Video Production Books

Chris Keane does it all. I've been fortunate enough to be in his group in Maui and am about to be in his class in Maine. Everything other reviewers have said is right on, but one more comment is needed. Chris Keane actually cares greatly about his students whether they are new to the craft or old hands. He listens intently and answers thoughtfully. Oh, and he actually knows what he's talking about and speaks from vast experience. No wonder he's in such demand all over the world as an instructor. He knows how to "get 'er done". Any and all of his books should be OPEN on your desk, folks.

Barbara Lord Mannewitz (Bury Thy Brother)

If you are looking to learn about what attracts attention in the industry, read this book.

Romancing the A-List: How to Write the Script the Big Stars Want to Make

Chris Keane has written an indispensable tactical manual for the aspiring screenwriter. He generously shares his wealth of insider knowledge and industry experience. I want to take a week-end off, lock myself away somewhere and re-read the entire book ... it is that good. That useful. I suspect that "Romancing the A-List" it will become a reference beacon for many writers.
-P. Packenham

A big star can sell a movie much more than any other aspect - someone may be a fan of Hugh Jackman, but few would be fans of David Hayter, the screenwriter responsible for one Jackman's big films in 'X-Men'. "Romancing the A-List: Writing the Script The Big Stars Want to Make" is a complete and comprehensive guide to attracting those big stars to your screenplay, for that star support in getting the script writer's movie made - and to assure it will get the attention it deserves. Deftly composed and a must for wannabe screen writers, "Romancing the A-List: Writing the Script the Big Stars Want to Make" is highly recommended for writing collections, as well as professional, academic, and community library collections dedicated to film making.

Romancing the A-List is begging for a spot on your nightstand. This book ideal for screenwriters serious about their craft and wanting to get into the business as well as people who are interested in the story process and how their favorite movies have gone from idea to the silver screen. It's informative and entertaining. I like to consider it a classroom in a book. Christopher Keane takes you through all the steps, from creating a mini-treatment to building a screenplay in three acts. He encourages you to think outside the box but also to understand form and structure and method. I don't think I've ever read another book quite like it. I learned more about development of the story form in general in this book than anywhere else. If you don't get it, you won't know what you are missing.

Christina Hamlett is a respected and well-known script consultant who has taken her knowledge of the industry and turned it into a thought-provoking look at the process of writing a script. While most how-to books on screenwriting give a reader the nuts and bolts of what makes a good screenplay, Ms. Hamlett does one better and walks her readers through HOW to make a good screenplay. Could It Be A Movie? is conversational and encouraging the whole way through and I especially like the hands on exercises that can be found in each chapter. They truly provide insight on what works for a story and what doesn't.

Ms. Hamlett begins by guiding her readers through deciding which format - movie, book, or stage play - best suits their particular story. She includes interviews and inside stories from some of the industries leading professionals who help explain what writing, and writing for Hollywood, is all about. She touches on everything a writer ever wanted to know about the screenwriting process - three-act story and it's proper structure, character and dialogue, adapting material from other mediums, rewrites, script consulting, more rewrites, and all about the business side of screenwriting - like protecting your work and querying an agent.

This book is one of the best on the market - as an aspiring screenwriter I've read many - and definitely belongs on the desk shelf right next to the likes of Syd Field, Linda Seger, and Dave Trottier. Ms. Hamlett's wonderful insights and straightforward writing style make it clear that she enjoys writing and helping other writers achieve their full potential. I can't say enough good things about this book, but I will say that Ms. Hamlett is a master at providing guidance to aspiring writers and she is a wonderful inspiration to us all!

Could it be a Movie gives great, detailed advice to aspiring screenwriters trying to come up with ideas and inspiration. But the book delivers so much more. This is a seriously good resource and I would highly recommend adding this book to your collection. From soup to nuts, Christina Hamlett keeps it real and discusses dialogue, agents, what producers do once they have your script and more. This is one of the best, most inclusive, humorous and spot-on books on screenwriting I have seen in some time. I just love Christina's voice. Reading her book is like having coffee with a dear friend.

Julie Gray
Founder, The Script Department
www.thescriptdepartment.com

"Could it Be a Movie?" tackles the title question with wit and a great sense of the craft and business of storytelling. Beyond that, it explores the fundamental question: Could I Be the Movie Writer? If that is a career you are considering, read this book first. Not only does it give solid information to help you make that decision, but it clues you in on the fundamental principles of the craft and business of writing for the movies. This remarkable book is loaded with resources from the library and from the internet. Could your idea be a movie? Just maybe, yes, with the aid of this invaluable resource.

