Video Production Books

If you've ever wanted to reach right into the movie screen, shake one of Woody Allen's characters by the shirt collar, and say, "Snap out of it, bub," here's a book for you. Peter J. Bailey's The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen offers a fascinating, crystalline analysis of one of the most vexing questions to dog three generations of Woody Allen characters: Is the fictional world of art--especially film art--more a help or a hindrance in our difficult lives?

Bailey, an English professor at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., demonstrated his gift for making sense of challenging contemporary literary art with Reading Stanley Elkin in the mid-'80s. In The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen, he takes on a more readily accessible subject but does not hold back any of the tremendous critical insight at his command. The result is a book both for serious film buffs--that is, buffs of serious film (a subjective distinction taken up in this book)--and for film scholars alike. I was impressed by Bailey's scholarly precision, yet after reading the first couple of chapters I wanted to dash out and rent Stardust Memories, Manhattan, and several other signature Woody Allen flicks. This book has actually made watching his movies a more intellectually stimulating experience without killing the comic moments so abundant in them.

A college English instructor myself, I appreciate the challenge of leading a critical investigation of something fun and entertaining without making that subject, well, less fun and entertaining. Bailey succeeds admirably with this book, mainly because he never puts Allen on a pedestal. The author is a fan, to be sure, as indicated by his generous praise for what Allen does well--and has done well at a pace of roughly one film a year since 1972. This book's thesis, however, delves more deeply into a particularly compelling set of questions at the core of most of Allen's films: What do they say about the role of art in our lives? Is it a redeeming social force or merely a pleasant diversion from life's suffering? Are Woody Allen's films art or merely pleasant, entertaining diversions?

Bailey combines his own convincing interpretations of Allen's film work with previously reported comments from Allen on these questions to show not only how equivocal Woody Allen movies are on the matter of art's benefits and costs, but how central a theme this equivocating is in those movies. To his great credit--and unlike many scholarly investigations of film and literary art--Bailey avoids overbearing suggestions that HIS interpretations are REALLY what Allen's films are all about. Rather, the author has found a thread running through Allen's work that he holds up to the light--a light that has lingered too long on the personality of Woody Allen and the attending tabloid drama. This more illuminating thread--the vexed relationship of art to life and the difficulty of reconciling the two, both in art and in life--is of such enormous importance in the broader conversation of American popular culture that the absence of details on Allen's personal travails reads as a virtue in Bailey's book.

While Woody Allen fans will definitely find The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen most enjoyable and accessible, any moviegoer who has ever contemplated what distinguishes the cinematic good and bad from the ugly will find this book thought-provoking, perhaps at times profound. Ultimately, this is not a portrait of a filmmaker so much as the study of an intriguing film mind at work--and a snapshot of a possible film legend as a work-in-progress.

Peter Baily establishes his thesis that a primary thread running through many of Allen's major films is an examination of the tension between art and life and the struggle of the artist to disengage from the real world to unleash the creative juices. Citing examples from many of my favorite Allen films and following through on his major premise Baily delivers a fine book that challenged me to look at this films from a new perspective. I highly recommend this to fans of Woody Allen. I am cueing up my DVD copy of Hannah and her Sisters as soon as I log off.

I have read several books on Woody Allen and this is the most brilliant so far. Those who are tired of hearing about his squabble with Mia Farrow will be relieved to find that the author concentrates on his work and only mentions facts of Woody Allen's life that are relevant to his films. The book painstakingly analyzes the psychological and philosophical undercurrents in Woody's work, and especially delves into the issue as to whether art cand lend coherence to an otherwise contingent and random life. It'll help you see Woody's films from a broader standpoint but also set you brooding over your life as well.

Film professor Lesley Stern has written what amounts to an enthusiastic love letter to the great postmodern film director, Martin Scorsese.

It's a good read, though text does not follow the usual stylistic protocol of essay or non-fiction book writing. Full of gushing observations about postmodernist connections between Scorsese's work and that of other film directors.

That's okay, because Scorsese is a brilliant postmodernist and pure film buff who happily steals (Hitchcock would be proud) from all kinds of filmic sources.

