• Don't ever panic.
• With a good script you can always make a good film.
• Avoid tired old subject matter (like what you would   normally see on television).
• Plan, plan, plan...
• Collaborate with someone who is highly organised to secure locations, equipment and funding. Draw up a schedule, and budget for your production.
• Make sure your crew have the skills to carry out their particular roles.
• If they are beginners, allow them more time to complete their tasks and budget for this.
• If you are shopping around, be prepared with some idea of what the end format has to be, what editing facilities could be available to you etc. You will get better deals and more co-operation if you do your homework first.
• Read the instruction book, sounds simple, yet it¹s rarely done and it does mean that you will learn to use your equipment without using automatic for everything. Note: auto functions cause constant variations in focus, sound and light - not a good look.
• Avoid too much zooming (it looks tacky).
• A tried and true shot structure is : Establishing shot - > wide shot - > long shot -> midshot -> over the shoulder shot -> reverse -> close up -> return to your long shot -> leave the scene.
• Sound is very important! Get a camera with an external mic. Beware, you can¹t easily fix poorly-recorded sound in post production.
• Use a tripod. This way you won't physically be close to the camera, and the viewer won't hear you breathing, unless that is the desired effect. 
• Use a tripod. Wobble cam is a very 80¹s look and even when done well can be disruptive. It¹s also one of the first rejection points for TV stations.
• In low light, use a 500W photographic light (red head). Shooting at night is generally tricky, particularly if crowd shots or wide shots are required.
• Label and check everything, the film industry is full of anal retentives - there is a reason for this which can usually be traced back to lack of labelling and checking.
• Guard your master tapes like a maniac. Store them in a cool safe dry place.
• The image quality will deteriorate significantly if original footage is dubbed more than twice. (This is called 'generation loss')
• An online edit is more expensive than an offline and better quality. So wait until your film is selected before onlining. Also check out the LOUD no-frills post-production grants. Also the screen resource organisations are offering 50% discount off their rates for some LOUD projects.
• Get a timecode window VHS copy of your master rushes tape. Use these to manually log your material closely with descriptions of both 'good' and 'no good' shots. 
• Use this log of material to work out an edit of the material on paper before going into the edit suite - this will save a lot of money.

Tips supplied by: 
Alison Peck of Film Support, Marcus Gillezeau of Garden Street Studios, Peter Giles of Metro Television, Georgia Wallace-Crabbe of LOUD, Pip Hurley of Video-8 Broadcast and Geordie Anderson of Karl Marx Films.