Video Production Books

My son got me this book because I'm always bugging him during movies and saying things like "you know that was supposed to be..." (we just watched Amadeus, and Meg Tilly was supposed to be Mozart's wife in that, but hurt herself a day before filming began); So for me, it was a perfect gift.
A must for movie lovers, or people that never had a problem with the "entertainment" category on Trivial Pursuit.
I loved it, and still do.

This is one of those books (in the vein of a great movie guide, like the ones I love by Leonard Matlin and Pauline Kael) that I'm constantly picking up and just leafing through. No matter where I open it, there's always a find I'm interested in.
After reading the whole thing once, I wanted more. Painstaking research on the author's part makes for a great ride for the film buff. Some "might have beens" I'd heard of, such as Lee Remmick in Mary Tyler Moore's role in "Ordinary People", but many, many others I would have had no idea about.
Not only researched well, but also organized down to the last detail.

I have to applaud Mr. Martinez sentiments. I totally enjoyed this book, and found many interesting suprises. This forum should be reviews about the book, not about personal jabs at the author or her readers. I was amazed to see this insulting review posted. There is not one example of why this book is not credible, but yet he attacks the author. May I suggest that Mr. Dobkin re-evaluate himself as a Critic at Large because if you are a critic this was the most assine review I have ever read. Why so Bitchy? Did Ms. Mell do something to you in your past? Do you even know Ms.Mell? Or from the bitchiness of this review, does a "partner" of yours have a problem with her?
I can't even believe that I am responding to such nonesense,but when I saw it, and Mr. Martinez review I couldnt pass up the opportunity to give Mr. Martinez 2 thumbs up...Mr Dobkin 2 Thumbs Down, and Ms. Mell 4 Stars!!!
As for the book I echo Mr. Martinez and Mr. Liotta reviews. It is so fascinating to see what might have been. Would the Graduate have been a classic with Robert Redford? or Could anyone imagine anyone else as Marlon Brando in The Godfather? Some choices you say OK that would have been great, and others you say what were they thinking... It's the perfect book for Film buffs, and Movie Enthusiasts!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Have you ever gone to a bookstore, picked up a reference or fun fact book and not been able to put it down? Ms. Mell's work is one of those books.
Chock full of information and exhaustively researched, you'll be amazed at who turned down certain roles or who auditioned for others. Imagine my surprise to discover that Peter Sellers was considered for the part of Leo Bloom in the original "The Producers". Every entry is carefully referenced!
As far as the previous reviewer (Gary J. Dobkin), I can't possibly understand what his personal attack on Ms. Mell is based on. He goes on, not only to criticize a book that he probably hasn't read, but continues his own "self-aggrandizing" review by insinuating that the other positive reviewers for this book aren't intelligent enough to know any better.

To that, I will only say the following: Mr. Dobkin's claim that Ms. Mell is "getting the facts wrong or simply not getting the facts" isn't backed up by any examples or contrary information. It seems Mr. Dobkin's "Critic At Large" title seems to be just that. An extensive Google Search of "Gary J. Dobkin" who proclaims to be "firmly entrenched" in entertainment journalism, yielded absolutely nothing.

One can't quite be sure of which crime Ms. Mell emerges more guilty with her little tome; getting the facts wrong or simply not getting the facts. One wonders if perhaps she was one of those mindless children who simply spent her days languishing in the prison of fantasy, endlessly casting and re-casting films for her own silly preoccupation by dint of needing to escape some deep, dark secret. Either way, her book emerges as laughable at best and a travesty at worst, and serves to literally and liberally spew poison over cinematic history as we know it. Not only is it not worth the cost, one can only hope that some naive publisher will never, ever see fit to entertain so much as one proposal with regard to her so-called "work." With respect to my fellow reviewers on this page, I'm simply unsure that any of them is of sound enough mind to critique a sure-fire hit, much less this extremely meager excuse for investigative reportage. The literary world in general and the world of entertainment journalism in particular, in which this critic is firmly entrenched, will rest much easier when Ms. Mell has put her wretched example of a career very firmly upon the proverbial back burner.

