Animation Books

This book is by far the best I've seen of its kind. I have read reviews that say the tutorials get lost in the long paragraphs, but those reviewers obviously didn't open the CD, because every single tutorial is presented in a step by step video that is shot from a first person perspective. How much easier could it be? This book is perfect for those new to Maya 4, because once you've finished this book, you can model a character from scratch, apply textures, set camera shots and various other activities and for those who have intermediate experience will find this book useful as a refresher and possibly learn short cuts to their work flow. The best thing about the book is that if the reader chose to, he or she could simply pop in the CD and learn all that this book has to offer. I am actually looking for other books written by these authors, becasue I haven't seen anything close to the way they teach.

This book is by far the best instructional book I have ever purchased and I don't just mean in the field of Computer Animation. Although I have bought several books for Lightwave, 3dMax as well as one other book for Maya, I could only recommend this one. Not only is the text informative and understandable, but with the CD Rom that comes included, you don't even need to read the book: Every tutorial is demonstrated by one of the two authors of the book and they follow along with the text verbatim. If I buy another animation book, it will be by these two guys.

This book made the conversion from other software very easy. I would recommend this book to anyone coming over from another package. The movies on the cd make following the steps very simple. I am in full production mode using maya with some time spent on the tutorials of this book.

Maya 4 Fundamentals---

So you want to learn MAYA... well this is a GREAT place to start...

This book and CD does not only cover the basics in writing... but they take it one step further and go step by step on CD... Jim Lammers is extremely understandable and makes learning MAYA fun... They walk you through designing a haunted house...and much more...

I did have a hard time understanding Lee Gooding... but he only covers 2 or 3 of the 14 chapters. I found that reading those chapters thoroughly and then watching the movie helped...

I would recommend this book for any beginner to MAYA. This book is not intended for the Intermediate to Advance MAYA user...

I am not certain how many users praising this book my have used an older version of Maya to work through the tutorials. While I do not have any difficulties with any tutorials released by Alias Wave-front, the exercises in this book do not match Maya 4.0. Windows that according to the book are supposed to pop up do not, and if they do, they look entirely different from the images in the book. I suspect that Maya 3 looked like this and the book was released without a thorough update, to match number 4. This does render the book quite useless.

I'm a fairly savvy computer user in most graphics and video applications, and I've had an interest in what Flash can offer for my projects. I've enjoyed using Dreamweaver for years, and figured I'd get myself a guide to help explore the world of Flash.

And while this book presents some good basics on using the features available in Flash, there are just too many BASIC chapters. Really, the book should start somewhere around chapter 10 or 11. If you have any knowledge of Freehand, Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign/Pagemaker, Quark or any other major graphics program, a good chunk of this book will bore you to tears.

However, the parts on animation are very clearly written, and the supporting files show you how things should work so you can judge your progress.

Personally, I'd prefer more emphasis on web design and less on pure animation, but I understand the bias, given Flash's primary intent. If you're looking for a Flash for the Web book, do consider either 1) a companion book or 2) a different source altogether.

A 600+ pages tour of Flash MX buttons and menus... with just a couple ridiculously elementary "tutorials" thrown in. Makes me think of somone who had to write a flash book and has never done anything with it but figure out how the user interface works. You won't find anything useful in here, that is about CREATING something with Flash. As for me I am never gonna buy a book from this author again, and I am probably also ditching the whole "savvy" line as well.

The actual rating is MINUS 5 stars. This book sucks. The stupid CD DOES NOT WORK on PC. Finally I copied it from my Mac. More surprises. Some chapters, IMPORTANT ONES, ARE MISSING. Without completing these chapters, you can't move on. I am throwing my book away in disgust. I'm heading out to buy a book that actually works.
People who can't even program their own CDs shoudn't write "How to" manuals.

