Getting a film/series off the ground is extremely hard when there is little or no budget involved. God knows I've tried countless times to start little projects amongst friends. I decided that documentary/non fiction was the way forward after experiencing all the hassle involved in fiction. When you factor in script, actors, equipment, locations, sets, time, post production.... the list can be endless depending on the scope of your film... there are a lot of variables that need extensive organisation and require a lot of time which, if you and the people involved work/study, is not allways feasible.
I''ve always had a fascination with film making and have always filmed the odd bits and bobs here and there, mostly with a good friend of mine who is as passionate as I am (gigs, events, little montages for friends which would interest noone except those in the vid, etc). Very early (i.e. not great quality) stuff can be seen
here ,
here and
here
The money I got from the first one went towards decent editing/encoding software and I built up good contacts for getting a hold of better equipment on the cheap. We also got asked to shoot a couple of promos for different companies. Work commitments and the classic 'moving to Glasgow' syndrome has thrown our plans of production company stardom just as we were increasing in professionalism but the experience we got was valuable and when I eventually move back to the vicinity, I'll be getting back into it for sure. (I promise I'll finish that project RockAustin!)
My advice would be this...
1) Read up as much as you can. There are tonnes of good DIY filmmaking books out there with great advice. Building a dolly/steadicam, info on the bureaucratic side of things, tips on techniques, etc
2) Get
celtx... It's awesome, everything you need for organising a project from start to finish. Storyboarding, budgetting, location scouting... it has everything.
3) Invest in or make your own clapper board and use it for every scene... Something so trivial is vital for editing in post prod when you've got a mountain of footage to get through.
4) Networking - Like in music, the more people you know the better. You'd be surprised how many aspiring actors there are out there looking for a CV credit, however small the part, or how many people have a disused barn ideal for shooting beside their house. Give someone a hand on their film and they'll return the favour. That kind of thing. A lot of people have ideas for films but keep them to themselves... you gotta talk about it and get folk interested.
... Good luck. I'd be up for giving you a hand if i was in abdn!!