Book Description
Helps readers understand how the many languages of film work together to create meaning. Louis Giannetti organizes Understanding Movies around the key elements of filmmaking, including cintematography, Mise en Scène, movement, editing, sound, acting, drama, casting, story, screenwriting, ideology, and theory. He synthesizes every element through a complete case study: Citizen Kane. This book's ideas are illuminated with hundreds of high-quality still photos, more than 70 in full color, taken from movies such as The Matrix, Almost Famous, jackass the movie, Chicago, Lord of the Rings, Mystic River, and Traffic. New in this edition: a full section on contemporary special effects and computer generated imagery (CGI); up-to-the-minute information on new developments in film technology; more coverage of recent films and filmmakers; more ethnic diversity (including new material on the Islamic cinema); and more lavish use of color and high-quality paper. An updated Companion Website contains animations, video clips from interviews with movie professionals, and Research Navigator access to New York Times film reviews. For everyone who wants to understand the artistry and meaning of the movies.
Customer Reviews:
Great guide to film analysis.......2007-09-30
This is an essential book for students of cinema. It does one thing and it does it quite well: it introduces you to the language of film analysis, the categories that critics use to analyze a film. It doesn't try to cover film technology or history.
I totally agree with the other reviewer that the new editions are completely unnecessary, and serve only to destroy the market for used copies. Buy one of the older editions unless it's for a college class and you need the same edition as the class.
amazon never delivered!.......2007-09-24
This is a great book although, amazon never delivered. I had ordered this book 2 weeks before school(along with 2 other books for school), it never came. Amazon said that i have an "undeliverable" address, but when i ordered it from ebay i got it in 3 dAys! Then i had to wait forever for a refund!
good seller.......2007-09-10
great seller and i would buy from this seller again. the book was new just like it stated.
EXCEPTIONALLY INFORMATIVE TEXT -- Although Some Movies Don't Require Explanation (*A Haiku Review).......2007-05-10
So now when I watch
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES,
I "get it" . . . and laugh.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
[This goofy review is dedicated to the goofy MARTIN BRUMER (Feb. 15, 1960 to July 18, 1989),
a doggoned good actor and even better friend whose copy of this fine book was presented to me
by his Mother after he left for "That Great Sound Stage In The Sky."
Thanks, Marty & Miriam!]
An incredible introduction to film........2006-04-03
Gianetti continues to produce the ultimate in introductory film texts. He seemlessly introduces us to the history of cinema while teaching us everything we need to know to fully understand film. After finishing this text you will no longer look at films the same way.
The end of the book was by far the most intriguing. Gianetti devotes a whole chapter to what is arguably the greatest film in history, Citizen Kane. His synopsis allows the reader to truly understand the beauty of the movie as well as cinema as a whole.
A must buy for anyone truly interested film.
Book Description
Tens of thousands of readers have benefited from Michael Rabiger's classic text on documentary filmmaking, now updated to reflect the revolutionary switch to digital video equipment and software. You will learn how to research and focus a documentary film or video idea, develop a crew, direct the crew, maintain control during shooting, and oversee postproduction. Practical work is emphasized, with dozens of exercises and questionnaires to help focus your ideas and give you hands-on practice. The documentary is treated as an important genre in its own right, as well as a useful prelude to directing feature films.
The fourth edition is a significant update. The book's emphasis has always been on concrete steps you can take to become a documentary filmmaker, and there are loads of new projects to help, along with assessment tables that allow you to gauge your progress. In addition, there is new material on location sound, the reality TV trend, top documentaries to see, and more.
*The definitive guide to making a documentary
*A hands-on approach with dozens of exercises
*A fully updated 4th edition of the classic textbook
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable Too.......2007-04-11
Thought it would be much more heavy and academic. Is an easy read without dumbing down. Great for getting you going again if youhave "fallin off the wagon".
great.......2007-04-10
what a great book. it's up-to-date and goes through everything you could ever want to know about documentary filmmaking.