If you would like to learn flash then this is a good book to start. With all the different titles out there, I believe that this comes clostest to being 'savvy'. It covers a lot of important concepts that you would need to get started like simple drawing, amimation, sounds, and a good intro to action script (if you don't know much about scripting then this maybe a hard concept to understand, MX has a simple interface of click and drag, but on the 2004 verison, the option was taken out).
Like all complex program, flash is a 'bottoms up' program where you need to learn the simple concept first, then from it build up a more complex movie.

I brought this book with a Flash class I'm taking at my college of env design. It really helps when there is an instructor to help with the common questions. But, since I missed most of the class, I found this book to be very helpful. Nevertheless, I wish there were more 'hands on' chapters.

Flash MX Savvy is NOT for beginners. It's not for advanced users either. It is a happy medium that is written for intermediate users of Macromedia Flash MX.
The presentation style is what most impresses me with this book. It is not a reference manual, nor is it one of those "Use our pre-made material in this step-by-step tutorial" sorts of books. It tells you the steps that need to be taken in a way that lets you apply what you read to your situation and not one they have dreamed up for you to mindlessly follow.
The progression of topics begins at the beginning. It talks about the various windows and panels, the tools for creating content, and then moves on to techniques in utilizing each tool in greater detail.
Actionscripting is implemented in very small portions that are followed with a description of what the code does and how to alter it.
The most interesting bits of information are towards the back of the book. Sections for integrating Audio and Video effectively are detailed very well. The capstone for me is the section on producing Flash content for an interactive CD. It was this that made me choose the Savvy book over any of the others on the shelf. It was unique, caught my interest, and is applicable to situations I will come into contact with in the future.

This book is inspirational; there are 4 or 5 very detailed step by step exercises. There are, also, many example pictures of finished work, like the one on the cover. It is a pity that the author has chosen the "less beautiful" pictures for developing the exercises. Don't expect to find how to make the one of the cover.

Looking for a wild ride or an interesting trip? This is the book for you. Along the way, you'll get a few important glimpses of the future. This a highly personal, idiosyncratic, at times eccentric, thoroughly original, book.

The contents include: The Tao of Dynamic Workflow; Image Harvesting: The Unwitting Ally; Classic Studio Lighting; Creating a Black-and-White Image from an RGB File; It's About Time.

Vincent shares his personal experience with and passion for how digital tools have changed the way he sees and makes photographs. He invites you into his world.

His `cinematic approach' is fascinating and timely, as the nature of visual culture and still imagery becomes more and more impacted by moving pictures.

In this book you'll get a first-hand glimpse of how Vincent struggles to achieve original authentic expression with the basic building blocks of photography - light and time.

He uses compositing to represent how the human eye sees in more compelling ways, controlling depth of field, time, and light.

Ultimately the concerns of this book transcend Photoshop. It's really about perception. He draws on other fields (acting and science) to expand our understanding of this process.

If his sentence structure is extended at times, Vincent more than makes up for it with passion and insight his reveries contain.

Vincent's shares more than what he knows about Photoshop. Vincent shares how he's come to see in new ways. He offers many valuable opportunities to you in this book.

See other books I recommend here: http://astore.amazon.com/johnpaulcapon-20

The ideas and the methods in this book are fantastic. Versace is more interested in teaching you an approach and methodology which you can take with you to future projects, rather than just listing off a bunch 'tricks' or quick step guides. The results are stunning pictures.

Initially I had an issue with the complimentary Nik Software plug-ins. Which was of no fault to Versace. In fact, he and I discussed the issue at length and he was extremely helpful. Great Customer service too.

Overall... for anyone interested in improving their digital photography workflow, and wanting to take that next 'LEAP', I highly recommend this book.

I can certainly see why Versace has earned his reputation as a first-rate professional photographer and Photoshop techniques expert, but... this book would benefit from a little less of the pseudo-philosophical art theory and cute jargon, less on recommendations to buy the products of his pals, and lot more on explicit details of the how-tos of producing quality images. Note that this edition is primarily based on the CS2 version of Photoshop. And be prepared for a fair number of editorial errors -- misnamed images, layers, etc.

