Animation Books

Official Autodesk Training Guides are a superb investment and this book in particular, is terrific. If you have an intermediate-level of knowledge about Maya, you will find this book moves at a fairly quick pace. Also, if you have a good working knowledge of the Maya interface and its tools, but lack the discipline of a solid production workflow then book will enhance your skills and round out your education.

I am a beginner with only peripheral knowledge of the Maya interface but because the book is so well written I have been able to keep pace and have learned more in the last few weeks than I have gained in the hundreds of hours of parroting the video tutorials available online.

I've spent a small fortune in the last few months buying Maya video tutorials from a couple of different online sources and for the most part, they provide you with all the steps necessary to create the models you see in the videos and expose you to many aspects of the software, but what these videos don't do is explain the "why", which is necessary if you are to grow and take your creativity to the next level.

In all fairness to the authors of these videos, they are working with self-imposed limitations and the knowledge to be gleaned from the videos is only as good as the individual who wrote the lesson guide. Therefore, I decided before I get too far along in my Maya learning experience, I needed a good working knowledge of the fundamentals and who better to provide that than the "official" experts.

Breakout the videos if you want to build a good looking Mitsubishi car in twenty-hours time but buy this book if you plan to "design" the next Mitsubishi car. Therein lies the difference between their videos and this Autodesk series of books; not only do these books explain the "why", they provide the discipline necessary for a dependable production workflow, which is critical if you intend to work in this field.

By the time you finish this book you will know the key concepts and workflows of Maya. You will know the tools and their application. You will learn modeling and animation and understand how they relate to each other in a production pipeline.

Its a great price for the book that has alot of good info in it and had no problems with on time delivery and showed up in great condition.

This is the ideal guide for those who want to perfectionate his or her modelling skills. Extremelly usefull step by step tutorials. Highly recommened. Another score for Autodesk!

This is a really cool learning guide. It is geared a little more towards people who have a basic understanding of the Maya universe. If you have never used maya at all, it may be a little confusing. I suggest playing with the interface and going through the "Getting Started" lessons included with the Maya software before getting into this book.. The dvd contains support files for the lessons in the book. It would have been nice if it had some video reference. The pictures in the book aren't the best guides, so unless you understand the text, you may find yourself using more creative freedom to complete the models than actual tutoring. Still, it is a great reference and gives you all you need to create some complete models to practice building and animating. Hope this helps.

it is a great reference book!! I'm a student at animation major.. this is helping me all the time.. Also you can use this book for learning the software by yourself.. it is explaning and then give you assignments so you can understand the lesson well..

good luck!!

This book has plenty of errors. Page 80 says import to library streaming.fla (file provided on their website). FlashMX chokes.

I was hoping to pick up this book and write a crude web based non linear editor with FlashMX within a few hours, but this book is disjointed.

By the way, page 58, MPEG is Moving Pictures Expert Group.

Kristian and Hoss waste no time in their book, they get you and your film into Flash straight away - and show you how to control it.

Other MX books waste too much time explaining Scripting techniques, this one gets you going right from the start. All the Actionscript is in thier, as an when you need it & is explained from a real users point of view - not from a coders!

Fast & Friendly - just like they say.

Inspiration, code and compression - this book covers it all.
In a simple step-following format the writer takes you from editing your clips to putting them up on the net, and gives you plenty of ideas of what you can do in Flash.

If you can ignore the 'cool' skateboarding example video (or use your own!) then get this book!

This book is a great resource for anyone getting into editing video for the Web. The authors did a great job of presenting the information so we designers can follow, understand and absorb it. And thanks to the authors for including info on Sorenson Squeeze, another necessary tool for putting video on the Web. I had been searching for a book like this for a long time.
-LN

I'd just about given up with Flash and video, the time and effort to import any vid content into Flash 5 killed any fun it might have been.

With MX I could get the video in, but it wasn't until I read this book that I had any idea what to do with it.
As well as scripting, the book has a whole bunch of tricks you can do to your video clips just within flash - masking, rotating, coloring!!

I'm still working my way through the last chapters, but I've learned so much already & I've created my first video website!

