During his interview with Yahoo.com’s Movie Talk,  to promote his  “Spy Kids” reboot, Spy Kids: All The Time In The World, director Robert Rodriguez offered some tips to make home movies.

1. “Write out your idea, or better yet, draw it out.”  Think visually, make drawings with character’s lines as captions (Storyboards). Keep your first project simple, because you want to see it through to the end. You will know much more about film making once you do the whole thing.

2. Cast it with family and friends, film them with a video camera or a phone following your drawings. Try to tell a story visually, ideally it should work even with the sound off. You can use simple special effect tricks as he used in the movie, where he put peanut butter in the dog’s mouth to make it seem as though it was talking and then had someone off camera do the voice.

3. Edit it all together. Take out whatever does not work. If you took multiple shots, pick the best of all. Use simple editing tools found in your PC or Mac. These allow you to very simply put together your movie and add sound effects.

He finishes by saying that practice is very important. When you finish your film, watch it,  critique it and try again. Gradually you will improve. (Watch the video after the jump)

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A number of years ago, the BBC website conducted an event called “One-Minute Movies.” They encouraged the public to create one minute films to be uploaded to them, in order to be “published for all the world to see,” and throughout the process, they offered tips and advice. They argued that while there are many websites on how to make a film, they were much too serious and technical. And “the spirit behind One-Minute Movies is to just pick up a camera and shoot.”

I thought this was a cool exercise because is was interactive and would allow people’s talents to be displayed in a major website. However now that they are no longer accepting film submissions, I think that it is a good way to practice and stay sharp.

They were not looking for “epic films with sweeping stories,” brilliant photography, quality actors or a big budget; and basic consumer equipment such as a home video camera, a still picture digital camera capable of recording video or Flash to create animation, were enough to realize the film. For the post-production stage, one needed nothing more than the basic video editor bundled with our personal computer’s operating system.

They offered four “How to…” stages to help us throughout our adventure. Along with tips from industry experts and tips submitted by the public. (Details after the jump)

How to…Story: …click here to read more