A worthwhile read, but it could certainly be better.

Versace's book introduces some great concepts about seeing and handling images that are not found in your typical Photoshop book and are always given from the perspective of a practicing photographer rather than a computer jocky. It is designed however as a tutorial with the intention of having the reader actually do all the exercises not just once, but several times. All great advice, but there is one aspect of this book that is exasperating. The editing is terrible. I have found this problem with many technical tutorial books. I believe it is because the editor does not have the knowledge to know when something is amiss in the instructions and the author is too close to his material to see the ambiguities and layout mistakes are never picked up. In layout mistakes, the author never sees them and the editor has no clue if they exist or not. It is only the poor reader trying to follow very detailed instructions that picks up these gafs.

In this book, I found every tutorial had mistakes in the instructions with steps out of order, ambiguity in instructions, mismatched example images for the step involved, layer masks that did not match the instructions. Truly maddening. These types of books should be proofed by a student so that these mistakes can be reported and fixed.

So I have started doing the exercises, but when I come to a step that has mistakes, I just have to wing it. Frustrating for an expensive book.

One reviewer mentioned that the exercises depended on using proprietary plug-ins. Well, he does encourage the use of Nik plug-ins, but does usually give you a work around with the exception of the Nik Skylight filter. He also notes that you can freely download time-limited trials that can be used to do the exercises. I agree that the arrangement between Versace and Nik is just a bit to tight in this book.

Overall I am glad that I am working through this book, but poor production practices have made it a struggle and thus my 3 star rating.

Also it should be noted that Versace's handling of images is quite theatrical with very strong lighting effects that will strike some viewers as phoney looking. This however is this photographer's style. I believe that the concepts he is trying to impart can all be used but much more subtly if his style seems way over the top to you.

I haven't really read all the chapters yet but this book is very professional in terms of the processes they use to enhance images. Everything from different kinds of lighting to the steps through photoshop to printing. With that said, this is not a beginner book. Prior photoshop experience is needed or else one will easily get lost.

This is a must have book for anyone shooting professional portraits or stock photos with people in them. It explains everything from lighting, to photoshop. Very well written!

The tools and exercises were easy to follow and understand, I found all of the information relevant and heplful. All of my photoshop project begin with a glance into this book for tips on how to do it better!
Great investment.

Not the best for those new to Photoshop, and will be difficult for some to follow along with versions of PS older than CS. But packed with tips and tricks to allow you to get the most out of your digital images in the digital darkroom.

I'm photographer and I like to read about the photoshop but this book is one of the best book of It's kind, the book also include the CDROM with example images. Highly recommended.

Marcos

This is my second purchase of this series. I work with quite a few photos and found Richard Harrington's suggestions to be extremely helpful. The book provides insights that I haven't found elsewhere. This book is for those new to working with Photoshop for video as well as more seasoned users.

I bought this book since I'm studying motion graphics and compositing/visual effects at college and my Photoshop knowledge isn't quite at the level I'd like it to be. The nice thing about this book is the techniques are all geared towards those using PS for video related work - an excellent resource and a good companion book to "Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects" by Chris and Trish Meyer...

As an "old school" Avid editor from big post houses, Photoshop was used for simple titles and the rest went to the graphics department or our hands were slapped.

The book only goes through the usefulness and purpose of nearly all Photoshop tools and their relevancy to video. It has tutorials showing all common video uses from cutting out photos, lower thirds, backgrounds, creating elements for motion graphics programs like After Effects, uses of masks and alpha channels and the many ways you can create them depending on circumstance and content. In addition, the book points out some of the differences with different versions of Photoshop so you can work through aspects even if you haven't updated to CS3 yet.

