Video Production Books

This is one of three books assembled by Emery based on material generated during the production of the television series "The Directors" on the Encore Movie Channel. The others are The Directors: Take One and Directors Take Two: In Their Own Words. Emery's role was to pose the questions to which the directors responded and then edit transcripts of the given programs televised. Literally, the directors speak for themselves. That is to say, Emery (wisely, I think) eschews the standard Q & A format. Some readers will be especially interested in specific directors; others will be more interested in specific films; still others (I among them) will be interested in both the directors and the films they directed. Predictably the quality of the material varies, sometimes significantly. For example, in this volume, I found the general observations by Gary Marshall and Rob Reiner much more informative than those by John G. Avildsen and John McTierman. (Other readers may have an entirely different opinion. Fair enough.) The overall value of the book, however, is derived from having direct access to the thoughts and feelings of these directors and I regret that such access is not readily available -- in a single volume -- to so many other great directors (e.g. D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Ernst Lubitsch, Cecil B. DeMille, John Ford, Federico Fellini, and Ingmar Bergman) except, perhaps in full-scale biographies, critical studies, and/or in correpondence.

Fortunately, however, Peter Bogdanovich has published an excellent collection of his interviews of 16 directors (e.g. Raoul Walsh, Fritz Lang, Howard Hawks, George Cukor, and Alfred Hitchcock). Also, Richard Schickel has published another collection of his interviews of great directors such as Frank Capra, Vincente Minnelli, and King Vidor as well as of Cukor, Hawks, and Walsh.

One of Emery's most effective devices in both "Directors" volumes is "The Conversation," a section which introduces each director. It follows Emery's own brief but insightful introduction to "The Films of...." I am also grateful to Emery for not intruding (as editor) on the flow of information provided in each chapter. Sure, several portions of the book's narrative could have been "tightened up" but, in that event, the book would have lost much of its unique flavor and, worse yet, its vitality and spontaneity. I think both "Directors" volumes are first-rate and highly recommend them as well as the previously mentioned collections by Bogdanovich and Schickel.

The early roots and rise of almost thirty of today's modern film directors is charted in this history, Part 1 of a projected two-part set. This gathers the words of the directors themselves, examining how they got their start in the business and how they made some of the best films of modern times. Any involved in film history will find The Directors Take One absorbing.

This is one of three books assembled by Emery based on material generated during the production of the television series "The Directors" on the Encore Movie Channel. The others are The Directors: Take Two and Directors Take Two: In Their Own Words. Emery's role was to posed the questions to which the directors responded and then edit transcripts of the given programs televised. Literally, the directors speak for themselves. That is to say, Emery (wisely, I think) eschews the standard Q & A format. Some readers will be especially interested in specific directors; others will be more interested in specific films; still others (I among them) will be interested in both the directors and their films. Predictably the quality of the various directors' responses varies, sometimes significantly. For example, in this volume, for whatever reasons, Spike Lee's and Lawrence Kasdan's comments on their individual films are far more insightful than are those of Robert Wise and Sydney Pollack. However, because Emery also poses several specific subjects to which directors are asked to respond (e.g. "Why [Wise] Decided to Produce His Own Films" and "How Does [Pollack] Choose His Projects?"), Wise and Pollack are able to share with the reader perspectives and opinions that are probably otherwise unavailable. I was especially pleased to learn that Richard Donner considers Inside Moves (1908) "one of my greatest, dearest films." Featuring John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, and Amy Wright among an ensemble cast, this film is one I include on my own list of the very best which few people have seen or even know of. One of Emery's most effective devices is "The Conversation," a section which introduces each director in his own words. I am grateful to Emery for not intruding (as editor) on the flow of information provided in each chapter. Sure, several portions of the book's narrative could have been "tightened up" but, in that event, I think the book would have lost much of its flavor and, worse yet, its vitality and spontaneity.

