Television Books

I have been looking for this book for my grand daughter for about a year. It's not in print anymore so the stores don't carry it. I finally went to Amazon.com, and there it was. Thanks for your help. She was delighted.

Madeline

this book was brand new, my granddaughter loves it as her old book has fallen apart from reading it so much. it arrived in record time, before i even thought "when will that book arrive?"

Walt Disney's 101 Dalmatians

101 Dalmatians is a very good book. Its about 15 puppies that get kidnapped by a cruel Cruella Di Vil. They are tooken to her mansion where there were a lot more dalmatians. They then go through a lot of trouble getting home. I think that any age of kids would like this book. I really like how Pongo and Perdita save there kids. I think that this book teaches kids that if they steal that bad things will happen.

This beautiful book is a full color adaptation from the disney movie of the same name. The illustrations captured my child's attention and made for great story time. Timeless tale of good vs. evil. A great read for any generation!

Well i think that this book was GREAT it takes me back to 4th grade were this would have been my favorite book becaues it as exitment and love.It just was a wounderful story and i see why they make more of theses not alone dose it show right from wronge but it tell you about how the family love the doge weather there where 13 dogs or 101 dogs it was great!

I have several books along these lines, and this is probably one of the easiest to follow. It is a good general overview to the business of acting. The DVD enhances the book as you watch Christina talk with her students about the seven steps; I felt I was right in the class with them. At the end of each step is a brief recap of the key points by Wink Martindale. Thanks to Christina's examples of good and bad photos and resumes, I now know what to do at my next headshot session and I've already redone my resume. I will be taking some classes from The Actor's Edge after I move, and I will definitely be submitting myself to her casting agency!

Co-written by founder and president of "The Acting Edge", one of Hollywood's leading acting schools for 15 years, The 7 Steps To Stardom: How To Become A Working Actor In Movies, TV, And Commercials is an easy-to-use workbook-and-DVD set that gives the practical advice on earning success in the entertainment business. Printed in color with photographs and a number of consumable pages, the workbook covers how to network and find an agent, avoiding scams, taking appropriate headshot photographs, writing an actor's resume, the business side of acting, honing one's acting skills and more. The two-hour DVD is divided into seven lesson segments: You are the Product, Acting Skills, Your Photograph, Your Resume, Your Agent, Your Unions, and Networking. Written in a direct, no-nonsense instructional, The 7 Steps To Stardom is a "must-have" for anyone contemplating or getting started in a profitable career in acting.

This book is really well put-together - easy to use. Some of the tips and suggestions may seem like no-brainers, but there are a lot of little things you may not think of when marketing yourself in the entertainment industry. Resumes, agents, your photo, Ferra-Gilmore breaks it all down and gets you to rack your brain for other attributes you can use. A reference/workbook in one, with a two hour DVD.

Usually, when one is looking for information on what you need to really make it in Hollywood costs a lot of money. This little book with a 2-hour DVD is amazing for what it costs! Sure, the production is a bit cheesy, but the content is amazing.

Now that I have redone my headshot, and worked out my resume, I feel that I am much better prepared to deal with what I will be up against at my next audition.

Thanks Christina!

This book is a very quick read yet its pages contain some very helpful, specific tips to enhance your resume, headshots and acting skills.

I am grateful that Ms. Ferra-Gilmore is willing to share her expersites with up and coming actors.

As an acting coach, I found this book to be informative,down to earth and a wonderful resource to enhance my classes.I bought about a dozen books as required reading for my students.

The Book is wonderful. Mr. Logan is quite the character. His information is vital for us actors who want to land the job the first time. I highly recommend this book and his other one. This book was madatory for us to read in my acting school and I am glad I did.

Tom Logan's Acting In The Million Dollar Minute: The Art Of Acting In Television Commercials presents the screen writer/director's experiences with commercial acting. Thousands of comments from hundreds of casting directors, directors and producers are synthesized under one cover, with advice ranging from how to handle accents, dialogue and product names to common complaints about commercial actors. An excellent insider's guide.

This is one of those rare books I had to read cover to cover ... Tom's insights from the director's chair on how to be a successful commercial actor are well-delivered. This book is also one of the funniest books I've ever read in my life... Logan's sense of humor kept me laughing (and learning!) from start to finish.

