Television Books

I tend to do things without paying as much attention as I should, like buying this book without researching it's details.

I bought the book because my 5 year old daugher loves to draw, and because she's nuts over the Lion King at the moment. I figured it would be great for her to see not just finished work (like what winds up on television) but to also see sketches, concept drawing and paintings, and the like.

So I bought it. When I received it and saw it's pocket size I was so happy! It's absolutely the perfect size for a little kiddo like her, but the content is professional, serious and mature as I had expected. It's hard cover, totally full of pictures, and has glossy pages printed on high-quality paper. Some folks might have been put off by the size but for my purposes it was more than perfect!

We have great fun looking through it together and looking at all the different styles of artwork. If you or your kid likes to draw or paint, and likes this movie, You'll really be sorry if you don't buy a copy. No I don't work for Disney or Amazon. I just like to encourage and support my childs love for art any chance I get, and boy was this a great addition to her library.

Apart from the fact that my copy was close to pocket size, i thought that this book was fantastic. Not only does it come filled with amazing concepts, it also is accompanied with the Lion King Storyline. As an illustrator and student animator, it is a wonderful addition to my resources. The sketches through to the complete full colour images are for any Lion King fan, artists or just someone wanting a beautiful coffee table book. If your from overseas like myself and cannot get these kind of books in Australia, i reccommend Amazon and their associate stores. Buy this, its great.

I received this book as a birthday present last month. To say the least, I was overwhelmed with all the artwork in this book. I love it! The artwork and production animation is breathtaking! It's a really awesome book, I'd get it if I were you! You can't go wrong with "The Art of The Lion King"!!!

This book is one of the most exquisite things to come out of The Lion King. The graphics are beautiful. Most of the pictures are ones that are used for the storyboard and layout scenes. I reccommend it to anyone who loves The Lion King, or just Disney in general. Order with confidence - the book is worth much more than its price tag. It is also much more convient than the larger, more expensive version which I believe is no longer being produced.

"The Lion King," Disney's 32nd animated film proved to be a smashing success, appealing to young, old, and those in between. As it filled movie houses, Disney mania swept the country again. The breathtaking visual effects that fascinated so many are brought to stunning life in "The Art of the Lion King" by Christopher Finch.

This lavish folio-size volume traces the creative process utilized in making the film, from black and white sketches to glorious full-color reproductions and even splendid fold-outs, one exhibiting the surreal beauty of the African natural world.

Actor James Earl Jones, the voice of Mufasa the Lion King in the film, contributes the foreword, while the text is by Christopher Finch, author of "The Art of Walt Disney."

Those fascinated by the art of animation and those touched by the story of Mufasa, Simba and Scar will treasure this color and fact filled memento.

- Gail Cooke

"As Seen On TV" is a fond look back at those Kitschy products and their even tackier commercials for products as diverse as the Chia Pet to K-Tel records. These products would make household names out of people like Ron Poeil, Billy Mays, and Susan Powter as they pushed products to enhance yourself, your cooking, or your home. These 50 products, most of which are still on the market today and still being seen on TV were the forerunners of the dreaded infomercial which made their way into our homes back in the 1984 when the FCC loosened regulations on TV advertising. You'll chuckle as you read about these products, many of which you probably haven't thought about in years.

The book is arranged by product type including Kitchen Marvels, Fashion and Beauty Wonders, Fabulous Fitness, Entertainment Breakthroughs, Home Improvement Miracles, and Get Rich Quick. A history of each products is provided along with details about its use, inventor, and other interesting facts as well as photos. Ron Popeil is certainly the godfather of these products who got the ball rolling with the Veg-O-Matic, actually invented by his father. Popeil's list of products is long and often notorious and includes things such as GLH Formula #9 spray for balding men, as well as the Pocket Fisherman. The book includes a lengthy interview with Popeil as well.