A fantastic art book about the work of Terry Gilliam. Some of his art has been reprinted elsewhere, but never in large format and never, in many cases, in full color. It is quite thourough, for what it is. The text and Bob McCabe's interviews give the reader the facts about what is being covered in each chapter. However, the artwork is the star of this book. If you want to know about Terry Gilliam, the artist, then this is the book for you. As Gilliam says in his intro 'you can write about them (the movies) all you want but these movies are basically there to be seen.'
If you want to know about Terry Gilliam in detail, then the book Gilliam on Gilliam, which is basically a book length interview with Gilliam, is the book for you. I think the books compliment each other nicely: 'Gilliam on Gilliam' for everything you could possibly want to know about Terry Gilliam and 'Dark Knights & Holy Fools' for Terry Gilliam's quirky, beautiful, humorous art.

Dark Knights & Holy Fools is a portrait of director Terry Gilliam expressed through comment, interviews with the great man, and his work itself. A descriptive thread goes through each stage of his work, from before his first public beginnings as a cartoonist, to each of his films, made and unmade.

It's a biography, a reference, a wonderful collection of illustrations and photographs, and a celebration of a cinematic genius. If you enjoy Gilliam's work, I suspect this ought to be on your bookshelf.

This is good. The pictures from Gilliam's archive and exclusive interviews make it special, added to McCabe's obvious enthusiasm for his subject. The book will seem inadequate once Terry makes his next film, but for now it is a good overview of an interesting career. More time could have been spent on some of the Monty Python work, and some of the pictures suffer from sloppy presentation, but that's a minor details when the book is so readable.

This book does go into good detail of each of Gilliam's films, but I was left thinking that I wanted to know more on certain films. Now I want a making of book on each of his films! A bonus is the three chapters that mention the projects that he never got off the ground - as gilliam is famous for having problems with the studios. The major let down is the layout of the text. Still a good read - and a great colectable for Gilliam fans.

This is the perfect book for Terry Gilliam fans. It traces his history as an animator and director through the early years, into the Monty Python legacy and all the way to his feature films. This book is filled with color pictures from all of his projects, and even discusses some of the projects that never got off the ground. Very informative, but dated as this book came out right after the release of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'. Still, a great book if you truly enjoyed this innovative directors work!

As a true Disney fan I can highly recommend this book, but only to a certain set of people. Leonard Maltin's book The Disney Films is truely nothing more than a list of all of the films ever made by the Disney Company. Each one has a summary and credits. There is also a preface discussing Walt's life. Although it will a be valuable resource to my already exsisting Disney library I would not recommed it to any first timers. There are no color pictures which was a huge disapointment to me. However, it does deal with many little know films and gives great insight to each one, no matter how minor. I prefer reading about the animated films more than live-action. This book gave equal time to both types, which could be a plus to some. There is no doubt that for the price is a great deal, but I would advise to get John Grant's Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters (which is so much more than the title implies) and Steven Watts' The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life before this one. These are both incredible books that would serve anyone well. Especially the hardcore Disney fanatic.

Leonard Maltin's trademark pairing of impeccable research with genuine passion makes this both a superb reference source and delightful read. For definitive Disney, this is it.

This book is only for Disney fans (like me)!!
It has all the features, shorts, live action and true life adventure films described. Written in chronological order it is a nice reference book to look into time and again.

In this book about the film and tv work of one of animation history's most famous showmen.Leonard Maltin takes us thru the creation,development and the successes of Mr.Walt Disney and his most famous films and tv series.Using in depth research,interviews with many of Mr.Disney's staffers,cast,crew members,members of his family,friends and fellow film/tv historians.Mr.Maltin takes us thru the creation of "Mickey Mouse","Donald Duck","Snow White","Pinocchio","Peter Pan"and the rest of Mr.Disney's cast of cartoon characters and he shows us the development of his live action films.He also gives us a behind the scenes look at the creation of his tv series:"Disneyland!"/"Walt Disney Presents!"for ABC TV(Which he also served as producer and host/narrator) and why Mr.Disney left ABC TV to create,produce and host one of NBC TV's most popular family anthology shows:"The Wonderful World Of Color".

He also gives some insight into the man's life and his approach to giving joy to others.Maltin also shows us how the studio and theme parks were able to survive following Mr.Disney's untimely death in 1966 and the studio's and theme parks'future under the guidence(or lack of guidence)by Mr.Mike Einser and Mr.Roy Disney Jr.

