Just for Fun - Make a Silent Film

When most people think of silent films they think of early 20th Century movies like Metropolis, Nosferatu or The Great Train Robbery. Silent movies can be just as powerful today and are a way to show your talents as a filmmaker. Silent films can be shot with the traditional 16-millimeter movie camera or with a state of the art digital camcorder. So what's the easiest way to make a modern silent film? A few tips are listed below.

Tip One

Decide if you wish to shoot your movie on film, tape or digitally. If you own a digital camcorder, or a handheld camera that has a video option, you may have all you need. A VHS, 8 mm or 16 mm camera can also be used and you can find bargains on these at thrift and pawnshops.

Tip Two

Write your script. Since there will be no dialogue in the movie, make sure that your scenes are loaded with action that tells the story. This will also let you know in advance how many actors you will need and what types of sets are required for filming.

Tip Three

Choose actors that can convey the emotions and actions needed for your script. Since the film will be silent, you can give directions for what you want the actors to do as you are filming.

Tip Four

Set up your movie set. This could be a room in your home or you can go full blown and build the various sets needed for your movie.

Tip Five

Film your movie, but realize that you may have to take several different shots of the same scenes. By doing this, you will be able to choose the best shots and the best angles during the editing process.

Tip Six

Transfer your film to digital files if you used actual film or tape to make your movie. There are a number of products on the market that will allow you to transfer film to digital that are priced reasonably. A capture card or fire wire will be needed to transfer VHS to digital.

Tip Seven

Load the digital movie files into a video editor such as Windows Movie Maker or the Mac iMovie software. Use the tools included with your editor to remove the all sound from your video.

Tip Eight

Edit the movie by cropping, rearranging and cutting scenes until you have created the silent movie you want. You can also include text titles and credits for your film during the editing process.

Tip Nine

Add music to the silent film if you desire. There are a number of places to find royalty free movie, or you can create your own. The right music added to your silent film can add tension, create suspense or convey happiness or sadness in a scene.

Other ideas

Silent films can be short or long depending on the story that is being told.

Many silent films are available to download online. By watching how they were done, it will give you ideas of how to make your own silent film even better. Places such as silent-movie.com offer dozens of silent movies to watch or download for free.

Most video software will allow you to transform your color movie to black and white for a more traditional silent film feel.