<p>I asked this question in the visual arts/film design forum but it doesn’t seem to be too active, so I thought I would post it here one more time to get some advice from parents who may be experienced with video and movie making or have children in that field. </p>
<p>I go on mission trips and travel a lot, and have recently been watching short documentary videos, and wondered to myself if I could ever make them myself (to get an idea of what I’m talking about, search South Africa’s Pandemic on vimeo by Unearthed). I’m talking 5 minute-short, DSLRs, Adobe, and such…nothing extremely professional…and certainly nothing that would require me to attend a design school. Do I need to invest a college education to make something of that quality? I just want to develop a hobby…I want to know how realistic it is for me to teach myself to make short, effective, inspirational documentary-like movies like the South African one. I’m currently on a gap year so I have some time to do my research, studying, and playing around with softwares. </p>
<p>Also, I recently purchased a Canon T2i (because it’s relatively low-priced and heard it has pretty good HD video) and am thinking of buying Adobe’s Creative Suite software…am I going in the right direction? </p>
<p>Also, if you know of any good on-line courses/tutorials that I could take for cheap, that would be great also.</p>
<p>I guess it all really depends on how much I’m willing to self-teach, but I still want to know where I should start…</p>
<p>“Also, I recently purchased a Canon T2i (because it’s relatively low-priced and heard it has pretty good HD video) and am thinking of buying Adobe’s Creative Suite software…am I going in the right direction?”</p>
<p>Yup, you are going in the right direction. Make sure the Adobe bundle includes their video editing software (and use your college student discount - it will save you a small fortune!).</p>
<p>A relatively easy to use, inexpensive video editing program that my D got started with is Sony Vegas Movie Studio (costs $50-70).</p>
<p>I guess I wanted to know how long it would take for me to create something of that quality without going to school for it. Are there good online classes that you know of that I might be able to benefit from? </p>
<p>Also, what’s the difference between editing softwares and compositing softwares (Adobe)? Do I need to be able to work with both or is it a matter of preference?</p>
<p>There are some that will say that you would be better off with a regular camcorder to use for video rather than using an slr. THe camcorder is smaller and designed for video and the slr adds it as a feature, but has issues with the size of the camera and the focusing. </p>
<p>The adobe programs are quite complex and will require a lot of time to get used to. I would try the premiere elements program first to see how you take to it.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of people advising against dslrs for filming but I want to shoot stills also, which is why I want to stick with dslrs…and I am thinking of upgrading to a 7d or a 5d mark ii after a couple years of practice with my t2i…I haven’t seen anyone complain about some of the higher-end dslrs for video. I don’t know…like I said, I don’t want to invest a fortune but I want to develop a hobby around this so I’m willing to spend some money over several years</p>
<p>Also, I can work with photoshop fairly well (there are so many tutorials out there and it isn’t hard to follow), but that’s about it in terms of adobe. I know that I need to learn illustrator, after effects, etc if I want to make movies, and I’m wondering how reasonable it is for me to think that I can teach myself all these things in 1-3 years.</p>
<p>All camcorders can take still pictures (some, like our Sony camcorder, can do it while filming video, and the quality is amazing). However, if you want true DSL-quality pictures and real HD-quality video, you will need 2 cameras. If you want to travel, a small, lightweight camcorder will be more optimal than a bulky DSL camera and its massive lenses (you will need more than one). If you are pretty savvy with some Adobe software, you will be able to master the rest of the Adobe suite on your own. There are affordable books and guides that can help you in the process.</p>
<p>benego - I have to ask, do you know of any more resources like the one you gave me? I dug up some old posts from that same site and came across video copilot and lynda…I’m wondering if there are any more like these.</p>