Amazon.com
Film Directing Shot by Shot offers a good introduction to the rudiments of film production. Steven D. Katz walks his readers through the various stages of moviemaking, advising them at every turn to visualize the films they wish to produce. Katz believes that one of the chief tasks of filmmaking is to negotiate between our three-dimensional reality and the two-dimensionality of the screen. He covers the number of technical options filmmakers can use to create a satisfying flow of shots, a continuity that will make sense to viewers and aptly tell the film's story. Katz provides in-depth coverage of production design, storyboarding, spatial connections, editing, scene staging, depth of frame, camera angles, point of view, and the various types of stable compositions and moving camera shots.
Book Description
A complete catalogue of motion picture techniques for filmmakers. It concentrates on the 'storytelling' school of filmmaking, utilizing the work of the great stylists who established the versatile vocabulary of technique that has dominated the movies
since 1915. This graphic approach includes comparisons of style by interpreting a 'model script', created for the book, in storyboard form.
Customer Reviews:
Chicken scratches vs. Detailed Storyboards.......2007-08-19
I have used this book numerous times for my teachings in which students go through the process of making a short film with certain limitations being imposed. It is part of a process that I call "fast filmmaking". I like the examples that Katz presents, specifically that it is not the quality of the drawing, but how the drawing communicates the director's vision to the rest of the crew. I will usually have a student "explain" their storyboard to the class, and it is amazing how a few chicken scratches can give as much details as a fully detailed storyboard. Kudos to Katz for explaining the creative aspect of directing, and Michael Weise Productions for publishing these types of books.
of moderate interest to readers of video magazines.......2007-08-13
as a long-time reader of videographer's magazines, I didn't find much of interest in this book. If I were new to the trade, I'd probably have found it more useful. For that reason, I gave it a rather high rating of 4 stars
Mind-opening, even if you aren't interested in directing.......2007-06-30
I've worked in the graphics design business for years, but more recently I've grown interested in working with video, primarily shorts and documentary work. I was looking for a book that could help teach me the "language" of motion and visual storytelling, and this book fit the bill. In fact, I found it to be incredibly inspiring as a student of art in general. It's extremely well-written, chock full of practical examples, and contains numerous time-worn techniques as well as cutting-edge experimentation. One funny thing: since it was written a few years before the desktop digital video revolution began, it talks about some of the difficult aspects of shooting which are now in many ways moot. But it's good to hear about the history of the craft.
If you have any interest in all in shooting, directing, or producing any kind of motion picture, show, or short, you'll definitely want to buy this book. However, be forewarned: you'll never be able to watch movies the same way again. You'll begin to pick up all the subtle nuances of filmmaking without even realizing it, so don't feel bad if you have to force yourself to re-engage with the actual story as you're watching!
Useful, pleasurable.......2007-05-07
I'm a college student, not at film school, who makes videos as a serious hobby. I thought this book was much better than other titles in the same market, because it's so specific. Instead of telling you what anyone with common sense knows, like "keep continuity" and "composition can affect the mood of a scene," this film lays it all out in detail. I recommend this for everyone who wants to improve. Even if you're not particularly interested in storyboarding, you'll learn how to think about your sequences in advance much better.
Learning the Rules Before You Break Them.......2007-01-13
Even though many of the great filmmakers may have not utilized storyboards, every one of them has pre-visualized their films.
Pre-visualization is the essence of what it means to be a director. A director can only be effective if he/she properly prepares for each scene. Even if one does not have every shot precisely planned out, they will still have an idea of the look and the flow of the process.
There are certainly many people who feel directing should be intuitive, that there should be no structure to the process or else creativity is stifled. This is a valid point from the perspective of the artist.
What is wonderful about this book is that it gives extensive insight into WHY one should cover a scene in a certain way. Directing as a profession requires a certain amount of preparation and PROOF that you have a handle on the film. Producers want reassurance that you have a vision worth pouring tens of millions of dollars into. Armed with the ability to properly express yourself in regard to your vision, you will have a much easier time convincing others to follow you.
So, in the end, if you are interested in studying the language of film and the methodology behind classic film composition and editing, then this book and the accompanying Film Directing: Cinematic Motion are essential.
Book Description
The first comprehensive how-to book on the topic! Contemporary ceramists have adapted traditional printmaking procedures to transfer images onto clay surfaces. And, with this thorough resource, anyone can take advantage of these techniques in their own home studio—even those with no printmaking background. The simple processes don’t require fancy equipment. Use silk-screen decals with light-sensitive emulsions to create a master image: then cover with glazes, and voilá! Use colored slips for unique monoprints. Work with stencils, relief blocks, or stamps, trying a variety of materials to mark the clay surface. Each method is carefully laid out in numerous photos, and shown on a finished piece. More than 100 images by leading contemporary artists showcase the techniques and provide a wealth of inspiration.
