I had my mind set on the HV20 but now I'm having second thoughts!
I was reading another discussion about the 24p look and that was one of the main reasons I was interested in the HV20.
I know, I know; "There are much more important things, such as lighting and editing!" but it all is hard to understand.

Here's the bottom line.
I'm only 16. I need a good camera so my short films can look better, and be taken a bit more seriously, but mainly because I'm not satisfied with the lame, average quality my camera records now.
They look like home movies with better colors because I use color-corrector. That's good enough I guess, but it seems like the bare minimum.
What would be a good camera for me to aim for?
Should I still go for the HV20?

Thanks alot to anyone who replies!
I'm sorry if these are simple questions and I'm making too much of a big deal out of them. ;]

I think that in the $1000 range the HV20 is your best choice for a new camera unless you can locate a used prosumer in the same price range.

Keep the camera price lower, and invest in a tripod and good audio. If you don't have a tripod your films will continue to look like home movies, and if you don't have a decent mic they will sound like them too.

Don't do what I did. I borrowed $10,000 (which I am and will continue to be paying off for a while) to get a top-of the line camera. I thought, then, that it was more about the equipment, while I know now its more about how you use it (haha). Seriously, keep your camera budget low and save up for the necessary accesories.

Now, i'm no million-dollar-moviemaker, so my Canon Elura 100 and Windows Movie Maker do it for me. It sells for about $320, pretty sweet quality, too. The only problem is the friggin' motor-background noise, but if you have a "sound-cleaner" then it shouldn't be so bad.