Film and Video Production

I just recently got into film production and editing. I love movies and have always been fascinated with the process of film-making, but I never had the tools, resources, or manpower to pursue it (I chose music production as my creative outlet instead). That changed recently when Adobe came out with their Mercury Playback Engine in Premiere Pro CS5/5.5. Through its support of hardware video acceleration via certain NVIDIA graphics chips, I was finally able to build a computer that was affordable but still powerful enough to edit and render HD material quickly and smoothly. I still don't have all the equipment necessary to really bring my visions to life on the screen though. I'd love a better camera such as a Canon 7D with a nice lens in order to get that great picture and shallow depth-of-field. I'm a little late to the game, so for now, I'm focusing on improving my technique and editing skills. I've taught myself how to use Premiere Pro and After Effects, and I'm still learning new things every day. Once I feel that I'm ready and have the necessary cameras and crew, I'd like to direct a short film for fun and not necessarily for profit. Of course, I wouldn't be opposed to it either!