Customer Reviews:
Great handbook.......2007-08-09
I am a potter and I run a "paint your own pottery" studio. This book was just what I needed to ensure customer requests (as well as my own requirements) can be met as needed. Specifically I was interested in decal transfer to pottery, and the answer is complete in this book. I would recommend it to any potter or pyop studio owner. It's an invaluable resource.
good for beginners.......2007-07-31
This is a good book if your just starting to do image transfer with clay. It takes you trough step by step and has some great pictures If your like me any youve dont it for a while and are looking for something advanced dont bother with this book
Image Transfer on Clay by Paul Andrew Wandless.......2007-07-16
An excellent book, fun and exciting and easy to follow. A wonderful and enriching versatile process - with great photos and stimulating ideas.
Image Transfer on Clay.......2007-06-08
Looks like many processes will be fine to use on my clay but so far I haven't tried any specific ones.
Excellent reference on the subject.......2007-05-20
Very up-to-date information on a plethora of methods for image transfer on clay. Especially loved the section on laser printing on decals and can't wait to give it a try.
Average customer rating:
- Blue Screen
- Another enjoyable Sunny Randall Book
- Murder Mystery was weak but a good dose of Romance
- Sunny Randall Series
- Sunny meets Jesse
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Blue Screen
Robert B. Parker
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
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ASIN: 0399153519 |
Book Description
Buddy Bollen is a C-list movie mogul who made his fortune producing films of questionable artistic merit. When Buddy hires Sunny Randall to protect his rising star and girlfriend, Erin Flint, Sunny knows from the start that the prickly, spoiled beauty won't make her job easy. And when Erin's sister, Misty, is found dead in the lavish home they share with sugar daddy Bollen, there doesn't seem to be a single lead worth pursuing.
But then Sunny meets Jesse Stone, chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts, under whose jurisdiction the case falls. It immediately becomes clear that Jesse and Sunny have much in common. While searching for the killer, they learn an awful lot about each other-and themselves.
Tracking Misty's murderer reveals a host of seedy complications behind Erin's glamorous lifestyle as well as Buddy Bollen's entertainment empire, made up of shady film deals and mobsters out for revenge. But in a world where there's little difference between the good guys and the bad, exposing the killer could prove to be Sunny's undoing.
Customer Reviews:
Blue Screen.......2007-08-31
Robert Parker, in my opinion, is the best writer around. I enjoy all his books.
Another enjoyable Sunny Randall Book.......2007-08-23
I enjoy the easy reading of Robert Parker and I especially like the Spencer and Randall series.
I am a little disappointed that Parker is starting to tie his series together with this one. The Stone series is ok, but not my favorite. Obviously others feel the same way or Parker would not try to bring the story lines together.
Murder Mystery was weak but a good dose of Romance .......2007-08-09
I have read several of the author's Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone novels, i.e., Perish Twice, Night Passage and Stone Cold and I really enjoyed them. The author has such a creative way of making these characters seem so real. In Blue Screen I was glad to see Sunny and Jesse together in the story. However I was hoping for another thrilling mystery by Robert P. Parker, but instead I got part mystery and a lot over done pages on the romance of Sunny and Jesse. Their relationship is the highlight of the story and the chemistry between them did help to make the story more interesting. I wonder, maybe Mr. Parker should have written a romance novel. The plot for the murder mystery side was weak and left me disappointed. I'm still a fan of Mr. Parker, and I'm sorry to say that I just think he can do better. Sure I'd recommend this book to my friends. It's not a terrible read; in fact it would be a great read for a late night read or the beach.
If there's ever been a literary example of a refreshing, thrilling mystery then it has to be The Monopoly Factor by Robert L. Saunders. This story of corporate deceit, murder and a bit of romance is a swift, no-nonsense story written in a highly effective and uncluttered fashion. The author shows a smooth, new prose style with finely drawn characters and a plot that will keep seeking to read chapter after chapter. Don't miss this one. You won't be disappointed. Also, check out his stunning Women's Fiction Gathering of Cans. Just the title perked my little gray cells. Have a good read.
Sunny Randall Series.......2007-08-06
This is the fifth book in Robert Parker's Sunny Randall series. This series of books are easy and entertaining to read. Good if you want relaxing reading.
