Video Production Books

I had noted this book at a friend of mine and ordered one from Amazon.

Excellent book covers all areas and explained with plain language. I would recommend the book for those beginners who wish to understand more about the subject and would like to move on to more complex stuff.

I read the German translation of this book, also published by Dorling Kindersley. I am relatively new to professional video production and this book has given me all the basic knowledge required. It gave me more confidence in the difficult time when I decided to start out professionally.
This book helped me choose which computer, which video editing programmes, which camera and which audio equipment to buy. Apart from offering an introduction to video techniques and giving ideas for projects, it provides an overview of the latest equipment that amateurs, semi-professionals (this category includes indie filmmakers/ documentary makers) and top professionals use.

Digital Video Handbook is split into 7 chapters:
Introduction to Digital Video
Handling Camera

The book is a simple how to in tenacity. Director and Author Glut ( also the author of the book The Empire Strikes Back ) show what a determined person can accomplish when they are driven to follow thier dreams.

I'm Jason Peters, the actor who plays Karn-Dag, one of the Cavemen in Dinosaur Valley Girls. I give it a 5-star rating because it is a blow-by-blow education in the how-to of making a good movie with an extremely small amout of money. It includes the full original script with footnotes explaining all the changes that had to be made during filming, in order to keep within the budget of time and money. Also details conflicts and compromises, such as the actresses who decided NOT to be filmed topless after signing binding contracts (is there a pun here?) Director Glut writes very well. He is a prolific author who gives a humorous account of the creation of his first full-length motion picture, including how to raise production money from unusual sources, and how to make a low budget look MUCH bigger. Lots of color and B/W photos, and the girls are GORGEOUS!

An outstanding collection of today's Hollywood directors and their personal stories. It's one of those books for which you are glad somebody told you about it since its fascinating lessons will stick with you a lifetime. The approach of this book is not so on the nose as interview volumes often are but original and intriguing: it lets the directors (almost half of which are foreign-born) explain their colorful backgrounds, working their way up from either inside or outside of Hollywood - what they did in the past has now entered their very filmmaking and, boy, it shows: listen to Bryan Singer's crazy story of how he co-founded a Nazi club as a boy and his Jewish mother had to rip the swastika armband off him. Or David Fincher on how the studio messed up his Alien3 movie. Or Barry Levinson (Rainman, Good Morning Vietnam) being motivated about pretty much nothing as a kid - until he discovered that this was his strength... A truly remarkable read until the very last page.

...if only I could give 6 STARS... Movie directors Inarritu of "Babel", Frears of "The Queen", or Fincher of "Zodiac", Mangold of "Walk the Line", Pollack of "Out of Africa" - the list of great names goes on and on - when I saw the 21 star directors featuring in the table of contents I was surprised I hadn't heard of the interview book yet when a friend recommended it to me - also that I am the first reviewer here. I am a great fan of Director volumes such as "My First Movie" or "Breaking In" and this is just as informative as these two - and even better in my opinion. It presents directors from all different backgrounds and you get a real understanding of where these directors are coming from and what makes them tick.
I am a second year film school student and this book really blew me away - I just couldn't put it down. The interviewer does an outstanding job in making the directors explain their lives and the Hollywood fortress from the inside. Great anecdotes, great storytelling! Of course luck was sometimes involved in their careers, but only ever after hard work and never giving up even in the face of countless struggles. I really recommend this book to everone who is afraid the system doesn't have a place for them and loves to learn from the very finest storytellers of today's Hollywood - the best film school education you can get for your money! Thanks for putting this book out there.

You rarely find a good advice book for directors, since publishers presumably believe that its audience would be small and that, in any case, those sitting on corporate boards ought to know what they are doing. But as the infamous debacles at Enron, Tyco, HealthSouth and other companies show, this isn't always the case. getAbstract.com heartily recommends this book to all corporate board members, even those with long experience. Patrick Dunne provides a useful decision-making framework for resolving common problems. It is enhanced by behind-the-scenes case studies that depict a variety of difficult company decisions and how board members arrived at them - helpful for those facing similar crises. After reading this book, you will have only one dilemma left: deciding which of Dunne's solutions to try first.

As I work in commercial due dilligence, this book has given me fresh insight into the working of the business.It is both easy to read and very entertaining.

What is surprising is that little reference is made by senior management to customer attitudes when companies are in crisis.

I have always been a fan of Orson Welles on radio and television. Having collected a ton of radio broadcasts on CD and audio cassette and having watched most of his movies, I appreciate the genius of his work. I picked up a copy of this book recently and am amazed at the amount of research put into it. An aspect of Welles rarely discussed is his magic career. At the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention this September in Aberdeen, Maryland, I plan to attend the presentation about Orson Welles and his magic career so I can watch rare footage and films with Welles, and get an even deeper insight to his trickery. Book comes recommended.

