But I always have mt EIS on, it's a habit.

I have only just started in home movies like you and although I lack decent equipment and funds I am full of ideas.

Whenever I get a case of directors block I listen to music, it could be anything at all and try to come up with a video to go with it.

There must be millions of suitable peices of music to use, so you need never wonder what to shoot again.

If you are anything like me, you only problem is where do you get the time from.

Indiandy

When you say Spurs, do you mean Tottenham Hotspurs? I live in a house full of spurs supporters.

I don't know how old you are, but here's an idea. I bought my camcorder for the purpose of filming my band. Depending on the place, I can set it on a tripod and let it film individual sets. Sometimes it comes out good, sometimes not. People walking by constantly, unknowingly standing in front of it, even some people wanting to use use it for themselves. And of course, it films the same shot the whole evening.
So, if you're into going outand listening to live music, why not ask a band if they want to be filmed. You can give them a copy of the music later. Every band wants to be rock stars, and they are putting stuff on You Tube all the time. Having someone to manage the cam and move the view around would be great in my case, and I'm sure other bands would enjoy it too.
Just a thought.

Was browsing YouTube in search for some amateur stuff, not as boring and stupid as most "hi, this is me talking into the camera" kiddie stuff.

Found this guy, David Pogue (there are several guys doing videos on this channel): http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=thenewyorktimes

Exactly what I was looking for, not professionally polished, but quite entertaining. Obviously, as he is reporter, he is not shy being filmed in public, talking to strangers on the street and sometimes acting stupid. He is also occasionally being helped by, supposedly, his friends and/or family members.

But a lot of stuff he is doing can be done by anyone. I consider his videos as the first step on the ladder up to pros. I will try to do something he does, I don't know how this will pan out with my er... introvertive character and with total lack of acting skills. Anyway, check this guy out.

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Michael, Canon Elura User Pages

Well it's funny. Most people that get a camcorder end up only using it for a specific event they had in mind. Then it goes into storage for a year or so and doesn't work the next time they want to use it.

If you want to video to get better, just go out and play with the camera, you just need to find a willing subject. If you have kids it's easy, if not I'd say consider animals or landscapes. It will make for good practice since you'll get a better idea of how to prevent shake and how long you should frame subjects. Also it helps when trying to lean how often to use the zoom which people tend to use far too often.

I like to video friends special occasions. Parties, baptisms, weddings ect... They are usually happy to have the end product. For me it's a learning event.

>>>

After reading a little more of the thread I'd suggest the following.

1: For shake, learn better camera holding techniques. Keep the camera close to your body. Consider using a wall to steady yourself. Try not to use zoom.

2: Regarding editing. As it has been pointed out, you'll need a more powerful computer and hard drive space. Honestly if it's just DV video any of todays modern PCs will do. If it's HDV you'll need a very powerful machine. All that aside, don't think of your videos as a raw shoot. Think of the scenes you like and how you could use them in an edited version of the video. Depending on how you shot. A lot of the video will not be used it's just nature of the beast.

Mike

I would like to elaborate on a previous post re this issue.
One of the best uses for a videocam is to make archival footage of older family members to keep alive their experience & reminiscences so they can be enjoyed after they are gone (or even before). Just set up a tripod when you visit or plan a more formal interview. A word of caution: Some older people have loose tongues. My mother inlaw is 88Y/O & sharp as a tack. Some of her opinions about other family members are better "bleeped" out since everyone will probably be seeing the video at some time. Be ready to edit.

All the suggestions in this post are great.

Ron