However so much fun reader will have, going after all the videos this book praises, the pace and path of the writing can be almost overwhelming. It is full of ricochets and breathless connections to all kinds of sources. I found it annoying, sometimes, how rather reactive the text could be... this is like this is connected to this is from this is similar to this, etc etc.

But I give it four stars because anyone who likes Scorsese will probably enjoy reading this.

very self-conscious and smart, often a bit show-offy and exhibitionistic, but that keeps your attention; great intro paragraphs on each chapter, great stuff on putrescence. Probably the best, most imaginative, and bravest book written on Scorsese.

The reader really gets a sense of Scorsese; the master of film direction. Beautifully written in extreme elegance. Whitty---well done...a must read!

Awesome guide and the service / delivery was great too.

I have never played a game like this. Not only do you solve crimes but you also get to fight with a sword and a gun, not to mention demons! You can capture demons to which after you can summon them into battle. You can also summon them to help you solve crimes effectively. I reccomend the stratagy guide because some parts I was stuck on for a bit, but also so you can get a heads up on extras and demons. Besides, what's a great game like Devil Summoner without a Stratagy Guide? They just go together.

This guide is probably the guide that most people will consider to be one of DoubleJumps worst. Not because it is bad, but because it is, well, different. We are all used to DoubleJump guides being small and crammed to the brink with detail. This one is distributed through Prima so it is a full sized guide and as far as the detail, there isn't nearly as much to include. Almost all other DoubleJump guides are for epic RPGs and Tactical RPGs, games where there is so much stats and details that they will be huge guides. Since Devil Summoner is an action RPG, there simply isn't nearly the same amount of things to include to create a huge guide. What this one does have though, is sufficient.

The guide goes through the basics and the overviews of characters, controls, etc. Pretty much the norm. Then it takes a page out of Nocturne's guide for anyone familiar with it. They show the area maps from each chapter in one section and then the actual walkthrough breakdown in the next one. While some people have issues with this, it can actually be quite nice for those of us who don't want to pass up any items, but also don't want to be lead by hand through the game either.

The walkthrough is pretty much the meat of the guide, nothing too amazing. There is a secrets section, but surprisingly, there really isn't much in the way of hidden things in the game. There are several subquests or side stories covered in the walkthrough, but the secrets section itself only contains three or four major things (some of which are only for second playthrough).

Luckily the wonderful job that DoubleJump has always done on bestiaries, demon fusion and item/magic tables hasn't changed at all. Everything is all laid out clearly and is easy to understand. For some people this may be the most used section, just to find out the enemies weaknesses.

Overall, the guide isn't anything special. For those of us used to DoubleJump's monster "bible" guides, this isn't it. There just simply isn't that much information to put into the guide in comparison to those of other games. What is in the guide though, is done very well and in a clear and concise fashion. It is a good guide, but definately not a necessity for the game.

Stimulating, illuminating insights into the genius mind of Almodovar. The author paints a respectful, comprehensive picture of one the greatest living filmmakers. While we can never truly know everything about the mysteriously talented director, it sure is fun to sneak a peek and try to figure out some theories.

Finding a new book on Almodovar is always a treat, especially in English, and Mark Allinson's book is a very interesting analysis of all of Almodvar's great work.
A definate must for any Almodovar fan like me.

Brilliant.

Mark Williams ...

As I have only seen two films by the critically acclaimed and now Oscar winning director, my interest in film production encouraged my reading of Mark Allinson's "A Spanish Labyrinth" which touches on almost every aspect of Almodovar's techniques, and compares these with traditional filmmaking of, say, the Hollywood system.
The "in depth" analysis of each of these techniques, and other notable areas of the book transpire the writers clear passion for cinema, Spain, and the Spanish language. Without this, the book would lack it's captivating edge, and be "just another book about filmmaking."
Little is known of Pedro Almodovar in this country. Recources are limited and "A Spanish Labyrith" is only one of two books on the subject written in English. Whilst Almodovar produces all of his films in Spain, it is only a matter of time before he makes films for a wider audience, directing actors from a script written in English.
To conclude, the book is of great interest to anyone who enjoys watching, analysing or even producing films, or indeed shows any interest in World Cinema, Europe and particularly Spain.
Allow the book to be the basis for your introduction to Almodovar, then you'll know what to look for in his latest film releases.