After one training session and about 10 months using Viz I bought this book and found it very useful.

Although it is 1100 pages of info, it is not blindingly full on, rather the author concentrates on making sure the methods and techniques are fully and clearly explained with plenty of screen shots and repeating previously explained information where needed. You won't find everything Viz does in this book but you will find more than enough to be able to create life like rendereings.

As much a [beginners] guide as it is an advanced user's salvation, this book sits on or near my workstation at all times.

Just make sure you order the correct version (for Viz 3 or 4)!

I have recently received this book as a gift. The content is GREAT but the format of the book LACKS A LOT in quality. That is, because there are over 1100 pages and because somebody had the unfortunate idea to place 16 color drawings on thick glossy paper in the middle, my long awaited book got ruined (read broke in two pieces, right in the middle). That was the WORST typographic job I have ever seen. All thanks to SYBEX Inc. who have edited this book. Hey guys, couldn't you make two volumes?

This book is the FANTASTIC. I'm an Architect and so appreciative that such a book exist. The material is meant for Architects (although applicable to many other 3D disciplines) and is extremely indepth without being tedious. The exercises are taken from historical projects recognized the world over which makes them interesting and fun. Mr. Omura had a game plan in writing this book and it pays off big time for the reader. By the time you've completed this book you'll have the skills and essential tools to create your own world's of expression. The author has a vast understanding of which tools to use to get the job done creativitly, efficiently and effectively. You'll also learn to incorporate industry standard tools outside of VIZ to assist you in creating your own libraries for future use. Is this last word in everything you'll ever need to know about VIZ? Absolutely Not. However, you'll be off to a great start with a BROAD SOLID FOUNDATION enabling you to build high and wide and creatively. ENJOY!

Have tried several other 3d viz books but this book is the best that I have read to date. Gets you up and running much faster than some of the more "fancy" interactive cd-rom types. Just the right sequence in the chapters for you to learn at a reasonable pace and understand the key concepts. If you need to learn this software than you will not go wrong with this book.

Omura's book is undoubtedly the best book I have read for 3D Studio VIZ! It is very complete with the most pictures, the best examples, tutorials, samples, and the clear explanations. Everything you need to know is in Mastering 3d Studio VIZ 3.

This has been one of the leading books for the field. Most useful in a advanced HS or College course.

However the material is becoming dated. Needs a newer focus on the new interactive media environment that integrates internet applications rather than thinking of the "web" and "multimedia" as two areas. They have merged!

The book publisher and author needs to study the fields using multimedia such as advertising and the ad agencies, marketing agencies, entertainment agencies, eLearning companies and functions, entire web sites based on interactive multimedia in large companies and so on.

Still has value but will need a lot of field experience to sift through what is current and what is just old history.

Great introduction to the world of multimedia. Being a beginner myself, I found the book to be both informative and practical. it is a great reference source and I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in a multimedia career.

I was given this book as a gift and it was invaluable. It's easy to read and provides helpful information. I especially liked the CD ROM. Among the things on the CD is a demo of Macromedia Director. Anyone going into multimedia must learn how to use Director. This demo helped me learn the software without investing $500+ in the software.

This is THE book for serious multimedia producers and managers! Covers everything from hardware and software specs to design and production, to managing a project right down to final delivery in multiple formats and media. Read Designing Multimedia by Lisa Lopuck for novices and entry level multimedia producers. Read Multimedia Making it Work by Tay Vaughan for advanced and in depth material for the serious manager/producer. Would have been nice though if Macromedia could have kept there cd that came with the 3rd edition book in with the 4rth edition. I also reccommend the book Getting Started in Multimedia Design by Gary Olsen as a quick and comprehensive guide to designing multimedia and web projects.

This book presents a broad overview of the field of multimedia production. The book describes the field at large, explaining the concepts, rather than focusing on minute details of using particular software packages. Separate chapters are devoted to the multimedia "building blocks", text, sound, images, and video, and the various special characteristics of these media (such as formats and how compression techniques work). A typology of multimedia authoring software is developed, and brief descriptions of individual authoring packages are provided to exemplify each type. The accompanying CD-ROM contains evaluation copies of many of the packages mentioned (such as Macromedia Director, Adobe Freehand, and SoundEdit) for further exploration by the reader. The book also provides extensive coverage of the multimedia development process, from the roles of the members of a multimedia development team, to planning, costing, producing, testing, and delivering products. I have found the book to be quite successful as a textbook for introduction to multimedia courses. It would also be useful for anyone who would like to understand what the multimedia business is all about.