Donald Cammell has intrigued me for many years, since first I read the item in VARIETY that told us that the British born writer/director who had helped to make PERFORMANCE was next going to be making ISHTAR with Dominique Sanda, Marlon Brando and William Burroughs. When ISHTAR failed to materialize that was the beginning of many years of Hollywood hardship for the increasingly difficult and willful Cammell, and the Uhlands spell it all out in a long slow drop to the very bottom of show business.

His background is interesting, but I felt that the art work done by Cammell in the 1950s is on a generally far lower level than his biographers credit it with. It's an illustration style in which someone like Frank Frazetta excelled, but Cammell seems ashamed of his gestural style, as though he were slumming and that might work for some artists but it didn't work here. Happily the 60s were right around the corner and before you know it, Cammell is right up there partying with Keith Richards and Brian Jones, and making one of the most telling pictures of the 1960s (Warner Brothers doubts about the release of PERFORMANCE turned it technically into a 1970s film, for they kept it on the shelf for years until they had to put something out).

The Uhlands happily summarize the different reasons why PERFORMANCE became cult classic, mentioning Mr. Fox's adverse reaction to the film (he became a Christian to get away from its taint), and also the so-called "Performance Trims," a separate film shot by Anita van Pallenberg under the sheets in the famous menage a trois scene . . . We have long wondered at what Cammell did, what Nicolas Roeg did... Well according to the Uhlands, Roeg is just about nothing and Cammell just about everything. As a fellow biographer I must credit the couple with being on target every time they talk about the films themselves--I could read their observations all day--but about the man himself they are sometimes puzzlingly vague. They have him on a pedestal so high it's like we're looking at him from his ankles and what we see isn't so flattering, and so the book suffers from a certain split in focus.

To my taste they seem to depend overmuch on the unsupported testimony of one key figure, the estimable editor Frank Mazzola, who comes up with all sorts of assertions the Uhlands are more or less forced to swallow wholesale. Did or did not Vladimir Nabokov write Cammell a letter of praise regarding his PALE FIRE screenplay? Despite every lick of evidence that says "No he didn't," Frank Mazzola says he did, and so we're given that as a fact. Or a "fact."

And some curious lacunae--the Hollywood legend whom Cammell used to shoot new American footage for the Italian SIMONA--Frank calls him only "Samson" and it becomes obscured that this figure must actually be Samson De Brier, the key associate of Kenneth Anger. But all in all a marvelous biography of a man whom time played some tricks in the short run, but in the long run time will endow him with great fame.

Overall one would have to say the Umlands' did an excellent job on a difficult subject though I'm not sure about " Anita Pallenberg & Michelle Breton " being world famous actresses -ever. Cammell died around the corner and up the street from me my first year in Los Angeles and having grown up on a lot of British Auteurism in Dublin in the late Seventies & Early Eighties it struck me as profoundly sad that he had somehow managed to come unstuck in the hills & canyons of Hollywood. That said, Donald comes across as a royal pain in the arse in spite of Rebecca Umland's sympathetic portrayal of the
" tortured " artist. One got the feeling by the end of the book that Donald Cammell would have been better served sticking with the Royal Academy and a career in illustration. Certainly the family background lent itself to something closer to the classics and less about the popular medium of Cinema and even less so the fusion of rock n' roll and cinema. He wanders through this Biography, lost or at the very least a bit of a bloody dilletante. I think very telling is the close friendship that was forged with Brian Jones and the complete and utter hatred he and Keith Richards had for each other. Telling because Brian Jones suffered the same malaise. Brian was in love with being in The Stones, Donald was in love with being a movie director but in both cases the sheer hard graft of it seemed to be lacking. Good read, finely illustrated, great fotos and they do a wonderful job of NOT scrubbing around in the scandalous.