The accompanying DVD not only includes all the elements needed to complete each task, there's also supplemental "Podcasts" in which Richard Harrington actually SHOWS you how to do many of the key aspects of each tutorial.

This is a must have book for video editors who must now do it all since Photoshop is the Swiss Army Knife of video graphics.

I have been in multimedia for 5 years and is always learning. I like the fact that i don't know everything!
This book is a must for anyone in multimedia and graphic design.

I found this book to be very informative with plenty of step by step tutorials. I think beginners as well as experienced photoshop uers will find this book very handy. I keep it on my bookshelf as a handy reference.

This one felt more like work >.> And halfway through the book my copy had an extra duplicate chapter and that confused me for a little bit. This was a necessity for me though because I had to learn the syntax differences between how AS2 does it compared to what I'm familiar with (C++, etc.). I really didn't enjoy reading this book though as it felt more like work than any of the other Flash/AS books I've read so far.

I'd recommend it only if you HAVE to learn about AS2 classes syntax ;-) Or want to punish yourself.

I took a Java course at the University of Texas @ Austin, which has a well regarded CS program, and I walked out of it knowing what classes, subclasses, and instances were, but no idea how to practically use them. After reading Moock's book, I not only better understand the theory behind object-oriented programming, but how to use it following best practices. I wish I hadn't taken the Java course, because in 500 pages Moock takes you through 3 semesters worth of material.

Of course, Essential ActionScript 3.0 is coming out soon, so you might want to wait for it, but make sure you buy at least one of them.

As an occasional actionscript programmer, I try to stay to keep myself updated with the language as it evolves, as it has become the standard tools for my digital/artistic works.
A year ago I dove into "ActionScript for Flash MX : the Definitive Guide" - I must admit I didn't understand some parts of it at first read - and got my poor programming skills to improve themselves at least a few notches up.

I was a bit discouraged at all this Flash evolutions, thinking I'd be left behind (not to mention Flex 2 and Actionscript 3 right now), when I almost reluctantly bought this book.

Well, it actually got me excited. Not only I feel way better in Actionscript programming now, seeing and understanding the improvements of the language (I still use the Definitive Guide for its handy and complete language reference while I code), but it also actually taught the principles of Object Oriented Programming.

It does use some plain metaphors at first like all OOP stuff for dummies I've read here and there, but the author has a way of putting things in a relevent way that makes you actually understand what is what, what goes where, and why. It's clear.

It's easy, going along his explanations and tutorials, and he also shows you thoroughly the possibilities and limitations of every concepts in the (relative to the Flash environment) he ever talks about, yet remaining accessible even to non-savvy programmers.

A must have, like all his books I guess.

My purchase of this book really helps mne a lot. It added up more knowledge and technique on my present expertise with Flash. Highly recommended for all Flash Action Scripters.

I am a beginner, I should understand that. But i wanted to buy it still thinking it would have been good. Its probably great for advance people but i found it personaly very difficult to understand as i am just a low beginner.

This book is quite helpful. It covers the basics in manipulating images in After Effects and serves as a great teacher of the software.

I highly recommend it.

I had to cancel my order of this book three weeks into waiting, because for some unknown reason after the estimated 3-5 week shipping time, there was yet another delay. So I had to buy this book at twice the cost at my corrupt/evil University store.

The book itself is pretty good. I have only examined it a few times. However, some of the explanations can be confusing, it seems you have to read the entire thing to be sure to understand it, you cant pick and choose which things you want to learn from it.

Though this book series was written for After effects 6.5, I used it as a supplement to CS3. I am very glad that I did, the authors answered the question - Why do you use an effect or tool? The other "teach" books demonstrated what After Effects can do, but not how other than enter the number required in the exercise. A must read for anyone new to After Effects. I hope I can find such in depth books on the other Adobe Suite software. Kudos to the authors - thanks, thanks, thanks.

This book was very helpful in teaching me how to use and understand After Effects. I'd recommend this book to any beginner wanting to learn AE. It is easy to follow and comes with a great CD (very beneficial).