An editorial review calls this book "dull." Dullness, like beauty, is in the beholder's eye. This beholder is fascinated with the pioneering days of broadcasting; unsurprisingly, I found this book tremendously interesting and even entertaining. By focusing on the people and the anecdotes of television's experimental days, Ritchie vividly transmits the new medium's uncertainty and excitement.

Michael Ritchie was a good director (The Candidate, Fletch, Bad News Bears, et al.) but a pretty sloppy writer and historian. Nevertheless the fun and adventure of pre-mass media television shine through in a book that's full of errors (and probably wasn't even copyedited). You'll get a vivid idea of what it might have been like tuning into NBC's or General Electric's pioneering stations in the late '30s and early '40s, working with trailblazers like Dennis James and Anthony Mann, and of course, goof-up after amusing goof-up as a new technology finds its feet and defines what makes a good program in ways that we can still appreciate today.

Ritchie makes one point that I've never seen anyone else comment on. He believed that TV's delayed 1948 "debut" as mass entertainment was due mostly to the American Federation of Musicians, who had banned all live music from TV for several years previous. It's an intriguing thesis - no variety shows, musicals, concerts, etc. certainly limited TV's programming and appeal. But I've never seen it discussed since. Of course, that may be because most of the events related in this book officially "never happened"...

This book is just incredible. The author (who also directed the Chevy Chase Fletch movie series), goes waaaaay back into an era of surprising TV struggle! Please, order it, buy it, get it used, new, hardcover, paperback or whatever. BUT GET IT. Almost every paragraph is and eyebrow raiser, every paragraph reveals some incredible detail! (For instance, Steve Allen was NOT the first talk show host in TV history!). It's perfectly written. It covers almost every area (Sports TV, Drama TV, Contest TV, etc.). It tells everything on the subject, and makes you gain hopes regarding the starting difficulties of any new project you may be trying to implement! Hold on to your idea! Hold on to your dream! These old time dreamers kept going, and made TV possible for everyone today!. It's the best book I've read this year (2001). Please. DON'T stand by and rush to get Please Stand By! You'll be really glad to know how many amazing things happened between 1928, when TV really began, and 1948, twenty years later, when they have made us BELIEVE everything started.

Carlos Sicilia, Caracas, Venezuela.

What do Milton Berle, Eddie Albert, and Dinah Shore have in common? They've all appeared on television. OK, you knew that--what you may NOT know, however, is that they all made their first TV appearance far sooner than you may think. Try 1929, 1936 and 1938 respectively.

Wait a minute, you say, television didn't exist yet. Well, actually, it did, if only experimentally. According to Michael Ritchie, those who think the television era began when Uncle Miltie donned his first ball gown are in for quite a shock.

Ritchie takes us into the hitherto unexplored "prehistory" of television, an era that in some ways typified Murphy's Law. Everything that could go wrong usually did--from Dinah Shore's disastrous singing debut (her mascara melted under the blistering hot lights) to the "nude" chorus girls in one early 30's production number (early cameras were insensitive to the girls' red costumes).

The book takes us through the pioneering days of what are now industry staples--television sports, news, drama, and quiz shows. The numerous anecdotes from such personalities as Hugh Downs never fail to amaze--and amuse. (Be sure to read his account of his role in the earliest TV news broadcasts).

Not to be missed also are the long-overdue tributes to individual pioneers, such as Charles Francis Jenkins, who began the first television "network" of sorts in the late 1920's; John Logie Baird, whose "mechanical" method of transmission (using a spinning disk) was doomed to failure; and of course Philo Taylor Farnsworth, the young Mormon genius who, at age 14, conceived the idea of electronic television while plowing his parents' field. The rise and fall of Allen B. DuMont, who at one time ran a fourth network (only to fall victim to the backstabbing maneuvers of NBC head David Sarnoff) is told in painstaking detail.

