Put simply, the microphone on your camera sucks. You won’t get good sound from it. Even if you shoot in an acoustically perfect recording studio, the built-in mic on your camera will pick up the grinding of the camera motors. If and when you decide to step up to the plate, get a separate mic. Ideally get a shotgun mic because it’s great for recording voices without picking up background noise, but any mic will be better than your standard on-camera microphone.

You spent good money on your camera, now learn to use it! That slab of paper that came with it isn’t a doorstop – it’s your key to getting the most out of what you paid for. Read it. Study it. Hug it before you go to sleep. Whatever you need to do, just make sure that by the time you go to shoot your film, you know everything you need to know and more. Most people spend extra dough on camera features they never end up using. Don't be lazy like them.

As if there weren’t enough disadvantages to being bald, yet another is that bald heads are difficult to light. Bald heads tend to appear shiny and over-exposed when lit too harshly. If possible, reduce the shine by applying some makeup or soften the light with a diffusion gel.

Once you have your footage and you get down to editing, don’t expect to bang out a completed video on the first run – even if you consider yourself to be a pro. Editing, like almost any other creative process, evolves over stages and can’t be rushed. For the best results, create a rough cut first (like a first draft) and show it to someone not directly involved in the production. This person should know something about video or video editing, but should be removed enough from your work so that he can remain objective. If it’s a longer film, you may want to create another draft, but shorter videos will probably only need the one rough cut. The constructive criticism you receive should help you create something more appealing to your audience.

When shooting video, try to use one type of light source per shot. While this generally isn’t a concern – especially if you’re shooting outside – problems can arise when filming indoors near windows. In such cases, the camera picks up both sunlight and indoor lighting (fluorescent, incandescent, etc.) and the resulting picture looks abnormal. The two types of light have different color temperatures, each affecting your camera’s exposure differently. If possible, use either sunlight or artificial light, but not both unless you know what you’re doing. And remember, always white balance when shifting locations or light sources.