I've been waiting a long time for this book. Performance, the film Cammell wrote and co-directed with Nicolas Roeg, is an actual artistic act of magical transformation, and a masterpiece. But the last 25 years of Cammell's life have been a mystery overshadowed by his 1996 suicide. Here at last is a comprehensive, almost scholarly examination of the man and his career, in great detail and with a fine feel for the times (like Marianne Faithfull's comment that compared to Cammell the young Rolling Stones were "lightweights"). The book dispells the myths told about his suicide (which I won't spoil for you), but reveals tantalizing information about his forgotten projects -- man, do I want to see Tilt and Simona (even if I can't unfortunately see Donald's version) -- and I want to track down a copy of Duffy too.

A worthwhile study, beautifully designed and composed. Thanks to everyone who made this possible.

Got quite a kick out of seeing the Inns and lands of Everquest made into a story. Would love to see more stories. The writing was somewhat stiff; grammatically in error just enough to be a bit of a pain. Seems like a few words were just looked up in a dictionary for variety - but incorrectly applied in context.
Women characters, a good guideline for fantasy writing calibre, were boringly stereotyped - either weak, pale nothings or horrible vamps. Kind of funny, it was so bad.
Plot - High points for this - I thought the ending was well done, wrapped up nicely with just a bit of a surprise. Overall, worth an afternoon just to see Qeynos again.

if you like everquest or dont know what is it this book is worth a look it tells you every think about this game how the lord of the rings became the best mmorpg of all you should buy this book

Everquest has always been a big part of my life. This is a bit strange, as I haven't played the game in over a year and a half. This might give you an idea of how Everquest and its community can become a part of you. I picked up this book to learn more about the game where the motto is "You're in Our World Now".

This book was a wonderful read. Anyone who has played or hasn't played yet wondered what EQ is all about will gain a thorough understanding of this epic game. It starts out with an introduction of Everquest and how entering its world unveils a whole other life, meeting thousand of other people, from students to housewives to doctors to military people. The game is extremely compelling (understatement perhaps) to play, with its quests, tradeskills, sense of belonging, and sense of accomplishments. You look with pride upon your avatar (your character in the game). You may get to know members of your guild better than your own family. You learn to work with people, to take advantage of their different skills. You learn to cooperate and achieve things that will make you swell with pride for the rest of your life.

The book covers the history of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), I found this fascinating and had no clue how far back its roots went.

Along the way you meet key Everquest people, the ones who envisioned the game, built it, drew it, expanded it... You see sketches and concept art and screenshots, complete with a full color layout in the middle section. You hear the stories of its players, as well as the ones who've lost a significant other to the game. The book addresses and clarifies the concept of "Evercrack", addiction to playing. You learn about guilds, raids, "mobs", and possible EQ-coined words like "woot". The book concludes with its venturing into other gaming realms, both in genres (RPG, strategy) and mediums (PocketPC, cellphone, Playstation, tabletop version).

As I said, I'm a retired Everquest player (I used to play 80 hours a week). Why do I still consider EQ a part of my life? The community and the belief that this game was such an experience in my life, bringing me to build a site about my favorite bard class, EQDiva.com (even mentioned in the book!). So I continue to keep in touch with its community, keep up with its expansions and patches, so I can do my part to provide information to its player base. That said, I must admit that this game was a bit too addicting for me, so I myself stay away and no longer encourage friends to play. But I understand and empathize with those that still play, and I still think it's a wonderful game.

This is a beautiful book, peppered everywhere with its lore, art, stories, dreams... It is my opinion that this game is the most compelling, intricate and well-thought out game in history, and I'd go so far as to say it's not a "game", it's a virtual life. It's a one-of-a-kind experience, one you will never forget. This book will help you understand...

~ Kocho Divah from EQDiva

Fascinating Walt Disney is a throughly entertaining and extensively researched presentation. Although there is an incredible amount of information present, the narration is easy to listen to, and flows nicely. I had no idea that Disney wasn't always the huge success it has become today. I respect Walt Disney more and feel, in a small way, that I have met him through listening to Fascinating Walt Disney

This Audio book truly inspires people. You get to truly understand the dynamics of Disney's success. A must for the American family.