If you are new to After Effects and Motion Graphics, or want to learn from Chris and Trish about the new features in Adobe's CS3 release, I recommend the Brand New:

After Effects Apprentice (DV Expert Series) (DV Expert Series) (Paperback)
by Chris & Trish Meyer

which is the only one of their books to cover After Effects 7, I'm pretty sure. Their next books will cover the new CS3 release.

Normally they write the new version's manual (yes, you can consider their books to be the missing user manual for Adobe After Effects) when the 'X.5' version comes out. There was no 7,5 version of after effects, so except for After Effects Apprentice, there is no manual for AAE 7.

Plus the book covers the new release of After Effects, the CS3 release.

AND this is a GREAT introduction to motion graphics in general, and to working with files in After Effects:

[...]
and when you finish that, you will certainly want:

Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, Vol. 1: Advanced Techniques (4th edition, not yet published) by Trish and Chris Meyer

and

Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, Vol. 2: The Essentials (4th edition, not yet published) by Trish and Chris Meyer

which should both be available very soon. I don't actually recommend getting the 6.5 version unless you are not going to upgrade to AAE 7 or AAE CS3. With the ton of new features (like Photoshop can handle video now!) in Adobe CS3, I DO recommend getting the CS3 version of every Adobe product that you use, and if you use more than just a few, you should get the whole suite, it will be cheaper.

If you're a serious OpenGL programmer like I am, this book is basically a bible. Unlike DirectX, there aren't a ton of decent places to find documentation for OpenGL. I've had to do some pretty complex programming and every single time the "Red Book" helped me accomplish the goal.

Honestly though, I think a lot of this material should be online. This is not a book you read cover to cover. It's something you need if you're having trouble with blending operations in your scene and you need to know more about how OpenGL works (not for novices). I would suggest buying the "Blue Book" along with this (The OpenGL reference manual). The blue book goes over each API call in detail (similar to what you would expect from MSDN).

Recently I had my first experience in programming computer graphics with OpenGL. After considering many sources I would recommend the Official Guide to Learning OpenGL the best option for beginner in the computer graphics area with mathematical background. Besides, book is very helpful for use as a reference during the entire programming process with OpenGL.

It provides the necessary level of detail, not going too deep in underlying mathematical concepts explanations unlike many other books. For anyone interested in more detail each subchapter has "Advanced" section providing in depth explanations. It also contains working sample programs written in C/C++ (which could easily be integrated to other programming languages) being really helpful during learning process.

The complete reading of book not required once started, as after having understanding of how main concepts of OpenGL works, it could be used as search convenient reference manual. One can easily find the subject of interest and gain rather complete understanding of topic after reading corresponding section.

When we migrated from DirectX to OpenGL and from Microsoft to Linux this book was a constant reference during those weeks of hard work. It is concise, clear and documents well OpenGL. You have to know what you are looking for, but... that's the purpose of a reference guide, right?.
Great job on compiling the material !!!!
Gabriel

I've recieved my product without problems. Good book, fast ship. I'm satisfied.

OpenGL isn't a beginner's topic. It is a (seemingly) complex world of graphics processing at the lowest levels. It is not for the timid or mathematically illiterate. This book addresses the topic in a very logical manner. When you know and understand OpenGL, it is easy to understand that some elements of a logical progression do not necessarily make the best sense to a newcomer to the technology. When first embracing OpenGL, there is a relatively steep on-ramp for some kinds of thinkers. So what's new? Everyone thinks a bit differently.

This book will point your thinking in the direction of OpenGL. It takes a very steady, but fundamental course toward that objective. It is not full of fluff, nor does it attempt to overwhelm the uninitiated with superfluous content. It does a really good job at combining elements of the nitty-gritty of OpenGL code with the practices and underlying architecture of the OpenGL system as implemented by the standards-conformant graphics hardware/drivers. It has a very comprehensive expose of the OpenGL pipeline and every reasonable aspect of using OpenGL at the fundamental level and with the GLUT.