There is only one reason a person writes - because they have to. And no one ever has to read what you write. But if you wish, pass copies out to your family and friends. I promise you they will gush and fawn. And you will realize the money you dropped on that script writing software was well spent. Then buy Christina's book. You'll find out that developing a script is not done by just sitting at a computer. Christina's too much of a lady to tell you in the book to do this, but here's what I did after reading COULD IT BE A MOVIE- I grabbed a couple note books, a bunch of sharp pencils, a bottle of scotch, found an empty table, and slashed my way into my soul. Christina helped me find places there I was proud to write about.

Just like Christina Hamlett's other reads, Could It Be a Movie? get's two pens up! This How-To book is your first step in determining whether or not your newly written script is fit for the big screen. Maybe it would be better as a book or maybe a stage play. Now, with this book as your guide, you will be able to make that determination on your own.
This book is chock full of great knowledge dug up from the wonderful mind of a successful theater director, script consultant and former actress. But what is great about the book is its easy to understand voice. Christina writes in a very conversational tone and combined with her wit and great sense of humor, it seems as though you are learning all this priceless information from across a table in a coffee shop. It's amazing how easily the information flows from the book to the brain. I even catch myself (who has no experience in this field) saying to myself, "Oh yeah! That totally makes sense!"
The book also relays great advice such as, "if you can strip away all the glitz and gizmos and your story still has something substantive to say to an audience, you've probably got yourself a solid plot." She instructs you to be familiar with the medium you are trying to emulate. "Don't be a playwright who has never seen a play, a novelist who has never read a book or an aspiring scriptwriter who never goes to the movies." And another brilliant point she makes is: "there are no short cuts in this business so you might as well start at square one."
Like Christina Hamlett's other book, Screenwriting for Teens, this book also has great mind-stimulating exercises to give a try. For instance, she asks the reader to list movies that are written in "bookend format" or what she aptly named the "maypole format." How about turning a commercial you are familiar with into a movie? All the while, she continues to drive home the importance of your story having a solid message. What does your script say to the audience?
There are so many important topics this book touches on that first timers may not already know. For example, she explains how to shorten a script by taking out lengthy stage directions. She advises leaving that to the directors. Or maybe you have never left Wisconsin but you want to write a believable book about a character in Los Angeles. With the invaluable resources she has included such as websites written to help novelist's research different kinds of people, jobs, cities and customs for anywhere in the world or anything you may be writing about, it's now possible. She delves into the legalities of copyrights and how to stay away from shady websites that promise you the world. Worried about how to find an agent? Could It Be a Movie? to the rescue! Yes, even that information is in there.
So start writing that first script because like in her waffle analogy, the first one always gets thrown out.

If I had this book as a reference when I first started out as a newbie assistant editor I would have made less mistakes along the way.

Recently, I found this book when I started teaching an introduction to digital editing at the college level. Now I literally stand in front of the class with the book in my hands and say: "Learn what Chandler is teaching you in this book and you'll be on your way to getting and keeping a job as an assistant film editor. It is so full of practical advice and solid information on what to do and when and how to do it.

Because of the availability of lower cost editing applications today, many young people become quite technically savvy with the software even before they leave high school. But they have no knowledge of, or experience of working with projects shot on film. Nor are they aware of the aesthetics of the art of editing.

Chandler's book makes the reader aware of how much work has to be done before even one scene should be cut. Then she gives some great advice on what to consider when editing in general, and when dealing with various types of projects. It is a must read for anyone who needs more knowledge before they step into the digital cutting room.

I am never going to make a movie -I just love watching them, talking about them and understanding them. This book gave me enormous insight into how movies are made, not just edited. All the parts of a film come together in the editing process and Ms. Chandler explains how all those parts come into being as well as how they are edited together to make a film.
It is well written and precise, as a technical book should be, but it is also lucid and frequently funny.
Other than a couple pages of detailed film planning material at the end of each chapter everything in this book will be of great interest to any film buff

A comprehensive, updated, description of how to post, edit and finish a film including both creative and mechanical processes. Clearly written, many tables, charts, and illustrations. Covers film, digital, and web preparaton workflows. Fabulous book. High recommenation. But this leans on the technical and workflow side, not the creative. A wonderful review of the ENTIRE process. Necessary text for all film students.

