Need some advice: Flimmaking as a hobby

[McCaber16]

Hi there,

I am looking into getting into film making mostly as a hobby to start but hopefully something I can stick with. I will warn you I know as close to nothing as you could about film making. I am working as an accountant right now and have always had a passion for creativity and I think film making may be the perfect hobby to satisfy my creative side and my yearning to see new places and people.

The type of film that I am most interested in right now is short film with little dialogue and story telling through actions rather than words. Something like this:



I like the idea of incorporating music as a powerful tool in the short films I would like to create and this is a good example of such a video.

Now, as I have said I know close to nothing about film making. I figured I would purchase a decent used camera with HD capability and with as much quality as I can get for a relatively low cost. So besides any advice towards how I should get started, what approach should I take when purchasing a camera. Is it okay to buy used and how much should I be spending considering that I really don't know much about film making. In additon, what type of equipment and accessories are an absolute necessity?

The camera I am looking at right now is a "Canon VIXIA HFS100 HD Flash Memory Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom - 2009 MODEL". I can get this used for around $550. Is this a good camera for a complete beginner? Should I pay more;less for a different camera?

As well is there any useful advice for a beginner in getting started?

[Rembrandt Rob]

The best advice for anyone in your position is... Join your local video club. I know you don't want to hear that, visions of pensioners and boring videos come to mind but they have a wealth of information, can save you a lot of time learning the hard way and are a useful source of people for your first production.