Other items in the Kitchen gadget category include the legendary Ginsu knives...and who doesn't fondly remember those commercials where they sawed through knives and aluminum cans? Then there is a modern classic as former boxer turned pitchman, George foreman introduced the grill bearing his name.

There's the Blue Blocker glasses, Hairagami, Thigh Master, Matthew lesko's books on free Government money, Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, The Clapper, and Life Call Alert in which Edith Fore uttered those words that would become grafted into American lexicon, "I've Fallen...AND I CAN'T GET UP!!!" But perhaps my all-time favorite for pure cheesiness would be Mr. Microphone. Who can forget the goof in the convertible telling the girl walking on the street, "Hey Good Lookin', We'll be back to pick you up later!" It was the epitome of tackiness back then and would probably get him arrested today.

Oh...and the book is informative as well. I never knew that the K-Tel in K-Tel records stood for Kevis Television named after its founder Phillip Kevis. A true pop culture treasure trove!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

If you recognize this catch phrase from the Mr. Microphone ad, you'll love this book. Indeed any child of the '70s or '80s can appreciate the nostalgia and humor of the infomercial era, which is vividly and humorously captured in "As Seen on TV". It's all here, from Abtronic to Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute. If you have any doubt about whether your money would be well spent on this gem, then to paraphrase Ron Popeil: "Just forget it and GET IT!"

What a fun book! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has ever gotten caught up watching infomercials or home shopping channels. It's fascinating to read about products that became hugely popular, even though in some cases, you look at them now and say "what were they thinking?".

It was especially fun for me because... as I turned each page, I had to wonder if the next product was one I've bought. LOL
Yes, I have succumbed to the "power of the pitch" and bought into the hype. And yes, I have purchased a few of the items in this book (George Foreman Grill, Steamer, etc... and I LIKE the Dr. Ho's Muscle Massage System!) but I'll never admit to how many.

Anyone who has heard "and that's not all" will enjoy the fact that a section with that title is included AFTER the index.

I only gave this book 4 stars because I wanted more products to be in it! It was so fun to read, I wanted more of it.

This book read itself!

I bought this trip to entertain myself for a long drive home from Wisconsin to Florda. (Don't worry- I was the passanger, not the driver. Gusee I should've used the word 'ride' but I'm too lazy to backspace!)

I think the ultimate compliment to a book is when your constantly interupting other people around you to read the next wonderful thing you've read. I lost my voice from this book.

There's not too much to tell in this review. You've simply got to read it for yourself. It is so much more than just a list of goofy things sold via infomercials and TV ads. We get interviews, product history, trivia and much, much more.

We also get the lowdown on what was legit and what wasn't.

So the next time your using the flow-bee and screw up so badly your running to the store for some GLH (if you don't know what that sentence just meant, buy the book)... think of this book. It'll help ya.

And if you're just looking for some easy entertaing reading... this is it folks!

Did folks buy this stuff? They sure did, by the millions according to Harry and Stall. Some of these products would really be hard to parody, the Chai Ceramic Pet that grows vegetation, the Turbi Twist, a hair towel with an elastic loop (with the predictable AS SEEN ON TV on the box) the Copper Tongue Scraper, PROVEN EFFECTIVE was the bold statement on its packaging but it really does look just like a piece of bent metal! Each product has a spread with photos, copy and several colored panels (more on these later) containing background material and other trivia. I liked the Product panels best with their Description, Availability, Claimed Innovation, Upside and the Downside, just read the Downside to each product and really get the truth.

The six basic chapters are Kitchen Marvels, Fashion and Beauty, Fabulous Fitness, Entertainment Breakthroughs, Home Improvement Miracles, and finally Get Rich Quick, between these chapters are some interesting features, pages 122 and 123 cover the rise of the home shopping channels where you will be amazed to find that QVC have studio tours (yours for only [x ammount of dollars]). Ron Popiel, the founder of Ronco, has four pages explaining the background to the infomercial techniques he uses to shift the goods. Incidentally the Ronco story is covered in 'But, Wait! There's More!' by Timothy Samuelson, lots of product photos, vintage ads and packaging and a fairly accurate history of the Popiel family. Ever wonder what happened to yesterday's celebrities, check out pages 74 to 79 to see the Top 100 infomercial-land stars from Allen (Debbie) to Zappa (Dweezel) you'll be surprised who's listed, well, perhaps not. 'As Seen On TV' is a fascinating and fun book covering a subject that most of us would hardly think twice about.