Sunny meets Jesse.......2007-08-03
Robert B. Parker, Dean of American Crime fiction is still cranking them out. I, as a mystery-thriller-suspense reader have read maybe a half dozen Parkers, but the guy has written over 50 books. I feel as a reader, I'm not living up to my end of the bargain. But you know what? Blue Screen is a really good book. The guy's still got it. His protagonists include his most well know hero, Spenser, of course. And now there are a half dozen Jesse Stone books, a Chief of Police in a small New England town. And my new favorite sleuth, the heroine of this one, Sunny Randall. A really likable, sexy but tough private eye.
The book has movie stars and mobsters, prostitutes and pimps, and baseball. Sunny is hired as a bodyguard for superstar Erin Flint, quite possibly the first professional woman baseball player, a female version of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In an interesting romantic twist, Sunny finds herself working with Jesse Stone, the Chief of Police of Paradise, Massachusetts, on loan from another Parker series. Jesse confides in Sunny he was fired from the L.A.P.D. for his drinking problem which he now has under control. Sort of. But what a great combination these two make. Both are dealing with recent break ups in their respective relationships. Neither care to make the same mistake again. Both want to take it easy. Let it happen, but Sunny does shave her legs before her date with Jesse. I suppose you ought to read the book to see what happens. "I'm not easy," says Sunny, "but I'm fun."
Book Description
This CDROM contains all the source code for the routines and examples from Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition) and Numerical Recipes in C++: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition) as well as the affiliated example books. The C++ routines, in ANSI/ISO C++ source code, can be used with almost any existing C++ vector/matrix class library, according to user preference. A simple class library for stand-alone use is also included. The ISO 9660 standard format CD-ROM can be used by Windows (all versions) and Macintosh compatible computers, using any Web browser to navigate among the program files. Included with the CD-ROM is a license to use all the copyrighted Numerical Recipes code on a single Windows or Macintosh compatible computer. Both scientific programmers new to C++, and experienced C++ programmers who need access to the Numerical Recipes routines, can benefit from this new version of a classic text.
Customer Reviews:
Numerical Recipes Review.......2006-08-14
I've been using the book in C for several years and thought it was quite good, but the new C++ version is far and above better.
This is the one of the worst examples of coding I've seen.......2003-06-19
I just got my copy of the CD today. I was surprised to see that they had stripped off all the code comments provided in the books. All that is left is the terse library of routines with the single character variables we loved to use as a BASIC beginner.
Buy this CD for the licence rights, but download the PDF chapters from the NR web site to get the commented code.
The familiar Numerical Recipies routines without so much C.......2002-05-02
The numerical recipes books have always provided minimal but usable routines for most numerical applications. The C++ conversion supplies routines that have been barely changed from the C versions, but uses C++ to give you the minimum that C++ programmers demand: automatic memory management and freedom from scary macros and side effects . The authors also updated the code to support double precision floats and complex numbers where the C version does not. The implementation of vectors and matrices is so minimal that even matrix multiplication and addition are not supported. All manipulation is element by element. This may make the routines less readable but has one big advantage: you can plug any vector or matrix library into these routine in place of their built in ones and expect everything to work instantly.
This is NOT free software - the license is relatively friendly to commercial software but not to open source software.
While there are other libraries that seem to be much more friendly to open source development than the NR library, I still think the numerical recipes books and libraries are useful to people writing open source software. You can't use the library directly, but where else are you going to find examples of minimal implementations of numeric algorithms? The code is absolutely modular, so you do have some hope of being able to decipher it.
Anyway even the NR routines are based on older routines so the authors admit in the license that comes with the book that they can't claim to own the algorithms they use.
Basically the new version of the code has been improved to the point where there's no need to run screaming, and for quick and dirty math routines, that's good enough for my use anyway.
Book Description
This book describes step-by-step everything you need to know about four-color seperations, using specialty films and vellums, and printing with Post-Script printers.
Customer Reviews:
Photoshop for screen printers a MUST!.......2007-09-15
After searching far and wide, I cam upon this book and it is a great tool!
After getting frustrated with "Tutorial" disks from internet vendors, too messy, not organized.
This book by far gives you all the know how and insight how to use your photoshop 7 program for screen printing.
tips and tricks and all!
I highly recommend it
Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers - Larry St. John, Jr........2007-01-12
If you purchase this book just to learn about Photoshop 7.0, you may not get what you expect. However the way this book deals with the screen printing attributes of Photoshop, it has been an invaluable source for setting up jobs for the screen printing business. As an advanced edition of the already powerful application, it has proved extremely useful. I would highly recommend it to anyone with the special needs of the screen printing business.