The Ultimate Guide to Documentary Filmmaking.......2007-03-26
I already use Rabinger's "Directing" tome as my filmmaking bible, and always refer to it when planning productions and right before shooting. So when I started a documentary project, I knew I had to get this version dedicated to that aspect of filmmaking. I was not disappointed. Right away, his advice improved my project planning and helped me make a much better project pitch than I originally had. And once again, it's loaded with practical advice that's very easy to read and use. Rabinger knows how to put together a great reference resource. Too bad all books weren't put together like these.
Great book for filmmakers of all kinds.......2006-09-21
this book includes all kinds of useful information that is not necessarily specific to documentary, although that is it's focus. there's excercises in here to help develop ideas into a filmic narrative, ethics, how to tackle an interview as well as subject matter. i've read a lot of film books, and i have to say, this is not only well written with a sense of humor and wit, it deals with potential situations in a down to earth way. The information provided is not just technical, but also how to approach an emotional situation, gain the trust of your participants, and address multiple points of view.
Directing The Documentary.......2006-07-19
I am currently writing a documentary for a feature length film, and found Michael Rabiger's book informative, subtle, and well structured. Having received a documentary film class at University, I had already learned about the basic tools of the medium. This book provides a masterclass in documentary filmmaking, and prepares you for the demands of documentary filmmaking. I recommend it to students and professionals alike.
Average customer rating:
- A first-rate primer for the aspiring filmmaker
- An Excellent Overview
- good intro for the novice filmmaker
- Stick to "Film Art" by Bordwell/Thomspon
- Best introduction to filmmaking I've found
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Art of Technique, The: An Aesthetic Approach to Film and Video Production
John S. Douglass , and
Glenn P. Harnden
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ASIN: 0205142486 |
Book Description
This book provides readers with a teaching tool not currently available. It fills a gap in the literature by going beyond simple discussions of hardware usage, basic technical knowledge, and descriptions of technique to in-depth discussions of how this knowledge can be applied in a coherent approach to production.
Customer Reviews:
A first-rate primer for the aspiring filmmaker.......2002-01-21
"The Art of Technique: An Aesthetic Approach to Film and Video Production," is more of a primer than it is a critique of cinema. Yes, there is a big difference between this volume by John S. Douglass and Gleen P. Harnden and "Film Art: An Introduction" by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. The latter utilizes literally hundreds of frames from both classic and relatively unknown films to demonstrate cinematic techniques. "The Art of Technique" does the same thing with student models. Whether this has to do with the cost of using copyrighted images and/or transforming them into individual frames for use in a book, this is a major difference between the two textbooks. When Douglass and Harnden discuss something, like Ingmar Bergman's use of Extreme Close-ups (ECU) in "Scenes from a Marriage," they can only talk about the extraordinary intimacy it gave the production, without offering visual evidence to support their claim. However, the authors do use their "homemade" examples to good use at time; for example, when exploring the concept of framing they provide examples of "bad" shots (filled with distracting clutter) before showing better choices for the cinematographer.
"The Art of Technique" is divided into two main sections. After an introductory chapter on "Interpretation and Treatment," there are six chapters focusing on the various ways a film can tell a story, essentially pre-production considerations. There is a nice little section detailing the basic types of stories Hollywood tells over and over again ("Jack the Giant Killer," "Fish Out of Water," etc.). Clearly the emphasis here is more on production than criticism, which makes the orientation of this textbook more towards the filmmaker than the movie audience. This first section ends with a look at Mise en Scene and questions of design. In terms of concepts covered, separate from the issue of how those concepts are presented in the textbook, the authors provided a comprehensive, well-organized presentation.
The second half of the book covers "Techniques for Interpretation," which starts with a consideration of the trinity of how the camera, editing and lighting can be used for interpretation. Again, everything is here; I could not find a concept or technique that was an obviously glaring omission. The book concludes with a pair of chapters on Symbols and Significance, which get into the impact film can have on an audience. You might expect to find a glossary at the back of the book, but instead we have a pair of appendixes on Electricity and Measuring Light, which only serves to reaffirm that this book is geared towards the novice filmmaker. If you are looking for a textbook that because you are a budding film critic, then this is not going to be your first choice. I can even make the argument that by not saturating their textbook with frames from dozens of films, Douglass and Harden do their readers a favor, because instead of borrowing shots and techniques from the acknowledged masters of the art form, they are being asked to reinvent the wheel. Do not knock this, because that is basically how we think Orson Welles made "Citizen Kane."
