Video Production Books

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.

Video production book is very creative and fun to read. Ray West from Rayscorner fame is also another rare source of brilliance.

Great compilation of Videomaker articles!! These are written by the pros, and each one shows that the research and experience of the author come to bear on the subject at hand. The tone is generally light-hearted but often heavy on details, both of which I love. It's easier to read than you would imagine. And the breadth of topics is substantial. As a first-timer doing research, this was great. The only shortfall is that it needs to be updated - several topics were behind the times (cost and availability of media like P2 storage cards for Panasonic HD camcorders, for example). Of course, these high-tech gigs change so quickly that it would be difficult to publish often enough to keep up. And you can always visit their website to get the latest info, which I do constantly.

I have not finished this book completely, but so far...so good. This book literally seems to cover every aspect of production. Whether you're fresh out of school or well established in the business, this is a great book to keep on hand.

Go for it.

This book is excellent and extremly helpful. It is a great introductin to digial video production. The book is comprised of many short articles that give you all the ins-and-outs production. I use this book in my digital video editing class, it's a great reference!

I wanted a book that would help my amateur videography skills. I decided to go with the Videomaker Guide based on its original Amazon rating, and the history of Videomaker magazines.

I found a lot of useful information in the book that I'm just starting to use such as lighting, filters, sound, and shooting angles. I've already started to apply the information from the book into a music video and a short film. So far, the information has been a plus, and I've used the book for reference to expand my amateur knowledge.

A minor negative on the book was that some chapters (back-to-back) seemed to state the same message. Although they were written with different examples, the same points were expressed.

A major negative on the book is that most technology and software that was referred to are about 3+ years behind. I was thinking some chapters might be updated to reflect the future of DVD production and using updated software video editing programs. However, there were no updated chapters. Lucky for me, most of my current knowledge of video editing is with today's software programs and hardware.

I teach filmmaking, and needed a book that covers all the basics in a few meaty and meaningful pages. This is it. Most books on filmmaking technique either wax philosophical on the author's pet theories or get lost in gee-wiz-you-can-do-this-neat-trick-with-the-camera mania. There's little of either here; instead, you'll find a focused, highly readable series of lessons on what really matters most--how to communicate a meaningful message on film or video. Unlike some VERY annoying books that give examples of lighting and other techniques via badly drawn line-art, this book shows every technique with actual stills from video shoots so you can see how lighting, framing, lens use, etc. actually change the appearance and impact of a scene.

There are also numerous references to excellent classic and modern films with quite specific suggestions for examining the techniques that make those films work so well. Perhaps most important of all, the authors never lose sight of the fact that filmmaking is about interpreting and creating a reality that evokes a meaningful and powerful experience for the audience.

So if you want a book listing all the oh-so-tacky transitions and effects that your new NLE will do, or a thousand-page treatise on the history of film, THIS AIN'T IT. But if you want a book that will help you quickly learn to put cameras, lighting, and editing in the service of your creativity--buy this one first.

I was shocked when I looked over this book. I had always relied on "Film Art" which is the standanrd intro to film but I wanted to branch out. I found this book to be a superficial approach to cinema, no probbing analysis or challenge to interpretaion of technique or narrative. Save your money and stick to the classics. No one seems to use this book in higher education film studies- ask your professor to suggest a book.

This book explores many aspects of filmmaking in a logical, easy-to-follow manner. A great find, albeit a bit pricy. I used it as my text for teaching a video class as it offers some aesthetic considerations for why techniques may or may not be used in a given situation. This approach helps to minimize the technique-euphoria beginners tend to have with techniques which are new to them (ala George Lucas in the new Star Wars...)

