Today, most everyone owns a video camera of some sort.  Whether it's video on your phone, your primarily still camera or a camcorder, the advent of web sites like YouTube and Vimeo bring out the filmmaker in everyone.  Once you've made a short movie or two, the bug has bitten hard and you want to learn more.  But not everyone can afford film school, so the next best thing is hitting the books.

 

The best possible book to begin with is The Digital Filmmaking Handbook, Fourth Edition, by Sonja Schenk and Ben Long.  The book is broken down, just like film school would be, into chapters that include screenwriting (short or feature scripts), pre-production, equipment needed (if any), shooting your film, editing and fixing things in post and even a chapter on distribution via the web.

 

Taken chapter by chapter, it doesn't matter what equipment you have, by the time you finish the book you will have received almost a full two year film education.  While the book does recommend some high end software and equipment, it does offer cheap and sometimes free alternatives.  For instance, you can write a script, story board it and plan production in the free software Celtx.

 

If you've ever dreamed of becoming more than just a soccer mom or football dad movie maker, this book is a definite step in the right direction.  By the time you have finished reading and applying what you've learned, your filmmaking abilities will soar to heights you never dreamed of.  

 

For those on a limited budget, if you can only afford one book on modern filmmaking, this is the one I would recommend.