Updated Feb 6/12
Practical DV Filmmaking: A Step By Step Guide
by Russell Evans - Sale $15 - limited
stock
Film School in a book, this guide takes you thorough the process of
making a Digital Video film with affordable low-cost equipment: from
development through to production, post-production and distribution. While
the technical tools you need are fully explained, the book concentrates
on filmmaking principles throughout, illustrating how these tools can be
used to achieve stylistic approaches for innovative filmmaking. Projects
enable you to master each step of the process taking you through different
aspects of filmmaking today. Gradually you will find out where your strengths
lie and how to make the most of them. The book also encourages stylistic
development by intruding theoretical approaches to filmmaking. A glossary
of terms plus an appendix of resources make this guide a one-stop essential
handbook to filmmaking practice for beginners and student filmmakers.
Shut Up and Shoot Freelance Video Guide
By Anthony Q. Artis - $34 - in stock
The Shut Up and Shoot Freelance Video Guide is an easy-read crash course
in the ins and outs and hundred little details of creating video works
for hire. Covering everything from dealing with clients, production
strategies and step-by-step guidance on planning, shooting, lighting
and recording the most common video-for-hire genres this book sets
out to help you rise above the competition and make more money by doing
quality work. Includes access to a secret bonus Web site with: * Video
and audio tutorials, useful forms, and case-study video projects from
the book. * Crazy Phat Bonus Pages with Jump Start Charts, online Resources,
Releases, Storyboards, Checklists, Equipment Guides and Shooting Procedures.
Lighting for Digital Video &
Television: Third Edition
By John Jackman - $39 - in stock
Updated with HD lighting techniques. Enhance the visual quality of your work
with a solid understanding of the fundamentals including how video exposures
differ from film. Work more efficiently with a comprehensive guide to the nuts
and volts of the trade -everything from electrical connectors to the oddball
pieces of "gaffer gear." Be resourceful with creative use of lighting
controls such as flags, cookies, and scrims. Develop diagnostic and problem-solving
skills with a special section that tackles typical problems in a way that helps
you learn how to create your own workable field solutions. Sidebars featuring
practical advice on topics that filmmakers can apply to their own work.
Shooting Movies Without Shooting Yourself in the Foot
By Jack Anderson - Reg $36 - Sale $28 - in
stock
Provides a mentorship-in-a-book approach not found any of the other technical
guides to cinematography, using both film and video exercises. Written for filmmakers
working on a budget. Unique exercises throughout the book provide the reader
with an interactive experience that will give them a higher level of expertise
and will improve the quality of their shooting, lighting, and reel--all on a
budget. Learn the realty of filmmaking from the cinematographer's perspective.
Companion website showcases video samples, visual demonstrations of the exercises
in the book, and further video explanations of the concepts that are better explained
visually.
Fast, Cheap & Under Control: Lessons from the Greatest Low-Budget
Movies of All Time
By John Gaspard - Sale $21 -
limited stock
Learn the tricks and pitfalls of low-budget filmmaking from 33 successful indepent
films and the filmmakers who created them. This is the most important book an
independent writer/director/producer may ever read. Includes never before published
interviews with low-budget mavericks. A fun, user-friendly handbook for wannabe
filmmakers with big visions but few funds. While providing helpful tips and telling
anecdotes, this how-to guide focuses on 33 independent films to extol the benefits
of self-financing. Gaspard opens by interviewing Roger Corman, the godfather
of low budgets, who preaches both the importance of preparation and the need
for flexibility. Corman, who brought Little Shop of Horrors to the screen, influenced
everyone from Ron Howard to Martin Scorsese. Though Gaspard nabs an impressive
list of directors, including Steven Soderbergh, he's also happy to cull insights
from magazine articles and DVD commentaries. He ends with a list of 69 quick-hit
lessons: two key lessons, "cast with care" and "use reality to
your advantage," helped turn The Blair Witch Project and Swingers into hits.
One lesson in particular is inspiration for any enterprising filmmaker: "Get
past the notion that you're trying to make a movie. There is no try. You either
do it or you don't. So do it."