"The Art of Technique: An Aesthetic Approach to Film and Video Production," is more of a primer than it is a critique of cinema. Yes, there is a big difference between this volume by John S. Douglass and Gleen P. Harnden and "Film Art: An Introduction" by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. The latter utilizes literally hundreds of frames from both classic and relatively unknown films to demonstrate cinematic techniques. "The Art of Technique" does the same thing with student models. Whether this has to do with the cost of using copyrighted images and/or transforming them into individual frames for use in a book, this is a major difference between the two textbooks. When Douglass and Harnden discuss something, like Ingmar Bergman's use of Extreme Close-ups (ECU) in "Scenes from a Marriage," they can only talk about the extraordinary intimacy it gave the production, without offering visual evidence to support their claim. However, the authors do use their "homemade" examples to good use at time; for example, when exploring the concept of framing they provide examples of "bad" shots (filled with distracting clutter) before showing better choices for the cinematographer.

"The Art of Technique" is divided into two main sections. After an introductory chapter on "Interpretation and Treatment," there are six chapters focusing on the various ways a film can tell a story, essentially pre-production considerations. There is a nice little section detailing the basic types of stories Hollywood tells over and over again ("Jack the Giant Killer," "Fish Out of Water," etc.). Clearly the emphasis here is more on production than criticism, which makes the orientation of this textbook more towards the filmmaker than the movie audience. This first section ends with a look at Mise en Scene and questions of design. In terms of concepts covered, separate from the issue of how those concepts are presented in the textbook, the authors provided a comprehensive, well-organized presentation.

The second half of the book covers "Techniques for Interpretation," which starts with a consideration of the trinity of how the camera, editing and lighting can be used for interpretation. Again, everything is here; I could not find a concept or technique that was an obviously glaring omission. The book concludes with a pair of chapters on Symbols and Significance, which get into the impact film can have on an audience. You might expect to find a glossary at the back of the book, but instead we have a pair of appendixes on Electricity and Measuring Light, which only serves to reaffirm that this book is geared towards the novice filmmaker. If you are looking for a textbook that because you are a budding film critic, then this is not going to be your first choice. I can even make the argument that by not saturating their textbook with frames from dozens of films, Douglass and Harden do their readers a favor, because instead of borrowing shots and techniques from the acknowledged masters of the art form, they are being asked to reinvent the wheel. Do not knock this, because that is basically how we think Orson Welles made "Citizen Kane."

this book works very well as an introduction to the creative use of techniques for filmmaking. it is quite clear and concise and is not bogged down by too much technical details or dicussions on film theory. a good starting point.

The most important in this book is that you can find anything about sound. I mean 1) fundamentals in sound 2) technology from past to future and 3) aplications. This book speaks of any thing in sound for any aplication (TV, studios, acoustic ect)

If, as this book claims, is a beginner's guide offering a nontechnical approach, than I am the Queen of England. I have an advanced degree, am published myself and work as a college professor in another field, but for all practical purposes, this book might as well as be in another language. If this book is truly for beginners, it would avoid sentences like "There are two parallel signal strengths, channel and monitor. In the I/O section, equalization and other signal processing can be delegated to the monitor system for auditioning without effecting the signal being sent to the multitrack recorder, or the signal can be sent to multitrack recorder, or both." Sure.

The editors at Wadsworth should have caught this, but my guess is no editor ever read it. Expensive and frustrating.

This text is a broad-based approach to audio for radio/TV/film, and music recording. The emphasis is on audio for production students rather than for engineers, and the text covers informational, perceptual, and aesthetic aspects of sound as they apply to each stage of the production process-from planning to post-production.

I have had Stanley Alten for a professor and he knows what he is talking about. He is the know-all be-all of sound. His books are easy to read and to understand and great for people learning sound techniques.

This was my college text for Broadcasting in 1984/85 and I taught Radio Production from this book. I am a video editor (Avid) and a freelance audio engineer having mixed/recorded over 500 music performances. I STILL reference this book. It is easy to understand, direct and thorough; maybe the only textbook you might keep.

Nice Book. A little bit of damage. But what do you expect from a second hands book?

This collector's edition of A Bug's Life deserves ongoing mention is a fun accompaniment to the film, requiring good reading skills or parental assistance but pairing film clips with an outline of the story. Visual insights, art and insider's info abound.