But, wait! There is more! DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL! Buy this book and get absolutely FREE hundreds of words that only come out in daylight! The book's designer (unfortunately) decided to use pink panels, on many of the product pages, with text in light blue. Big mistake, because it is very hard to read in a normal domestic lighting environment and the type used for the headlines on these panels is hard to read even in daylight!

I was impressed from the beginning with the content of this book. It has been a great help in my recent graduate projects. This is one I will keep on the shelf for reference.

This book is simply the best book on post-production audio out there. I have over a decade of experience mixing live sound and some formal training in post production, but Rose gets to the real nuts and bolts of the day-to-day sweetening of sound that I was able to apply his ideas the same day I read a chapter on EQ. I have read so many books on sound where authors get into all the details, but fail to give hands on practical advice. Rose has two unique things going for him in this book: the included CD that gives A/B comparisons of various audio sweetening and processing techniques and the cookbook format at the end of each chapter. Try any one of these "recipes" and you will instantly get results and be able to solve various problems and massively improve your soundtrack.
He gets technical in spots going into the physics of sound, studio design, and other minutia but the non-geeks you can usually skip these sections and side-bars. For those who just want to fix things they can jump to the end of each chapter and use the cookbook/troubleshooting sections. I can't recommend this book enough. If you are serious about filmmaking, you can't be without this book.

Audio Postproduction for Digital Video
By Jay Rose
Review by Pi Ware

Don't listen to the title. It's bigger than the title. The "Digital Video" part of Audio Postproduction for Digital Video restricts the scope of this classic Jay Rose text. Rose's book goes far beyond DV, in fact, it starts with an explanation of what sound is on the molecular level and then takes you not just through audio postproduction for TV, but to techniques specific to movie production, techniques that are entirely independent of the format you originate on. Audio Postproduction for Digital Video is top-notch. It's an excellent, text-book quality manual, a soup-to-nuts guide on how to deal with sound in postproduction.

Jay Rose never gives you solutions that are applicable only to specific Digital Audio Workstations, he arms you with knowledge you can use in any platform or program. The book is an education in sound and, together with the numerous photos and diagrams (and Rose's good sense of humor), it's a liberation from the dry prose of most manuals on postproduction.

Rose teaches you from the ground up what sound is, what good sound is, and how to make bad sound better. He doesn't just stop at good writing, however, he illustrates important points with an audio CD included in the back of the book. Together with the CD, the text guides you through importing audio into the computer, editing dialogue, Do It Yourself Foley and ADR, working with filters, noise reduction techniques, pitch and time changes, the sound mix, and even, if you're so inclined, designing, constructing and wiring your own postproduction audio facility.

Though postproduction changes with every new advance in technology, Audio Postproduction for Digital Video stays current by focusing on strategy, not software. Rose avoids giving specific keystroke instructions in specific programs, but instead explains common solutions to common problems using common tools. As he says in his introduction, "You should be able to use these pages for a long time."

Anyone considering directing a short or feature, anyone who wants to be even nominally involved in the sound design of their film, and, of course, anyone interested in working in audio postproduction, would do extremely well to pick up a copy of this classic Jay Rose text.

This book in fantastic. The author's voice and style make this not only easy to read but a joy to read as well. There are little tips and tidbits in each chapter that will make a good audio guy great and a great audio guy better. I recommend this book to anyone in the audio post world.