The Screen Printers Bible.......2006-01-18
***WARNING I AM NOT A SCREEN PRINTER NOR DO I PLAY ONE ON TV***
First off Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers is written for Microsoft Windows so you Mac users will have to translate, second it expects you to already have a RIP and a printer that prints on film to do the final output. Although it does go into output media such as Vellums (A semi-transparent media that is easy to print on like paper but shrinks like the dickens.) and Specialty Films or transparencies (A true transparent media that has been reformulated for inkjet printers and such.) the book does not really give a great deal of information about their use. That is the problem here, there really is so many brands and so many ways to tackle the job that you can easily get lost in the product information available and allot of the knowledge comes from knowing your printer and your capabilities and your press.
PHOTOSHOP FOR BEGINNERS
The book is laid out more along the lines of a typical Photoshop teaching manual, which is both good and bad. You begin with your basics in the Part 1: The Photoshop Interface, T is for type, B is for brush, blah blah blah. Then we have a whole chapter in corporate artwork Part 2: Creating Artwork and Logos and then on to Part 3: Working With Clients Files which from experience I can tell you boils down to telling them for the millionth time "No! I want you to save it as a J-Peg, No not GIF, NO NO NO this is not for your website its for a t-shirt!" and playing with computer color correction voodoo like Scanner Curves and Monitor Curves and the all knowing, all encompassing, Pantone Colors. "Well that red was not sooo red on my computer screen. What? You printed 500 shirts already?!"
COLOR SEPARATIONS AND THE DAMAGE DONE
Stuffed in the back of the book after page 389 we get to the big money shot of Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers, Part 4: Color Separations, here is where the price of the job and the amount of effort in printing come into play. The decisions you make in how many screens will be used and how many screens you can afford to make for the job effect the price you quote and the quality of the work you do. Will the image be photo realistic? Will the t-shirt be white or a dark color? How many Channels or colors will you use? How many stations are on your press? Is it automatic or manual? Do you really love your job that much?
So here the book separates the various tasks into four main parts...
SPOT COLOR SEPARATIONS
Spot Colors are for the simplest tasks in Screen Printing, used for images with very few colors involved and uncomplicated designs. This takes very little effort to setup and print and it is how most Screen Printers start off and make their money.
PROCESS COLOR SEPARATIONS
Here is where the going gets tough and the tough go mental. Process Color is used for all those photo realistic t-shirts you see at rock concerts, they are difficult to create, setup and print. This is also where you will find various companies such as $Fast Films$ and $Serichrome Seps$ selling you their software or their services. They are in essence selling you Photoshop plugins or Macros that do this task repeatedly, based on formula, for you. Just stick in the number of screens you want and the color of shirt you are using and there you go. Now it is great to have push button capabilities to do this work, but here you learn what they are doing and how they are doing it, so even if you buy a software package to do this task it is good to know what is going on and how to tweak those settings and Channels, that this software spews out at you, to your needs.
INDEXED COLOR SEPARATIONS
Index Color to me is an art form; it takes a more complex picture and limits the amount of colors to be used to only the main ones found in the image itself thus making it less complicated to print. You constantly run the risk of course or grainy looking prints and posterizing the image, it can be done though and I have seen some truly stunning shirts made using this process. Here is where the Screen Printer is balancing the limitations of his press against the gamut of colors needed to create the image, and the color of the shirt itself, benefiting the customer in price with the quality of work on the actual t-shirt, it takes skillz dude!
SIMULATED PROCESS COLOR SEPARATIONS
Not much to tell on this one, basically this is simply a hybrid between Spot Color and Index Color that is all.
PRINT DAMN YOU! PRINT! NO! GET ME THE AXE!
Now comes the weird part of Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers where I find the most problems. Why did they separate out the Part 5: Printing and not do anything with it really? This part of the book does not flow for me or provide the type of support someone using this book really needs. Most people going about doing Color Separations make a decision based on the image provided and then follow through from the choice to the actual printing of the film which is different for each type of separation process. In other words the separation process dictates the printing process.
Here in Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers they decided to make a whole chapter on printing again defining the four main ways to separate an image and then showing you the steps to print it out. In printing out the image there are some complex decisions to make concerning Screen Angles, Moiré, LPI, and DPI and there is allot of ground to be covered in making these choices. Unfortunately these choices are done again in the step-by-step manner (slide tab a into tab b) that is used in showing you the basics of Photoshop.
I do not find this layout helpful or very well titled or sufficiently indexed in the back of the book. Joli Ballew does discuss some of the more advanced, confusing, and critical choices of printing Halftones along the way in various side boxes and in-depth explanations but these are not readily found in the index. You are making the person find this information after you have taken them through the process of Color Separation and you have not provided a way to identify the different choices made in the process of printing. BAD MOVE! I would have plainly labeled and titled and indexed the steps for CMYK Screen Angles for Process Color Separations and indexed the hell out of it mind you, even if this meant redundancy, before providing the excellent step-by-step commentary and those great tips.