A very handsome book that doesn't appear to've been copyedited at all. The first five pages have more grammatical errors than any ten randomly selected novels. Plus, author Jeff Kurtti's tortured prose stylings seem better suited to a grade 12 english class than a "quality" mass market publication. Still, excellent pictures, an attractive layout, and some good and interesting quotes from the key creatives, albeit rammed bone-headedly in between all the intermittently coherent Kurtti-text. Buy it to look at, not to read.

This book is very much to own for animators and who that love this movie

A hardcover and full color book on the making of a bugs life.Absolutely wonderful!!Interviews with the directer and clips from the movie.Also encludes many of the story-boards they used.I loved it !!!!!!!

This book was fun to read. Written in an upbeat fashion primarily for young people contemplating working in the movie industry in production-related jobs, the book describes these jobs in a direct and breezy way, taking care to define the terms I noted in the title of this review (and many others). So the book also can be interesting to anyone who has a general interest in movies, movie making, and the movie business.

I was especially impressed about the job descriptions in the "special effects" area because the techniques themselves are also described, adding to my knowledge of them.

This book was started and finished in one day. A very easy read full of good information on a lot of film career types. I was disappointed in the book, however, because I was hoping (as per the review) for a basic pay scale on each job, but only a couple even mentioned it. It was slightly upsetting, but was an okay worth while read.

When you're looking for a way into what you know will be a competitive career, it's good to know there's so many options available. With this book, I was able to line up my background to find the right point of entry. Additionally, it really helped with learning all the jargon of the film industry. It gives you a real insiders feel. The writing breezes along with humor, insight and lots of practical advice. I'm always buying copies for my friends and I go back to it often just to refresh.

When I first read the book, I was in my last year of college and didn't know which directions to head towards the career I wanted in film. I found many books, but this one definitely stood out form the others. It gave me a list of every career opportunity in the film business and how to get started. I am now working my way up the ladder to a successful career. I highly recommend this to every one that expects to achieve their goals in film.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about all the jobs that are found on a film set. It gave me more options and helped me find what job is right for me. It helped me realize that you can start small and end big, and I recomend it to everyone.

This book covers it all in the technical world of content delivery. I wish I had this book much earlier. Even though it is not current in the area of HD, it covers enough ground to make the numerous delivery fomats clear. This book should be required reading for all students of broadcasting.

As somebody who compressed video - and 2D & 3D animations, a couple of years before Ben, I still found this to be a great book, a good read and well laid out. I'm sure I'll be refering to this book every now and then for a good time to come.

Compression for Great Digital Video
Ben Waggoner

Full Disclosure: I am not a compressionist nor have I ever met Ben. Although, he has answered more than one of my questions in the COW Cleaner Forum.

This book is for compressionists, people who want to be compressionists, and people who on occasion need to pretend they're compressionists (pg. 3). With this clear objective stated up front, Ben opens up and let's his brain pour out over each and every page, all 447 of them.

Right from the beginning I was more than a little intimidated and excited at the same time, just from reviewing the Table of Contents. Ben organizes his knowledge into 25 chapters, a glossary, index and a CD-ROM. I will not list all 25 chapters but trust me, if you can think of it Ben covers it.

The first section (Chapters 1-11) is about general principles of vision, compression, and how compressed video operates (pg. 3). No matter what compressionist category you think you fall into, you will learn something in these first chapters, even if it turns how to be how much you forgot since grade school.

The next section (Chapters 12-24) covers specific video tools and technologies (pg. 3). Ben covers them all and yes, I read them all even the ones that I do not use. Most of the information here I was already formula because when I first started working with Cleaner I studied (yes, studied) the manual. However, now that I have my feet wet the information covered here makes more sense.

The last Chapter (Chapter 25) consists of three extensive tutorials that highlight many of the concepts, formats, and tools discussed throughout the book (pg. 3). They cover; Streaming, Progressive Downloading, and Animation for Video Games. So, if your work covers any of these your in luck, if not (such as me) than you may need to read certain Chapters again to pick up what you missed the first time. The CD only contains short snippets of each projects source files. If you'd like the full-length content you will have to order a DVD-ROM from Ben's website. I have to cry foul here, sure you don't need the full-length content to `get the point' but no where on the outside of the book does it tell you that you will only get snippets. I mention this for those of you that get angry over `thin slim' CD's.