If you love television (and perhaps, even if you don't) you'll love this book.

Much ink has been spilled describing the early battles, both political and technological, to get television off the ground. But the story of what actually went before the camera during the thirties is almost lost. It is truly amazing just how much broadcasting was going on in these days when a well off amateurs could start their own low fidelity television stations. You'll learn many fun facts too. Such as-- Who was the first person to write, direct, and star in a television drama? Eddie Alpert!

I had never used Premier Pro so I decided to read this book before starting. When I sat down to import my first footage I was plesantly surprised at how much I had retained. Its written in a very visual way that really sticks with you and conveys the concepts going on behind the scenes as well as the actual nuts and bolts of the program. Its written in a logical progression from start to finish that allows new Editors to take it a step at a time. The author spent time where it was needed the most and moved along quickly in areas where the learning curve was easier, encouraging readers to start with solid fundamentals and build from there. I was able to get right into a big project with confidence.

I have read numerous "how to" books on premier pro and editing, in general, but none as well written than this. By well written, I mean that he talks to the reader with the assumption that they know very little. Thus, his explanations and use of analogies are geared towards creating concrete images that one can use in understanding some pretty abstract concepts in editing. He makes the learning very visual. So, I would say this is an excellent book for visual learners. Despite the use of a great deal of text, he explains the processes in concrete visual terms so that you can better grasp and retain the concepts. Very well done.

OK I admit it, most of my work is done on a Mac. But I do keep a fully loaded PC in my editing bay for jobs that require PC apps. One of those apps I keep on board and up to date it Premiere.

What caught my eye about this book was the Editing Workshop concept.
This book not only benefits Premiere Pro editors, but editors in general.

I loved the illustrations in Chapter 5 on Trimming. You took the time to draw it out to describe Handles. A subject that causes many students much consternation.

Good job.

Had used Premiere Pro for an 18 minute project and had some of the major concepts down already. Knew my way around the interface a bit, but found that I really didn't feel comfortable, and knew that there was alot of stuff beneath the surface that I could really use. I have several premiere pro books that are really just manual replacements and I didn't want one more step by step "do this, then this" hand holding books. I wanted to get a handle on how to get my projects done and what tools Premier Pro had to help me.
The book covered all the bases: Acquistion, rough cut, tim, sound, effects, color correction and even some basic integration with other products.
I found the Editing Worksop to be a pleasure to read, and it gave me a much firmer foundation on how this NLE works, and what is really happening to my clips along the way. It is a great book for the beginner to intemediate user. I still find myself going back to reread sections as I work or as I read more advanced books. The book is clear, concise and well illustrated. Many illustrations are well thought out and designed to illustrate concepts rather than just pages of screen shots. The book manages to give a very comprehensive grasp of all the major features, without becoming lost in useless detail. Not the last Premiere Pro book you will own, but one of the best, and the one you should read first.

When I purchase a book like this, I am always hoping that it will be a one-stop, exhaustive resource for the application. A lofty goal? Maybe. However, this text falls utterly short of providing an in-depth look at Premiere Pro. I am the proud owner of many volumes in the CMP Books, DV Expert Series. Most of them are excellent, this one is unsatisfactory. It describes only the basics, and I mean the basics. It is not much more than a user-friendly owners manual. I've actually found the Help resource within Premiere Pro to be more informative. This book is only good for the first two weeks you are using the program. After you are acclimated to the interface and common operations you will shelve it and scour the internet for tutorials or tips specific to your needs. An editor that is serious about his work, needs to know his software from top to bottom. Otherwise, the scope of his creativity is curtailed due to an innadequate knowledge of process. Let me stress that this book is only worthwhile to the most inexperienced editors and users new to the Adobe Product line. In addition, the DVD is total garbage. Most volumes in the DV Epert Series have pretty decent bonus/tutorial material. This one does not.

On the positive side - No gripes about the writing style, after all I'm looking for industry professionals here, not poets. It will get you up and running if you are brand new to Premiere Pro.

