyrighted music just stifles your creativity. "If you can get a friend to produce tracks for your film, it just looks like you care a bit more. Or scour royalty free music websites, like www.royaltyfreemusic.com and www.partnersinrhyme.com."
Misquitta advises using music software that allows you to sync your audio and video linearly – essentially allowing you to view your film and hear audio on the same timeline. Both Garageband and fruityloops are equipped to allow you the use of this feature, so you can export the final product, i.e. your film, as a single file with your final audio coded into the film.