Compression for Great Digital Video is an easy and delightful read. It's not very often that you come across a book that covers this much technical information and yet still manages to be clearly understood. Ben fully explains everything that he mentions and often he even provides additional references should you require more information. This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone who find themselves compressing digital video.

The rest of the reviewers wrote glowing responses to this book. From our perspective, it could include more background and easily to understand steps on how to utilize some of the tools, techniques, and methods of compression. Are there any other books out there for digital compression in more detail that take into consideration the latest technology issues that might have a bearing such as DTV, HDTV, World Wide Uses on legacy systems as well as state of the art systems.

This book is not meant for beginners. The reviewer who gave the book one star is simply clueless, who obviously chose to ignore the preface, which clearly says that "this book is for compressionists ..." (i.e., not for total beginners, who should see Digital Video for Dummies).

The author of this book manages to do exactly what he promises, which is to detail the use of a vast number of tools, to generate digital video in countless formats, on innumerable types of media. The possible permutations when all tools, formats, and media are taken together is simply mind-numbing, which is why such a book is necessary in the first place. Any dedicated amateur (or even professional) compressionist needs to know whether there is a better way to do what he or she stumbled across by accident on the vast Internet. This book very clearly describes many of the best combination of tools and strategies to produce the best content possible. The writing style is very fluid and friendly, although I would stop short of calling the book an easy read, because the amount of information is too overwhelming for a straight read; instead, I would use it almost like a reference and jump to a particular chapter to refresh my memory and skills just before undertaking a new compression task.

With so much information to write about, I am sure the book was an organizational nightmare for the author, and although he did an overall great job in organizing it, there are still numerous spots where he could have done a better job of introducing a topic before using it to explain other topics. Examples that come to mind: referring to DirectShow without describing it, or creating examples based on video editing tools like Cleaner without first introducing the tool (there are others).

All in all, this is a book that I will continue to use often.

As usual Diannah has put her heart and soul into her work. Diannah is a professional FCP and Avid video editor. Buy, read and apply this book to improve your titling skill. A must have reference book in any FCP editor's library.

Some of us in the business, like to pick up some skills when using a tool like Final Cut Pro 4 by looking to an experienced third-party for input, instead of the blah help files or gargantuan hard copy manuals. I bought this book for just that reason.

I have no doubt that Diannah Morgan knows her stuff. Ms. Morgan has the experience and the chops to be listed as an "expert". As I started exploring the book, I was rather impressed. I REALLY wanted to like this book. However, the longer I lived with the book, the more I longed for the opportunity to try out some of the "tips". Unfortunately, there are a couple of problems. The first is, there aren't any "tips", per se. The book is another presentation of the help file that comes with FCP or the PDF manual for LiveType. There is nothing in the book that made me go, "Ahh, so that's the way to do it".

And even if you wanted to try out some of the examples, there is nothing included with the book to allow you to do that. It would have been nice to have a DVD or CD ROM containing the referenced clips and video. That way, the prospective student can follow along with the exercises. As it is, the reader is doing nothing more than watching over Ms. Morgan's shoulder, while just getting a look at her impressive creative portfolio. While she is a very capable communicator, reading her book is like standing outside the window of the Apple Store and watching someone else edit with FCP.

As is typical with other CMP books, the quality of the printing and layout is first-rate. You'd think, however, that with a cover price of $44.95 for less than 200 pages, including the index, there'd be a little profit wiggle-room for some clips and graphics.

I hope the publishers will rethink the packaging for this book and include some clips and graphics for the examples in the second edition. If you're looking for an instructional tome that will help you get that edge on the competition, this isn't it.

