Making movies on your Digital Camera

You don’t need a camcorder to make short movies. You can do so using your digital camera. The process is relatively easy and cheap.

The Camera
First check that your digital camera has a movie mode. Most do. Refer to your manual if necessary.

Once you’ve found the mode, make sure you have a reasonably good memory card in your camera. The more memory, the more movies you can make without switching cards.

Next, make some simple movies of anything that’s around you. The purpose is to familiarise yourself with how the camera works. This is also a good opportunity to learn how to hold the camera steady if you’re moving it while you shoot. You may find you need to use a simple tripod.

Software
Once you’re comfortable with using your digital camera for a movie, see what supporting software you have on your computer.

If you’re a PC owner, you should find that modern Windows software has a movie facility. Mac owners can use iMovie. Such software is either free with your computer or is part of a reasonably priced package.

Now read the online instructions for the software. To make a movie, you just need to link your digital camera to the computer, transfer the videos you shoot, and follow the software’s instructions.

Audio
The software will allow you to add sound to your movie. You can have great fun providing a soundtrack: it’s not hard to combine music with narration and sound effects.

Editing
Software also gives you the chance to edit your movie. If you have a shot that you want to shorten or delete, you can do so with your computer. You therefore use the camera purely to take your images.

Titles
Your software should have a title feature. This is generally easy to use. You simply type in your title and transfer it to the movie.

DVD
One thing you will need is a lot of hard drive space on your computer. A three-minute movie can take up a great deal of room.

You may therefore want to burn the movie to a DVD and remove it from your hard drive. If you don’t, you can clog up the drive and slow down the computer.

Ideas
With everything at your disposal to make a short movie, why not plan in advance?

Professional moviemakers use boards that have a rough sketch of each image they want plus the story outline. You can use this technique to make a movie about absolutely anything you wish.

Subjects range from holidays to the arrival of a new baby. You can even create a piece of drama or comedy with members of your family playing the roles.

Animation
You can also use your digital camera to create an animated movie. You take a series of shots with the camera and transfer these to your computer. The software then blends the shots into a continuous piece of film.

Once again, check what your computer can do. But you should find you don’t have to buy any expensive software.

You can use digital cameras to make home movies. All you need is a digital camera with movie mode and the software that comes with most modern computers.