Make your Own Scary Movie

Winter nights can be long and cold; two pieces ofmistakes or things that shouldn't be in the film, the dog
good news: first, December 21st was the longest nightpeeking around the corner, a TV in an old Western
of the year, so it's going to get a little better every day,setting, etc. Decide which clips you will work with and
and second, you can have a lot of fun at night,move them into their own separate directory.
especially if you are making your own Horror Movie!Now you can edit the film together. Choose your
To start, you'll need a plotline. Since this is possibly yourtransitions and effects. Splice the film together for a
first screamer, plan on making just a five or ten minutefirst cut. Take a break once you've made it. Walk
masterpiece. Once you get the hang of it, you canaway from the PC, have something to eat, go for a
make a longer sequel, "Bloody Snow Bank Part Two!"walk, or do something totally unrelated. When you
Think about what you want in your film. Concentratereturn, you should be refreshed and ready to evaluate
on action with simple dialogyour first cut. Make whatever adjustments you need.
Professional moviemakers usually storyboard theirHopefully you won't have to re-shoot anything, but if
work, planning out each scene, camera angle andyou do, study the preceding and following scenes to
actor placement. You can try your hand at this too.make sure you can re-create the continuity you will
Just use stick figures and make simple sketches; it willneed to get from one scene to the next.
help to organize the entire project. You can evenNow you are ready to do the Foley work - for those
scout out locations for each scene. Remember thatof you who do not know, most all sound effects in the
with the magic of video, your bedroom door can leadmovies are over-dubbed in a special studio by a Foley
directly into the cellar if you edit it that way, and yourartist. They synchronize sounds with movement,
backyard can be the park sown the street - it'll bemostly in real time, to make footsteps, punches, and
your secret!other sounds fit into the action. You can do this with a
Once you have your story sequences, you can startprogram like Avnex's Music Morpher Gold, where you
shooting. Remember you don't have to shoot thecan record voice and sounds and then apply filters and
scenes in order, shoot from shortest to longest, easiesteffects to create the perfect sound bites. You can
to hardest. Be sure to get what you want recorded,then edit in the results. Dialog can also be created and
and don't be afraid to shoot several takes of thedubbed in to suit the action. One technique is to have
same thing, as you may miss something during filmingthe speaker facing away from the camera. You can
that will spoil the take. Check costumes, positions,also play the video and record live dialog as you
camera angles, and lighting. Sound can be added later.watch. Then you can add filters and effects to the
Using a video editor, such as Avnex's Movie Morpher,results.
break the takes up into individual files. This will makeDon't forget to invite the relatives and neighbors and
handling them easier later on. Review each take in fullbe sure to serve plenty of popcorn for your movie
screen mode as well as reduced; pay attention to allpremiere. Sprinkle a little Paprika on it for a
the elements of good filmmaking, camera, focus, light,bloody-good effect!
action, movement, placement; be sure to watch for