"The Devil made me do it"
There are many reasons why people are interested in the scene. I was introduced to it when I borrowed a GUS driver CD from a friend of mine and was exposed to Crystal Dreams II and Second Reality. I guess most people start that way: They see a demo and think it's cool. The moment I saw CD2, I knew I wanted to make something like that as well. But whatever your reasons might be, be sure that you know them.
In my opinion, there are basically two kinds of groups. The first kind is a group of friends who just decide to start doing scene-related things. Most of these groups are fairly small, perhaps not as talented as "supergroups", but even more enthusiastic. Most demogroups belong in this category. The second kind of a group is a supergroup. They're often international, have very talented members and are respected. Examples would include Haujobb, Farbrausch, Sunflower and the like (and anything with Visualice in it ;))
Most people are in the scene because it is fun and offers chances to do creative things. Some people emphasize on the artistic side, while other concentrate on making friends, socializing and partying (=boozing). Money might be an issue to some, but I doubt they make up a significant amount of people because if you're good enough to reliably make money doing demos, you might as well be doing the same stuff for a company and getting a real salary.
Now, if you're a beginner, chances are that you're either alone or with some friends. You've spent four hours watching compowinners and decided that you're going to do something like them in a year or two. Fair enough, time to start planning on your first production. Welcome, it'll be a real adventure.
No matter what your motives are, now that you've decided to start working on your very first production, it's time to learn the basics. The real point of this article is to say that even though you might be a beginner, it is no excuse to suck. Read on to learn how to avoid just that :) When you're a total newbie, your first goal is probably to make through the preselection and reach the big screen at a demo party. And believe me, it's a great feeling to watch your production there. Therefore, you need to make sure your demo is good enough to appeal to the jury.
Note that there are four things a demo consists of: Code, Graphics, Music and Design. All four are vital, if you want to make your demo succesful. I'm writing this from the viewpoint of the coder/designer, as my talents in the other two are quite minimal.
Without further ado, let's get started.