Using manual controls?
 

Hi all.
I just purchased a VX2000. Alot of the video to me doesn't look that much more impressive than my trv-820. I'm hoping that tweaking the controls manually can help to get rid of that home video look. The problem is I don't have the foggiest idea how to do this. Is there a book somewhere that explains how to use the manual controls for professional quality ouput?
I tried turning on the zebra stripes and fiddling with the exposure until most of them went away, but that just made my picture too dark. I'm going to start shooting some paintball footage this weekend and I'd like to be able to use that footage (at least some of it ) in a paintball documentary I have planned. Any quick advice for setting up the camera for quality outdoor shots would be appreciated.
There are alot of manual controls that can be played around with, but not a whole lot in the manual about how this is done in a professional way.

http://www.urbanfox.tv/
Try reading the PD150 workshop


Here's another worthwhile course while we're at it.
http://www.cybercollege.com/tvp017.htm

Thanks alot! Urbanfox.tv was a very helpful site. I was particularly interested in their tips for getting filmlike look. Both during the shot and in post-production as "the film look" is really what I think makes something look professional. Even newscasts shot at 60 interlaced framers per second look homemade when compared to "the film look". I'm sure using the techniques and plugins recommended on that site I can clean the image up to a much more professional look.