The book is also filled with beautiful photos and illustrations and a complete listing of the production co.'s films and tv series.

For anyone..who enjoys the work of Walt Disney..or for anyone..who may not be a Disney fan(There are some Disney films:Live Action and Animated that I'm still not crazy about)."The Disney Films"will show you another side to the genius of Walter E.Disney! Bravo Lenny! Kevin S.Butler.

I like the book very much because all the Disney films are mentioned. I am still busy reading it and I find everytime new things. Also you can read how the film was received during release and re-releases. The first part of the book is very detailed of every movie until Disney's death. Every movie is a chapter. Than the writer starts to make a chapter per period. Also the Disneyclub TV series, Disney shorts and Disney TV-cartoons are in there. I think that Leonard Maltin should write seperate books about the Disney shorts and the Disney TV-cartoons.

Luckily I bought this book used and paid very little for it.

The content of the book is good and I keep it on the shelf as reference, it's nice to be able to look up specific topics and the sections are usually short and to the point.

My major complaint is that the much touted DVD that comes with the book is, for all intents and purposes, USELESS. In the book he references a file or where that file is on the DVD... and there is no such file or folder on the DVD. After my third attempt at looking for a file I realized this and had I not paid so little for the book I would have returned it instantly.

As I said, the content seems good but the disk makes you crazy and neither the author's website nor the publisher's make any attempt to apologize for this or give you the option to acquire the files on-line. I would only purchase this book used if at all.

I'm about 2 thirds through the book and am finding it very easy to read and very informative. I'd recommend it to newbies and olderbies.

Glad I picked this one out of all the possibilities!

Excellent DVD authoring guide for DVD authors and non-authors. Simple to follow guides and diagrams. The key to the book is it's simplicity. Easy to follow instructions plus all the technical DVD stuff that you may need for reference in the future. Also the enclosed DVD is packed with goodies and extras. We also get to see Bruce explaining things to us on camera. Buy this book!!!

This is a great book. Well written with accurate information and the content included applies to DVD Studio Pro 2, 3, and DVD authoring in general. If you are authoring DVDs, you should have this book.

There is NO doubt in my mind, that Bruce Nazarian is literally the world's best lecturer, seminar leader, tutor, and evangelist for authoring DVDs, especially done on the video-geeks platform of choice: the Apple G5. If you have never attended one of his widely available seminars about how to author DVDs, you MUST find the time and money to do so... its a life affirming experinece.

Otherwise, THIS, his latest publication, DVD-SP2 is the next best thing to being there.

Why? because unlike anyone else whose job it is to take average folk from ignorance to professional competency, Bruce has that magical personality to put himself in YOUR shoes, to see the issues, problems and questions from YOUR perspective. NOT as some sales-puke trying to push something on you in a 30 minute presentation, but as a friend (and I consider him a good friend).

Specifically about this book... it is LOADED with screen capture pictures, more than I have ever seen in a "how-to" for DVD authoring.. Beyond the pictures, is his massive use of short paragraphs with very descriptive titles on almost every thought. The titles of each concept are often put in the format of a question that YOU would be asking yourself... I am certain that give the massive experience Bruce has had on the DVD authoring-training circuit world wide, he has heard them all. So READING this book, is almost like having a conversation with Bruce. TOTALLY UNIQUE.

Beyond that, the damn text is actually readable, even though the facts to be learned are about what DVDs are and how they can be used and what the details are for each of the authoring functions of SP2. I am a certified Illiterate. I have NEVER read a book, cover to cover, that was not required reading to pass a course. But when I cracked this three pound, 540 page boat anchor, I could NOT put it down... NOT because I needed to know what was in it, (since I have been playing in this sandbox since 1976)... but because of the common language style and very clear, errorless choice of words. The man has a gift. I know most of you who are considering to buy this book have almost NO time to read an "epic" on the subject, and you have other options which include turning on your computer and grinding through tutorials (both supplied by Bruce and Apple).