If you buy the book, you have to be prepared to read much useless information.
The interesting part of the book (10 to 15 pages) focuses on practical editing problems.
The rest of the book contains endless lists of unnecessary information on video/film editing.
From 360 pages of the book only 10-20 really count.
Other books like "on editing" by Edward Dmytryk or " the technique of film editing" by Karel Reisz contain full, real, deep, dense information on the subject.
And for the amateur/enthusiast/prosumer film/video maker (like me) there is one book that really arms us for the battle in that difficult field.
A book with myriads of most valuable information.
A book that it's a pity only few knowledgeable people have mentioned it.
The "Five C's of cinematography" by Joseph Mascelli.
That book every day teaches me. And that author is a big teacher, someone who loves and really wants to communicate his knowledge with fond to learning people.

This book is a reminder that there's more to editing than meets the eye.

Chandler methodically details editing practice and thoery in an easy to understand way. There's so much here for the interested hobbyist to the aspiring editor.

An indespensible resource.

1.) The interviews in this book are invaluable. Interviews from both film students and professional in the industry.

2.) First 32 pages of the book, in my opinion, was hard to follow, learn and understand due to choice of words. If I hadn't of read "Crafty TV writing" by Alex Epstein, prior to reading this book, I would have been lost. THis book is for beginners, but Alexs book is for the beginner of beginners.

3.) Nice grids on pages so that you can do some training at home.

4.) This book is extremely analytical. I liked it, but some people may not.

Overall a good book.

This is a very helpful and useful guide.

I will expand my review later.

I've read many, many books on writing for film and television, and this is one of the best ones. Worth twice the cover price!

I have read several books on the craft of TV drama development, and this one is by far the most comprehensive and helpful. As someone who doesn't have access to the great writing instructors of the left coast, this book is essentially my drama writing class. "Writing the TV Drama Series" is a wonderful A to Z look at what to expect in the rough and tumble world of professional television writing. Thanks, Pamela, for sharing your expertise with us!

I have read many books on writing for film and TV and this is by far the most comprehensive and best organized TV writing book on the market. I have required my class of Advanced Short Scriptwriting/TV Writing students at the University of New Hampshire to purchase the book, and I am encouraging them to hang onto it for the rest of their lives so they may refer to it easily and quickly.

This book's meticulous scholarship started a welcome trend for "shot-by-shot" analysis of moviemaking.

Psycho is known for many things, but among them is Hitchcock's determination to use techniques he learned from television production. For a creator and adherent of "pure cinema," this special discipline makes the movie all the more notable.

What a series of paradoxes. The famous shower sequence is cited over and over again as one of the best uses of cutting and montage, and yet classic 50s "two-camera" TV shows would never dream of this approach. Too expensive and time consuming.

The usage of black and white - again classic 50s TV - actually enhances rather than diminishes the horror. As with old-time radio, the viewer has to fill in the lurid colors of blood and gore with her own imagination.

The cover says that this film started a trend toward "psycho thrillers." I suppose that this is true, but it accomplished much, much more than is acknowledged by the mediocre films that followed.

What an intelligent, readable, informative book this is. Full of insights about the personalities of Hitchcock, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, and all the other collaborators in this important and usual film project for everyone concerned. What struck me most about the book is the author's ability to blend his thorough research with a sense of the psychology and drama of what goes into making a movie. I'd have to agree with the reviewer who said that Rebello made reading this book nearly as entertaining as the movie itself. That's quite a feat. What I want to know is when will Mr. Rebello give the royal treatment to other Hitchcock projects as well as films by other directors.

I found this book to be just wonderful from start to finish. The research is painstaking, the writing smart and lively, the degree of film industry know-how is evident on every page. In fact, the book strikes me as one of the few I've read on Hollywood to suggest that the writer actually knows his way around movie sets and knows how films get made. This book has none of the absurd (and insulting) armchair psychologizing that mars other Hitchcock books and there isn't a dry or pedantic paragraph in it from start to finish. I thought I knew a lot about Hitchcock and Psycho until I read this book. A job obviously undertaken with love and wisdom, superlatively done by Mr. Rebello. I had the pleasure of hearing the author lecture on Hitchcock on TV in London and in Tokyo and he was the standout of the whole affair!