A LITTLE SOMETHING MISSING
What I see as my main complaint though... If your book depends on Photoshop 7 (Which is already outdated, such is the shelf life of Adobe software.) Why not splurge and give the nitty gritty about what brands of printers, Such as the Epson 3000 most people are tending to use due to the acidic nature of the particular Epson QuickDry ink used in this one *low cost model* (acidic ink and film: true solid black on film guys) and other various whys and hows of products they are using currently? Why not show how to use free Post Script emulation software such as GhostScript so as to save yourself or your company money? Maybe a whole chapter devoted to various cheap or free RIP software and how some RIPs do Halftones while others do not.
This is exactly where Color Separation can become an expensive experiment for the person just starting and where there is not a whole lot of unbiased information out there and it would have provided the ability to use Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers much more easily to begin with.
Sure, there is incredible information in this book if you already have access to a Post Script printer or RIP software and a professional inkjet or laser printer but making it cheaper or easier to get these items would have meant more people benefiting from the various instructions provided here. That would have been technically challenging but also a major selling point. Because lets face it, most people buying this book are not likely going to be able to personally afford the hundreds of dollars associated with some of this software I am talking about.
So if anyone is interested and ready for the adventure and the incredible headache in attempting try this free or 'on the cheap' get your Google going and type in the following...
GhostScript, Gimp-Print, CUPS
PRINTFAB
A SUMMARY OR SOMETHING LIKE IT
I hate being negative about Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers since it is pretty much a one of a kind book and in the end a very necessary resource for Screen Printers. I just have had to beat my head again and again and again over various topics provided in this book and in doing so have a different perspective about the subject matter. Hopefully there will be an update and maybe a rethinking of certain parts of the book so that it can only be even more useful. All in all it is impressive in the amount of information it does try to cover and it does so providing at least a solid foundation to start learning and researching the more specialized aspects of the processes and materials covered. Excellent Job!
I fully recommend Photoshop 7.0 for Screen Printers to even the most advanced users out there.
AMAZING!.......2005-09-16
This book is essential for beginners and advances photoshoppers alike. Many of the basic elements presented are overlooked in other photoshop manuals. Easy to understand and loaded with valuable information.
Happy screener.......2005-09-05
I'm a screen printer from the old school. This book has opened up all kinds of possibilities. Now I can take my artistry to new levels. The step by step approach is wonderful. They've covered everything for beginners to more advanced techniques.
Book Description
Now the omnibus edition Numerical Recipes Code CDROM contains all the source code from the brand-new Numerical Recipes in C++ and the Numerical Recipes in C++ Example Book, including a stand-alone class library, in addition to all the source code for the routines and examples from: Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition); Numerical Recipes in Fortran 90: The Art of Parallel Scientific Computing; Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition); Numerical Recipes in Pascal: The Art of Scientific Computing; Numerical Recipes Routines and Examples in BASIC plus the complete public domain SLATEC Common Mathematical Library, a freely redistributable collection of over 1400 mathematical and statistical routines, and many other extras. The ISO 9660 standard format CD-ROM can be used by Windows (all versions) and Macintosh compatible computers. HTML files included on the CD-ROM allow the use of any Web browser to navigate among all the program files. Included with the CD-ROM is a license to use all the copyrighted Numerical Recipes code on a single Windows or Macintosh compatible computer.
Download Description
Now the omnibus edition Numerical Recipes Code CDROM contains all the source code from the brand-new Numerical Recipes in C++ and the Numerical Recipes in C++ Example Book, including a stand-alone class library, in addition to all the source code for the routines and examples from: Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition); Numerical Recipes in Fortran 90: The Art of Parallel Scientific Computing; Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition); Numerical Recipes in Pascal: The Art of Scientific Computing; Numerical Recipes Routines and Examples in BASIC plus the complete public domain SLATEC Common Mathematical Library, a freely redistributable collection of over 1400 mathematical and statistical routines, and many other extras. This ISO 9660 standard CD-ROM includes a license to use all the code on one screen of any LINUX or UNIX workstation.
Customer Reviews:
convenient and well tested code, but overpriced.......2006-07-02
For those of you who want source code for numerical programming, here is some. The code is used in the well known Numerical Recipes series of books. The code is in Fortran and C and is well tested and debugged.
Of course, if you look on the web, these days, you could probably find equivalent code from reputable sources. But one selling point of the CD is its convenience. Against this is its price. Remember that the marginal cost of this CD with its packaging is pretty small. Only a few dollars. The price is a rip off.