Very practical mechanics, imagery and pacing for how to be successful in acting for commercials .... one of the most memorable, and useful books, I've read in recent years.

Well written - and very useful!


Ken Calhoun

This is an extremely helpful book for anyone who is interested in acting in commercials. It tells you how to get into the business, and how to succeed. I read this 10 years ago, along with Mr. Logan's other book, "How to Act and Eat at the Same Time", and parlayed the information into a successful career in commercials. I have reccomended this book to many aspiring actors, and have given it to others.

Writing about race, specifically about the black race, in American entertainment is a dicey business--at best.

Then, not unlike a latter-day Alexis de Tocqueville or even Gunnar Myrdal, along comes Melvin Patrick Ely. Mr. Ely has written a well researched, passionately dispassionate analysis of the origins of the entertainment industry's racial miasma.

He takes us back to minstrelsy; on to the advent of radio before networks; then into the networks' formative years when an iconic show ruled the ether: "Amos'n'Andy". He informs us that even in 1930 blacks vigorously, if ineffectually, protested the show.

Mr. Ely has deconstructed more than a few of the racial myths that even today swirl around the "Amos 'n' Andy" radio program. He has eloquently put into context the television episodes and the NAACP's reaction to them.

He is objective and he is clear. Be forewarned, however, that this is not a coffee table book. It is written at 2nd to 3rd year undergraduate level, ie the book is not unlike a history text book, and all that that implies.

But it is, above all, lucid. And highly recommended.

History, well-researched and engagingly written, is as fascinating as the greatest fiction, if not more so. Melvin Ely combines a professor's concern for factualness with thorough, ground-breaking research and a novelist's way with narrative into an unfailingly entertaining work that is also of great and lasting academic, social and cultural importance. Ely has delivered a fascinating show business yarn with absorbing insight into human nature, sometimes noble, often naive, and occasionally downright repugnant. While not afraid to add an edge of attitude or a clear point of view when he chooses, the author still eschews easy answers and the predictable pedantics and prejudice of an ideologue of any political persuasion. With subtle surety, and never a trace of condescension, Ely ultimately shows us ourselves--good, bad and ugly--in an absorbing saga of American life and culture.

At a basic level, this book is a detailed, well-researched history of America's longest running (1929-1960 on both radio and television) comedy show. Ely does a fine job of describing the factors that led to the show's great popularity and the successful efforts of its creators, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, to maintain that popularity.

At a more sophisticated level, however, the book provides an intimate view of one of the great political events of this century, the American Civil Rights movement. Because Amos `N Andy was the only nationally popular series prior to 1960 featuring black characters, and because its creators and principal actors were both white, the show repeatedly drew both praise and criticism from the press and various organizations seeking to promote their own political agendas.

Ely describes in detail how Gosden and Correll went to great lengths to keep the show from being viewed as racist, yet in the long run they failed. As he points out,! that failure may have caused the major networks to shy away from shows featuring black performers and delay their introduction into television for another 20 years.

Having listened to Amos `N Andy on the radio as a child and subsequently watched it on TV, I like many other white Americans, was dumbfounded when the NAACP decided to attack it for being racist. For me at least, Gosden and Correll succeeded in their objective of establishing their characters as human types, not racial types. Sapphire was the spitting image of my best friend's mother, and Algonquin J. Calhoun came to typify every crooked lawyer (Is that redundant?) I later had the misfortune to meet.

Unfortunately, Ely touches only peripherally on the black sitcoms of the 80s and 90s (e.g., "The Jeffersons" and "In Living Color") which I (and many other Americans) personally found to be racist.

Despite dealing with a highly emotional topic, Ely has produced a lucid, objective and thought-provoking work! . His shortcomings consist of his failure to take into consideration the effects of the other great events of the period (the Great Depression, World War II, etc.) and his seeming assumption that all Americans cared about the Civil Rights movement. In fact, I think that more people (both black and white) cared more about putting food on the table and raising their families well.

