how can i transfer films from laptop to itunes and then to ipad?

As long as those films don't have any digital rights managment coding to prevent it, sure.

What I do....(Presuming you're on a PC and have synced your iPad to your computer before), in 'my documents' there's a folder, 'my videos'. Put your films in there.

Then open iTunes. Click on file, import to library, navigate to the my videos folder and choose your movies. iTunes will import them.

Then connect your iPad to your computer, open iTunes, click on the name of your ipad and navigate to the videos/movies tab. You should see your videos. Choose them and then click 'sync' to sync them over.

If your situation is different, such as you use a mac, or have never synced with your computer before then you may find more applicable information here

http://www.apple.com/support/ipad

Just drag the videos into the iTunes window or choose File > Add to Library, locate a file or folder, and click Open.

The video has to be in a format that is compatiple with iTunes. If you wish to add it to your iPad it needs to be in an iPad compatible format also.

All mobile devices which iTunes can sync video to can play the following video formats:

• H.264
  File formats: .m4v, .mp4, and .mov
  Video: Up to 768 kbits/sec, 320 x 240, 30 frames per second (fps), Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3.
  Audio: AAC-LC up to 160 kbits/sec, 48 Khz, and stereo audio.
• MPEG-4
  File formats: .m4v, .mp4, and .mov
  Video: Up to 2.5 Mbits/sec, 480 x 480, 30 fps, Simple Profile.
  Audio: AAC-LC up to 160 kbits/sec, 48 Khz, stereo audio.

iTunes:

• Video content purchased from the iTunes Store.
• QuickTime and MPEG-4 movie files that end in ".mov", ".m4v", or ".mp4" and are playable in QuickTime Player.
• Video podcasts.
• iTunes Digital Copies.
• iTunes Store Movie Rentals (Requires iTunes 9 or later).

Mobile Devices:

• Video content purchased from the iTunes Store.
• Videos that have been shared to iTunes using QuickTime Player (Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard).
• Videos that have been re-encoded for iPod with QuickTime 7 Pro.
• Videos that have been re-encoded for iPod with iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and others. Refer to Exporting a movie from iMovie HD to iPod for an iMovie HD tutorial.
• Video Podcasts that have been created for mobile devices.
• Video files after using the iTunes File > Create New Version > Create iPod or iPhone version option.
• Video files after using the iTunes File > Create New Version > Create iPad or AppleTV version option (iPad and AppleTV only).

You're welcome

No, you can't simply copy them onto to the iPad, youwill need to add them to your itunes library and synch them. You will also need to be aware of the supported video formats supported: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

also you can use a iPad transfer software http://www.movies-to-ipad.com/ipad-transfer.html*ipadtransfer, but not free, just transfer movies to iPad, also support other apple poducts , you know, iTunes is free.

Drag and drop does not work!

Drag and drop doesn't work. When I add files to my library, it thinks it is a song and tells me that it is unavailable. This is not user friendly.