Newbie seeking advice.

frobisher

I've decided I want to make myself some short films. I work in a/v and have a pretty good knowledge of creative technology but have never done filmmaking. My first thoughts were to buy a good consumer mini DV camera and keep it very basic. But then I thought maybe a used Canon XL1 might be a better way of spending a little bit more money. I also thought about 8mm and 16mm but I'm guessing the cost of transfering to digital for editing would be probihitive. Am I right?
My present computer set up is PC but don't mind switching to mac if it's worth doing. I'd also like to do an evening course in Dublin. Is Filmbase the best place?
All thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

BlitzKrieg

What would you consider your spending range?

I've been scounging of my university for the last 3 years, so i am in a similar situation, that I have to go out and buy my own equipment.

used Xl1 or xl1s varie in price between 1,100-1,500 Sterling on ebay (I should know i've been trying to grab one over the last week)

other prosumer cameras go for similar prices or more. One that can be grabbed for a cheaper price is the XM1 or XM2, or from sony the VX2000 series.

Now i have never used XM1 or 2 so i cant say much about them. But they're Canon, which did the XL1, so think of it as the xl1's cheaper cousin. Its still 3ccd which puts it miles ahead of most of the consumer stuff.

VX2000 is a good piece of equipment, most universities or film schools i've popped into, have a number of them with maybe a Xl1s or pd-150 as they're digital stock (dont know about in ireland, this is my experiance in UK and USA) I personnally have used this and its older sibling the vx2100 a good bit, wonderful versitile cameras, compared to a xl1, apart from the obvious advantage in lens quality the vx2000 stands up pretty well. (xl1s and xl2 on the other hand knock it back down)


8mm or 16mm...well 8mm (its only super 8mm now adays right?) is not that expensive, you can prob pick up a cheap camera for under £200, film and developing wont break the bank, but there's the question of 'image' 8mm is very distinct, if you feel your work will benefit from that imagry i encourage you to dabble in it. But if your going for more traditional filmmaking, remember your going to have a host of problems with audio synching etc.

16mm is as you guessed expensive on the film development/telecining process, there is a cheap cheat way around it, but for that you will need a digital camcorder (3ccd) and a projector, so buying all of them together will end up breaking your bank just as much. Also apart from the Bolex and some antique cameras, 16mm cameras are painfully expensive.


on pc or mac...

hmm...

here's your first problem, if your going to splash out on a 3ccd camera, you dont want to use it as a vtr, it'll ruin the heads and pretty soon you'll have to replace the camera. So you might need to splash out on a minidv/dvcam vtr. Which do not come cheap at all. i'm talking a price range of around £1000 plus for one that will hook up to your computer and work with final cut pro or avid.

but again there some cheap ways around it. its mentioned in a xl1 site. (http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article59.php) that you can just buy a cheap camcorder (you can get one <£200 on ebay) and use it as a vtr, and burn all your finished work to dvd. Its cheap, but wont last long, and you cant master your work to a tape. also you'll need a dvd burner on your computer as well.

after you've gone through all that, its more of a question...Can you still afford a mac?