Lesson #7.Read A Good Book

$30 Film School by Michael W. Dean. It’s a good book for teaching the basics of how to shoot a movie using digital equipment. It’s not everything you’ll need to become a world-class filmmaker. You do need to have experience and talent on your side. However, he does a better job of teaching the basics of cameras, lighting and editing than anyone else out there.

The book also comes with a CD/ROM that has lots of useful goodies on it. There is a sample release form for your camera operator and actors as well as some software demos and other useful tools.

$30 Film School is worth every bit of $30, in my opinion. Plus, I discovered that Amazon.com has both used and new copies of it on sale even cheaper than that. You can’t beat an offer like that with a stick (a proverbial one or otherwise). The one caveat I'd make is that if you buy a used version of it, make sure the seller is including the CR/ROM as well.

Lesson #8. Back it up

One of the downfalls to videotape is that it can be recorded over rather easily, which you learned about in the first lesson. Of course, with the newer digital cameras, it’s possible to back your footage up on a hard drive if that fits in your budget. I didn’t learn this one either until I finally read the manual for that camera.

If you’re shooting in digital, check your camera’s manual to see it is possible to do with the one you’re using and how to go about doing it. If it’s practical for your shoot, go ahead and do it.

Lesson #9. Read the manual

This one dovetails nicely with Lesson #8. Read the manual for whatever camera you are using – digital, conventional film or whatever. Michael Dean actually mentioned this one briefly in his book, but like an idiot I didn’t do it.

Do yourself a favor. Before you use any camera for the first time, always take the time to read its manual. It’s not as important for film cameras because they are fairly standardized. Digital, however, is a different ball game. The features and what button does what will always vary from one model to the next.

Reading the manual, and knowing all of this ahead of time, simply makes your life that much easier.

On to the next Lesson Learned