This book is about as in-depth as you could want, but very interesting and good reading. Stephen Rebello begins at the beginning with a rather revolting chapter about the psychotic killer upon which Norman was later loosely based. (Don't let your children get a hold of that chapter!) He then talks about the man who wrote the book "Psycho", and on to Hitchcock's discovery of the book and the making of the movie. There are chapters and sections on practically every aspect of the movie and the making thereof - cast, costumes, shooting, casaba melons, publicity, and the aftermath. At the end there is also a list of the entire cast and little paragraphs about what became of them after Psycho.

This book is very good if you are a fan of either Psycho or Hitchcock in general, because in telling about Psycho the author tells a lot about Hitchcock as well.

For the true fanatic, or just the curious, this is an immensely
readable account. Far, far more interesting and enlightening then
any of the turgid, pompous academic treatises on Hitchcock that
pollute bookshelves everywhere. As definitive a reconstruction
of how PSYCHO - or any movie, with a few exceptions - was put
together. However, I suggest Mr. Rebello is overdue for either
an update
(though this reprint's front and back cover is definitely an improvement over the original),
or a companion volume.
For the completists, I suggest:

1. More production and cast stills.
2. Saul Bass's storyboards.
3. Interviews and/or photos of Marli Renfro, the actresses
who provided the voice for Mrs. Bates, the diminutive woman
who stabbed Arbogast. Other cast interviews.
4. Documentation on PSYCHO's aborted CBS broadcast of 09/66
and its subsequent showing in 06/67 on ABC - the edits,
and when it was finally shown complete.
5. Information on the sequels, and Van Sant's "recreation".
6. Full descriptions of deleted scenes from the original.
7. Some of the less inflated analysis on its symbolism, etc.
8. Most importantly: a cue by cue evaluation of Bernard Herrmann's magnificent score, including its unused parts.

Ok, Mr. Rebello, make it happen.
Until then, anyone who is at all fascinated with how an American
cultural landmark came together, (Yeah, I know, like Hitchcock used to say, "Oh,it's only a movie!")
GET THIS BOOK!

I was pleased to have this book be in prime condition when it arrived. The price was excellent. The order came in a timely fashion.

The Art of books by Pixar are wonderful. For the artist these books give a great background into how the art brought the story alive.

I highly recommend these books, especially for those who love Pixar.

If you enjoy learning the behind the scenes process that goes into many of the animated and computer animated films of today, you will love this book.

It shows step by step the drawings and thoughts that went into each character in Radiator Springs and also the creation of all the backdrops. From the smallest signs and orange cones to the racetrack and beyond, you can see how it all evolved.

It's nicely bound with a great jacket cover. Definitely a nice coffee table book your guests will enjoy leafing through or the perfect addition to the library of any art and animation lover.

I purchased this art of book recently and found it one of the best art of books I now own. The illustrations are very helpful to my concept art assignments. Great reading

I have to say, I love this series of books. Seeing the concept drawings for the movie is wonderful and how they got there inspiration for what eventually became the charming and funny movie CARS.

Pixar's most recent animation is fully revealed in this wonderful art book. All the research, ideas, and concepts are printed gorgeously in this book. You see how the ideas are captured on paper to guide the production teams to make one of the best animation in years. Conceptual ideas of characters from the beginning to the final rendered CGI model on screen are all there. The landscape is captured in with colorful pastel paintings. Even all the details from neon signs to the Southwest vegetation are drawn out for you to see. Everything in the book is traditional artwork techniques from pastels, blue pencil, to gray scale markers. Only a few pages have any 3D images for you to see, but in an age where everything is computerized... its really nice to see that old fashioned techniques being used.

Its a quality book I highly recommend for the Pixar fan, 3D animation enthusiast, and art students.

While it's size may seem like overkill, this book packs a punch! Once you open it you'll see that it is definitely worth the money you'll pay for it. The photographs are really great and they give you a really cool behind the scenes look at the sets of the entire Star Wars Saga. Many of these pictures have never been published, so that alone is a very neat feature! And this book is more than just a pretty picture as it has some really well written and informative bits that I had very little understanding of before I read it. I now have a better grasp of set building and computer animation and special effects. I recommend this to any Star Wars Fan!

WOW - photos I've never seen anywhere else! What a fun non-read this is!!!! For sure a book to talk about and keep on a coffee table! Small, packed and colorful!

This book offers a very nice mixture of inside views to the making of the original Star Wars movies as the new series Episode I to III. Each day (or double page) is showing one aspect of this amazing series with lots of pictures and information waiting for you.

Only downside in my opinion is that it is a bit too much focused on the new Episodes even though there is tons of information about the original movies too.

On the other hand you have a CD with 360-degree-views of some sets and some rare pictures on your PC!