By the end, you feel as if you met old Walt or perhaps you'll want to meet him.

Truly enjoyed it!

"Fascinating Walt Disney" makes a good addition to any Disney library. It provides a behind-the-scenes look at the genius who made The Magic, and can be conveniently listened to while you're in your car.

That's not to say that it's perfect. While offering some interesting insights and anectdotes that I hadn't heard before, a number of the stories about Walt have already been covered elsewhere. But a bit of overlap is to be expected, considering how many people have already written about him.

I had trouble following the chronology of the book, as it would occasionally skip forwards and backwards in time for no apparent reason. While not a show-stopper, it was mildly annoying.

The music and sound effects in the background were high-quality and helped to set the mood for the stories. Sometimes the use of music to punctuate the punchline of a story went a bit overboard, but overall it was rather well-done.

I also have a complaint about the track layout of the CDs. The narration on each CD consisted only of a single track. This can make things difficult if you want to stop listening to the CD at some point and then come back later. You have to manually "fast-forward" all the through the track to the point where you left off. And folks with CD players that don't have a fast-forward button (the player in my car doesn't) will have to listen to parts that they've already heard in order to get to the point where they left off. It would've been great if every 10 minutes or so of audio was its own track, but "Fascinating Walt Disney" certainly isn't the only CD to fall into this trap. Patrick Stewart's "A Christmas Carol" does the same thing.

So to sum up... I feel comfortable recommending this CD as an addition to the library of those who are fans of Walt Disney. Long-time students of Walt's life probably won't find any earth-shattering revelations, but "Fascinating Walt Disney" still makes for some good listening while you're driving down the road.

If you are a fan of interview books (i.e conversations)as this author, and I, most obviously are, then this is for you. I grabbed this one on a lark looking for some inspiration along the dented and gray road to writing after spying Whit Stilman, Dylan Kidd and Kenneth Lonnergan's names included among the interviewees.
The book covers many varied viewpoints and not a one comes without some kernel of insight that had my highlighter being repeatedly uncapped to keep certain insights fresh.
The filmakers you may want to breeze over suddenly catch you by surprise with some startling insight and things you assumed were planned and calculated with your favorite films you discover were pure accidents of neccesity (budget, time, etc).
The great lesson is, write what you can do, then do it.
I actually parsed my chapters out so I wouldn't run through it too quick.
It won't write your screenplay for you but it'll make you want to.

Reading the interviews with writers/filmmakers like Ali Selim, Tom DiCillo, Whit Stillman, Henry Jaglom, Joan Micklin Silver, Eric Bogosian, Bob Clark, Kenneth Lonergan, LM Kit Carson, Stuart Gordan and Dan Futerman seem like you were having lunch with Gaspard and the writer and just were listening in as they talked about screenwriting.

You may not recognize all those names but you'd know the movies they made.

It has a very relaxed, informal style that seems to allow the people being interviewed to feel safe with Gaspard, open up and tell him a lot of information about the craft.

Good stuff, I would highly recommend it.

I will admit two things: 1. I'm on the verge of making my own low-budget film and, 2. I've only seen four of the 23 films talked about in this book. Thank God for Netflix.

This is a companion to the equally great book: "Fast Cheap & Under Control" about the making of low-budget films.

John Gaspard has collected 23 interviews from the screenwriters (and sometime directors) of many low budget films. Some of these films have been nominated for Academy Awards ("Capote") while others have taken their rightful place in the genre upon which they reside ("Re-Animator"). You will find every type and stripe of film here from period pieces to adaptations to original works.

What makes this book excellent but equally frustrating for a wannabe film-maker as myself, is that the interviewees all have different stories. I know that may sound like an odd statement but couldn't they all have done it easily? So I could feel better about making my film? - Yes, I'm kidding. :)

Of course the reality is that these interviewees talk of their struggles, their lucky breaks, the use of a connection or two. How something fell into someone's lap, how an investor walked through the door just at the right time, how they got that great shot, how they stretched that $5 into $10 or begged, borrowed or stole their way to a completed film.

