Books - Digital Moviemaking / Transfers

[John Klein]

I know Chris has listed this, but I was just reading over at Narnes and Boble a book called Digital Moviemaking.

http://www.pixelmonger.com/home.html

They spoke about dv to film transfers, dv formats, etc. ... I think it's worth a glance.

Anybody read anything we all should have?

[Chris Hurd]

That's the book by Scott Billups. He was David Lynch's DP for the recent
Playstation commercial shoot using a Sony PD150. I have this book; it's great.

[Ken Tanaka]

I spent part of my afternoon at Borders and came across several good books. I was debating whether or not to start a thread for them here...but you already did it!

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"Digital Video Camerawork", by Peter Ward
Focal Press, 2000, 2001 (ISBN 0-240-51605-2)
$29.95

A soup-to-nuts overview of the digital video world. Covers darn near every conceivable topic, including broadcast concepts, in summary format. A good quick reference.

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"The Little Digital Video Book" by Michael Rubin
Peachpit Press, 2002 (ISBN 0-201-75848-2)
$19.95

A well-written, lively little book aimed at the person who wants to shoot and edit family and short personal "sketches" without becoming Spielberg or assuming Speilberg's budgets. Strong emphasis on keeping things simple for greatest satisfaction. Weaves some professional shooting and editing techniques into the mix but in a non-threatening way. This practical little book will be very helpful to amateur home videographers/editors just getting started. It's really worth a look.

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"Setting Up Your Shots: Great Camera Moves Every Filmmaker SHould Know", by Jeremy Vineyard
Michael Weise Productions, 1999 (ISBN 0-941188-74-4)
$19.95

A great encyclopedia of camera shots illustrated in storyboard-style sketches. Cites examples of most shots from current films. Don't know what a "Focus Out, Pass Out" shot is? How about an "Inventory POV"? No? Better get this book!

[John Locke]

Thanks for the book recommendations, guys.

Here's a few more:

"The iFilm Digital Video - Filmmaker's Handbook" - Collier

"The Filmmaker's Handbook - A Comprehensive Guide For The Digital Age" - Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus

"Film Directing - Shot by Shot" - Steven Katz

"Lighting Techniques for Video Production : The Art of Casting Shadows" - Tom LeTourneau

[Gayle Bryan]

Digital Filmmaking Handbook by Ben Long & Sonja Schenk

[Ken Tanaka]

"Sight Sound Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics" by Herbert Zettl
Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999 (3rd printing)
Hardcover
ISBN 0-534-52677-2

This is a seminal reference work emphasizing the theory and science of the aesthetics behind film and video design. It might be a bit hard to locate but it's absolutely worth the search if you are a serious student and/or practitioner of videography or cinematography.

[Justin Walter]

I read the book Digital Moviemaking by Scott Billups. One of the things he focuses on that I agree with is the current state of the film industry.

There isn't a real alternative to Hollywood. (I know most people don't care because they truly enjoy most Hollywood films) So called independent films are generally not made with any original thought. They are made as an audition for Hollywood. In the book Scott tells the story of a time when he was at an indi-film-festival with a reporter who asked every filmmaker that came by what they hoped to accomplish with their movie. 100% responded the were looking for a big studio deal.

In the book Scott is optimistic that video is going to be the savior. If only videomakers will recognize thier power and try hard to get the best image/sound quality possible in order to compete with film. Its a good thought and I'm certainly going to try to provide him with the evidence he needs to prove his theory. Here at the beginning it looks almost too easy, almost like there isn't any competition.

[John Locke]

Can anyone recommend a book that lays out, step-by-step, what has to be done to submit your films to major broadcasters? I'm talking about details pertaining to putting the tape together (beta or DVD?) including how many seconds of color bars to add at the beginning, calibration, how many seconds of slate, etc.? Also, protocol involved in contacting the broadcaster, things to avoid doing, etc.

Also, can anyone recommend a good book on the legal side of shooting? When you can include shots of people without releases and when releases are a necessity...when you need location releases...at what point a shooting permit from a city or state government organization is required...that kind of stuff.

Thanks.

[Ken Tanaka]

John,

Take a look at Focal Press' site. (http://www.bh.com/focalbooks/default.asp?) I vaguely recall seeing some books by focal that dealt with broadcast submissions. SInce Focal in a UK publisher they may be aimed at the British market.

I recall recently coming across a book that hit precisely on preparing & pitching material for broadcasters...I thought it was a Focal book but I may have been mistaken. Will scan for it.

Ahh, I think this is it:
The Independent Film and Videomaker's Guide
by Michael Wiese
Focal Press; ISBN: 0941188574

You may be able to find some legal reference material at Video University's site (http://www.videouniversity.com)
They have a whole collection of release agreements, etc.

[Ken Tanaka]

by Maxie D. Collier
Lone Eagle Publishing Company; ISBN: 1580650317

Comparable to Scott Billup's book. A little stronger reference in some respects, in my opinion.

[Peter Koller]

* Producing great sound for digital video - by Jay Rose

the best book I could find to get started with sound recording. you might also want to check out the following:

http://www.dv.com/db_area/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

the audio solution forum is moderated by Jay Rose himself (and many posts are answered by him, he is very helpful) and I found a lot of information in it by just reading through the posts.

* Basics of video lighting - by Des Lyver and Graham Swainson

short and very hands-on, although I find some of the illustrations not very helpful (only b&w sketches, no real lighting examples)

* Rebel without a crew - Robert Rodriguez

This book made me laugh tears and even if you are not a movie buff you wanna grab you camera, go out and shoot something right after you have read it.

[Ken Tanaka]

Peter,

The "Producing Great Sound for Digital Video" book is a very good reference!