All together this might be the perfect gift for a Star Wars fan like me ;-) 5 Stars!

This book is not the same old thing. It features pictures I'd not see anywhere else. Its a very heavy, very thick book full of great behind the scenes stuff. Worth every penny. I just wish John Knoll would make an equivelant book for Pirates of the Caribbean.

This book is really cool for most Star Wars lovers. It shows you how they filmed the movie. You can see who played the Wampa. I think the coolest part is Mustafar because you can see the lava river bank. You can also see on one page all the Astromech droids. You can also see alot of cool other stuff.
You should buy this book if you're a Star Wars fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elia Kazan was arguably one of the most influential people that theatre has ever produced. He had an amazing life through his art, and outside of it.

Here, at the age of 77, past the point of modesty, conceit and pride, he tells his remarkable story of learning his craft, harnessing his incredible God-given talent, and channelling his drive into success.

We learn about his trysts and liasons with other icons, his marriages, his faults and missteps.

He owns up to many things that have not made him proud, including naming names during the deplorable McCarthy communist witch hunts of the 1950's.

He talks openly of his failures as a parent and a husband, his infidelity, and his loss of faith.

He also recounts his many astounding successes in film and theatre, including the many great actors and actresses he worked with.

His honest self-assessment is a breath of resh air.

This is one of the greatest autobiographies I have ever read.

This is the best show-biz biography I have ever read. Poor, Greek immigrant, Kazan fought his way up the entertainment ladder to direct my favorite movie (On The Waterfront) and my favorite play (Death of A Salesman). Along the way to these achievements he was an original member of the Group Theater; he relates his experiences there including an in-depth retelling of his relationship with Lee Strasburg. He met prectically everyone in the business from an aspiring Marylin Monroe, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Arthur Miller and what seems thousands of others in the theater and movie world. His antecdotes are fresh and revealing, even those that may be common knowledge. Of particular note are the chapters devoted to the making of Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront. His work with Brando, who was seldom better than when he worked with Kazan, is discussed. Along with his great movies and plays, Kazan tells his side of the House On Unamerican Affairs controversy that swirled about him until his death. While the book is massive at 864 pages, it is over too soon. It is a rare, literate portrait of the man Kazan, who changed American movies and theater forever-- and for the better.

One of the most honest, compelling, brilliant, wise, stunning books I've ever read. Kazan's life was awe-inspring, and to have it retold with such lucidness and unflattering candour is a gift for the ages. Not only was he one of the greatest theatre directors and film directors of the 20th Century, he writes like a blessed demon. This was a spellbinding, page-turning read. Immersed in its pages, I learnt so much about life, America, directing, theatre/cinema history, and myself. I also learnt more than I've ever known about how men think (wish I'd read this years ago).

It's such a pity Kazan's life has become simplistically defined by one act, and his artistry overshadowed - ironic, too, considering he made films with a deep, compassionate, liberal humanity. You can look at his life through through the prism of that one act, or read this for a much richer, fuller, deeper understanding of Kazan - the good, the bad, the ugly. And the genius.

This book made me want to live my life more fully, view myself less vainly, and create my work more honestly. Can't ask for more than that.

I was truly surprised by this book when I read it some years ago. I was surprised by how engrossing and powerful it was , all the way through. This man lived a tremendously interesting life, rich in great creative challenges and triumphs, rich in meetings and experience with remarkable people, rich in sexual adventures and complex human relationships. The story of how the child of Greek immigrants came to become the director of two of the classics of the American Theatre "Death of a Salesman" and a 'Streetcar Named Desire" and of two of the great American movies, "On the Waterfront" and " East of Eden" is told with remarkable frankness and perceptiveness.
Kazan does not come across in this work as a saint, but rather as a truly strong person who took what he wanted from life, even if this meant hurting others. His personal and inner torments however too make up an interesting part of this story.
One more point. His writing follows the rule of Henry James and is always interesting. This is a work whose richness in anecdote and event are so great that it fits into the 'couldn't put it down' category.

With a former Supreme Court Justice warning the USA today (March 10, 2006) about starting down the road toward a dictatorship, it seemes fitting to re-visit the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s when the right-wing was trying to scare our citizens into giving the government supreme power, just as neocons are trying now.

Elia Kazan defends his decision to name names during the Hollywood Hearings of the 1950s, saying that his ideas toward the Communist Party had changed and he thought the higher ups (maybe from Russia) were dictating policies to the American communists in the movie business.