Having just finished Peter Tonguette's book on the later days of Welles, I was really re-inspired to read more about my favorite film director. I knew Jonathan Rosenbaum to be a dedicated Welles scholar and I was excited to see this book. It's simply a fantastic book featuring Rosenbaum's articles over the years on Welles.

If you're a Welles fan, you need to get this book!

What if the seven dwarfs had been Deafy, Wheezy, Baldy, Nifty, Swift, Lazy, and Burpy? Believe it or not, these are actual names animators considered for the dwarfs in Snow White. This fun fact and a wealth of other information can be found in Bob Thomas's comprehensive journey into the world of Disney animation. The first half of the book is a history of Disney animation starting with Oswald the Rabbit, Mickey's predecessor, and going all the way through 1990's The Rescuers Down Under. The second half of the book is a detailed look into the making of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast. This book is filled with beautiful pictures and sketches from all of the Disney animated films through Beauty and the Beast. Any Disney lover will be intrigued and entertained

In Disney's Art of Animation, Thomas explains the birth of the Walt Disney co., from a handful of people meeting in a home, to the huge Disney phenomenon we know today. The first half of the book explains the formative years of Disney, from before Mickey's time. This book looks into facts about the films themselves from an outside veiw. It keeps its eye on the whole company as it struggled along through the 30's, 40's, and even 50's. It talks about pre-Snow White cartoons and all of the full length feture films from Snow White to 1990's Rescures Down Under. The last half Explains the process of creating a modern animated film from the standpoint of many of the people who had an infleuance creating the only Disney Picture to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy AwardsÐBeauty and the Beast. Thomas explains how each aspect of the film is created and consolidated into one final, breathtaking work. An excellent book for anyone intrested in animation and, not to mention, a Disney fan's wish come true.

Kieslowski changed my life. I watched RED first, then WHITE and Finally BLUE. I've never watched anything that moved me so. So much better than anything that comes out of Hollywood( except for the occasional Shawshank). Ann Insdorf does a great job narrating the DVD--in the 'extras' section of the trilogy. Based on her performance, I bought 'Double Lives'. I enjoyed her personal observations of the master at work. I loved her book. My only complaint is I wanted more analysis of the Trilogy(and the Decalogue). But she gives a fantastic job on the Trilogy DVD set. She's a true scholar of the sage.

I have been an enormous follower and keeper of Kieslowki's work since a fateful afternoon when I stumbled upon a showing of "Blue" several years ago. This of course came to a bittersweet juncture when K died in 1997. Regardless, this book accurately captures the the development of this extraordinary director... and writer. Insdorff presented some interesting insights in her writing amidst some oversights: the car in Blue was a Puegeott, not BMW, and no mentioning of "Blue's" Julie's accident interruption in court in "White". Although Kieslowki's beginnings and earlier works like his string of documentaries and "Decalogue" are crutcial to his foundation as an outstandingly brilliant director as showcased in the Three Colors trilogy, I wished more expoundment was made on the his final three works which is truly poetry in images.

Jon Fauer, who's film-camera books have set a standard in the industry, has written his second video-related book. This one too is full of very practical information, and answers those nagging questions about differences between DV and the DVCAM format. No matter what level of production experience a person has, there's information in this book that will prove helpful in the field.

What I like about this book is how it complements the more general "Shooting DV" book by the same author, focussing on DVCAM specifically - the similarities, differences as well as compatabilities beween mini-DV and DVCAM. There are clear technical explanations that make sense even if you're not a very technically-oriented digital-video user. I also really like the many clear illustrations and photos of the various cameras functions, as well as the tape-formats. Very useful info about important details such as the weight of various tapes, all the way to various digital-editing options. Jon also asks really valid questions through his explanations "does such-and-such a feature justify the price difference". It's nice to have a book that packs in so much practical, technical information in an easy-to-read, and use, book.

If you do any authoring of DVDs, or plan on it, you need this book. A wealth of information from a wonderful author. Well written and well organized.

This is a great guide for DVD studio pro. The information in the book is still relevant with more current versions of the software. I would definitively recommend this book for anyone looking to get started with DVD Studio Pro, or anyone who wants an easy reference guide.

This is really good if you are starting a school news show from scratch. It has great project ideas!

This is a good book if you are looking to start a school TV program, or improve the program you've got. I am a school media specialist, and we do a lot these days - librarian, web-master, research teacher, TV producer. This book helped me improve my school TV program. It described a lot of equipment that was previously unfamiliar to me. It also told me what to look for in various equipment (audio mixer, video mixer, etc.) My next purchase is probably a video editor, and this book tells me what features to look for. My students have created several of the video projects enclosed, and students and teachers like them alot. Buy this book if you want to improve your school tv studio.