'Stanislavsky in Focus' by Sharon M. Carnicke is by far the best book to date on Stanislavsky, the 'System', the'Method', that I've come across.Unlike so many solemn commentators in this area Carnicke speaks Russian and, most importantly, has had access to files in Moscow inaccessible up to now. This enables her to tell the story of Actor Training from Stanislavsky through Michael Chekhov and across the tlantic into Adler, Strasberg and Meisner, with a clarity and ease that future actors will be really grateful for.

I have read myriad theater books, and I have to say that this book is the best. Any serious actor MUST own a copy of this book. This book puts all other Stanislavsky books into perspective.

At last. It makes sense. The Glossary alone is worth the purchase price.

... of the behind-the-scenes design, artwork, and storyboarding for the first two Next Generation movies, "Generations" and "First Contact." Indispensible to a real starship hardware fan, this book gives plenty of details and is interspersed with interviews, recollections, and notes from some of the principal talents involved in creating the location sets, some of the special effects, and the new ships seen in both films, as well as much unseen material from the design of the Borg presence. I found the evolution of the Enterprise-E, Phoenix warp ship, and Vulcan ship from First Contact especially interesting. My only criticism is that, even at 340+ pages, there is not enough! First Contact alone should occupy a 400-page "Making of" book. Nevertheless, this volume is a gem which belongs in the library of any hard-core Trek devotee.

Not only is this volume a must for anyone interested in production design, it is also a well designed book all round. Each page is a stunning work of art in its own right. Full compliments to John Eaves for so carefully selecting his, and other artist's work, for the book. His commentary throughout is informative and interesting. JM Dillard holds it all together with his, as always, brilliant text. I hope Eaves releses a new book about Insurrection, or at least, has the existing book expanded to include this film. Well done, S&S, John Eaves and JM Dillard.

I interviewed John Eaves two years ago and first heard about this book at that time; I am more than slightly relieved to say that it was worth the wait! Profusely illustrated -- with artwork that has NOT already appeared everywhere else -- the book is both reader- and Trekkie-friendly, with brief anecdotes which humanize the filmmaking process while also supplementing the nice pics. Eaves' attention to detail -- especially in regard to properly crediting those responsible for a given design -- is both noteworthy and surprisingly welcome ... This book almost makes up for previous "authorized" illustrated Trek volumes, nearly making me forgive Pocket/S&S for THE ART OF STAR TREK, and gives cause for one to hope Eaves will contribute in a similar fashion to STAR TREK 9. (and generate another book like this as well.)

There are reviews pointing out that this book missed a few films but what it does include makes it one of the most detailed book on stop motion animation films. I grew up on Harryhausen, Danforth and the like ( I am a director/producer and originally wanted to be a stop motion animator) so this book is not only informative but nostalgic. Great resource.

Like the previous reviewer said; this book isn't complete, but it is full of incredibly obscure films. Pettigrew's research is scrupulous. He's interviewed all the concerned animators (the ones still alive) or people who knew them. So much is revealed about how tricks were accomplished and what materials were used. There's actually a lot to read about general film history, not just special effects history. One of the more impressive aspects is perhaps the fact that Pettigrew has waded through hours of pure crap in order to get to the stop-motion sequence to be reviewed. Some of the best animation in the world is contained within really, really bad movies. That's a heroic feat in itself. The only slight annoyance is Pettigrew's ratings of films and their special effects, which are very subjective. He constantly makes excuses for faults in his personal favourite films. Apart from that this will remain the ultimate book on stop-motion for quite a while, and is actually worth the hefty price tag. This book is a treasure-trove of information.