There are few phrases in the English language as divisive as "Amos 'n' Andy." It is frequently a euphamism for humor at its most racist and simplistic. Yet could a program based on little more than a handful of stereotypes be able to thrive on radio for more than 30 years? This book answers that question by putting "Amos 'n' Andy" into perspective, through the evolution of the program, its roots in the minstrel shows, and its context within its own time. Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, the white creators of the program, are portrayed quite fairly in this book, and their motives are also presented in a fair way. Their goal was not to offend, though inevitably they did, but rather to entertain. This book shows how the core characters were portrayed in their own circle, the mythical Mystic Knights of the Sea lodge, and how they were portrayed beyond that inner circle, as the characters would intermingle with other blacks, and also whites. Also worth reading is the efforts by the Pittsburgh Courier and a few other black newspapers to boycott the show as early as 1931. More interesting, is how those attempts stalled, only to regain momentum 20 years later, with the advent of the television version. The phenomenon of "Amos 'n' Andy" is more complex than it would seem, as it tells us more about American society and racial relations than perhaps any othe program ever. This book is not just about "Amos 'n' Andy," but rather about ourselves. And for that, it should be a must-read. I was able to finish this book in two days it was so engrossing.

As the title indicates Ely's work is frankly a work of social history, not a performance biography, and is less interested in exploring "Amos 'n' Andy's" significant impact on the broadcasting medium than in viewing it as window into mid-20th Century American racial attitudes. Analysis of the program's content focuses on that perspective to the exclusion of all others, and detailed examination of the original scripts is confined primarily to the first two years of "Amos 'n' Andy."

Ely therefore fails to discuss in any detail the evolution of the characters and their relationships beyond 1929 -- and this is perhaps the book's greatest flaw, given that the characterizations and the dramatic sophistication of the program evolved substantially between 1929 and the mid-1930s It's unfortunate that Ely shortchanges this period of the program's history, as it in fact coincided with the peak of the program's popularity, and in my view an understanding of the evolution of the characters during the 1929-35 period is essential to an understanding of the series' appeal. (I have, in fact, read all of the scripts for the first decade of the series as part of my own research into "Amos 'n' Andy's" history.)

While Ely occasionally draws conclusions regarding the program's content that are contradicted by a detailed reading of the original 1930s scripts, and sometimes tends to over-interpret in his examination of public reaction to the program, in general his account is balanced and thoughtful, and his research into the African-American response to "Amos 'n' Andy" presents the definitive study of this aspect of the series.

Ely also deserves much praise for avoiding the self-indulgent deconstructionist jargon which tends to dominate current academic studies of popular culture -- his book is a rare example of an academic work which is both scholarly and extremely well-written. I'm very pleased to see the book is back in print.

The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction

If you've ever tried to color correct in your NLE and have no idea of what all the adjustments mean (such as "input Black") and have been trying to teach yourself the software by just moving the knobs and looking at the results, then this book is for you. I am amazed after reading the first third of the book how much I have learned and how to use the built in scopes that come with most software. I may never become a colorist, but it sure makes my in-house projects far better. And when the day comes that I need to hire a colorist, I feel like I will be better prepared to speak the language. This will be another reference book that will be worn out from daily use.

Before you read this review you should know that I have not actually read the book in question. I'm writing the review specifically for people who are looking online for a book on color correction and don't have access to a copy in person to get a closer look.

I read the TOC for this book here on Amazon and then went to the local book store, where they happened to have a copy, because I needed to look closer before buying, so I'm passing what I learned on to you.

First, this looks like a really cool tutorial for anyone interested in a career in color correction and prepared to get the professional tools to follow that path. I also think in a few years I will be coming back to this book to learn more theory, because it looks strong there, too.

It also looks somewhat (if less) useful for those learning to color correct using either Avid or Final Cut Pro (which is, I know, the majority of practitioners).

However, if you are looking for a tool to learn how to color correct your own digital videos and you use the Adobe suite (Premiere Pro and After Effects), this author does not seem to feel that you have a fighting chance doing color correction at all, so you are out of his loop. I'm pretty sure that there are ways to color correct using these tools, though, especially with Photoshop CS3, so I, for one, am not going to go out and buy more software just yet. When I find the right book for us Adobe people I will post a review of that, too.

Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure this book will be wonderful for the rest of you (especially if you own a Mac).

I 'searched inside this book' and after reading the table of contents and the first few pages I decided to buy it. I had my reservations - not because of what I had read in the intro, but by the last few DV books I had purchased on Amazon. I am, I suppose, something in between a novice and an intermediate editor, and I edit on Sony Vegas Pro. This I have found puts me in a rather awkward category. In the past, all of the 'how to' books I've read have been far too basic or software specific.