John Gaspard ends the book with a "Thirty Lessons" learned chapter where he explores the lessons he learned while interviewing these writers. This chapter is worth the price alone.

The book is both fascinating and empowering. It makes me want to make my film even more so I can learn from their mistakes and, sadly, make my own.

My only complaints about this book is that I would have liked two things: I would have liked a capsule description of each film. Since I was unfamiliar with 19(!) of them, that would have helped me understand a bit what the writer was talking about in terms of plot line or story instead of gleaning it from how they answered the questions.

And, though Mr. Gaspard gives the reader a page of distributor and release year of all the films discussed, I would have liked more information such as how wide the release was, running time, how much the original budget was, how much the film actually cost and how much it made. Plus a little more on the writers themselves, other films they have written or works they have written would have been excellent.

Ultimately this is a great book exploring the idea of the low-budget film world through the writers that created it! Everyone started somewhere, that somewhere is described here.

If you are a "noir addict," as I am, you are indeed fortunate to have read the original FILM NOIR READER, its sequel, FILM NOIR READER 2 and the last one in the series...FILM NOIR READER 3.
The first one was the most interesting of the group, containing the most seminal essays on the noir style by Durgnat, Higham, Porfirio and Schrader and even a translation from Borde & Chaumenton's French framing of the "noir mystique." Also, several noir films were considered in a "case study" section, among them KISS ME DEADLY, NIGHT & THE CITY, ANGEL FACE and the post-noir LONG GOODBYE. The last section of Volume One dealt with "Noir, Then and Now" with several interesting articles on noir's legacy and the new noir. It was a sensational critical work after Silver & Ward's trend-setting volume FILM NOIR, now in its third edition from Overlook Press.
FILM NOIR 2, in the Limelight series carries on the tradition of including seminal essays on noir by Nino Frank, the film critic who actually named the style, Jean-Pierre Chartier and Claude Chabrol, among other worthy and perceptive American
critics such as Tom Flinn and Stephen Farber. Reverting to the case history approach, Robert Porfirio, Robin Wood, Silver and Ward, among others scrutinize critically the films of Hitchcock,
the femme fatales of PUSHOVER (Kim Novak) & THELMA JORDON (Barbara Stanwyck)among other themes as "jazz & noir," "tabloid cinema" and "neo-noir fugitives," all wonderful essays written with style and critical acumen. Part 3 of this volume seems to suggest this would be the last in the series, discussing the "evolution" of noir, especially essays on the "new noir," and especially Kent Minturn's excellent article on "abstract expressionism and film noir, demonstrating the effects of Jackson Pollack's paintings on the noir style.
FILM NOIR READER 3 must be the absolute last in the series because it focus is on mainly interviews with filmmakers of the classic noir period. Divided into 3 sections, it deals with 8 directors such as Andre de Toth, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Robert Wise among others, filmmakers such as photographers James Wong Howe and John F. Seitz, actors such as Claire Trevor and Lizabeth Scott, composers such as Miklos Rozsa and finally a series of commentaries about noir by Curtis Bernhardt, Budd Boetticher and Daniel Fuchs.
Of the director section, all were fairly interesting interviews by Alain Silver or Robert Porfirio with the exception of Otto Preminger who seemed to defy the questions put to him and did not care to be labelled a "noir" director. Of the actors, I enjoyed Claire Trevor's appraisal of her roles and Lizabeth Scott's method of transforming herself psychologically into a "femme fatale." But the commentaries section of this interview book really runs out of steam with Daniel Fuchs' perception of Jews, Gentiles and Communists in Hollywood as well as the take of his own words on THE GANGSTER with Barry Sullivan.
He even complains as he writes answers to Porfirio's questions, while admiring the critic, he feels "it pains him his own prose is so lousy."
While this third volume is chock full of wonderful stills
from classic films of the period, sometimes the stills have absolutely nothing to do with the text...worse, there are serious flaws in editing that mar the book...on p. 60 Anne Bancroft is referred to in THE BLUE GARDENIA while on the next page it is Anne BAXTER, the real star of the film is seen in a still with Ann Sothern; the still facing p. 135 identifies Ray Teal as the actor in the foreground with Orson Welles on the stairs in CITIZEN KANE while it is actually RUSSELL COLLINS and more blatantly, in the still on p.141 from BODY AND SOUL, how can any one mistake B-actress HAZEL BROOKS seen here with John Garfield for the beautiful and classy Lili Palmer identified in the caption.
Finally, I believe FILM NOIR READER 3 is a worthy entry in the series for its preservation of information and stills about noir although the interviewers seemed to have scraped rock bottom to put this volume together. Perhaps they should turn their attentions to the new noir. However, I must commend the publisher, Limelight, for continuing the series and bringing about an affordable paperback with such gorgeous stills that are alone worth the ... price. And some of the interviews are really excellent--the ones with Billy Wilder, Miklos Rozsa and James Wong Howe among others. But it is difficult to take such diverse views on noir and give them a unique, systematic frame of reference because of the very complexity in the material and the divergent views among the authors. I simply cannot imagine how far down "the noir trail" we can go without stumbling in the future. Volumes 1 and 2 are certainly superior to this last one, but Vol. 3 gives me a sense of closure regarding the material, but not the "noir style." For as long as there are men deceived by women for cash or sex, noir will go on forever.