Overall - Would not recommend this text.

IF you grew up loving Disney and you like pop-up books, you'll love this book. The art work is exceptional. I am an adult who collects pop-up books to share with my grand children. I share them as I feel pop-ups are to be appreciated and not torn up. All ages sit in amazement when looking at this book.

More than I expected! Actually bought it for my daughter who is an English teacher. This was one of the books on her Christmas list. Buy it if you can!

Having just returned from Disneyland with my two granddaughters age 4 and 7, this was the "quintessential Disney"...it will continue to bring back the memories of our visit and the pop-up is just fantastic. It is not however, a book for the little ones to use without guidance....the pop-ups need a little help and little hands probably wouldn't work. It's worth the wait though, for now, we look at it together.

This book is pretty simple, 5 pop-up pages of scenes from different Disney classics from the Walt Disney era. All representing what the author explains as the "quintessential elements of Walt and his work" - romance (Lady and the Tramp), adventure (Peter Pan), friendship (Bambi), fantasy (Pinocchio), and music (Snow White).

Each pop up page has a fold-out excerpt about the movie and it's element.

It's a really nice book, and definately deserves a place in your Disney book collection.

NOTE: the cover is nothing like what Amazon shows. It is a bi-fold hardcover, with black and white images of the 5 animated films. The cover/fold has a magnent so it stays shut (nicely done, too).

A beautiful, clever and well engineered book. Minus one star for it is missing some of the best classic moments especially Cinderella magically transforming into her ball gown.

Andy Beach's "Real World Video Compression" is a must-read for all media professionals who deal with video, and is a great primer for novices getting into podcasting, home movie editing, or web video posting. Andy takes a highly complex subject and converts it into an easy-to-read format, demystifying the shroud of confusion that normally surrounds the subject of video compression. Historical overviews of video on the web, compression programs, and media players help the reader gain a better understanding and appreciation for where the market has been and where it is going. Sprinkled throughout the book, there are little gems that every reader will want to note- things like bit budgeting, links to free downloadable aspect ratio calculators, and tips for the "handoff" between your non-linear editor and compression program, which can assist even the most advanced users in streamlining their processes.

If you have ever tried to find a simple and up-to-date book on the basic how-to's of video compression, your search was probably unsuccessful. Andy found the same thing and decided to do something about it. Fortunately, he is well qualified to do exactly what needed to be done about it. Although the permanency of a physical book is maybe not the best delivery mode suited for the kind of information contained in "Real World Video Compression," he still provides some great content that will be useful until the realm of video compression changes drastically. And that is nowhere in the foreseeable future. Until then those who have wasted hours of time compressing and re-compressing their videos in order to get the file size under ten megs (My hand is raised) can pick up Andy's book and learn better techniques to help them reach their goals.

Great book. What jumps out is that there is an art to video compression -- this is more than a how to book or compression for dummies book or a long tome that recites MPEG standards. What I really liked about it was the way the author describes things in language that is easy to understand. Another great feature of the book is the section on compressionists today. Great interview with Ben Waggoner, a national expert from Microsoft who really understands what it takes to bring digital video to the web... Highly recommend this book.

This book provides an excellent overview of video compression. For someone just entering the field of video compression or for an experienced professional looking for a refresher covering just about all facets of the technology, this is a great book. There are many useful references to the various compression software packages that are currently available. The content is comprehensive and reasonably detailed and the writing style is such that reading this book is quite enjoyable. I highly recommend this book.

If you are new to video compression or simply looking for the latest in the industry, this book is a must have. For all of the technical issues that are discussed, it is surprisingly easy reading. Resources are abundantly identified, and the flow of content is superb. How soon until we get the sequel?

Excellent resource for getting up to speed on compression. Not a detailed step by step guide for every situation but rather an overview of the current standards, codecs, players, encoding software, as well as the general principles of compression. I think it gives a good level of detail for a complicated subject. It provides mostly general principles and then a few points of guidance pertaining to individual software titles. I think I personally would have preferred more detail on certain areas, say compressing for DVD and mobile, and cut out the interviews with compressionists.

I would also quibble with the $44.99 retail price. Publishers are making it so you must buy your books online.