What I really appreciated was the tone and pitch of the book. Most of the time, I find introductory books condescending - they seem to assume your inexperience equals a lack of intelligence (and corny jokes are unbelievable).

Before I read the Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction, I new more or less nothing about colour correction - my former corrections, dare I say it, were largely made using the contrast/brightness control - but this book made perfect sense to me. Steve Hullfish writes enthusiastically and encouragingly, and the book I believe would suit novices and pro's alike. The clear definitions in the margins are an excellent idea and are perhaps the key to the book's ability to transcend the novice/pro divide. If you understand the terminology move on, if you don't the explanations are right there.

Although the book does not give examples from Vegas. It explains colorist parlance in useful analogies, and offers suggestions about where to look for color correction tools in NLE's other than Avid and Apple Color. By in large, I found Vegas had most of the tools, scopes etc, and although I love Vegas, after seeing what Apple Color can provide, I do have a little 'application' envy.

One last thing... here's a small anicdote: I recently made a short film on HDV and showed a couple of people who liked it and before I new it, I was being mentored by a large post production studio. I asked them for some advice on corrections. I ended up sitting down with their senior colourists, watching the film on the big screen and talking shop with them for a couple of hours. We were talking about masks, vignettes, secondaries, colour casts, gamma and all sorts of things that, to be honest, I new nothing about until I read this book. It seems there's no substitute for experience, but because this book is full of advice from colourists with many years of experience, why not learn from your mistakes before you make them!

Glen Maw
Wellington, New Zealand

I disagree with the reviewer who said that the book claims that it's impossible to color correct with Adobe products. The MAIN readers of the first color correction book by the author were After Effects users, many of whom followed the advice of noted After Effects gurus, Trish and Chris Meyer.

American Cinematographer magazine's reviewer said this about the book: "likely to become the definitive text on the subject. Sensibly organized, lavishly illustrated and varied in perspective, it's a dense but highly readable summary of the current state of the art."

The cool thing about the book is that it is NOT platform or product specific. The author sat in on sessions with more than a dozen colorists around the country as they all graded the same images. The book walks the reader through those corrections from the viewpoint of these master colorists, instead of from the solitary viewpoint of the author. That's the value of the book. You are literally sitting in with people who have graded TV shows like "24" and "Desperate Housewives" and "LA Law" and "48 Hours" and movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spiderman" or those beautiful NFL Films.

This is a book for anyone using any software product. It is a book that is more about "why" to do the things you need to do than about "how" to do them with a specific piece of software.

I originally wrote this review for my blog and decided to post it here since I think it'll help potential buyers decide if this book is for them. Enjoy...

First question: Is The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction worth reading?

Answer: Yes! Absolutely.

Second question: Is it targeted at newbies or advanced users?

Yes. To both.

The first two thirds of the book "Primary Color Correction" and "Secondary Color Correction" deals with the fundamentals of our toolsets: monitoring, understanding waveform monitors and vectorscopes, balancing shots, vignettes, HSL isolations, and more. While this part of the book can be safely skipped over by more advanced users to whom all that info is second nature, Steve Hullfish does a nice job of surveying how different software apps approach the same concepts. And when a particular software package has a unique tool for achieving a particular task, he breaks it down for the reader.

The upshot: Even if you're experienced colorist on a Symphony you'll walk away with a strong understanding how other software apps work and what you might be missing (or what advantages you may have that you didn't realize). My advice, advanced users should at least skim through these parts paying particular attention when Steve takes a moment to pull a quote from the working professionals he features in the last third of the book. There are some great tips in these sections - especially on how different colorists set up multi-display scopes to help them nail black balance or tweak color values. I ended up changing some of my displays and found a few new setups that I really like.

Overall, the first two parts are not a dumbed down discussion. While Steve starts by laying down the ground-work emphasizing monitoring and external scopes (the latter being a deep discussion that permeates the entire book - which I very much appreciate), he seems to anticipate some of his readers finding material redundant and thankfully breaks out basic terminology to sidebars. Appropriately, those early chapters work through the subject matter in the same order a colorist will typically approach their problem-solving.

The final third of the book "Pro Colorists" is likely where the advanced users will want to begin. Why? That answer leads us to our third question...

Third Question: What makes this book different than other color correction books (or DVDs)?

