The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques
by Joseph V. Mascelli
from Silman-James Press
In the Blink of an Eye Revised 2nd Edition
by Walter Murch
from Silman-James Press
In the Blink of an Eye is celebrated film editor Walter Murch's vivid, multifaceted, thought -- provoking essay on film editing. Starting with what might be the most basic editing question -- Why do cuts work? -- Murch treats the reader to a wonderful ride through the aesthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his unique insights on such subjects as continuity and discontinuity in editing, dreaming, and reality; criteria for a good cut; the blink of the eye as an emotional cue; digital editing; and much more. In this second edition, Murch reconsiders and completely revises his popular first edition's lengthy meditation on digital editing (which accounts for a third of the book's pages) in light of the technological changes that have taken place in the six years since its publication.
The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age
by Steven Ascher
from Plume
2008 Edition The authoritative guide to funding, preparing, shooting, lighting, editing, finishing and distributing your film or video
Widely acknowledged as the “bible” of film and video production and used in courses around the world, this indispensable guide to making movies is now updated with the latest advances in high- definition formats. For students and teachers, the professional and the novice filmmaker, this clear and comprehensive handbook remains the reliable reference to all aspects of moviemaking.
• Techniques for making narrative, documentary, corporate, experimental and feature films.
• Working with high-definition and standard-definition digital video formats, including DV, HD, and HDV.
• Extensive coverage of video editing with the latest nonlinear editing systems.
• Thorough grounding in lenses, lighting, sound recording, and sound editing.
• The business aspects of financing and producing movies.
Written by filmmakers for filmmakers, this book will give you the skills you need to take your dreams from script to screen.
Cinematography: Image Making for Cinematographers, Directors, and Videographers
by Blain Brown
from Focal Press
Lavishly produced and illustrated, Cinematography covers the entire range of the profession. The book is not just a comprehensive guide to current professional practice; it goes beyond to explain the theory behind the practice, so you understand how the rules came about and when it's appropriate to break them. In addition, directors will benefit from the book's focus on the body of knowledge they should share with their Director of Photography.
Cinematography presents the basics and beyond, employing clear explanations of standard practice together with substantial illustrations and diagrams to reveal the real world of film production.
Recognizing that professionals know when to break the rules and when to abide by them, this book discusses many examples of fresh ideas and experiments in cinematography. Covering the most up-to-date information on the film/digital interface, new formats, the latest cranes and camera support and other equipment, it also illustrates the older tried and true methods.
*The definitive guide to cinematography
*Up-to-date coverage of technical topics, including High Definition and digital imaging
*Full color throughout brings issues of color and light to life
Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema
by David Sonnenschein
from Michael Wiese Productions
Offers user-friendly knowledge and stimulating exercises to help compose story, develop characters and create emotion through skillful creation of the sound track.
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
by Michael Ondaatje
from Knopf
The Conversations is a treasure, essential for any lover or student of film, and a rare, intimate glimpse into the worlds of two accomplished artists who share a great passion for film and storytelling, and whose knowledge and love of the crafts of writing and film shine through.
It was on the set of the movie adaptation of his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, that Michael Ondaatje met the master film and sound editor Walter Murch, and the two began a remarkable personal conversation about the making of films and books in our time that continued over two years. From those conversations stemmed this enlightened, affectionate book -- a mine of wonderful, surprising observations and information about editing, writing and literature, music and sound, the I-Ching, dreams, art and history.
The Conversations is filled with stories about how some of the most important movies of the last thirty years were made and about the people who brought them to the screen. It traces the artistic growth of Murch, as well as his friends and contemporaries -- including directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Fred Zinneman and Anthony Minghella -- from the creation of the independent, anti-Hollywood Zoetrope by a handful of brilliant, bearded young men to the recent triumph of Apocalypse Now Redux.
Among the films Murch has worked on are American Graffiti, The Conversation, the remake of A Touch of Evil, Julia, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather (all three), The Talented Mr. Ripley, and The English Patient.
“Walter Murch is a true oddity in Hollywood. A genuine intellectual and renaissance man who appears wise and private at the centre of various temporary storms to do with film making and his whole generation of filmmakers. He knows, probably, where a lot of the bodies are buried.”