I decided to buy this book because I had used the forum on the DV.com website for information before, and Jay Rose's comments there had proven to be spot-on and well-informed.
This book contains a thorough examination of all the factors which contribute to the quality of post-production audio. The level of information includes the spectrum from basic to advanced, but through Mr. Rose's clear explanations the advanced information should not go over the heads of the reader.

Easy to read and follow. A good value even though it doesn't come with a demo CD.

Nice book. I've been an NLE dabbler for a few years, but never very serious about it. After finishing this book, I feel pretty comfortable with avid xpress, which was pretty intimidating at first. Good, easy read. I would have liked color pictures, though...

This is an excellent, well-written guide to the Avid Xpress Pro system, and while it can't replace the extended Authorized Avid Education advanced editing course, it is a great overview of the many different topics covered therein.

But, more importantly, it covers many things not in the official Avid training guides - things that after reading this book one feels really should be, like practical tips, tricks, and notes for a more truly professional end project. I would definitely recommend this for serious editors and people who want to get into the deeper strengths of the Avid system... it moves quickly, and might be confusing for a complete beginner.

I am just finishing up on this book, and after two solid days I have gone from no experience with avid to very comfortable. I don't know how well a new editor would do with this book, but if you already know FCP or Premiere this seems like an excellent way to learn all of the key concepts you need to run an editing app.
This is the best instructional manual I have come across.

I make my living editing digital video and this book is by far the best instructional material on Avid Xpress Pro I've seen. There are tips and suggestions it would have taken me years to figure out on my own. I'm doing better quality work in less time. I wish I had found this book two years ago.

I have always wondered what it'd be like to work on a TV talk show. From a distance it seems like a glam life. Alex Richards realistically conveys the hard work, tension, & ulcer-producing behind-the-scenes toil of a talk show intern, but balances it with Gemma's fun life with her rich, sophisticated roommates. The characters are well drawn & sassy, but I also found them compassionate. And Gemma is a love. The book was fast-paced, a really enjoyable read.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the author for my school newspaper and I had some very high hopes for the book. Back Talk exceeded my expectations by lightyears! It was glamorous and fun to read but still captured the nitty gritty of teen life. I finished the book the day I bought it in record time and I will probably read it again. I have to say I am envious of her characters. They are all so much fun and by the end you (as the reader) feel like you know them personally. So, all in all it was a pleasure to read. Bring on the champagne and the fake IDs! Oh, New York can be so glamorous.

Reviewed by Tabytha Joy (age 15) for Reader Views (8/07)

"Back Talk" is about a girl named Gemma who finds a job working for a talk show. Gemma is only sixteen, the youngest of all the employees. She and her friends like to get together and talk about cute boys, or their current boyfriends.

There is a pair of twins working for the talk show. All the twins do is try to get Gemma into trouble. Well, one of Gemma's favorite workmates ends up losing his job. The reason is because the twins said that the guy was sexually harassing them. Gemma doesn't believe this is true. She sets out to find the truth and to get her workmate hired back. Now, all Gemma wants to do is prove that the twins are lying.

The talk show owners decide that they want their special guest to be a child prostitute. The only problem is, the thirteen-year-old girl they find is afraid of appearing on the show as she fears that her pimp is going to kill her. Gemma meets up with this girl a few times to try to convince her that they will protect her from her pimp. She even talks to the boss for the talk show about offering more to this girl. So, the talk show boss decides to offer this girl a scholarship to a great college and promises her a good education. But will this young prostitute risk it?

In my opinion, "Back Talk" was an okay book if you like to read about talk shows. I was not too fond of all the dirty language used throughout this book. Some cursing would have been fine. But there was a bit too much. My favorite part of this book was when Gemma kicked Nick between the legs. I like how the author wrote "Ouch. The consequences were gonna need an ice pack." That part was really funny. I also enjoyed how the author chose to end the book. Not one question was left unanswered. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes a fast-paced book with a lot of excitement in it.

First, the blurb above states that this book is for 9-12 year olds. That is a mistake - it is Young Adult fiction (so maybe grades 9-12!!). I don't recommend it for a 12 year old.