The soul of this book is contained in the last few chapters and on its supplemental DVD. Steve sits with over a dozen accomplished, professional colorists and puts them in front of a common software color grading platform, Apple's Color (at the time called Final Touch HD), with a Tangent control surface. He gives them all the same set of footage (also provided on a DVD), presses 'record' on a DV camera and grills the colorists about the approach they are each taking to color correcting those images. The result is the author presenting up to three colorists approaching the same shot using different techniques. Or the same technique being used on different shots. Usually in the words of those colorists. It's a great education.

Even better are the transcripts Steve provides on the DVD that didn't make it into the book but he thought were informative. I've just started to read those and already I've gotten some new ideas about different approaches to common challenges.

Another thing that differentiates this book is its largely software-agnostic approach. Color, Avid Symphony, After Effects, Color Finesse, even Photoshop are all featured in the first 2 Chapters alone. Where interfaces are similar, Steve picks a software package and follows it through - pointing out where users of other apps might find things different. I suspect that if iMovie had a color correction module Steve would have a found a place to feature it.

Fourth Question: Any final thoughts?

This is clearly a book about concepts, not tools. As much as it necessarily covers the How To of working with color correction software, it's the Why Do that is emphasized.

In fact, Why Do is the whole point of the book.

Read it. Live it. Learn it.

The intricate, well researched tale of Angel Sanctuary has always been a shojo favorite. The detailed art, disturbing concepts, religous imagery, and tragic love that circle the storyline are all exceptional and this book only makes it more amazing. At the beginning of the manga, we see two "evils" retrieve the crystalized body of the beautiful organic angel Alexiel so they can return her soul to it before the battle between heaven and hell. It seems that in the past, manly ALexiel rebelled against Adam Kaddamon, God's ultimate creation. Because of the rebellion, she was crystalized and is supposed to be reincarmated over and over until her new body untaps her powers and destroys themself. THis si the story of her current incarnate, the mixed up and ignored teenager Setsuna Mudo, whom only wants to live his life as an almost normal teenager. Kaori Yuki's spintinglingly gorgeous artwork from both Angel Sanctuary and Count cain (as well as some others) is truly wonderful, and she may be the most skilled creatr I have come across. There is also an interview with her in the back of the book, and a calendar she created based on Lewis Carroll's Alice and Wonderland. If you are hesitating, stop it. This book should be treasured by all true manga fans.

Once this book came out I was iching to get my hands on it. When I saw it on the shelf at Waldenbooks, I grabed it, barely flipped through it, and bought it. It was damn well worth the money.

I always have and will be a fan of Angel Sanctuary as well as Kaori Yuki's gorgeous art. For any fan of AS, this book is an essential!
The material of the book is good quality, and the pictures are astounding. The great thing about this book is the style of art varies; it's not just dark gothic art or happy pictures, but a combination of both. Plus, it's got an interesting chart in the middle of the book that gives detailed information on the legions of heaven and the 7 layers to heaven and hell (I think they're 7).
Another plus is an interview with Kaori Yuki in the back of the book talking about Angel Sanctuary, her British influences, and an Alice in Wonderland calendar she created.
I really don't think anyone needs to hesitate on buying Angel Cage. Obviously, if you're reading this review, I suggest you buy the book from this here amazon.com [...]. For the price compared to the amazing quality, this is the best deal!

Finally, America is starting to wise up and realize the value of translating artbooks-- common in Japan -- so that we can enjoy the lush color and technique that is usually edited to a blurry black and white copy when it makes its way stateside.

Kaori Yuki is no less than a genius, and her work truly shines when you see the depth of her artwork.


Angels and devils; not all beautiful, not all ugly, but all seriously intriguing and entertaining. This is a must see!!

The Art of Angel Sanctuary: Angel Cage is a simply dazzling collection of art from the Manga series created by Yuki Kaori. As a relatively new reader of Manga over just the past year or so I've long admired many of the artists but always lamented the fact that the books I read are in black & white unlike the color comics we've all become used to. Thankfully VIZ has addressed this with this wonderful collection of art from Angel Sanctuary.