Just a couple of points to add to Dr. Schwartz's excellent review of all three Film Noir entries. The price of this reader is hefty. Considering what you get in return, only confirmed enthusiasts should pony up that amount. A big point in the book's favor: an interview with screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring, aka Geoffrey Homes, (Out of the Past, Invasion of Body Snatchers,et.al.), a major influence on the genre, and the only interview with this neglected figure that I know of. Lastly, it's remarkable how many of these artists were unaware of contributing to a distinct body of work we now call film noir. Perhaps the zeitgeist of the time wore a trenchcoat; certainly something generic was afoot.

This third book in the "Film Noir Reader" series contains 18 interviews with filmmakers of the classic film noir period. Most of the interviews were conducted 1975-1977 by Robert Porfirio for his doctoral dissertation while he was an assistant professor at California State University at Fullerton. Alain Silver and James Ursini also contribute interviews, conducted at various dates. In his Introduction, Mr. Porfirio explains his view of classic film noir as a movement in 4 phases, created primarily out of German Expressionism and the American hard-boiled literary tradition. There is a biographical description and a list of "films in the noir style" at the conclusion of each interview.

Part I contains 8 interviews with directors, who talk about their films' intent, themes, style and how they came to be made. The Hollywood Blacklist is another common topic of conversation. Some directors (as well as some other contributors) doubt the existence of a "film noir style", while others are amenable to the concept. The directors interviewed are: Andre de Toth, Edward Dmytryk, Samuel Fuller, Fritz Lang, Joseph H. Lewis, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, and Robert Wise.

Part II, "Interviews with Other Filmmakers", contains 7 interviews with cinematographers James Wong Howe and John F. Seitz, actresses Lizabeth Scott and Claire Trevor, screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring, composer Miklos Rozsa, and producer Dore Schary. This must have been before Ms. Scott became reclusive. It's nice to read her perceptive comments. Part III includes short "Commentaries" by 3 directors, which were taken from written and spoken interviews but are not in interview format. The directors are: Curtis Bernhardt, Budd Boetticher, and Daniel Fuchs.

It's interesting to compare the perceptions of the people who made classic film noir to those of critics and theorists decades after the fact. I think the interviews tend to support my view that film noir came about due to a confluence of various technological, economic, and legal factors. But the fun is in judging for yourself. "Film Noir Reader 3" is an enjoyable and informative reference for film noir fans and scholars.