This HUGE (almost 850 pages) tome is the ultimate reference guide to the motion pictures that utilize the fine art of stop-motion photography. From the obvious (King Kong, Jason and The Argonauts) to the obscure (Winterbeast, Frostbiter), this covers them all. Almost. I did notice a few omissions, most notably the Lou Ferrigno HERCULES movies from the early 80's, both of which I believe employed this process. Also missing was Godzilla Vs. Destroyah, which used the process briefly, and Godzilla Vs. Biollante, which had test footage in this process (the book covers other films that stop-motion was only used as test footage for). It also misses a couple of movies that utilized footage from Planet of Dinosaurs (Galaxy of Dinosaurs and Time Tracers). But other than these minor gripes, the book is fascinating, full of great pictures of all the monsters you forgot about (remember the stop-motion creatures from Coneheads? Howard the Duck? Didn't think so. But you SHOULD.). A great buy at it's high price tag, and well worth every penny.

Lovely book, it has very interesting bits of information to guide students in animation.

I've read a lot of animation books over the years, but this is one I don't think I'll ever look at again. Most of these "one stop shop" type books that cover every single aspect of filmmaking end up not saying much no matter how long winded they are.

There's no shortage of information in this book. The problem is little, if any of it is in a form you can be readily applied to your own work. Complex thoughts with little elaboration. Highly visual ideas with no pictures explain things. Just a glut of film making tibits with little actual learning.

The CD content is better than ones in some other books I've read, but it doesn't help if the disc takes the place of illustrations in the book. That way I'm forced to be at my computer while I'm reading to get the most out of the book. Overall I think the CD added more to the price of the book than it did the content.

For my time and money, books like CGI Filmmaking: The Creation of Ghost Warrior are a much better buy.

First, this is not a book on the mechanics of producing animation. Instead it is a book that comes before that. It's about how to tell a story through animation. It's about the first steps that must be done right if the story is to be told at all.

It all begins with the story. Without a story, animation is just a bunch of pictures. How do you make the story better? How do you make it fit animation as opposed to live action?

How do you create the character? How do you make the image, the story give the character a personality? What kind of a background, a world do you design?

From here the book goes through the whole production process. Once again, this is not a book on how to use a software package to produce the animation, it's a step before that. The author is a professional at film making. In addition he interviews quite a number of professionals from the major studios to get their view of the process.

Finally the CD included with the book include film strips that you can use to evaluate just how well these guys did in following the precepts of the book.

The tape contained some interesting historical information; however the background music was very annoying! Reliford

I loved this cd, I listened to it over and over, beginning to end, four times straight and laughed just as much the fourth time as I did the first. These are little known anecdotes about very well known Hollywood personalities throughout the history of "Tinsletown". The author/narrator, Steve Schochet, is very gifted and his passion and love for his subjects shine through on almost every word. I would reccomend this to any one who's interested in Hollywood or in good story telling.

I loved this cd, I listened to it over and over, beginning to end, four times straight and laughed just as much the fourth time as I did the first. These are little known anecdotes about very well known Hollywood personalities throughout the history of "Tinsletown". The author/narrator, Steve Schochet, is very gifted and his passion and love for his subjects shine through on almost every word. I would reccomend this to any one who's interested in Hollywood or in good story telling.

I wanted to get a book that would give me a clue on using my camcorder better, as well give me a better idea of computer video editing (not to mention humor me with my filmmaking aspirations). This book covers all that and more very clearly, with lots of helpful picture examples. I now know what all my camcorder's manual controls do and when to use them. On the computer front, I finally was able to figure out how to make a VCD/SVCD that has good image quality, and if I can ever afford a DVD recorder I am fairly confident I know how to do that now too. If you want to know all about DV (both filming and editing), this is an accessible, solidly written book.

As a technology instructor, I evaluated this book for use as a student text. In that respect, it works well enough, covering material such as computer hardware, video terminology and the practices of editing video in just enough detail for me to be satisfied, even appreciative.

The book is not without faults. In particular, I would've liked another 100 pages or so regarding the editing features of software besides Premier, and of course this book suffers from the technology-book curse - it's 18 months old and many aspects are at this point somewhat out of date or inaccurate; something like this should really be updated annually.

The author did have the foresight to include a short section on authoring video projects to DVD and various types of video CDs, and I like that effort was made to introduce the reader to techniques in capturing good footage.

Finally, a clear, coherent and comprehensive resource that explains everything that I could only find in bits and pieces elsewhere.