Book Description
The Internet is bigger and better than what a mere browser allows. Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers is for programmers and businesspeople who want to take full advantage of the vast resources available on the Web. There's no reason to let browsers limit your online experience-especially when you can easily automate online tasks to suit your individual needs.
Learn how to write webbots and spiders that do all this and more:
Programmatically download entire websites
Effectively parse data from web pages
Manage cookies
Decode encrypted files
Automate form submissions
Send and receive email
Send SMS alerts to your cell phone
Unlock password-protected websites
Automatically bid in online auctions
Exchange data with FTP and NNTP servers
Sample projects using standard code libraries reinforce these new skills. You'll learn how to create your own webbots and spiders that track online prices, aggregate different data sources into a single web page, and archive the online data you just can't live without. You'll learn inside information from an experienced webbot developer on how and when to write stealthy webbots that mimic human behavior, tips for developing fault-tolerant designs, and various methods for launching and scheduling webbots. You'll also get advice on how to write webbots and spiders that respect website owner property rights, plus techniques for shielding websites from unwanted robots.
As a bonus, visit the author's website to test your webbots on sample target pages, and to download the scripts and code libraries used in the book.
Some tasks are just too tedious-or too important!- to leave to humans. Once you've automated your online life, you'll never let a browser limit the way you use the Internet again.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book with Lots of Information.......2007-08-25
This book covers every aspect I could ever hope a book on web bots would cover. It goes into great detail and provides lots of background information about things such as why you should use web bots, security issues, how to authenticate a bot with password protected sites, writing search engine crawlers, parsing HTML, how to handle cookies, HTTP headers, dealing with forms and a lot more.
I was very pleased with how this book covered concepts. The book uses PHP and the cURL library as a teaching tool instead of trying to give a lesson in how to use PHP as a crawler language. The way the code is explained makes it very easy to translate into whatever language you are most comfortable coding in. The book uses fundamental functional programming concepts which make it easy to pick up the general idea without actually knowing PHP.
My boss bought this book to help my group us with a project we were working on, and even my co-workers who had no background with PHP were able to use this book to write a web bot in C# (using the cURL library) very easily. The concepts from this book easily transfered over to object-oriented concepts.
Scour The Internet = FUN FUN FUN.......2007-07-04
'Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers: A Guide to Developing Internet Agents with PHP/CURL' by Michael Schrenk is an absolute GEM of a book for all internet computer nerds that love trying new things and hacking for a hobby!! If you are one of the afformentioned and love to try new things and see how you can scour the internet with the greatest of ease, you owe it yourself to read and DO this guide!! When I say DO I mean don't just read, but input the examples you'll find within and play around with the power of PHP and CURL to be able to quickly and efficiently traverse the web, not for the purpose of mayhem but enjoyment!
A perfect example contained within this book is writing code to programmatically download entire websites. Instead of just right-clicking an image, imagine running code to grab the ENTIRE contents simply and easily?!?
Other fun tasks you'll learn how to do are send SMS alers to your cell phone, decode encrypted files, parse web site data... the list could go on and on!!
If you like to play with the web and create cool apps that will do cool things, pick up this wonderful book, sick back and PLAY!!
***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
It's a top pick any comprehensive computer library needs........2007-06-17
Programmers and businesspeople who want to use the Web's resources to make the most of locating or promoting data will find Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers a key to successful use of the web. From how to decode encrypted files and automate form submissions to unlocking password-protected websites and placing automatic bids on web auction sites, this comes from a developer who has developed webbots and spiders for clients across North America, and who has all the insider keys to usage. It's a top pick any comprehensive computer library needs.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Etra-Ordinary.......2007-06-14
This is the sort of book I've been waiting for. The book is divided in many small, easy to follow chapters.
After reading it, you should be left with the knowledge and real-life PHP codes to help you take PHP to the extremes and go beyond your current use of PHP.
The only complaint I can make about the book is that the codes are written in procedural programming. In light of the much improved Object Oriented capabilities of PHP5 (and soon PHP6) this practice need to be reassessed.
I hope the later revisions of this book uses an OBJECT ORIENTED Approach. Sooner or later we should jump on the OO bandwagon.
I am sure anyone who have started on the OOP path, will find more and more uses for it
Solid introduction to webbots, with a catch. .......2007-04-28
I picked up this book full of enthusiasm, spiders are just plain cool, they go out and start downloading data for you, reading webpages, and even understanding them a little. My enthusiasm was dashed a little however on page four: You may use any of the scripts in this book for your own personal use, as long as you agree not to redistribute them... and agree not to sell or create derivative products under any circumstances.. I develop in PHP professionally, and a lot of the code I write ends up getting used somewhere with some sort of a for-profit basis, which pretty effectively prevents me from using any code between the covers (at its strictest reading, Im not sure I can even change the code).