Quite simply......

IT's IZOD!

Buy this book. Twice. His cats will thank you for it.

Not to be overly dramatic, but John Izod's book not only helped me understand the deeper brilliance of Roegs approach to filmmaking, and why his movies stay with you despite their seemingly illogical narrative line - but as an introduction to Jung's ideas, Izod's book helped me view myself and others through the kinder and more playful jungian lens. Truly, on a personal level, reading John Izod's book helped me restore an inner balance that was slipping away. I feel his writing is unpretentious, and the glossary of jungian terms is quite helpful. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

This book reads like a psychology textbook as the author tries to look at Nicolas Roegs films from a Jungian viewpoint. Not much info about the making of the films or about Roeg himself.

Before you read Final Cut Express Solutions or invest in the Final Cut Express software, it's important to realize that Final Cut Express is not for everyone. Some people are quite happy with iMovie. And yet others want more latitude in their creativity. Final Cut Express does just that and Final Cut Express Solutions will show you how.

Personally, I find Final Cut Express to be intimidating. It's not as novice friendly as iMovie, but that's the price you pay when you get more creative options. Final Cut Express Solutions does a great job of walking you through the process of creating your own movie. The book has a nice flow to it; it doesn't just jump in with all the neat stuff you can do with footage. Final Cut Express Solutions tells you exactly what the steps are in creating a movie and explains what you're seeing, right from the very first time you open Final Cut Express.

The book uses a combination of text and screen shots to guide you through the various features of Final Cut Express. I find screen captures to be an absolute must in any software tutorial. And this book is heavy on screen captures, pretty much one for every command or feature that is being shown. There is also a CD-ROM that accompanies the Final Cut Express Solutions text, which provides project footage to show what the various features of Final Cut Express can do. You can even edit the footage for practice. In fact, the book refers to the footage as it shows you various features. I would recommend using the CD-ROM along with the book as indicated in the text of Final Cut Express Solutions.

Final Cut Express Solutions is organized extremely well and serves as a quick reference for various functions of creating a movie. Chapters follow a roughly chronological order in the process of making a movie, focusing on topics such as importing footage, editing, audio, and many more.

One requirement that is spelled out right from the start is that you'll need QuickTime Pro. You can buy QuickTime Pro directly from Apple (www.apple.com/quicktime) for $29.99. Final Cut Express works seamlessly with QuickTime Pro and is necessary for some of the topics that the book covers.

This is the only Final Cut Express guide I have reviewed, but I have reviewed one other Sybex book, iMovie 3 Solutions, an excellent book. Final Cut Express Solutions follows an identical format and feel and is also an excellent book.

Final Cut Express is not a book that you will read and then just put away on the shelf. It is an excellent reference book that you will need frequently as you delve more into the advanced features of Final Cut Express.

After completing several projects using various versions of iMovie, I've recently made the switch to Final Cut Express to increase my editing capabilities.

I'm disappointed in this book, which was offered for $40 at the Apple store when buying the Final Cut Express software.

The text lacks in-depth information about FCE's video and audio filters, and fails to adequately cover the software basics. The authors' suggest their own website for more information, but there's nothing on it.

I'm going to try Tom Wolsky's book and hope for a better guide.

I had been using iMovie for about three years and started feeling that I had pretty much mastered it. Not that my movies were going to win any Oscars, but rather, my creativity was limited by what iMovie would allow me to do.

Apple must have heard me grumbling about iMovie and must have known I couldn't afford Final Cut Pro, so they created Final Cut Express. When I finally received this software, I realized I was over my head; I didn't even know how to begin using it. My solution was getting the book "Final Cut Express Solutions" by Jason Cranford Teague and David Teague.

One of my initial observations was the full-color pages throughout the book. Most software books are black and white and boring. I found myself looking forward to the next chapter because each chapter builds on previous chapters. As I progressed through the book, I used the project files and clips provided on the Companion DVD to help me learn each chapter.