Angel Sanctuary is an acclaimed and hugely popular Manga created by Yuki Kaori in Hana to Yume, a bi-weekly shoujo manga magazine published by Hakusensha and now being published in America by VIZ Media. Based somewhat loosely on the biblical New Testament, it deals with Evil striking one of the corridors of heaven and taking back the body of the fallen angel Alexiel in preparation for the coming battle between Heaven and Hell. Alexiel's body has been sealed in a crystal for her rebelling against God. As Punishment for her defiance, Her soul is reincarnated as a human being over and over in a never ending loop where she dies violently, always at a young age. As the story begins Alexiel has been reincarnated as a teenager named, Setsuna Mudou who is the Messiah prophesied to save humanity in the Black Book of Revelation.

This beautifully illustrated hardcover book shows off Kaori's amazing talent as a digest sized, black & white book simply cannot do. Filled with the characters from the story, Kaori's stunning use of color makes these full page, and two-page illustrations suitable for framing (but don't tear up your book!) The illustrations run the gamut from dark gothic, to deeply sad, to wryly humorous as Kaori is able to evoke all of these emotions through her wonderfully expressive art. In addition to the art, there is a reference section in the middle detailing all the main characters of Angel Santuary, broken down by both Heaven and Hell. Also included are cutaway diagrams of the upper and lower planes and the hierarchy of angels.

Finally, there is a lengthy interview with Kaori where she discusses her work as well as her influences. Kaori reveals her love for Lewis Carroll's original Alice in Wonderland story, particularly Carroll's rather moody art, which is far different than what is displayed in the animated versions of his tale. Included is the calendar that she created based on Alice in Wonderland. Kaori also reveals her thoughts on ghosts and things spiritual and makes for a nice accompaniment to the art. It's a gorgeous book that includes a gold-lettered front cover. Simply a must have for fans of Angel Sanctuary or any fan of Manga art.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

If you are a fan of Angel Sanctuary or Kaori Yuki, then this artbook is a must-have. If you've read any of her manga, then you already know what an amazing artist Kaori Yuki is, but these pictures look even better because they are in full-color! These stunning, intricately detailed pictures show many of the different characters in Angel Sanctuary, sometimes amidst poignant imagery and symbolism, sometimes posing with other characters, and sometimes just by themselves, but even then their facial expressions are so real that no other details are needed. Like the series, the mood of the artbook ranges from happy and laid-back to dark and depressing to creepy and mysterious. But having such varied themes doesn't make the book seem disjointed, it actually makes it seem more complete.

Of course this book would be worth buying for the beautiful artwork alone, but it also includes a really helpful reference guide for the Angel Sanctuary series, including brief descriptions of nearly 40 important characters and where they rank in the hierarchy of heaven or hell, and explanations of different places and events from the manga. Considering how complex the series is, I think it's great to have such an easily accessible guide sitting next to my bed when I'm reading, in case I need to refresh my memory. The artbook also contains an extensive interview with Kaori Yuki (in English, don't worry) that's both interesting and informative.

The gorgeous art and all the cool extras that come with it are more than worth this book's price. Even if you aren't a fan of Kaori Yuki or her work, after looking through Angel Cage, you probably will be.

This book is fabulous. It gives you the inside track on how Casting Directors think and demystifies the audition process. This book has forever changed how I view auditioning. Mr. Decina gives a very practical audition technique that helps the actor show Casting Directors that they have potential. Mr. Decina is a great teacher and writer. He's excellent. I took his audition class over the weekend and I was surprised at what a great teacher he was. If you're serious about breaking into soaps, this book and this guy are not to be missed. Thanks, Rob! I'd love to be a recurring background or under-5 actress on your show. JulietteFairley@gmail.com

Well I recentley attended a class of Rob's and I have to say his book and style of teaching and breaking down a lesson is quite intruiging. He takes any different "Method" of Acting and simplifies it into a simple universal "how to book the job" way. He has backround in theatre and directing. He fully understands the craft of acting and as an actor I respect that completely. I don't write a review unless the book I read is either amazing or horrible. This book is "simply" amazing and a CRUCIAL tool for ANY actor trying to break into film or television.

P.S. Thanks again Rob!!! I hope to be working with you in the future. (I have made some choices ;-) )

Informative, realistic but encouraging, compact, straight to the point, entertaining & funny, bluntly honest. It would not be possible to compress more information and valuable advice for actors - who are dedicated to actually make a living as actors - in a short 200 pages.
A must-read, you'll love it. Thank You, Mr. Decina.