BUT... This book was a joy to review. I even learned stuff that I did NOT want to learn... and that brings me to another issue that should put this acquisition at the top of your Christmas list (but don't wait til then). Every page has some comment, that shows a personal viewpoint with judgement calls that come from his years of experience mastering the hardware and software from Apple and that of their competitors. The man has an attitude... it jumps off the page. ITS NOT BORING. He is never irreverent, but always truthful, even about those little hidden details that keep people, doing DVDs, awake nights. A straight shooter, no crap. Its surprising that this book ever got published.

And finally... the book, like others, has a DVD in it with all those extras that they cannot put on paper... Those alone are probably worth the purchase price... But the kicker is that what you get is to see is Bruce-on-screen... talkin to you as if you were a client or a new employee... Very much in command of the subject matter and of his own talents at doing all this. What you will see there is a personality that will make you want to get to this guy's next two day intensive seminar (or whatever is your opportunity). I have seen him perform in front of hundreds of people, playing the crowd like Sir Stevie Jobs... and when his time is up, usually a crowd forms around him to ask questions and to get to be a real industry associate of his. You are going to want to know this guy... and this DVD and book will get you half way there.

And a final "finally." I told him.. "rather than make them read this book (and the updates he is already working on)...you really should put out a DVD series so they can put Bruce on their $29 Apex DVD player next to that monster G5, and have you talk them through all the features of a "professional" authoring tool." Yes, with Bruce as your co-pilot... you TOO will be able to land this 747 sized task of making serious money off of Apple's ambitions to dominate the Video editing and DVD authoring world.

And for any of you who might question: who the hell I am. I am called: (by a few thousand people who know me as well as I know Bruce) DA Godfather... A title I have given myself for having spent the last 29 years trying to bring Erasable Optical Recording to the world in order to eliminate paper, film and that evil VideoTAPE that has preceeded DVD-RW type media. If you ever see some Yahoo, walking down the aisles of NAB, CES, COMDEX, etc... looking like a dirty old Chicago Mafiosi... with a black hat.. that's me (be nice to the guy if its NOT me, you want to keep your kneecaps)... I would be happy to meet you and tell you more about Sir Bruce and why I consider him Apple's greatest Evangelist for what you are about to learn.

Enjoy IT,... I certainly did.

Da Godfather
(sorry about any typos...two of my fingers are shorter than they should be...shades of the International DVD-Mafia convention in Japan a few years back. :-)

This comprehensive examination of Gus Van Sant's life and work is a valuable resource for both scholars and admirers. Highly recommended!

This is a fascinating book about one of the best (relatively)young directors working. As usual, Mr. Parish has done his homework. The background material is great and helps give a really vivid picture of the person. I really feel I got to know Mr. Van Sandt from reading this book, not only him, but his family and associates growing up. The descriptions of his early works are especially interesting. Mr. Parish is one of the most thorough writers when it comes to work credits of his subjects. I also enjoy this section of his books. I definitely recommend this book.

James Robert Parish is one of the most prolific and knowledgeable film historians and writers around today, and his book on Van Sant lives up to his high standards of writing and research. Van Sant is an interesting character, going from art house (Mala Noche) to mainstream favorites (Good Will Hunting). This is definately a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about Van Sant and the movie making business of today.

Parish does it again.
I've been a big fan of Jim Parish's cinematic oeuvre of literature for 20 years. He has tackled film genres, biographies and anything with his name on it I will buy. His "Van Sant" bio is terrific and covers a career that hasn't had much coverage to date.
If you can find Mr. Parish's incredible "The Swashbucklers" you have a great weekend read in store. After 100 books, you would think Parish would be tired but his two recent works proves he is as fresh as ever and on the top of his game.

There are a couple inaccuracies which could have been corrected had the author spoken with anyone in the alternative music scene in Portland (to which Mr. Van Sant is connected). The gender of the sound engineer of Male Noche is incorrect (Pat Baum is a woman, drummer of early punk band the NeoBoys, and former dj on KBOO radio), and Chris Monlux and Mike Quinn's collaboration is called MonQui Productions, not Monique Productions.

I was really enjoying this book, until the inaccuracies noted made me suspicious of what other errors might exist. I didn't finish it.

I now like Rhomer/Chabrol's "Hitchcock: the first forty-four films" better.