The first chapter, "The Hardware Setup," was very informative. The authors take the time to advise what hardware is important to the success of your editing in Final Cut Express. Since then, I've purchased additional memory (I now have 768 MB SDRAM) and a 160 GB external FireWire hard disk for my iMac.

Audio is an area I need the most training with. Chapter 8 "Adding Audio," gives me exactly what I need to be able to fully utilize all the audio control Final Cut Express has to offer. I learned about room tone and world tone; recorded silence in interior and exterior areas respectively.

Titles! I was so limited with iMovie titles, that all my movies had the same look. Chapter 9 "Adding Titles and Finishing Up," offers a wealth of titling options. The authors even provided a section on "Creating Final Cut Express Titles in Photoshop."

A very unique and very powerful tool the authors use is the "Movie Night!" feature. At the end of each chapter (except Chapter 10), you'll find a purple box that highlights a movie where the authors talk about some unique editing features of that particular movie. What's really cool is how the authors use each movie to further discuss that chapters' topic. For example, in Chapter 9 "Adding Titles and Finishing Up," the authors explain how Alfred Hitchcock used a title sequence to capture the audience at the beginning of the movie "Vertigo."

I'm not a Final Cut Express expert yet, but with the guidance found in "Final Cut Express Solutions," I find my movie making abilities far beyond what I was doing with iMovie. The authors say it best, "That is what you will get out of this book: a thorough understanding of what it takes to get a movie made." If you have Final Cut Express, get this book. If you don't have Final Cut Express yet, get it soon, then get this book.

I've never used final cut before and this book doesn't dumb it down enough for a beginner. It does have lots of non beginner techniques however. If your just starting out wait on buying this book.

I had a background in professional film production and analog video but had never worked with a non-linear editor before. This book explains everything from the point of view of a filmmaker not a computer tech and includes interviews with actual filmmakers. It is beautifully laid out and illustrated and takes you through the practical considerations of various stages of production. You will not get buried in arcane detail rather you will get a thorough understanding of everything you need to know and a broad exposure to more advanced concepts. I worked through all the exercizes with the provided Coney Island footage and then due to circumstances beyond my control didn't get back to using FCP for a year, when I was unexpectedly asked to sync an audio effect with a visual event for a director to see in five minutes. The training had stuck and I pulled it off. I much prefer this book to the Apple Pro Training Series and it gives a better overview of the whole editing process, so if you can only buy one book this is what I'd recommend.

Easy book to learn for dummies like myself. Lots of pictures and easy content.

I love this book, it's easy to read and understand even for an artistic type. The book is spangled with pictures, and visual guides. I use this for my beginning motion graphics class and all kinds of students are able to understand it.
AND above all it is not horribly expensive like all other software books!
Great starter book if you want to get familiar with After Effects!

As an artist with a lot of 2d experience in animation who needs to absorb several new animation programs quickly, I find this book very easy to read and well organized.
There is one major problem though (actually, perhaps two).
Key components of the book are the 'downloadable' files located at the publishers' site online (rather than on CD as with other computer books). Many of these files seem to be corrupted or do not open in a newer version of AI. In addition there appears to be no 'help' page or resource for this problem from the publishers. I am unsure how much I'll be able to learn here without being able to perform many of the examples and lessons featured in the book.
I really want to like this book a lot more than I feel I am able.

After Effects is an amazing program, so powerful, so intuitive. People that are already committed to taking it on will be better off with the excellent but very dense Trish Meyers books. People that have gentler goals and less technical experience will be overwhelmed by them, and probably quit before they really crack AE, so that's where this book comes in.

AE is potentially a radical tool; with it anyone with a computer and a DVD burner is a film and animation studio. Far more people could learn it, and to that end this book is a useful thing: it isn't as thorough as the Meyers books or the also-excellent H.O.T. book, but as a quick spin through the essentials, a teaser to get you excited and briefed so you'll be ready to take on heavier selections, it's a good choice.