If you missed Howcast's live-streamed roundtable last week on DIY filmmaking, the whole thing is now on their YouTube channel:



Here's a summary of tips revealed during the talk, based on Howcast's Tweets during the event:

• Production design tip from Tripp and Jenna: Always hold onto your old props!
• Best place to find actors? Craigslist.
• Good advice for casting: don't be creepy. Meet at a coffee shop for a reading. Get a good sense of the person's acting skills by having them play out a few emotions for you.
  
• Keith Heyward says for stop-motion animation, you need a tripod, patience, lighting, and still HD camera.
• Plan out everything in advance. "We'll fix it in post" is not an attitude that's advised!
• Lighting: Michael Sanchez says all you need is a 60-watt light.
• 2000-watt lighting kits annihilate electricity bills. You don't usually need professional lighting. Try to hack it on your own.
• Final Cut pro is the preferred editing tool for these filmmakers.
• Get as close as possible to your on-camera mike when recording.
• Filmmaking is a collaborative effort -- don't be afraid to ask people for help.
• Amazon and B&H photo recommended as good places to buy equipment -- but do a lot of research before buying anything.
• Tripp and Jenna buy everything online to get cheaper deals; used equipment can be great, too.
• The industry's going to HD cameras, but you don't need to spend lots of money on one. If you're making videos for the web and they'll be compressed, having an expensive camera doesn't matter too much.
• Always include links to your work so people can find you. Market yourself in a smart way.
• Explore the web and see what others are doing. Get to know people by commenting on their work, get a dialog going and start building up your community. You never know how you could help each other out.