An Excellent Overview.......2002-01-15
This book explores many aspects of filmmaking in a logical, easy-to-follow manner. A great find, albeit a bit pricy. I used it as my text for teaching a video class as it offers some aesthetic considerations for why techniques may or may not be used in a given situation. This approach helps to minimize the technique-euphoria beginners tend to have with techniques which are new to them (ala George Lucas in the new Star Wars...)
good intro for the novice filmmaker.......2000-04-21
this book works very well as an introduction to the creative use of techniques for filmmaking. it is quite clear and concise and is not bogged down by too much technical details or dicussions on film theory. a good starting point.
Stick to "Film Art" by Bordwell/Thomspon.......2000-04-17
I was shocked when I looked over this book. I had always relied on "Film Art" which is the standanrd intro to film but I wanted to branch out. I found this book to be a superficial approach to cinema, no probbing analysis or challenge to interpretaion of technique or narrative. Save your money and stick to the classics. No one seems to use this book in higher education film studies- ask your professor to suggest a book.
Best introduction to filmmaking I've found.......2000-02-16
I teach filmmaking, and needed a book that covers all the basics in a few meaty and meaningful pages. This is it. Most books on filmmaking technique either wax philosophical on the author's pet theories or get lost in gee-wiz-you-can-do-this-neat-trick-with-the-camera mania. There's little of either here; instead, you'll find a focused, highly readable series of lessons on what really matters most--how to communicate a meaningful message on film or video. Unlike some VERY annoying books that give examples of lighting and other techniques via badly drawn line-art, this book shows every technique with actual stills from video shoots so you can see how lighting, framing, lens use, etc. actually change the appearance and impact of a scene.
There are also numerous references to excellent classic and modern films with quite specific suggestions for examining the techniques that make those films work so well. Perhaps most important of all, the authors never lose sight of the fact that filmmaking is about interpreting and creating a reality that evokes a meaningful and powerful experience for the audience.
So if you want a book listing all the oh-so-tacky transitions and effects that your new NLE will do, or a thousand-page treatise on the history of film, THIS AIN'T IT. But if you want a book that will help you quickly learn to put cameras, lighting, and editing in the service of your creativity--buy this one first.
Book Description
The 2007 edition of Leonard Maltin's definitive bestselling guide to the movies
Since its first edition decades ago, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide has been the standard bearer for cinematic reference books. The 2007 edition of this essential movielover's companion includes hundreds of new entries, with capsule reviews and comprehensive information on date of release, running time, cast and crew, and MPAA ratings. Within this compact volume, you'll find:
• Listings for over 17,000 movies, including more than 300 new entries
• Authoritative notations on format availability (DVD, video, and laser disc)
• Up-to-date indices of top directors and actors
• Maltin's “Fifty Best Films on DVD” and “Fifty More Films You May Have Missed”
From the masterpieces of classic cinema, to cutting-edge independent films, to the latest summer blockbusters, Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide is truly “the best organized . . . the most complete” (Newsday).
Customer Reviews:
Great resource.......2007-09-21
I buy this book every few years to look up that odd movie title to see if it's worth watching on TV. I only wish there was more synopsis of the movie and a less lengthy list of actors.
Reviews are fine, but it's not alphabetized correctly!.......2007-08-13
The review and facts in this book are fine, but the editor should be fired. What good is movie review book if you can't find the reviews because they aren't alphabetized correctly?? Go ahead -- try to find "The Manchurian Candidate" in there. Let's see, that should be listed as "Manchurian Candidate, The" and that should come after all the titles that start with "Man" but NO -- it's in the middle of all the "Man" movies. What??