My copy of this book is well-worn from countless flippings back-n-forth of pages and chapters as I continue to extract useful information about OpenGL from it. Perhaps it deserves 5 stars, but I have no frame of reference nor am I a gift to OpenGL programmers, so I rate it conservatively at 4.5 stars.

The book reads very easily. It is not wordy or overly terse. It does assume that you've had at least fundamental mathematics representative of college-level computer science majors. Even if your math skills are not so well-developed, this book doesn't try to drown you in such things, rather, it directs you toward the practices of accomplishing OpenGL programming assuming that you will learn that math that is necessary for the work you intend to do. It also assumes that you have strong fundamentals in C programming. It also assumes that you're able to read and comprehend English. I don't find any of these to be worthy of a disclaimer as might another reviewer.

The book is presented very well. I can not say enough how straight-forward and logically it proceeds through the topics necessary to get up-to-speed with OpenGL programming. It reads well, too. That is, you don't necessarily need to be sitting at your computer in order to enjoy elements of this book while learning about OpenGL.

The included examples are well-chosen to illustate the points made during the course of the text where they are found. I had absolutely no problem compiling and executing them on my GNU/Linux-based system using Mesa and GCC.

I would suggest that you plan to spend some quality time with this book if you're serious about learning OpenGL. Some of the topics take more than a brief reading to fully sink-in...at least they did for me! There are a few sections that I spent several hours on and re-read several times, which I credit to the technical-aspects of the content rather than reduce to an "issue" with the authors' presentation skills. OpenGL isn't going to be easy if you're relatively new to 2D and 3D programming. It is probably an "advanced" topic for all but the most severe.

The book is thoroughly enjoyable and when completed and you're banging away OpenGL code with style and grace, there is a notable sense of accomplishment. I had a lot of fun dissecting this book until my brain finally decided to learn its contents.

This book may be the best guide about Buffy around, but this not means that it's a stisfactory product. Because it's not.

The enormous volume of pages dealing about parties, whatever, are useless. And, most importanyl, it lacks an index to the world of Buffy, something that would run something like this:

"Willow" - Buffy's best friend. Went from a very shy girl to one one of the most powerful witches in the world, blá,bla;

"Ethan" - Gile's old friend from England, when both them, along with some friends, dealed with the black arts. Appeared for the last time in the episode bla, bla, bla..."

It would have been a huge task, but that was what I was looking for when I bought this book, and was dissapointed when I did not find it.

The part of Angel I don't care, bcause I still did not watch this show (I intend to start buying the DVD sets).

I absolutly love this book. It is entirely complete (well, up to season six anyway... I'm really hoping they do another revision with season seven added... I'd buy the whole damn book again if they did it) and full of information. This one book gets in all the good stuff that the watcher's guides do in two. When I bought this book I had only seen up to season three, and I was beginning to watch seasons 4-6 in reruns, and I read this book right along with watching the episodes.

Some people have a problem with the opinionated way the author writes the book, but to me it enhances the feel of it being a fan's book.

In short, I love this book, and you should too! ^.^

This is the absolute best Buffy guide out there. The book includes DETAILED episode synopsises through the sixth seaons of Buffy and the third season of Angel. Unlike the Watcher's Guide's, these synopsis's are very thorough, as are each actors profile. The book also chronicles the show from its movie beginnings, through each season, to the show's move to UPN. Each episode guide includes the writer's personal favorite moment of the episode, interesting facts, Did you notice moments, Nitpicks, and bloopers from each episode that are fun to scope out.

The book also has an incredibly challenging trivia section, which prompts one to go back and watch the episodes over and over again. Also included are each actors personal websites, as well as good fansites, are included. Having bought many companion guides to this show, I personally say this is the best, for any looking to wise up on Buffy, or maybe simply to extend their Buffy collection.