Maybe so, but he also admits the Hearings already had all the communists' names and admits they were only showing their power to control people here in Hollywood,using intimidation to instigate the blacklist. In real life, the USA government was the bully, not the old, tired communists of the 1930s.

If so, then why did he ever think the movie he directed, "On The Waterfront," was a good analogy for what he faced? The USA government caused the black list and precipated suicides and family break-ups in their Hollywood investigation.

It was the mob who caused the deaths and intimidation in "On The Waterfront." Is Kazan saying that Congress behaved like the mob? Or that the mob behaved like Congress?

Granted, Kazan was a great director, brilliant at times. But to him the bottom line was the bottom line, and to keep his position as an all-star director, he had to name names. While he tries to seem noble, the reader can see his 'reel' motivation was money and his career. So what if he named names! He was working.

Today, we see the right wing using similar tactics in the Bush administration: questioning people's patriotism, using smears and mud-slinging against opponents, trying to get people fired if they disagree with neocon policies, keeping a blacklist of university professors who oppose them, and most recently, equating the AARP group of loving gays instead of our troops.

After reading Kazan's book, I did gain a firm insight into right-wing politics, and these politicians use juxtaposition of images to label their opponents. Right-wingers still don't care if they distort the record. To them, winning is everything.

I purchased this expecting some advice on legal issues, but this book is so much more. It talks you through the whole process of producing a film from start to finish, including valuable information on finding investors, attaching stars, behind the scene terminology, production advice, sample legal forms and what do with your film once you've made a cut. All of the advice is indispensable. This is a must have for any independent film producer, especially those new to the industry. It should be taught as a textbook in film schools. The most helpful book on producing I've stumbled upon yet.

I highly recommend this book. As a first time amateur independent film producer, with about 30 film books resting on my shelf, I believe I was constantly thumbing through this one the most during preproduction. This book contains so much useful information and helpful insights, it's almost like having an industry consultant right there with you. Unlike other books, there weren't a lot of sections where they seemed to rush on to the next chapter without exploring the present topic in some depth.

If it's not already, this book will soon become the industry standard for substantive knowledge of the film business for independent filmmakers. Deal points, standard contract provisions, the often technical and confusing jargon, and the historical context for many industry practices are all covered here in comprehensive yet concise fashion. Topics of interest that are covered in depth include standard talent and producer agreements, developing a screen play, financing, and digital distribution. The book was a tremendous asset to me when I had to help an independent filmmaker comply with complicated federal securities laws in order to raise $200,000. Highly recommended.

jeffbrownlegal@gmail.com

It was a book with that gave you a good background on how film production works from a legal perspective. So you should read it if that is your concern. The authors are lawyers, not producers.

This book is a serious but very readable approach to educating filmmakers on the maze of legal hoops that must be jumped through in order to create a film. Indispensable resource to have.

This is a good book to overview the special effects for making movies. It includes history and technics for almost everything but not details. However it is impossible to include details in a book so readers need to find out the details from other resources. Overall this is a good book for gaining knowledge in special effects.

I got the book for my boyfriend. He loved it.The book has a lot of interesting and useful information even if you are just a movie-lover, not a movie-maker

Special Effects is THE BEST book you could wish for on the subject. I have a shelf full of old, an mostly inaccurate books about special effects, but with this new book I could throw the rest away. Also, don't bother with magazines like Cinefex anymore, which are very dry and heavy going. this book is a pleasure to read and has interviews with everyone who is important in the business. There are hundreds of cool photos as well which makes it very good value. Anyone who works in special effects, or is just interested in the movies should read this book. Congratulations to the author Mr Rickitt who has condensed 100 years of movie magic into a single lavish book. Dont take my word for it - BUY IT!

Yes there is great history and education in here, but the mass of photographs tells a truly beautiful tale. The artists illustrated here are for the most part the true pioneers of creating magic on film. Going into a project with truly no proven technique must have been terrifying and adrenaline pumping. Our techniques have greatly improved but since the advent of fully cg fx, the pioneering aspect is minimal. It is very well written but I can't call it a page turner since I spent so much time staring at the pictures. Great for fans and professionals alike.

I'm a film studies tutor and reccommend this title to all of my students. Why has the publisher/author allowed it to go out of print? This is the best book ever written on special/visual effects and one of the best introductions to film making and film technology generally. PLEASE REPRINT THIS BOOK and ideally, make a softback edition at a price my kids can better afford. THANKS!