Set Lighting Technician's Handbook, Third Edition: Film Lighting Equipment, Practice, and Electrical Distribution
by Harry Box
from Focal Press
Comprehensive. Detailed. Practical. Set Lighting Technician's Handbook, Third Edition is a friendly, hands-on manual covering the day-to-day practices, equipment, and tricks of the trade essential to anyone doing motion picture lighting. This handbook offers a wealth of practical technical information, useful techniques, as well as aesthetic discussions.
The Set Lighting Technician's Handbook focuses on what is important when working on-set: trouble-shooting, teamwork, set protocol, and safety. It describes tricks and techniques for operating a vast array of lighting equipment including xenons, camera synchronous strobes, black lights, underwater units, lighting effects units, and many others. Since its first edition, this handy on-set reference continues to be widely adopted as a training and reference manual by union training programs as well as top university film production programs. New in the third edition is an expanded resource section, new illustrations and tables, and coverage of new lighting products and techniques for how to use them.
Expanded resources section: websites, unions, chat groups, bulletin boards, etc, plus new illustrations and tables
More advanced, concise, and comprehensive than ever
Coverage of new lighting products and techniques to help you use them
The Eye is Quicker: Film Editing: Making A Good Film Better
by Richard D. Pepperman
from Michael Wiese Productions
The most comprehensive book on the principles, methods, and strategies vital to the creative art of film editing.
The Animation Book: A Complete Guide to Animated Filmmaking--From Flip-Books to Sound Cartoons to 3- D Animation
by Kit Laybourne
from Three Rivers Press
The first edition of The Animation Book, published in 1979, became the authoritative guide to making animated movies. Now, as we enter the twenty-first century, the explosion in computer technology has created a corresponding boom in animation. Using desktop hardware and software, animators can easily produce high-quality, high-artistry animation and mix the aesthetics of traditional cel animation with dazzling 3-D effects. Kit Laybourne's digital revision to The Animation Book brings you to the cutting edge of animation technology. Richly illustrated with frame-grabs, production stills, and diagrams, this volume shares Kit's infectious enthusiasm for the limitless possibilities of today's hybrid techniques, and it provides beginning animators with all the information they need to jump in and start their own animation projects. More advanced animators will find The Animation Book to be an invaluable resource with detailed descriptions of filmmaking gear, computer hardware and software, art supplies, plus Internet and other resources.
Using an innovative case-study approach, Kit deconstructs how a range of digital projects were carried out at some of today's hottest animation studios, including Wildbrain, Blue Sky, Protozoa, Fantome, Broderbund, Nicktoons, and Klasky Csupo. These step-by-step studies show how desktop animators can follow the same creative process in their own films.
Filmmaking for Dummies
by Bryan Michael Stoller
from For Dummies
Film is a powerful medium. Successful filmmakers possess the passion to visually tell a story that will affect people's emotions, make them see things differently, help them discover new ideas, or just create an escape for them.
Whether you love the experience of being enthralled by movies or the excitement, challenge, and magic of making the movie yourself, Filmmaking For Dummies is your primer to creating a respectable product. For the seasoned professional, this friendly reference can inspire you with fresh ideas – before you embark on your next big flick. Get ready to roll with expert information on
- Defining the difference between independent and studio films
- Knowing what genre fits your fancy
- Finding perfect locations
- Storyboarding your film
- Directing the action
- Giving credit and titles
Written from the author's 30 years of hands-on work as a writer, producer, and film director, Filmmaking For Dummies carries you through from screenplay to distribution, with lots of experience-packed insight into
- Writing or finding a screenplay
- Raising financing for your film
- Budgeting and scheduling your film
- Hiring the right actors and crew
- Planning, shooting, and directing your film
- Putting your film together in the editing room
- Finding a distributor to get your film in from of an audience
- Entering (and maybe even winning) film festivals
Taking into account the advent of digital technology, author Bryan Michael Stoller focuses on creative elements that apply to both film and video production. He also points our technical differences and notes the many similarities between traditional and newer age making of motion pictures – all in a fun and engaging way that'll have you shooting for the stars!
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