I got this book as a present and was immediately excited. I am a HUGE buffy fan and relish any chance to delve deeper into my obsession. While I enjoyed most of the book including the bios, mini analyses of the episodes, I was bored by the fan and party coverage (who cares? it was like 2 years ago!), and a little offended by the author's off-putting feelings towards some of the characters (give Riley and Joyce half a chance). The most annoying part however was the obvious mistakes this so-called "fan" Nikki Stafford made in relating her "nitpicks" of each episode. She points out each "oops" the show made as far as bloopers but I guess she failed to pass this on to an editor because there were a lot of mistakes made concerning her knowledge of the buffyverse. When she couldn't find something substantial to write she floundered, the most obvious point being in the "Buffy vs. Dracula" nitpick section. Ms. Stafford complains that even though Dracula breaks most of the vampire rules, he would still need an invite to enter Buffy's room and you can feel her arrogance when she points out that somehow the writers messed up this technicality. However, later in the episode it is revealed that Joyce had invited him in for coffee and then there is a whole 5 minute scene between Joyce/Willow/Tara discussing her inviting a man into the house. Then, in the next episode it is mentioned again that Joyce mistakenly invited Dracula in. I really wouldn't care about Ms. Stafford's rants if this weren't a "guide to Buffy" written by someone who does take the show seriously and is a little too arrogant when every now and then there is an inconsistency in the show.
Bottom line: I enjoyed reading it, but I enjoyed correcting it even more.

Yes, I admit it, I've become a Buffy addict - not normally a TV watcher, I became sucked in by its blend of great writing, humor, drama, and honest portrayal of emotions. In addition to all the seasons on DVD, I've picked up quite a bit of the buffy literature - guides, essays, etc. - and this is the one I keep coming back to. I much prefer it to the more often-cited Watcher's Guides. What some reviewers criticize - the emphasis on Stafford's reviews and opinions - are what i consider the book's strength. None of the other guides offer such a personal take on the series or episodes - and it's a series people relate to in a highly personal way. I don't always agree with the author, and even disagree that a few of the "nitpicks" she found were actual errors, but her opionated views make for much more interesting reading. In a few cases, her opinions made me more clearly define my own, or see an episode in a new light.
I love the information on music at the end of each episode, and the other chapters - on the actors' biographies, the posting-board parties, the internet following for buffy - are all pretty comprehensive. This is a fan's take on a show she loves, in addition to being a guide - which, in my opinion, makes it more interesting for another fan to read. So what if she's unduly harsh on Joyce and Dawn? She backs up her opinions with valid reasons, which others are free to disagree with. I disliked some eps ("Gingerbread," "Beauty and the beast," "As You were") that she liked, liked others better than her, and agreed with her on many more. But I always enjoy her take.
I do wish the section on angel was more thorough - she acknowledges it's pretty cursory compared to Buffy, and my hope is that a future book will flesh it out. But if you want a good buffy episode guide, skip the watchers guides and just get this one. My copy is worn i've gone back to it so often.

This book has some great theory and topics that do not fade with time. Even though there is a Second Edition out the information within this book is still rich and plentiful. I own several of the [digital] titles and have been pleased with all of them, and this one is probably about the most informative of all the titles I own.

Mr Birn makes great effort to illuminate the subtle and unappreciated aspects of creating visually aesthetic lighting and rendering. He helps pin down the elusive "why" factor, as opposed to bombarding the reader with a lot of technical information.

A delightful book to have if you need to know about lighting and rendering.

This book goes way beyond what you need to know, in a good way. I have read and re-read this book numerous times, learning new things with each read. It is like taking 2 courses in lighting and 2 in color. Extremely professionally written from a practicing professional (Pixar Studios). Classic.

This 1st edition came out in 2000 and now there's a new 2nd edition coming out this year ~ I ordered the up~to~date one instead!