I haven't quite finished the entire book, however, what I have read and seen is excellent...If you are HITCHCOCK MOVIE FAN, this is a MUST-HAVE book...Lot's of photos on all of his movies, great chronological lay out and for the DIRECTORS OUT THERE [like me] great info on his approaches to each film given the constraints he faced from studios, product codes and others...I love behind the scene shots on movie sets...and this one has it's share...Can't wait to read more and finish it in detail...

In essence, this is a book intended to demythologize Alfred Hitchcock. It has long been a staple of criticism on Hitchcock's films to buy into his assertions that he made his films in his head, via screenplays and storyboards, prior to production, and that the production itself was largely irrelevant. This claim, amazingly, has gone largely uncontested until Krohn's book comes along and shatters it to pieces. One would expect that that sort of demythologization would result in a feeling that Hitchcock's films were, somehow, less great than we felt them to be before, but that is anything but the case. If anything, Krohn's work reaffirms Hitchcock's status as one of the all-time great filmmakers.

A previous reviewer criticized Krohn's book for giving some films more attention than others. Why carp? What's here is great, and it is reasonable to assume that Hitchcock improvised more on some sets than he did on others, and that the sort of documentation one needs to do the necessary research was more in abundance for some films than for others. Therefore, it is unfair to expect a film-by-film rundown. What we should focus on is what IS in the book, not what isn't, and what's here is amongst the most important work ever done on Hitchcock's films.

If you are a fan of Hitchcock's, and enjoy reading about his films as well as watching them, then you owe it to yourself to own this book.

After the Truffaut interview book called 'Hitchcock', this is the one that is best informed, and most insightful, about Hitchcock's involvement in the art and craft of his films.

Bill Krohn has gone on from here lately with a superb article - based again on meticulous research in the Hitchcock files - about the scripting, production, and post-production of SUSPICION. (See the 'Hitchcock Annual', 2002-03 edition.)

I highly recommend 'Hitchcock at Work'.

First and foremost it should be noted that "Hitchcock At Work" suffers greatly from an imbalance in coverage of the director's titles. For a major work such as "North by Northwest", author Bill Krohn devotes 13 pages, and to a significantly lesser work, like "Saboteur", he allows 16 pages. This initial imbalance held promise. Was someone finally going to give attention to some of Hitchcock's films that for years have been overlooked? If that was the author's intent, it was quickly rejected, for many of the less appreciated films which would have been interesting to read about, such as "Frenzy", "The Wrong Man", "Torn Curtain", "I Confess", "Under Capricorn", and others, receive a scant two pages each! (As another reviewer noted, the British Period is almost completely ignored - but most books on Hitchcock are guilty of that.)

Some major works, like "Rebecca", are also glossed over in a couple of pages (as are all the films Hitchcock made for producer David Selznick, which is surprising, since the author makes a case for Hitchcock adopting a number of his pre-planning methods from Selznick himself). Even "Suspicion", which had such trouble over its ending that at different times it was rewritten, reshot, and even edited all over again, warranted only two boring stills, and four brief paragraphs.

The publisher, Phaidon, has put together a respectable volume, as they usually do (their "The American Art Book" is a fine example). Many of the illustrations have been published in other volumes on Hitchcock, but a majority of them are fresh and interesting. The frame enlargements from the actual films are often grainy or blurry, as they were meant to be projected at 24 frames per second, not printed in an expensive coffee table book. For the hefty price tag, one would expect the definitive edition on Alfred Hitchcock. This definitely isn't it.

The Missing Manuals series has had it's hits and misses. This one is definitely a hit. The first section on of the iMovie portion of the book teaches practical movie making technique, including a 22 shot guide to shooting a wedding. This is what I love about the quality of O'Reilly books. The understand the audience. In this case, amateur movie makers looking to make good movies that won't get them laughed out of the living room. This book has practical insights to get you there.

The manual portions of the book are fine. They provide a step by step walkthrough with screenshots and a menu reference in the appendices.

There is certainly a lot more here for iMovie than iDVD. Of the roughly 500 pages almost 350 are on iMovie. The iDVD section also contains some questionable content, like how to develop on iDVD using the developer's toolkit, which I think is overkill for your overage user.

Small quirks aside, this is a great book. Well worth the money for anybody looking to get the most out of iMovie particularly, and iDVD secondarily.

