First you have to get good audio. This means not using the on camera microphone on your new camcorder. If you want good audio you have to use a separate microphone to capture the audio. Lavaliere (or lavs) are small microphones that are attached close to the speaker so that they pick up the dialog with out the distracting background noise. Usually these are tucked beneath a collar or under a shirt and usually pick up pretty good audio as long as there isn’t a lot of movement going on. These mics need to be pretty small in order to be hidden (or at least less obvious). The bad part about making a small microphone is that they usually don’t produce the best audio. You always miss something with a lav. The alternative is the shotgun mic. This is a microphone that is super directional (in that it only picks up audio in one direction). The microphone is usually mounted on a long pole (boom or fish pole). The boom is either attached to a stand to keep the microphone near the actor, but just out of the shot, or it is held by an operator who follows the action keeping the microphone pointed at the person who is talking. If there is a lot of moving this can be a very difficult job. One of the hardest parts is holding this pole above your head for a long day of work. You really have to be in shape to be a boom operator.

Even with the best of crew and equipment you sometimes need to re-record some of your dialog after you are done with your primary shoot. Creative Cow has a good article on ADR, the process of replacing the live recorded audio with new audio recorded later in a studio.

The dialog is only one part of the equation. You also need good sound effects and music to set the mood of the movie. The best filmmakers always think about this through the whole process of production. Here is a good article by Randy Thom on the art of sound design.

Here is a clip of Walter Murch, one of the pioneers of sound design, talking about making your sound seem like it is coming from the real world. He talks about getting sound in a location to get the echo of the surroundings. This is something that can be done easily with audio effects now a days, but there is something interesting about the old school methods.

And just for the hell of it here is a clip of Jim Jarmusch ranting about the bad music in movies.

First is lynda.com. This website has got to be the best for online training. If there is software that you use for creative productions then there is probably a set of video tutorials on the site. The host are experts on their particular software. Some have better delivery than others, but I have always learned a lot from each of them. Sometimes the lessons can be even too in depth. If you are looking for a quick five minute tutorial then this is probably not the place. If you are looking for hours of hands on training then you have found the perfect match. This is a pay service, so you will have to sign up for use. There are different levels for different amounts of money, I wind up paying $25 a month for unlimited access to the online videos.

Next is going to the company websites. Adobe has a great tutorial site with lots of information about their products. Apple also has some good information on their site for Final Cut Studio. Both of these are free resources, but they do not go very deep into their products. If you are looking for official training, both Apple and Adobe have certified training available for a cost. These are done at authorized training centers and you will get a certificate at the end saying that you know your stuff.

Other resources are community websites. Creative Cow has a lot of tutorials that go into detail about how to do a specific effect. They are usually pretty informative if you already know the basics of the application. Ken Stone also has a lot of information about final cut pro and other related material on his site.

Total Training is a website that sells DVDs and has some online training for Adobe and Microsoft products. I used their videos back in the day to learn After Effects. Very good tutorials with a lot of useful information. You will also find good book out there on specific products. Focal Press provides a lot of information in books about film/video making, photography, audio and animation. Their books are used by many people as the go to resource for learning a new skill. They include sample files with their books and also access to their online extras with each book. There are also some free “tips and tools” that you might want to take advantage of.

I also found that I learned a lot when I went to the Chicago Final Cut Pro User Group. If you are lucky, there will be a group near you.

Post your resources if you have other good links.