There are an overwhelming number of books out there about acting, auditioning, the business, etc. It is hard to know what to read, and what to trust.

Trust this book. Rob Decina has written from his experience as a casting director, and you can tell it also comes from his experience as a compassionate person. He understands the nerves that can plague actors, the way it really feels to be sitting in the waiting room before an audition, the confusion over seemingly small decisions (such as whether to sit or stand during the audition) that can cause us to stumble.

He has also seen thousands and thousands of auditions in his career. He knows what works and what doesn't, and most importantly he has taken the time to figure out why the choices that work do, and why the choices that don't work don't.

The book outlines a specific audition technique that is designed to work with your other acting training - not against it the way some techniques can when they jumble you up and get in the way of the natural choices you might make. The book also answers crucial questions like: Do I sit or stand during my audition? Do I bring my personal belongings in with me or leave them in the waiting area? Do I use props? Should I memorize or hold my script? Etc. Working actors can tell you, these logistical issues can really trip you up. It is a relief to have clear answers with thoughtful explanations to address each one.

Plus I'm a total convert to the technique in this book because I booked a job at my second audition after starting to use it. Maybe that's the biggest recommendation of all!

This book gives an excellent inside look at the world of a casting director of daytime tv. Decina gives valuable advice about the process of the interview, cold read, first audition, callback, and the screen test. He lets you know how each step of booking the job changes and how the actor needs to adapt at each stage.

He tells you the numbers you are up against to book the job. Decina tells the actor to "free yourself by removing expectations" of booking the job. He also gives insight on how to excel in the audition room with his step-by-step auditioning technique.

This book gives great advice for actors of all levels. Decina gives advice beyond the audition process, by helping actors set realistic goals for their career. He talks about how to map a career. I think this book has given me an edge. It has allowed me to feel more in control and confident in the audition room. I know what to expect now. I think this is a great read for anyone that is trying to start a career in tv or film.

Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of my favorite Disney classics. This book is a must-have for Disney fans and those who loved the film. The pages have rarely seen actual artwork and production stills(pictures of scenes form the movie) and stunning artwork of medeavile Paris. From page to page there are artwork of the characters from the film and details on who animated them and you'll see concept art of the characters, backgrounds and actual storyboards. Some pages fold-out to reveal storyboards from certain scenes.

If you loved the Hunchback of Notre Dame or is a Disney fan, then I would recommend this book to you. You would definitly read this book again and again. The artwork is so stunningly gorgeous that you just can't look at it without your jaw dropping.

This book can be compared to others such as "The Art of The Lion King" or "Prince of Egypt: New Vision in Animation," which are both great to own. Even if you're not a fan of the movie, this book still overflows with beautiful artwork: concept sketches, background paintings (which are my personal favorite), production stills, and many other treats. It also talks a bit about the making of the film, including the animation department's trip to Paris.
Of course, this book is a must-have for Disney fans, but for those interested in animation in general, this is definetely worth getting.

im actually 14 but still lol x
This film is yes for kids but has a whole different story under the main one , its about what makes a monster and what makes a man. That yes one may look like a man but inside hes the monster where as quasi is a true man inside.

The focus of this book was certainly ART, as it provides stunning pictures of Mideval Paris from historical archive that Disney artists meticulously researched before finalizing the background scenery. We also get a glimpse of the profiling of the psychology of each character, and their interaction that drives the story. However, at this price, I wish that they had CD-ROM version that catered to the sophisticated fans of animation art who are very interested in all of the gory technical details.

Like Rebello's previous "Art of" books (Lion King and Pocahontas), this one is a joy to look at, but it's missing one thing. I wish it had more about the characters' voices. Often the actor or actress who voices a character influences the visual development of that character. The animator may model the character after the actor, or he or she may take one particular gesture from the actor and incorporate it into the character (like Belle - she kept brushing that lock of hair away from her face because her voice, Paige O'Hara, did the same thing). So including some information about the voices behind the characters would provide even more insight for those of us clamoring to know about how an animated film is made. But even with this one flaw, the book is gorgeous, especially the production stills of the interior of Notre Dame. And the concept art is great - sometimes it's wildly different from what actually shows up on screen, so you get a look at the evolution process. Oh - don't skip the index. The illustrations of how animators let off steam are hysterical! My favorite - "Quasi and Harriet". So, if you're a fan of Disney animation, get this!