A great book. It certainly solved my problems and I would heartily recommend it to others. Ms. Morgan has a way of clearing up complex problems with simple solutions well spelled out.
RM

This book helped me out of a creative Jam. This book made me feel comfortable with Live Type. It's great they way Diannah starts of with the what is and then gets down to the how to. Easy to understand and easy to do. Thanks!

Although I am comparatively new to working with Final Cut Pro, I found this book to be very helpful in walking me through the various ways to create titles. Over ten years ago I was in the printing business, so this new look at fonts and ways to deal with them as movies is a lot of fun and different for me.
Great book for those newly finding their way into films and the myrid ways in which they can be titled. Really loved the "blowing up" of the Hollywood sign as a possibility for a fun beginning to a piece. I liked this book alot.

This is an exceptional documentary analysis of what goes on in the making of a film. The author, Julie Salamon, was given the opportunity to follow Brian De Palma for the total duration of a very difficult film project, Bonfire of the Vanities, the remake of the famous Tom Wolfe novel. It is an exceptional replay of everything that happened from original purchase of the rights to the novel, to the publicity and reviews of the famous movie, to the ultimate collapse at the box office. One only wonders how this book would have read had the movie been a success.

While I really enjoyed this book, I would not recommend this book to anyone that does not have an intense interest in Hollywood and the making of movies. Excessive time is spent poring over the roles of line producers, second unit directors and production assistants. The book gives you a great understanding not just of the stars but also what it takes to break into the business and what the career path can be. Particularly as it relates to De Palma's assistant looking for an assistant producer credit and the second unit director looking to break out and become a director of his own films. In addition, it does touch on the stars, both actors and director, and how their idiosyncrasies shape the movie and its making.

This is not a short book. So if you are looking for an exciting page turner, this is not for you. You will spend many pages following the tale of obtaining rights to shoot at certain locations, tales of screen tests of local judges, and boycotts and publicity by Bronx politicians.

Overall, this controversial book detailing separation of the haves and have-nots of the 80s becomes an even more controversial movie with screw-ups in producing of the movie and casting of the roles. But if you want to know what Hollywood is really like and not what just is on the screen, this is the book. You will learn why making movies is so personality driven. For the movie fans, Tom Hanks comes off as the incredible good guy he appears to be. Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis are not so lucky. But maybe the most interesting personal portrayal is of De Palma. A creature of the 70's decade of the auteur, his portrayal is of a troubled genius that struggles with communication skills.

I strongly recommend this book if you have a detailed interest in the business of film. If not, take a pass as it will be too detailed.

First rate account of the making of Brian De Palma's Bonfire of the Vanities. Salamon, at the time a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, received what appears to have been total access to director De Palma, the actors, costume designers, cameramen, and practically everyone else involved in the making of the movie. The level of detail may be too much for someone looking for a quick account of what went wrong in the making of this film, but I found it all fascinating. The only other book I know of that provides a comparably detailed inside look at the making of a movie is Lillian Ross's Picture, which was an account of the making of John Huston's Red Badge of Courage in 1951. A fair amount has changed in movie making since this book was written. For instance, Salamon devotes considerable time to following the second unit director as he attempts to set up some difficult shots, one involving the landing of a Concorde jet at sunset. These days, I imagine most movie goers would assume such a shot was actually cgi. I read the Da Capo Press 2002 reprint. (Interesingly, the subtitle of the book changed from "The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood" to "The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco." Probably an indication that this film had been largely forgotten by 2002.) The reprint edition has an afterword that briefly discusses the reception of the book -- Bruce Willis was livid -- and the impact of the film on the careers of De Palma and the other people who are the focus of the book. Unfortunately, the photos from the first edition are not reproduced and the quality of the printing is a little off. Whatever reproduction technique was used imparted a bit of waviness to many of the lines of text.

If you are like me and you like books on the business of Hollywood you will love this one. I do not like books by Hollywood "insiders". They tend to write the books for nothing more than to pump themselves up and trash actors/studios, however books by journalists tend to be more even handed. Hit and Run is probably the best book on Hollywood ever written, The Devil's Cany is now second. What makes this book great is that it explains what the jobs of certain people are. For instance I didn't know what a second unit director was till I read this. Not to mention that the story about the adaptation of Bonfire of the Vanities makes for a great tale.