The book does a great job of introducing different sorts of web agents that you can create programatically (more than just spiders) and introduces all sorts of interesting projects along those lines. Throughout the book a series of libraries written by the author are leveraged to make the retrieval and parsing of the various pages much easier. While newer developers will enjoy being able to concentrate on the big picture I found myself itching for more information on the nitty gritty.
Some of the projects explored include: price monitoring, image capturing (want to be your own google image search? :) ), link verification, spiders, and snipers. Each of the different projects received its own chapter, and effectively covered a lot of the topics covered within.
Overall, I would recommend this book to beginner to intermediate PHP developers looking to tackle the world of web agents, its a good primer on the related topics, and at the very least will give you some ideas on the complexities involved. As their skill grows they will probably find them-self either moving past the libraries included with the book, or modifying them greatly. My biggest complaint is the lack of coverage on the robots.txt file, some talk is given to it in terms of blocking robots from your own site, but I didnt see any code that actually dealt with parsing it for your own robot.
Average customer rating:
- Shoji: How to Design, Build, and Install Japanese Screens
- Great Starter for Westerners
- shoji screens
- Shojis on time
- A woodworkers guide to shoji for your home
|
Shoji: How to Design, Build, and Install Japanese Screens
Jay van Arsdale
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
-
Making Shoji
-
Making Japanese-Style Lamps and Lanterns
-
The Japanese House: Architecture and Interiors
-
A Japanese Touch for Your Home
-
The Complete Japanese Joinery
ASIN: 0870118641 |
Book Description
Japanese-style shoji screens are translucent, wooden-lattice panels that subtly transform light and space and add an elegant touch to any decor. This book contains all the information you need to design and make shoji for your own home or apartment.
Features
* Notes on aesthetics and design fundamentals
* Complete how-to guide covering basic construction methods, screen materials, and wood selection
* Home projects, including window inserts, sliding and hanging screens, glass panel shoji, double- and single-sided shoji, skylight shoji, decorative wall boxes, and floor and table lanterns
* Introduction to Japanese hand tools and planing and joinery techniques
* Sample lattice patterns, photographs, and line drawings for design and remodeling ideas
* List of suppliers
Customer Reviews:
Shoji: How to Design, Build, and Install Japanese Screens .......2007-05-17
This is an excellent guide to making japanese screens.if you are a beginer or a pro i think youll find this the ideal choice to start off with.
Great Starter for Westerners.......2007-01-10
Can not say enough about this book, it gives you a good start if you know a little about wood, but does not stop there.
If you get this book you'll enjoy that it does not insult your interest by just showing pictures of work only a master could do. It gives the information needed to do your first design plus what you'll need once you understand the methods.
Thanks Jay, you have given me a great new experience.
shoji screens.......2006-11-10
the book was easy to understand. easy to read. a great book , if you want to build a shoji screen this is the book for you. tells you about other uses and other stronger materials to use
Shojis on time.......2006-03-18
The book arrived speedily and in great condition. What more can I ask?
A woodworkers guide to shoji for your home.......2006-02-11
Shoji are really beautiful. There is something wonderful about the light passing through the semi-translucent rice paper, creating an atmosphere that is romantic and relaxing. Having lived in Japanese houses for several years, it was something that I wanted to recreate when I returned to the US.
"Shoji: How to design, build, and install Japanese Screens" was exactly the book I was looking for. Jay van Arsdale has written a simply, comprehensive guide on how to add shoji to an existing house, from very simple screens to much more complicated structures. Its a modern approach to making shoji, rather than bothering with traditional Japanese methods, and is very practical and doable.
The book assumes that you have woodworking skills and tools, and isn't so much a "Beginner's Guide." He gives a list of tools that you will need, mainly a set of chisels, hammers, saws, polishing stones and planes. He does recommend that you invest in Japanese tools, as they are made differently from Western tools and will create a different look in the wood that will be more authentic and aesthetically pleasing. There are a few specialty chisels, specifically the yarinomi and the sokosarae, that will make your shoji-making much more efficient.
The different styles of shoji in the book range from simple shoji, to glass-panel shoji, closet and cabinet screens and lanterns. For the truly ambitious there are instructions for ceiling fixtures and skylights as well as valances and hanging screens. Most of those projects are far removed from my abilities, but a more advanced woodworker will find some inspiring projects.
The photos are all in black-and-white, but there are some beautiful homes on display showing you what you can do with shoji screens. Certainly not everyone has the time and money for that kind of home transfiguration, but it is nice to dream.