There is a standard method of alphabetizing that has been around for a long time and is well-accepted and understood. It's used in every phone book in the country and every other movie review guide that I've used, but for some reason this book decided to do something different. The standard method says that a space in a multi-word title is alphabetized before any letters. Thus "Man in the Iron Mask" comes before "Manchurian Candidate" because "man[space]" comes before "manc" at the beginning of the titles. This book decided to just ignore spaces and alphabetize only by the letters. It's almost like having a dictionary that's not in alphabetical order -- all the facts are in there, but they're kind of hard to find.
A Neccessary Reference.......2007-06-08
This is an excellent guide to the movies - an absuolutely necessary reference for any true movie buff
The Best Overall guide to movies (mostly mainstream).......2007-04-16
Leonard and his staff are movie lovers and experts, and this the most comprehensive guide of its kind. They are American movie historians at heart. They love the recognized classics and they seem to particularly appreciate film-making craft and professionalism. I think they implicitly favor Hollywood movies or better produced independent films over low-budget and many foreign films because of the often notable difference in production values, and I think they are usually correct.
I have personally used this guide for 20 years to find the gems I may have missed and weed out the forgettable and regretable films that often get the big promotional budgets and their accompanying gushing,albeit seemingly paid-for, over-appreciative reviews (Mr. Ebert???).
A guide like this, which focuses on quality first and foremost, is particularly useful if you go to a Blockbuster (they have that name for a reason) or use Netflix. The Netflix associative predictive rating system is really crude at best and does not filter out some seriously flawed recommendations.
One warning: Matlin's ratings reflect mainstream film history thought. If you like the really edgy, the impressionistics, or other things "arty" in film, you may find the coverage and the ratings too traditional. But I think they recognize quality in new films, not just old ones. Highly recommended to all but the bleeding edge cinema buffs.
All the info on your movies.......2007-03-19
A great reference for when you're checking out movies in the last 60 years or so. Ratings (his own-I don't necessarily agree with all of them and you might not either) for movies, data on when they were made, who starred in them, plot summary. etc. If you are a movie buff but just don't have room in your brain for all the data, don't sweat it--this can be a handy book to have when you have a question about a movie and you need simple answers.
Book Description
Film is an art form with a language and an aesthetic all its own. Since 1979, David Bordwell's and Kristin Thompson's Film Art has been the best-selling and widely respected introduction to the analysis of cinema. While it continues to provide the best introduction to the fundamentals of serious film study, the eighth edition has been revised be more classroom friendly by introducing film techniques earlier in the text, followed by the chapters on Film Genres. Supported by a text-specific Tutorial CD-ROM with video clips, Film Art is automatically packaged with this outstanding student learning tool.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent!.......2007-09-29
I purchased this book for a college course I'm taking. The book came promptly and in excellent condition. Would definitely recommend...
Book Description
This introduction to film appreciation uses both contemporary and classic movies to help students develop critical skills in the analysis and evaluation of film. By suggesting what to look for and how to look for it, the text challenges students to sharpen their powers of observation, establish habits of perceptive watching, and discover complex aspects of film art that will further enhance their enjoyment of watching films. In addition it makes the link from literature to film in chapters on Thematic Elements, Fictional and Dramatic Elements and a unique chapter on Adaptions.
Customer Reviews:
Informative.......2007-04-23
Used this book in an intro to film class. I will keep it on the shelf as a reference book. For class it has smooth reading that is cohesive, didn't seem like it has filler information in it. It was fun to read. The context was very helpful in class for lectures, and movie analyzation. Goes over key aspects of film as well as very detailed examples of what to look for, how to see it.
The Art of Watching Film.......2007-01-14
This book was a required text for a film class I took. It is very well done and the price was less than if I had purchased it at the college bookstore.
Intro to Film Studies HUM150.......2006-02-26
This may come as no surprise but I only bought this book for a college class. It turns out that it was a great class. The book isn't nearly as dry as I expected but still, it is a text book. I took the class at the University of Phoenix just to fill some elective credits. Turns out the class was great and the instructor was too. The book was good for a text book and the service from Amazon was well above anything you'll get from a uiversity shop or even most online retailers. If you have to get the book I suggest getting it at Amazon. :)
Essential for movie lovers........2001-03-29
Outstanding book. Even better than I thought it would be once I looked through it. It covers everything related to movies. There are even exercises, like homework, where you watch various movies to learn different things about the movies. If you take movies and movie reviews seriously, you need this book!