I've been a fan of iMovie from the first release on Mac OS 9. It made taking home movies fun. The great thing about this book is it goes beyond just a how-to or tips and tricks. A lot of the book is devoted to the dos and don'ts of creating home movies in general. Just as with still photography, the hard work is when your taking the shot, not afterward. The better your movie is at filming, the less work you'll have to do when you get it into iMovie.

The book is packed with a 450+ pages of information. Some examples: how to get your old VHS movies into iMovie, sending movies to your cell phone, creating better looking "title cards", and modifying iDVD itself. If you liked David Pogue's iPhoto 4 Missing Manual and/or GarageBand Missing Manual (both of which I have), this book is a must have.

Anyone who has a Mac should know David Pogue. He's been writing for the Mac community for years. His latest book, iMovie 4 & iDVD, displays all his hallmarks. It is exceedingly well written; it is completely useful and thorough; it is fun to read and funny.

Pogue hits the nail right on the head in the introduction. IMovie 4 and iDVD are simple but not simplistic. Unlike some other Apple programs like AppleWorks or the new OS, you will need this book if you want to make the most of Apple's wonderful new video software. Pogue and his co-author Erica Sadun get you up and burning in no time. Moreover they have created a Missing Manual web site with all the shareware and freeware programs and documentation you'll ever need.

As with his other Missing Manual books, Pogue has done everyone a great favor. Now do yourself a favor and buy this book. You won't regret it.

I was fortunate to attend Macworld in July 2004 in Boston and attend the Mac User conference. Dave Pogue was the seminar leader for the iMovie 4 module.

I previously reviewed Pogue's iMovie 2: The Missing Manual. Now, I had the opportunity to see David Pogue in action and to further learn his Missing Manual secrets in Movie 4 & iDVD: The Missing Manual.

This Missing Manual is divided into five parts:

Part 1, Capturing DV Footage
Part 2, Editing in iMovie
Part 3, Finding Your Audience
Part 4, iDVD 4: The Missing Manual by Erica Sadun
Part 5, Appendixes: A- iMovie 4, Menu by Menu and B- Troubleshooting

My Favorite Page Turners

Page 16 - Figure 1-1: The evolution of the modern camcorder. The photo shows the full-sized VHS camcorder, the 8 mini/Hi-8 camcorder and the modern DV camcorder. This is the type of camcorder you need to work with iMovie.

Page 17 - Figure 1-2: The various sizes of tapes. The miniDV tapes required by most DV camcorder.

Page 20 - Three camcorders not to buy. You should select only Firewire connectors for miniDV camcorders.

Page 23 - Using the FireWire connector. You must have the FireWire connector to use iMovie and other DV software. Figure 1-3: Analog imputes and S-video connector for connecting to a VCR, old 8 mm camcorder.

Page 25 -  Use the camcorder's eyepiece viewfinder instead of LCD panel. This is very useful on bright sunny days and saves your camcorder battery's shooting power.

Page 32 - Special Effects. Avoid using your camcorder's built-in camcorder effects-instead use your iMovie's Special Effects when you do your computer editing.

Page 33- Apple's "Supported camcorders." Review the list on the www.apple.com website for supported camcorders.

Working with Pogue's Missing Manual

I like the Keyboard shortcuts that Pogue mentions in the manual. Using the Command-E, you can switch between the timeline and clip views in iMovie 4.

You have the choice of adding color to black clips (created by dragging a clip rightward in Timeline view). This greatly expands your options for title backgrounds. Also, you can use them for fading to any color other than black or white. When your project requires a gradient fill for the clip, you can create them in Apple Works, Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Pro Reaction

The section of 22 Shots for Wedding Video is worth the price of the book. Pogue showed me how to use the rewind and fast forward that are the missing buttons in the iMovie program. Page 104- Phantom "Save as" Command show you how to create various versions of your saved digital iMovie files.

You need the new parts of the manual before starting your iDVD projects. Pogue lists 17 changes in iMovie4 and ten in iDVD4, making the updated book worth your time and money.

Con Reaction

Page 7 should have been titled: 'Quick Table of Contents' in the book. The manual's white print on gray backgrounds is hard to read and underline. Page 93, figure 4-4, does not have an important sub -headline telling you that are in the edit mode in iMovie.