THE BOOK DESIGN AND CLASSY JACKET ALONE ARE WORTH THE MONEY. LOVED THE MOVIE. THE ONLY PROBLEM THAT I HAVE IS THAT THEY DON'T PUT ENOUGH COHERENT STORYBOARDS INTO THE CONTENT. ALSO, THE NIGHTCRAWLER'S MOCK-UP CIRCUS POSTER DON'T REALLY GIVE ANY ADDITIONAL VALUE OVER THE BOOK'S GENERAL CONTENT.

My first impression was WOW! This book captures the essence of the movie. It's great to see the story boards it just makes you remember every scene of this excellent movie. It's obvious all the crew involved in X2 cared a lot about details and art and this book crowns it. The addition of the movie script is great, i think we fans love to read the original script to see what scenes didnt make it to the final and wonder what they looked like (if they add them in the DVD it would be fantastic). The quality of this book is absolutely great. Beautiful pictures in every page you turn. A must to every X2 fan.

Being new to the world of the X-men, this book has everything to offer for the die hard fan. The Beautiful black hardcover (not to mention its wonderful slipcover with the entire cast on front) is amazing! The book is filled with illistrations, costume drawings, stroyboards, idea drawings of the proposed danger room, characther bios, and the best part...the complete movie script of X2! Well worth buying. I would suggest any fan to buy to add to his/her collection.

An astounding companion to the film, this book should be on every X-fan's wish list, and probably on that of anyone interested in how a real two-hour block of entertainment is made. There is real heart in this film--it stands out from most summer blockbusters as a simple, non-preachy statement on tolerance, gorgeously wrapped up in the craftsmanship of thousands of film artists, performers, computer graphic artists, and editors. It's a work of art, a rollicking ride, and this book is a terrific tide-me-over for anyone yearning to own the film on DVD in the future.

If you are looking for concept art, production stills and behind the scenes photography, this is the book.

The book goes in chronological order, for the most part, and shows the concept drawings and paintings, the storyboard sketches (and text), and places them next to finished photography of the sets and characters, which gives you a great idea of how the concepts are turned into reality.

It takes you into character development for all of the major characters, with concept art to final film stills. The characters covered are: Nightcrawler (with a great full page poster of "the amazing nightcrawler"), Charles Xavier, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Rogue, Storm, Pyro, Magneto, Mystique, Mutant 143, and Lady Deathstrike. Most characters have only 2 pages each, but Nightcrawler, Mystique, Wolverine, Mutant 143, and Lady Deathstrike have multiple pages which show sketches and final photography.

The locations/sets covered in the book are: the White House, X-Mansion, Cerebro, Plastic Prison, X-Jet, Alkali Lake, and Stryker's Base.

This book is 100% filled with great content: drawings, photos, and storyboards, along with a section on the special effects. I wish it were twice as big, but everything in the book is awesome.

Mr. Hamner writes about his family and their love of animals in a way that is entertaining and heartwarming. It is hard to imagine that the setting for this book is the great urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Mr. Hamners way with words is also a big plus. I hope that you look it up in your bookstore or library, as I believe you will enjoy reading "The Avocodo Drive Zoo."

As an animal lover I could relate to many of his pets. It is a book that would be enjoyed my many age groups.

I am an animal lover and will probably give this book to my mother for Mothers Day. Mr. Hamner really knows how to tell a story.

With this book, Earl Hamner proves that he can write as entertainingly about his adult life as he has written in the past about his childhood. Hamner's life in Hollywood is a "howl" and I do mean "howl." Read it and you'll see!

Everyone who admires and loves Earl Hamner, will love this book. It is a real good insight to his life after he leaves the Mountain for New York City and then on to Hollywood California. Being an animal lover myself, I just love his stories about the different living animals that where in their lives. It starts with his meeting Jane and it is their love of animals from there on in. How they both taught their children the same love. Also He made the family of both seem so real I felt I knew them. The humor was quite effective and I found myself laughing out loud. Quite different from his other books. I know any fans of Earl Hamner will just adore this book. I am sure everyone will want to pass it on and after reading it, they will want to search him out and have there own copy signed by Earl. You can find him in Schuyler Virginia at the Museum for "The Waltons' Series" check the web site www.the-waltons.com Most Sincerely and with Love Dorothy Phillips