Classic movies begin with a story; if that's what you're looking for, some excellent sources are available.  For example, you can visit Netflix and, within each movie genre, you can get story ideas by just passing your mouse over the movie thumbnails.  Also check out: Plot-O-Matic, Movie Plots, The Movie Spoiler, and The Internet Movie Database—just Google "movie plots" for many good ideas. Norman Hollyn has written an excellent book on storytelling titled The Lean Forward Moment, about story structure, that is well worth the read. 

 

When you have your story, some great script-writing programs are available, such as Final Draft, Storyist, and (for free) Celtx. Some of these programs include a storyboarding feature as well.  If you want to hire a writer and do it right, try Guru.com, DirectFreelance.com, or The Scriptwriters Network.  

 

However, back to reality, most home movies are not professional productions. With a limited budget, it can be challenging to serve as writer, director, actor, and cinematographer, all in the same scene!  When appearing in a scene yourself, you can hand your video camera over to complete strangers, but depending on where you are, that has been known to spell the end of a production.  If you want to use professional talent on the filming end, try Googling "videographers."  Choosing a local videographer to shoot a few scenes can be a great help.  If you decide to do it yourself, there are many informative "how-to" movies on Cineplots.

 

Although editing is sometimes called "the invisible art",  for me it is the essence of storytelling.  High costs made this art practically inaccessible to the amateur just a few years ago.  Today, programs like iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe Premiere editing tools are available at an affordable price. And, if you don't feel like getting involved in editing, you can always let a professional do it for you.

 

"Retroscripting", or scripting on the fly, is an easy way to add a plot to your home movie.  You can find a basic plot using one of the aforementioned techniques.  With the plot in mind, film some ad-libbed scenes, then sew it all together during editing.  Plots involving being chased by someone, trying to find someone who has been abducted, body replacement by aliens, etc., lend themselves to this approach.  The result can be interesting and much less work than fully scripting your work.