Essential for movie lovers........2001-03-29
Outstanding book. Even better than I thought it would be once I looked through it. It covers everything related to movies. There are even exercises, like homework, where you watch various movies to learn different things about the movies. If you take movies and movie reviews seriously, you need this book!
Book Description
David Lynch is an anomaly. A pioneer of the American 'indie' aesthetic, he also works in Hollywood and for network TV. He has created some of the most disturbing images in contemporary cinema, and produced startlingly innovative work in sound. If the consistency of his 'vision' suggests he might be approached as an auteur, defining that vision raises many questions. The essays in this collection push toward a fuller account of the cultural and technological contexts within which his works developed during the 1980s and 1990s, and of his intense engagement with the creative and working practices of the industry. They offer an up-to-date range of theoretically divergent readings that demonstrates not only the difficulty of locating stable interpretative positions for Lynch's work, but also the pleasure of finding new ways of thinking about it. Films discussed include Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, and Mulholland Drive.
Customer Reviews:
Very good read on David Lynch.......2007-07-06
I'm reading this book a 2nd time now. I would say this book is im my top three Lynch books as well and it provides a very good outline, and possibly, a key, for the way Lynch thinks. If anything, it will help you come up with more of your own conclusions. From a devoted Lynch fan, this is a great read!
lynch debunk.......2005-10-14
I gotta agree with Critic-AL... too much ink is being spilled about Lynch that reads like retread po-mo theories. I'll go with Pervert in the Pulpit too, and I'm not alone. You don't have to be a film student or academic to appreciate Johnson's heady read ... still, I think the review of Pervert by David Lancaster in the latest issue of Film and History totally sums up my thinking: "There is a slightly malicious pleasure in seeing a modish reputation being debunked, especially when the reader was mystified by the fuss in the first place. Pervert in the Pulpit is not a crude hatchet job, however. Rather, it is clear-sighted and informed, and, in true Manichean fashion, on the side of the critical angels."
adulation or criticism?.......2005-03-26
By calling Nochimson's book "amazing," [...]the problem with a lot of Lynch criticism: the audience for his films is divided between fans and serious students of cinema. As Lynch's reputation as an innovator continues to wear thin - face, it, his uneven oeuvre is not aging well - die-hard loyalists continue to gush about his, in my opnion, limited success as a cutting-edge film director. This book may be timely, but it isn't as interesting as Jeff Johnson's iconoclastic "Pervert in the Pulpit: Morality in the Work of David Lynch," which I'd recommend before any of the other, more pandering texts Joe cites.
One of the Best Books on Lynch.......2004-09-23
Is it possible for a good book of film criticism to be dominated by lavish photos and the like? Not in my experience. The closest to that is the BFI series, and those are hardly the sort of thing "a reader" is talking about. Of all the books on Lynch out there, this is probably my #3, behind Martha Nomchinson's amazing "Wild at Heart in Hollywood" and the essential "Lynch on Lynch."
The simataneous release of the paperback and hardcover editions should have clued "a reader" into the HC edition being a library edition... Don't let this person's stupidty put you off, this is one of the best books analyzing Lynch one can find.
Book Description
Shaped by Richard Barsam's more than twenty years of classroom experience, Looking at Movies uses students' natural enthusiasm for the subject as a foundation for going beyond enjoyment toward intelligent, analytical understanding of movies. Professor Barsam's clear writing, thorough presentation of fundamental film principles, and unique pedagogical additions to the traditional introductory text—including an entire chapter devoted to analytical writing—ensure that students approach screenings and writing assignments equipped with the analytical tools necessary to be active, insightful interpreters of movies. Looking at Movies is accompanied by two outstanding multimedia resources, the Student website and CD-ROM, both of which are integrated directly with the text.
Customer Reviews:
ontime and in good shape.......2007-01-10
It was in good shape, and I received it ontime.