The Devil's Candy is the story of the making of The Bonfire of the Vanities. It is the best (and possible only) book in recent times to describe how a movie is made, in depth, from inception to casting to production to editing to screenings and focus groups through release and box office.

The subtitle, "The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco" is misleading. This is not a book that analyses why a movie production went wrong. It is a journalistic look at how a movie is made, any movie, and this book uses the example of the Bonfire of the Vanities because that happened to be the production Julie Salamon was invited to observe from beginning to end. Tellingly, the original version of the book was subtitled instead "Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood" and the new subtitle was obviously added for the paperback version to try to pump up sales.

Most of the other reviews have said this book is for industry insiders, but it isn't. For insiders, there is nothing new here. This book is for people on the outside who want to know how the movie industry works. And what we learn is that for all the glamour, movie production is mostly meetings and sitting around sets doing endless takes of scenes that eventually get cut.

Assuming you're interested in learning how Hollywood works, from the endless scouting of locations to who is responsible for carrying the director's thermos of coffee, you will be educated. This book, at more than 400 pages, goes into gory detail, from just about everyone's point of view, from the director to costume manager. It's written as you would expect from a journalist on the banking desk at the Wall Street Journal (before she became the movie critic) - straightforward, inclusive, and accurate, not the breathless style with plenty of italics and exclamation points characteristic of showbiz books. But it is also the weakness of the book. There is too much detail that isn't important, too much describing the color of every carpet in every room visited, what kind of shoes everyone wears, and who is holding De Palma's coffee thermos at at every moment, too many people's points of view to keep the narrative flowing.

Overall, if you're looking for a juicy, fast flowing story about Hollywood disaster, you will be entirely disappointed. However, if you want a textbook on how a movie gets made, want to learn how Hollywood really works, this is *the* book.

Julie Salamon was lucky enough to get in at the beginning of what was anticipated to be a great film, and turned out to be one of the biggest critical and financial failures for Warner Bros. The book Bonfire of the Vanities was so popular and written in such a style that taking on the task of adapting it to film was a true challenge and doomed to fail. And fail it did. Salamon also gives a background of the steps it takes to get a picture made from buying the rights of the book to marketing the finished picture. She details the different roles of the movie set, answering the age-old question, "What does a grip do?". You gather a great understanding of how difficult it is to make a picture by studio standards and how the hierarchy on the set works. Fascinating insight from an outsider let into the circus of making a major motion picture. Brian De Palma must curse the day he agreed to let her chronicle the journey.
Also, I have to recommend reading Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities. You can understand why he wanted no part of making the film adaptaton of his infamous book.

This book starts out newcomers to the field with a thorough foundation for selecting proper equipment for filmmaking. It also encourages beginning filmmakers to utilize objects or people on hand. A basic computer system is necessary. The great thing about this book is that new artists often need encouragement as well as inspiration. This book provides both!

My after school students really enjoy this book. It has been check out many times and my students use it often as a reference.

This book is worth every penny! Also the DVD it comes with is very helpful! It shows you how to do Hollywood-style tricks on a budget! I would highly recommend this book!

I found the information in this book useful to me as an amateur filmmaker, but I believe that it would be just as useful to a starter. It's has both basic information as well as detailed explanations for the (amateur) teen filmmaker.

This book was useful to me, as a teen filmmaker. I marked many pages with information that I could use, ranging from proper script format, to very useful advice on how to keep your project low budget, which is always a challenge. Unfortunately, having already read books and articles on the subject of filmmaking, as well as having made a few of my own short films, I felt that this book was slightly more geared at the amateur with little to no experience, rather than someone who is more familiar with the art of filmmaking. If however, you have found yourself with an excellent idea for a short film, and have no idea how to realize it, then this book is a highly useful resource that can help anyone deliver a low-budget, high-quality masterpiece.