This is by far the best YA novel I have read, ever. And I am not just saying that!

It's the story of a naive 16 year old from Idaho who's in New York City for a summer internship working at a TV talk show. She's staying with some rich, glamorous friends who take her under their wing for a taste of night life and what seems to be the beginning of a great friendship too.

The characters grab you instantly -- there's the heroine, Gemma, who's journey into the fast-paced world of New York TV production is made all the more human by the insights we are given into her self doubt. She's never sure if she's quite getting the hang of this life but she follows her heart and so ends up doing the right thing. Her periodic flirtation with a dashing British student(!!!) is described with humor and tenderness.

Gemma's two friends have been born into money and status, so at first their lifestyle seems intimidating to Gemma. As they become closer, Gemma realizes that the glamor, the drinking and the sarcasm are all part of a cover up for the one thing they weren't privileged with: a loving family. The three of them bond over the summer and each comes to understand the other - it's an allegory for how the mid-west and corn-belt is so out of touch with the so-called east-coast sophisticates.

The characters and the behind-the-scenes views of the TV industry are what sets this book apart from the genre. Gemma is thrown into a crazy topsy-turvy world of hardened TV producers who have seen it all. When they find it hard to care for the people they exploit for a story, Gemma shows them all that you can be successful and still have a heart.

All in all a great read! The sarcastic humor that the narrator and the characters sling around is wickedly entertaining. The characters are well rounded and the plot is rich in detail and structure. The pace of the story keeps up right through to the end chapter, and it's hard to believe we have to leave Gemma and company to live the rest of their summer without finding out what happens next!

First time author Alex Richards shows great promise with this novel - we're all dying to see what she comes up with next.

If only my life was this fabulous at 16. As much as you want to hate on and be jealous of the trio of roommates in this book, (Gemma, America, and Dana), you will end up loving all of them. They are interning and living in NYC, two are fabulously rich, but without any of that spoiled super sweet 16 BS (OK maybe a teeny bit). The star of the novel, Gemma, is quite down to earth coming to NYC from the not so chichi countryside. Her take on interning at a trashy talk show is refreshing. Perhaps more interesting is the peek into Gemma's internship and the talk show world in general. I read online that the author once worked for a talk show type TV program, maybe we have some slightly blind itemed situations going on here. self-obsessed talk show host = egomaniac Tyra Banks? Probably not but fun to guess....

I would reccomend this book for all people who love the Backstreet Boys as much as I do.

I love to play hit songs on the piano, and I love the BackStreet Boys. This book is giving me the notes to their hits, and it's very easy to play. You can sing along while you play the piano too. I'm sure you'll love it !

I learned to play piano,(although all my music acreitablity still goes out the window)souly just to play their gr-8 songs,etc...that book showed me how.All my friends just love singing with it!And the layout is very well done. It rocks! KEEP THE BACKSTREET PRIDE ALIVE! YEAH!

And a few days ago, I saw a copy of the BSB music book. I bought it (of course) for $20 or so and my next voice lesson, I had brought it. My teacher likes the music and lyrics so now I bet he's practicing. I had let him borrow it (and it's PAINFUL.) and before that, I would study and practice singing and following the right key and pitches. It sounds great on the piano and lets me know all the lyrics. I love practicing BSB music, and I bet you would too! :)

This is the best. i never liked taking piano lessons but now since i got this book i love it. I LOVE BSB!!

This book reminds me of the beavis and butthead movie and the TV show, not that I miss them because I have all the episodes on DVD, and the movie, thats besides the point. This book really is entertaining to read and doesn't take very long to finish. It has pictures of various artists from their videos and they talk about them, make fun of them, whatever. Since I only paid like $1, it was well worth it for this book.

This book is about as funny as watching the show! The way beavis and butt-head are so stupid sometimes in the book crack me up. They even have a list of funny words like Tungsten, cocky, sextet, and so on. If you are a diehard fan of Beavis and Butt-head such as moo-ah you MUST buy this book!

