"Trial Movie Video?"

I'm a writer getting pats on the back from readers for my work, and some "consider" marks, which feels good, but isn't gettin' me where I want to be, at least not yet. To scratch my itch to make a movie, I'm beginning to think of trying to make one myself with my hard disk handheld JVC camera and a few local actors if I can round up some willing participants. I have a down-to-earth plot concept which, yet, basically hasn't been done to my knowledge, that uses three indoor locations (optimally) and a number of outdoors. It needs one green screen shot. This may be naive, but I'm thinking that after some rehearsal, this could be shot in 3-6 days. Basically, I'm thinking of trying to make a video as a "trial run" to see if I can lure investors, perhaps raise enough moolah to hire a B-list actor and get some pro gear and "do it right" (with the aid of Stacey Parks' great advice from FilmSpecific.com to try for a distributor). So, my question is, has anyone here done something like this, and if so, what were the results? Any successes, failure, benefits of hindsight anyone can share?

Ron