Amateur Rant
The real meaning of the word Amateur is "For the love of..." as in Amateur Pete (for the love of Pete). Hmm.. well, anyway, it really does mean for the love of, but the phrase has been turned by the commercialization of our culture to mean something of less than high quality.
In actuality, amateur productions are frequently made with vastly more heart and soul than most "professional" productions, which all too often result in bastardized, soulless choss- albeit bastardized, soulless choss with a high degree of craft.
Make your movies for the love of it- your soul will thank you.