Final Notes

Movie 4 & iDVD: The Missing Manual is well written and illustrated for you, the Mac Video editor. With the manual you learn the secrets and tips for using iMovie and iDVD. Also, you can use the powerful Quicktime Pro for adding special effects and for your quick editing of your small movies.

iMovie 4 & iDVD: The Missing Manual is a solid primer and resource especially focusing on step-by-step video editing techniques for use on the Macintosh. Chapters address forming seamless transitions and effects, the ins and outs of QuickTime Pro, iDVD secreets, and much more. An absolute "must-have" for getting the most out of iMovie 4 and iDVD software, highly recommended for amateur and professional moviemakers and movie editors working on the Macintosh.

This book is everything I hoped it would be and more. In a very clear an readable design it covers all the aspects of a 3d short animation process. This process can be used on any length of 3d animation. It's not a technical book but a must have for everyone who wants to make a solid animation but does not quite know where to begin. The whole inspired series is very useful, but this one is where it all begins. Also comes with a nice dvd with lots of inspiring shorts. Great!

This book has everything you need to know about making a short 3D film. (I'm making one about a box turtle (I love turtles!) and a butterfly using Hexagon and Carrara.) The CD containing 39 short films is icing on the cake. This book makes the best kind of teacher - you don't just learn from it, but are inspired by it!

It's a great book that I would recommend to anyone serious about creating their own Short Animated Film.

More informative than I could have ever imagined. It's everything you will learn at a 20,000 dollar a year university.

The included DVD is also filled with some great examples.

ENJOY and happy film making!

I bought this hoping that it would teach me how to create a short film. The story I already have, it's just the skills and schedule that I need. This book gave me a GENERAL IDEA but it wasn't specific enough. It would say, "then use your compositing softare to put the renders together." Ummm... How?
I know it wasn't meant to be a complete-all-included-only-this-needed kind of book, but even so...
I would say that unless you are a true beginner to this field, look for something else, but if you are a true beginner, it is excellent. It taught me alot and I am very VERY glad I bought this book.

I love the case studies in this book, as well as the format of using a workflow to structure the book, much as a project might be. But the authors spend too much time on story and character, material which is better covered in books dedicated to the subject (and written to hold your interest a little more as well). While the importance of these elements is significant and must not be overlooked, this is not why I bought this book. I would have been more satisfied had the space been used for more interviews and case studies (where an emphasis could have been placed on the storytelling). Other than that, I found the book inspirational and very helpful in encouraging my own ambitions towards making a short CG film - I especially appreciated how it stayed away from the platform and software wars, and focused on the things that just about every platform and software can (or should be able to) do.

Insurrection is one of the absolute best star trek films there is. Data is the funniest ever in the film. I loved Picard, Worf and Data's musical number. It was really funny

I loved it it was the best one yet! I would also like to see one on voyager. I love the renderings and the concept sketches.

The Pictures, The size everything you need to know about the new blockbuster movie. A must have for any avid Star Trek fan.

I don't know if it was a problem with a particular print run of this book, but the copy I bought from a local bookstore was very badly bound, and several pages came adrift while I was reading it. This struck me as highly unusual, since most S&S books are excellently bound. However, the book itself is beautfully designed, and has a wealth of information about the film making process. However, it is a little on the small side, and could have been more like John Eaves's "Next Generation Sketchbook". A good book in general, it loses stars because of the poor binding and small size.

Star Trek: Insurrection proves to be one of the most lackluster of Star Trek movies and this book which is well written and full of nice photos, tells a good story how this movie came to be and how it was produced. Its a movie promotion book for sure so you can count on all the positive aspects of the film. The book itself was enjoyable although upon reading it, I can understand why the movie failed with both the Star Trek fans and the general public.

Reading how this movie was developed proves to be most interesting in the way they went about it. It pretty obvious that the scriptwriters and its supporters had totally no clue what we Trekkies wanted and no idea how dated the script was. During the time when this movie was being released, Deep Space Nine was pushing the limits of scriptwriting and character development for Star Trek universe. The Dominion War where the Federation was fighting for its dear life was going on while Voyager was dodging the Borgs and other unfriendly species. All that made the script and the movie looking very stale and standing still. The book revealed that no where any of what was going on TV was in consideration. It showed how they wanted to get Picard a girlfriend, get some Gilbert and Sullivan in and all kind of stuff that sounds cute but in actual sense, boring. Exciting things were happening on the TV for Star Trek and this book shows why the movie totally and cluelessly missed the boat.