This book sucks is so great. For any Beavis and Butthead fan it is the must have collectors item. It has many detailed photos of, their town, the house, old B&B and many more pieces of impotant(huh-huh) background. My personal favorite which still makes me laugh is the list of words.

This is one book that does not live up to its name This is a very funny book- If you think Beavis and Butthead are funny-- If you don't like Beavis & Butthead you probably won't like this book

Many die-hard fans from my generation would remember the summer of 1993 when Beavis and Butt-Head first graced MTV. With the premiere episodes FROG BASEBALL and PEACE, LOVE, AND UNDERSTANDING in 1992, followed by the first season episodes, Mike Judge's ongoing series of two braindead cartoon nitwits was born.

Just reading through this, the first of many feature books, brings to mind flashbacks of the first season episodes in particular. Like many other cartoon shows, the animation is cruder and the characters look and sound slightly different, and the music videos added the real class to it. The book is loaded with pages of fun activities from house painting (coloring) to word matches to songs to progress report incidents from Highland High School.

All of it together makes this book a tour through time in the evolution of the show itself. For any of you fans who really loved the early episodes, this book is definitely for you. You will be laughing long and hard. Huh huh huh huh. I said "long and hard". That was cool!

I YEARN TO SEE WHEN EVERY SINGLE EPISODE WILL BE RELEASED - UNCUT AND UNCENSORED - ON DVD!

This book helped my daughter get ready to say "bye bye" to her
pacifier. She still likes to read the book even now that the pacifier is gone.

I bought my daughter this book two weeks ago. She is two months shy of 3 years old. She has always been tremendously comforted by her binky. We have been limiting her binky use to naps and bedtime and extreme distress for quite a while now, but have been anxious for her to get rid of it. After a week of reading this book, she turned to me and said, "I'm not ready, Mommy." I told her she'd be ready one day. One week later, yesterday morning, she woke up saying, "Mommy, I'm ready to say Bye Bye Binky!" I am convinced it's because of this book. I asked her what she wanted to do with the binky and she said "Throw it in the trash." And that she did. She was aware that Baby Miss Piggy doesn't throw hers in the trash, but we kind of glossed over that part. My daughter appreciated that the first time Nanny suggests that Baby Piggy is too old for the pacifier, she said she still wanted it and did get it back. I think it helps, too, that the book has a part where Baby Piggy says she feels kind of silly because her friends don't use a pacifier anymore. I know my daughter gave up her binky on her own two months ago at preschool for that very reason. At first I thought this book would be too babyish for my daughter, but it clearly wasn't.

Baby Piggy loves her pacifier. She uses it every day. Then, one day, her baby-sitter asks her if she can play without it. Piggy tries to play without it for a few minutes, but she gets upset, so her baby-sitter gives it back. Until one day, Piggy realizes that none of her friends use a pacifier. From that day on, Piggy gave up her pacifier and her baby-sitter took it away. I got this book from our old local library and it helped my sister to say bye-bye to her pacifier.

Santa sent this book to my son when he was three and still using his pacifier. When I read this cute book to my son that Santa sent, he imediatly threw away his pacie and never said anything about it again. I believe he made this decission because the book came from Santa. It was signed in the back of the book, " Dear Tony , you are a big boy now and it is time to say Bye Bye to your pacifier, Love, Santa Clause. Thanks Santa, for a wonderful book that helped solve a little problem.

Santa sent this book to my son when he was three and still using his pacifier. When I read this cute book to my son that Santa sent, he imediatly threw away his pacie and never said anything about it again. I believe he made this decission because the book came from Santa. Thanks Santa, for a wonderful book that helped solve a little problem.

The 4th Edition of the Camera Assistant's Manual by focal press author David Elkins is a must have for the beginner as well as the seasoned pro. From how to set up a darkroom, to threading diagrams on all "in use" cameras, to lifelong useful tables and charts, this edition has it all.