Sound For Film & Television
By Tomlinson Holman - Reg $52 - Sale $41 - in stock
A thorough introduction to the fascinating field of recording, editing, mixing,
and exhibiting film and television sound. It strikes a fine balance between aesthetic
and technical content, combining theory and practice to approach sound as both
an art and a science. This new edition has been completely updated to reflect
the latest advances in HD technology, new hardware and software systems, new
distribution methods, wireless sound capture, and more. Also, analog-related
content has been reduced and transferred to the chapters covering historical
techniques. Sections on troubleshooting and FAQs have been added to help you
avoid common pitfalls in sound production. Written by a leading sound expert,
Sound for Film and Television provides a solid grounding in all aspects of the
sound process. Basic principles are presented with illustrations demonstrating
how they affect the day-to-day activities on a film or television set, in the
editing room, and in the mix room. The accompanying audio DVD contains more than
50 tracks that demonstrate practical, real-world examples of key concepts presented
in the book.
The Budget Book For Film & Television
By Robert J. Koster - $36 - in stock
This guidebook is intended to help both the novice and the experienced
producer to create and fine-tune their budgets. Based on the top budgeting
software packages, Movie Magic and EP Budgeting, this book takes the
reader through each line item in the budgeting software and describes
the background for that item, how it fits into the overall production,
and any issues or pitfalls that may arise from it. This book is a useful
reference for independent filmmakers who depend on accurate, easy-to-understand
budgeting methods to seek funding for their projects. Includes a tutorial
on Movie Magic and EP Budgeting.
The Producer's Business Handbook
By John J. Lee Jr & Anne Marie Gillen - $39 in stock
The Producer's Business Handbook gives an insight to the relationships
that the most successful producers have with the various participants in
the production industry. This includes how these producers direct their
relationships with domestic and foreign studios, agencies, attorneys, talent,
completion guarantors, banks, and private investors. It provides a thorough
orientation to operating development and producing companies, from solicitation
of literary properties through direct rights sales, and the management of
global distribution relationships. A companion website features extremely
valuable spreadsheets, such as the bank financing worksheet and the producer's
share analysis. The interactive website also provides examples and exercises
using various worksheets.
The Filmmaker's Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic
Composition
By Gustavo Mercado - $27 - in stock
This is the only book that combines conceptual and practical instruction on creating
polished and eloquent images for film and video with the technical know-how to
achieve them. Loaded with hundreds of full-color examples, "The Filmmaker's
Eye" is a focused, easy-to-reference guide that shows you how to become
a strong visual storyteller through smart, effective choices for your shots.
Covering basic principles, a variety of shots are deconstructed. Shows you how
to master the rules, then break them. Includes examples and discussions from
a range of international films.
FilmCraft: Cinematography
By Tim Grierson - $27 - in stock
Covers the complex craft of cinematography (motion picture photography)
through interviews with well-known cinematographers, like Vittorio Storaro
and Christopher Doyle. With photos and in-depth exploration of contemporary
projects, such as Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago, and Nine. Cinematography
gives readers access to lauded professionals, providing them with the
perspective to think like professionals and create a compelling visual story.
* Discussions with the world's most notable filmmakers, giving insights
into professional practice, working relationships, and influences
* Sidebars featuring practical advice on topics that filmmakers can apply
to their own work
* "Legacy Sections" focusing on the work of past filmmaking greats
Directors Tell The Story
By Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli - $25 - in stock
Move over, movies: the freshest storytelling today is on television, where the
multi-episodic format is used for rich character development and innovative story
arcs. Directors Tell the Story offers rare insight and advice straight from
two A-list television directors whose credits include Monk, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate
Housewives, Weeds, and more. They direct dramas and comedies using the same process
that Steven Spielberg (or any other movie director uses)-just with less money
and time. Learn what it takes to become a director: master the technical aspects,
appreciate aesthetic qualities, and practice leadership, all while exuding that "X" factor
that distinguishes the excellent director from the merely good one. Covering
everything from prep, the shoot, and post, the authors emphasize how aspiring
directors can develop a creative vision-because without it, they are just technicians.
Hands-on and practical, this book lets you not only read about the secrets of
directors, it also includes exercises using original scripted material. The companion
web site includes scenes from the authors' own TV shows, along with the scripts,
shot lists, and other materials that made the scenes possible.