Book Description
A
Dungeon Master 2-pack that includes both a new
D&D screen and a bonus
d20 Modern screen -- in landscape format with new art.
Useful to anyone running any type of roleplaying campaign, this Deluxe
Dungeon Master Screens 2-pack contains both a
Dungeons & Dragons screen and a bonus screen for the
d20 Modern Roleplaying Game.
The tables on the back of the
Dungeon Master's Screen have been revised and updated to comply with the changes made in the new version 3.5 core rulebooks released in 2003.
Every table includes a page number reference you can use to look up more detailed information. You’ll also find some tables modified specifically for this screen that will help you get the information you need as quickly as possible during play.
Also included is a bonus four-panel screen geared toward the action-packed world of your
d20 Modern campaign. Because both screens fully support the d20 System, they can be used separately or together by an experienced
Dungeon Master or Gamemaster.
Customer Reviews:
Not bad if you can find it under 10 bucks w/ shipping.......2007-05-09
The tables include:
-Equipment hardness/hitpoints
-Substance hardness/hitpoints
-Break/Burst DCs
-Items affected by magical attacks
-Size and AC of objects
-Object hardness/hitpoints
-Wall stats
-Door stats
-Turning undead
-Increase/Decrease weapon damage by size
-Attack roll modifiers
-AC modifiers
-Influencing NPC attitudes
-Missing w/ a thrown weapon figure
-Climb check DCs
-Listen check DCs
-Combat Actions (AoO)
-Concentration Check DCs
-Skills list (Armor check, AoO)
-Ability modifiers
-Movement and Distance
-Hampered movement
-Armored/Encumbered speeds
-Max distance for spot checks
-Detect Magic stats
-Detect Evil stats
-Light sources and illumination
While the list is comprehensive, I was looking for some random encounter tables, oh well. The screen is short and while I didn't think that would be an issue, it is. I'm now paperclipping the D20 Modern screen (which has a few D&D relevant things on it, but not many) on top of the D&D one (they're the same size exactly).
Cool, but not necessary.......2007-04-03
Cool looking, but you could do without them. Nice quick info on inside, but again could do without.
Never shipped.......2007-02-08
We ordered this a month ago. We kept waiting and checking.. not shipped yet. Wait some more, not shipped yet. The item said "usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks" however, in 4 weeks, still "not shipped yet". Recomend if you want this, to buy it somewhere else. We ended up canceling this order and getting it somewhere else. Amazon doesn't know how to ship this particualr item.
Nice, but pricey.......2007-01-12
The charts selected for the inside of the screen are surprisingly useful; basically, they selected a lot of the things that most frequently come into play during a dungeon crawl, but that most people wouldn't bother to learn or remember. Things like various item and material hardnesses, common modifiers to AC, various types of actions and whether they provoke Attacks of Opportunity, skills, movement penaltes, light, and auras for both magic and evil/good. The creators were thoughtful enough to include the book and page number for various charts in case you need to get more info. On the downside, as other reviews mentioned it is surprisingly short for a screen, and pretty high-priced considering what you get. Yeah, yeah; you get a bonus D20 modern screen. Wow. I'd say that seven bucks would be a more reasonable price; five if it didn't come with a D20 modern screen.
It ain't that bad -- it's actually pretty good.......2006-09-22
Generally my opinion is that a screen is a screen is a screen. However, this screen is actually better than most. I like the landscape, 4-panel format because it means I can see and be seen over the screen, while it still hides my map, my notepad and my dice rolls. It also has a better center of gravity since it is lower and wider, which means it almost never falls over, even when struck by a handful of dice or my marauding 18-month old. That is not a claim that most portrait-oriented screens can make.
Is the screen a black-out room and cone of silence rolled into one? Of course not. If you need the full height of the older-styled 11" screens, this one won't work for you. But really, if you are playing with people who can't keep their eyes off the occasional flash of paper behind the DM's screen, don't blame the screen; get new friends.
For my part, the most important part is that WoTC (a company I don't think much of normally) actually gave some thought to what was on the screen. The inside is well thought out, with useful charts and tables easy to hand. Easily the best part is the full listing of all actions, and whether they are free, standard, or movement equivalent, and whether they provoke an Attack of Opportunity or not. The table with hardness ratings for standard items is also useful for those spur-of-the-moment actions when the PCs want to break down a random door, chop that chest open, or split a table in two.
Normally I wouldn't bother to review a screen, but this one has such an unfairly low rating that I almost feel sorry for it. It's a good product; I use it in every session, it keeps the players' eyes off the important stuff, and it's durable enough that even after 2 years of use it's in quite good shape. If for some reason you don't have a screen already, you could do a lot worse than this one.
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