Nothing comes close to David Elkins' book. It's that simple. This is the best, most complete book on the job of the camera assistant. PERIOD. If you are new to the job of the camera assistant, this book is an absolute must have. If you are a seasoned "vet" who has years of experience working on motion picture sets, again, this book is an absolute must have. Elkins' total description of every aspect of the AC's job is so consise, it's like a classroom in a book. Loaded with every conceivable diagram and chart, and covering every motion picture camera currently being used, this book goes well beyond your typical "job description" type tome.

The bonus materials alone make this book invaluable. Along with the companion website, the reader has vast amounts of precious material available for when the job calls for it...label templates, charts, manufacturer links and contacts, the list goes on and on and on. The best part is the writing style is clear and informative, almost like Elkins himself is teaching you as you go.

Look no further than this book. It's all here.

The Camera Assistant's Manual is a must have reference book for both beginners and experienced professionals in the camera department. If you are a beginner, this manual will teach you all of the basics as well as the advanced details of camera assisting. Although not a substitute for actual experience, author David Elkins also coaches you on how to act efficiently and professionally on a set. This can save you countless embarrassing blunders on your "first barbeque." But before learning all of the AC's duties, the reader is introduced to the basics of cinematography and a complete overview of the camera department. This is extremely helpful - allowing the beginner to understand the "big picture" first. If you are an experienced professional, Elkins gives you hundreds of tips and suggestions that will add to your knowledge base and help your job go smoothly. This 4th edition contains the most complete and up to date camera diagrams, tables, and formulas of any single reference source. Imagine your relief when you have to load and thread a new camera for the first time. The Camera Assistant's Manual is worth it's weight in gold.

I bought this book when I was hired to AC for a project on equipment I had never worked with before. For one of those, "Holly crap! I agreed to do a job I only know how to do part of!" moments, this book is great. Every question I could think of was answered thoroughly and I mean THOROUGHLY. If you want to learn exactly what the responsibilities of an Assistant Camera Person are and how best to execute them read this book! If you are a working AC and want an easy to read, text-book style reference this is it.

David Elkins's The Camera Assistant's Manual, Fourth Edition is the best technical book around, and one of the best books on movies, period.

Dave manages to cover every aspect of an assistant's job, no matter how obscure or infrequently encountered. But the completeness is only one aspect which recommends it to any aspiring or working cinematographer.

Written in a clear, conversational manner, Dave manages to demystify both the jargon and the sometimes strange job of an assistant. His accounts of procedure for both first and second assistants clarify what we in the business call "industry standard": the accepted, professional way of conducting yourself and doing a job. Outside of a job on a
Hollywood set, it is nearly impossible to learn these classic, time-saving routines. And unless you've been a pro in the business, you're not going to know about such things as the relative merits of Magliner and Rubbermaid carts for hauling equipment.

The book covers the general characteristics of film, cameras, and lenses in such a way as to give a general technical education. Dave also gives a valuable overview of the camera department and its place in film production overall.

What many readers will find most useful are the sections on troubleshooting, the diagrams and threading patterns of every currently used camera, and the wealth of forms and lists to organize the on-set work.

I've tried to give a good idea of what the book covers, but it contains much, much more. I've been using The Camera Assistant's Manual since the first edition. This is the biggest and the best version. I only wish that, when I started as a camera assistant, I had had access to such a clear, helpful book.

If you're intrigued at all by the work of John Cassavetes, this book is well worth your time. The book itself is a collection of interviews Cassavetes gave through his entire life, edited into chapters that correspond to the movies he talked about. The excerpts themselves are pretty interesting, but it is author Ray Carney's commentary in between quotes that really makes this book worthwhile. Carney gives us the back story, and fills in the missing parts, but he also sets things straight when John rambles into fiction. It's easy to see that Cassavetes liked to talk about his work. There are over 500 pages on roughly a dozen films.