Easily worth a look.......2004-01-03
Barsam's is a welcome addition to the field of introductory film texts, superior in many respects to similar entries (Giannatti, Phillips, etc.). The style is reader-friendly but in no way condescending; the examples are generous and representative of classic as well as current developments; the coverage is comprehensive. Indeed, with the accompanying CD-Rom and Website, the text is a virtual encyclopedia of information about the cinema, thereby justifying its slightly higher price. Moreover, this is the first text that begins to realize many of the media-specific qualities of the subject it attempts to illuminate.
This is a first edition, and understandably there are problems, some admittedly attributable to individual preferences. A few things I've noticed:
1. The website can be "buggy," at least to a Macintosh operating system. Numerous "Java Script" messages are appearing along with failures to play visual and audio files. Even with the misfires, the website is the most impressive I've ever used in conjunction with a text. Because of it, an instructor need have no apologies about using a text that includes discussions of numerous films unknown to students and impossible to screen in class.
2. The accompanying VCD contains valuable film examples but unfortunately doesn't include any clips from "Citizen Kane." I would hope that a future edition includes a DVD with Kane and other useful illustrative and instructive materials. Website information and quizzes often have too many technical glitches to make them effective time-savers for a teacher, who now must solve each student's difficulties with the website (the required 8-digit password doesn't help).
3. Barsam uses much personal and arbitrary descriptive language that subsequently becomes "reified" in the quizzes about the components of film. As a result, the quiz becomes as much about remembering the specific language of the author and textbook as about the properties of a filmic element (equally true of the book's competitors).
4. The order of topics will not appeal to every instructor. For example, the most basic element of film--the shot--isn't addressed until the discussion of photography in Chapter 4. Also, the attention to previously marginalized films and filmmakers can be quite uneven. African-American issues receive considerable space in several chapters in the book and on the website whereas feminist issues receive a couple of paragraphs. Moreover, there is very little consideration of "auteurism," the enabling and prevailing approach of academic cinema studies.
5. The author's lack of experience with literary and composition issues is frequently apparent, though to the book's credit ample space is given to student writing. Still, the treatment of point of view in cinema becomes problematic, especially when the author refers to the camera's perspective as "omniscient." Also, the inclusion of an exemplary student essay, while extremely welcome, represents an unfortunate choice, in my opinion, since the essay is somewhat sophomoric, exhibits clumsy writing and omits a thesis(!).
All in all, a promising production by Barsam and Norton. I look forward to giving it a test drive.
a very good and comprehensive introductory book.......2003-09-18
Just got this book and found it to be very well structured, with a comprehensive yet easy to understand language that made the material very compelling. It comes with a cd rom with film clips and it also offers website interactivity that supports and expands on the material covered by the book. The layout is very sleek and although a bit pricey ($ 70), this is what college textbooks go for now, so even at this price this book compares more than favorably to what's out there.
Book Description
Since its original publication in 1987, Channels of Discourse has provided the most comprehensive consideration of commercial television, drawing on insights provided by the major strands of contemporary criticism: semiotics, narrative theory, reception theory, genre theory, ideological analysis, psychoanalysis, feminist criticism, and British cultural studies.
The second edition features a new introduction by Robert Allen that includes a discussion of the political economy of commercial television. Two new essays have been added—one an assessment of postmodernism and television, the other an analysis of convergence and divergence among the essays—and the original essays have been substantially revised and updated with an international audience in mind. Sixty-one new television stills illustrate the text.
Each essay lays out the general tenets of its particular approach, discusses television as an object of analysis within that critical framework, and provides extended examples of the types of analysis produced by that critical approach. Case studies range from Rescue 911 and Twin Peaks to soap operas, music videos, game shows, talk shows, and commericals.
Channels of Discourse, Reassembled suggests new ways of understanding relationships among television programs, between viewing pleasure and narrative structure, and between the world in front of the television set and that represented on the screen. The collection also addresses the qualities of popular television that traditional aesthetics and quantitative media research have failed to treat satisfactorily, including its seriality, mass production, and extraordinary popularity.