Overall, an informative movie promotion book where the director, producers and cast slapped each other on their backs while making a not so successful film. You would think that after First Contact, these people will understand what we Trekkies like.

James Howard's Stanley Kubrick Companion surveys all the films of Kubrick's career, including Eyes Wide Shut, his 1999 latest. Chapters examine plots, approaches, and styles unique to Kubrick's film projects. This is a highly recommended pick for students of film in general and science fiction film in particular.

Not really a review, this, but a comment on the review by Lee Hill.

Thanks, Lee for your review, and glad you enjoyed the book.

However, I might just correct one small point - I have not read either of the Kubrick biographies by John Baxter or Vincent LoBrutto (I deliberately avoided them, as they were published while I was working on my own book and I didn't want to be influenced by them one way or another), and I certainly don't mention either of these authors anywhere in my book.

If I do 'carp' about other biographers (and I hope I don't) then it is only at the laziness and inaccuracy which leads them to repeat unsubstantiated rumours and myths - something I deliberately aimed to dispel.

Anyway, please don't take this as a major complaint, and I do appreciate you taking the time to review the book.

(Incidentally, if it seems conceited that I gave the book a five star rating, I only did so because it is not possible to submit text without a rating attached, and you wouldn't expect me to give it a lousy review would you ?)

This slim, yet concise book provides an excellent behind the scenes look at one of filmdom's most famous directors. James Howard has done an excellent job of demolishing the myths which surround Kubrick and presenting a fascinating portrait of a virtuoso whose eye for detail is arguably unsurpassed in film history. Howard reveals that Kubrick's slavish attention to details was such that he considered placing toothbrushes on the set of BARRY LYNDON which were authentic in details to those actually used in the nineteenth century.

My primary criticism of the book is that it was billed as "complete survey of Kubrick's career -- including EYES WIDE SHUT." Well, yes and no. Though the book did include a chapter on Kubrick's last film, I was disappointed to find that Howard had written the book before the film's release. Commentary on Kubrick's swansong are thus limited to rumors of the sort which Howard diligently sought to dispel in the earlier chapters of the book. Apparently, the book was rushed into publication to coincide with the release of EYES WIDE SHUT and to cash in on Kubrick's untimely death. If a second, revised edition were to be released (which included Howard's knowledgeable critique of Kubrick's last film) this book would merit four stars. Recommended with reservations.

I would really love to give this book three and a half stars, but unfortunately that's not an option here. This book gives a detailed account of Kubrick's films, including history of the shooting, cast and crew comments, and excellent photos. The only problem I have with the book is the author's completely biased view of Kubrick. I understand that having a fan write the book makes perfect sense, but any quote that is of a vaguely negative nature toward Kubrick is treated with total horror and disdain. Kubrick was a genius -- there's no doubt about that -- but he was not perfect, and Howard refuses to acknowledge this.

That particular issue aside, this book is essential for anyone who's a fan of the late, great Stanley Kubrick.

This is the third book about Kubrick's work I have and all three are immense in information. This one is particularly good in that it has lots of good photos, is easily readable, and offers extensive information on all of Kubrick's films, right down to the insignificant details that other books overlook. Example: it recounts all of the projects that Kubrick planned on working on such as A.I and his long-awaited Napoleon film. It goes into tons of details about the making of each film, the critical reaction, Kubrick's little touches, follow-ups and other spin-offs each movie produced, in short everything about each of Kubrick's films. Also, complete and accurate summaries of each plot, cast and credits lists, lots of photos of the rarely-seen director and even much kind insight as to the director's personality and private life on his English estate. I was a little disappointed that Howard didn't wait another four or five months so he could include all of the details about Eyes Wide Shut as well, because now all that exists are rumors and info about the making of the film, but its distracting to read about the movie being top-secret when now it has long been out in the open. Anyway the book is packed with facts for any fan.