If you are new to Cassavetes and read this book, you'll want to view his films. I have only seen a handful myself, but his total commitment to getting them made is so impressive that I feel ashamed to have not seen more. I saw my first Cassavetes film in college and felt that it was interesting, but a little over the top in places. As I get older, I think that real-life might be more over the top than I first realized.

John Cassavetes passion for making movies shines through in this volume. Ray Carney's insight tells the rest of the story. If you are interested in independent film making, this book is a must.

Absolutely necessary reading for those interested in American alternative cinema and not only. The book gives a brilliant picture of USA's one of the best directors ever.
Highly recommended for everyone. No other book shows Cassavetes in this light. Packed with interesting material, as good as Cassavetas' cinema itself.

Ray Carney's "Cassavetes on Cassavetes" is a wonderful introduction to Cassavetes' work. I found it to be a great read - amazingly free of academic jargon or fancy terminology. It was hard to put down! And with incredible photos of the wild-man at work. A must for every fan of indie film as well as aspiring directors and artists - and also for students of life! If you want to know even more, I'd also recommend Ray Carney's massive web site devoted to Cassavetes and indie film. Any search engine will take you there. It has wonderful behind-the-scenes information about the making of Cassavetes' work. If you want a volume to provide ongoing daily inspiration and encouragement regarding the artistic process, buy this book. It is a book you will go back to again and again and again...

Ray Carney's done a great service to film fans by bringing Cassavetes' scattered talks and interviews together into a coherent statement on art. Carney shows how Cassavetes' whole process of filmmaking was tied to his outlook on life. Combative, spontaneous and deliberately amateur, he aimed for situations where writer, actor and viewer are all left without direction, forced to respond to the story as individuals rather than reach for pre-approved 'social codes'. He savagely edited his films to defy audience expectations, usually rejecting versions that the studios, his collaborators and even his wife liked best. Some of Cassavetes' statements made me wonder if he did this to edit some part of himself--the Greek immigrant son made good, with the blonde wife and kids and Hollywood home. In some ways he was an insider desperate to stay on the outside. Conflict was fun for him, he thought America needed more of it, and the messy collaborative 'families' he built around each film were his alternative to the button-down corporate society he fought against all his life.

As Carney presents him, Cassavetes wasn't out for the money, the glory, the ego or ultimately maybe even the art. He wanted fun, he wanted friends and he wanted people to really live as individuals. Are there folks like this around anymore? We need them more than ever.

My half-hearted browser's interest in Cassavetes needed a kick in the seat of the pants, I now realize, and reading this book shows me how much I failed to appreciate him while we were lucky enough to have him around. The format is eye-opening. Cassavetes speaks, and then the author. The constantly shifting P.O.V., and the frisson between the truth Cassavetes himself presented, and the unvarnished truth as discovered by the author, makes this book constantly stimulating and endlessly arguable.

Cassavetes life and films are worth a serious look-see -- and this book is an EXCELLENT place to begin that-- if only because he is that rare individual who absolutely refused to accept mediocrity in himself and others, both as an artist and a committed liver of life. He went for the burn every time out, and could often be an ornery s.o.b. when he detected that people were simply going through the motions in their life or art. (The book is rife with anecdotes that literally make you wince and leave you wondering "Could I have long tolerated this behavior in a friend or family member?") He seems never to have thought "I'd better not burn my bridges here", or practiced any of the other forms of incremental, over-thought cowardice that most of us do.

Cassavetes was driven like no one else; he never made a lazy, easy commercial film. He let his life and films commingle, letting the cameras roll for hours, shooting thousands of feet more film than he could use, afterward sculpting it into a shape that could be released. (He said film stock was the one part of his film making on which he would never scrimp.) His films were, probably more than any other director's, explorations of life.

Cassavetes lived life so completely that it might be truthful to say he did something the average person would call foolhardy nearly every day of his life, in some way or other. But in spite of this, or because of it, it's impossible to come away from this book without an awakened admiration for him.