These are just a few tips for producing better looking short films.
An establishing shot sets the scene.
It should grab the viewer's attention and help set up your story.
Although you can zoom into a shot, to appear to get closer, it's not the same thing.
You get nicer looking shots when you get closer to a person that you're filming, and the sound will be much better.
It's usually best to film a scene using multiple shots, giving different perspectives to what's being viewed.
There are times when lots of quick cuts make a scene good, and there are times when a really lengthy shot make something more natural to watch.
Filming something else gives you shots to break up what you're filming, to hide where you place your edits (cutting away to something else, for a moment, allows you to edit out parts that you don't want, without it being glaringly obvious that you've taken something out), and so it's not boring to watch.
But make sure that what you use as “cut-aways” are appropriate to what you're interrupting (e.g. show what they're talking about, the whole scene around them, or the reactions to what they're doing, etc).
Unless you're trying to achieve a dramatic effect, then adjust the height of where you place the camera to match the height of what you're filming. This gives a much more natural look for your subject.
If you can't get close enough to what you're taping, or you're in a noisy environment, then using a microphone.
Be mindful of what you want to record. If it's just one thing, then get the microphone as close to that as possible. But if you want to also capture some of the ambient sound, then you want to pull the microphone back a bit, use certain types of mikes, or use more than one microphone through a sound mixer.
Use headphones with your camera at the same time. Then you can hear what you're actually recording.
You want most of your light to be lighting up the front of what you're filming, and usually to one side and above, rather than head on.
If the light's behind what you're filming, such as filming someone with a window behind them, or a light source in front of them (e.g. candles or table lamps at their own height), they'll be too dark.
Lighting used in the wrong places can cause shadows in nasty places (e.g. lighting that's front on, directly above, directly beside, etc.).
There are times where it's nearly impossible to adjust the lighting (e.g. filming outdoors). Then, you're best to rearrange what you're filming into different positions, or use reflector boards to bounce more light into where you need it.
If you're filming something that needs a steady shot, then use a tripod (or place the camera on a stable object).
It's usually best not to lock the tripod head in position, so that you can easily follow moving subjects.
Video camera tripods should let you do smooth pans and tilts, many still camera tripods aren't suitable for supporting a camera with movement.
Editing means putting together just the shots that you need.
You should remove anything that doesn't belong (mistakes, lots of waiting around for something to happen, boring pauses between things, etc.), and remove things that are just pointless.
You can't fix filming errors with editing, you're stuck with them. Bad sound is bad sound, out of focus shots are out of focus, etc. If you make a mistake while filming, re-do the shot straight away.
Writer/directors always often leave things in the movie that the audience can really do without. It’s so painful to trim away things that were difficult to shoot. Make sure you do it. Your audience will thank you.
There are no real replacements for a decent boom mike.
Darkness is the enemy of most camcorders.
You’ll become acquainted with noise, color shifting, definition drop-out, and more if you choose to shoot at night.