The contributors are Robert C. Allen, Jim Collins, Jane Feuer, John Fiske, Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, James Hay, E. Ann Kaplan, Sarah Kozloff, Ellen Seiter, and Mimi White.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Overview of Media Studies Methodologies.......2002-07-04
In a critical writing course I taught in Spring 2002, I used Channels of Discourse, Reassembled as the core text for the course readings. The many chapters within are written by the best of the best in the fields of media studies and cultural studies, and the methodologies are presented in an easy-to-read manner which is informative and full of examples and case studies. This is an excellent book for media studies students, as its chapters lay out the basic information they should know about many of the methodologies often used in media criticism.
Book Description
What the industry's most succcessful writers and directors have in common is that they have mastered the cinematic conventions specific to the medium.
Customer Reviews:
Spectacular.......2007-08-28
To call me a newbie screenwriter would be to insult newbie screenwriters. I'm a fledgling, nascent, inchoate, and very bad screenwriter. And if you would read the mere one-page script I wrote yesterday, you'd call me some choice names but I daresay 'screenwriter' will not be one of the myriad.
That said, this is such a great book, the highest quality through and through, from the binding to the clear type and the clear picture examples of each shot type. I found myself reading this like I would an easy novel: it was literally a page-turner and filled with so much information, and information I could immediately start using.
With each example, I popped in the respective DVD and found the particular shots and marveled at how the author's description and subsequent interpretation of the scene was spot on, a real "Aha!" moment on each page. In my long and very arduous road to screenwriting mediocrity, I believe 'Cinematic Storytelling' will be a staunch ally, immovable from its perch as a resident of my reference bookshelf.
Great take on film theory........2007-05-09
The use of storyboards and stills from scenes in congunction with a theoretical breakdown make this a vey useful and thought provoking study on cinema.
BILL HASH AUTHOR OF AMRA.......2007-01-09
It is a really good book showing the RULES of story telling.DON'T YOU USE A ROAD MAP WHEN THERE IS SOMEWHERE YOU WANT TO GO? GET THIS 'ROADMAP'
great book.......2007-01-09
usefull to discover a lot of ideas of movie "telling" , really simple and clear a book usefull for writers and directors, gives you an opportunity of meeting a lot of good scripts and visual idea.
Writers, look through someone else's eyes........2006-10-03
What a fascinating book for a scriptwriter to read! At first, you think "This isn't meant for me--it has chapters on camera lenses and camera positions, and wardrobe and sound effects! That's stuff directors and cinematographers and other people work with." From understanding the medium you're working in, comes better work.
Jennifer Van Sijll's Cinematic Storytelling provides 100 film conventions (as mentioned in the full title) in concise, two-page examples. The pages are index card-like in their brevity, but are so well-done there is no need for extra words. First, she lists the filmmaking element, such as "Motion," and gives an explanation. Next, she gives a film example, such as E.T., and explains the scene pictured in stills and how the particular scene conveys the element. If needed, she lists a script note or two and then explains what the dramatic value is of the element. Lastly, she lists a few other films that can serve as examples. The page with movie stills also contains the scene's script passage to show how the element was written. A writer will find the pieces of script excellent examples from which to learn.
Van Sijll's layout and logical progression through the different elements of film, from frame composition to locations and lighting, are easy to follow and almost Zen-like in their simplicity. Despite that simplicity, they do make an impact and stay with you long after you've put the book down. You'll find that when you sit down to write, you'll try and put those elements into your script with just a few well-chosen words (so not to look as if you're trying to direct). There are no exercises or homework and there is no general format information or advice on what the latest trick is to get your script seen. This is straightforward instruction presented in an easy-to-follow way.
After each chapter, Van Sijll inserts a "Chapter Credits by Film Element" index where you'll find a segment on each film she's highlighted. Within the segment, you'll find its release date, writer, director, production company and distributor. It's an unconventional scriptwriting book, for sure, and definitely worth checking out. Van Sijll teaches at San Francisco State University, holds seminars, and also works as a script analyst for producers. I enjoyed this book thoroughly.
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