Key Features * Highly experienced Hollywood directors share inside information
about what it really takes to be a director, giving the advice that readers covet.
* Covers everything a director needs to know: the creative vision, how to translate
script into a visual story, establishing the look and feel, selecting and leading
a crew, coaching actors, keeping a complex operation on time and on budget, overseeing
the edit, and troubleshooting through the whole shoot. * "Insider Info" sections
feature interviews, advice, and tips from film and TV luminaries whose productions
include Private Practice, Monk, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives,
The Informant, American Beauty, and more! * Hands-on exercises help you understand
and master the craft of directing.
An Editor's Guide To Adobe Premiere Pro
By Richard Harrington, Robbie Carman, Jeff I. Greenberg - $39 - in stock
If you’re an experienced editor who wants to get up to speed on Adobe Premiere Pro, then look no further than this fast-paced but thorough guide to Adobe’s flagship editing program. Enjoy the ride as three experienced editors take you step by step through the entire editing process in Adobe Premiere Pro. You’ll learn to perform professional editing tasks such as project management, multi-format editing, color correction, audio mixing, titling, effects, and delivering your video onto tape, the web, and mobile devices. Plus the whole process moves at an accelerated pace so you can get back to editing even faster. Within a weekend, you’ll learn everything you need to know to use Adobe Premiere Pro confidently for your own projects and client work.
In this no-fluff guide to Adobe Premiere Pro, you’ll learn to:
• Quickly import your existing Final Cut or Avid projects, or create new
projects to use right away in Adobe Premiere Pro
• Work within the Adobe editing environment, with powerful insight into
applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition,
Adobe Media Encoder, Dynamic Link, and Adobe Story
• Edit your footage the way you like but with workflow advice from a nonlinear
editing team with more than 50 years of combined experience
• Put your advanced editing skills to work immediately by using the accompanying
hands-on lesson files to work through the steps in the book
• Improve your knowledge through engaging video tutorials, handy quick-reference
guides, and keyboard shortcut sheets all made available on the book’s
DVD
Editing With Avid Media Composer 5
Official Curriculum Avid Technology - $39 - special order
Avid Media Composer is the standard editing system used by professionals in the film and television industries and with its many capabilities available at a low price, it’s well within the range of serious non-professionals too. With this latest release, Avid proves to be more innovative than ever in a fast-paced world of digital media.
Here to guide readers on the foundations of editing using Avid Media Composer 5 is the only book on the market officially developed and approved by Avid. Each chapter covers a complete lesson in the fundamentals, with step-by-step instructions and accompanying screenshots included so readers can absorb the details and start using the program right away. After discovering how to use the tools and understanding the editing workflow, they’ll go on to learn basic editing, timeline editing, and trimming, and then move on to refining audio, adding effects, performing color correction, creating titles, and finally managing projects and delivering the finished work. They’ll also learn about groundbreaking capabilities new to this version of Media Composer such as a drag-and-drop Timeline that allows its users to mix formats, frame rates, and resolutions, new direct editing capabilities for QuickTime, RED, XDCAM, and other tapeless media, and much more. Not only that, with the included DVD, readers can dive right in and follow along with the projects using professional footage from top television shows and films.
Film Craft: Editing
By Justin Chang - $29 - special order
The value of the editor's craft to a finished film cannot be underestimated,
and it's no surprise that directors rely heavily on the same editor again and
again. It is said an editor can create acting performances in the editing suite-and
looking at a film like The Hurt Locker, you can see that the editor has whittled
down many hours of coverage into the nail-biting bomb disposal scenes. This book
employs stills and screenshots to show how an editor created a scene with the
filmmaker and explores the complex relationship between a director who has just
shot a movie and the editor who must complete the director's vision. Includes
perspectives from Bob Murawski, Oscar-winning editor for The Hurt Locker
who also cut the Spiderman trilogy for Sam Raimi; Dylan Tichenor who has worked
on Boogie Nights, Brokeback Mountain, There Will Be Blood and many others; and
Pietro Scalia, the great editor whose partners include Bertolucci, Van San, and
Ridley Scott.