This is it, this is what jump started my interest in Anime. I lived in a small town as a kid, with very little access to anything cool, and no comic shops, not even a mall. My only exposure to anime was voltron, and robotech. Because I didn't know what they were, and we didn't have a vcr, I couldn't really follow them, only faint memories. Then I moved to the big city, and in the 9th grade someone brought this book to class. I borrowed it, and....well he didn't get that book back for a long time. That became my Robotech bible. Toward the end of the book it would give you just enough of a hint that there was so much more than Robotech, and from there on the rest is history. I consider myself very fortunate to have seen such an awesome book at such an early age, and since the video tapes were super scarce (block buster only had the 1st 3 video's). For Robotech it's great, it gives reviews of every single episode, the artwork is fantastic, the back has great character sketches and descriptions. Then a history of the series and how it was brought over to the U.S. I highly recommend this book to old and new fans alike. Buy it now, they don't make them anymore!

While the book is called "Robotech _Art_ I", the meat of it is actually a 138-page episode guide, summarizing each of the 85 installments with crisp writing and ample detail. These summaries are set against well-reproduced original cels from the series (or, when necessary, promotional artwork or even screen-shots [see p. 95]).

Also included are three chapters with character biographies set against animators' model sheets, some mecha designs, and a final chapter tracing "Robotech"s origins both as a shining example of Japan's "anime"... and as a case of US TV business expediency (the "show" is actually THREE Japanese programs, edited and rewritten to appear to be one huge saga). For this latter reason, anime purists will balk at the book, just as they dismiss the series as a bastardization.

Nevertheless, if you like "Robotech", this book offers a nice memento, and a glimpse into its unique background. If you can find it, grab it

If you are looking for the definitive episode guide to Robotech as aired in the US by Harmony Gold, this is the book for you. IT has detailed synopses of all 85 episodes from the beginnning of the Macross saga, through the Southern Cross saga, to the end of the Invid Invasion saga. The art is mostly cels from the original Japanese version of the series. It also has a brief history of Anime releases in the US up to this point (around 1986). It is well worth the effort to obtain a copy. If you like Robotech in particular, or anime in general, this book is a treasurehouse of the genre.

This beautiful oversized art book showcases the incredibly talent and genius behind Robotech. It features a comprehensive episode guide as well as character and mecha profiles for each of Robotech's generations. The only place I think this books falls flat(why it doesn't get five stars) is the character biographies. Being a big fan of the show and the series of novels devoted to it, I can't help but feel that some of the characters were omitted. Granted, this book was published in 1986, and the novels hadn't been published yet, and some of those characters were created in those later novels..but what about Lang? Or Carpenter? Or Komodo? Or Dennis, Nova's one time love? The list goes on... Anyway, aside from those small flaws, this book is an excellent resource dedicated to a superb animated series, and worth tracking down if you are a Robotech fan.

Ever since it first aired, I've been a Robotech fanboy. I was already into sci-fi, and the 'space-opera' style of the series just reeled me in. I was also pleasantly surprised at how it stood apart from the other 'toons I watched in those days. The stories were more mature. People died, even some of the marquee characters. It became my all-time favorite animated series, and is still to this day, in my opinion, the best anime that has ever hit the U.S. shores.

Robotech Art 1 is one of the best additions to my fanboy collection. Not only does it have synopses of every episode, it also gives general details of the various vehicles and equipment that you see in the series. It also has character biographies of the "stars" as well as some of the second-stringers, though not as in-depth as I'd prefer. It's also well illustrated with 'stills' from the series as well as production sketches.

Art 1 also details Robotech's creation and evolution. It tells you about how three totally unrelated Japanese anime series were re-worked and edited into the legendary saga. It discusses the future plans of Robotech projects that ultimately failed.

But to me the best part of this book is the last chapter. It's a brief history of Japanese anime from the fifties to 1985, as well as myriad attempts to adapt and edit various anime series for U.S. viewing, many of which met with varying degrees of success or failure. You also get a glimpse of how an anime series is made, and the fundamental differences between the Japanese and Western styles and methods of animation.

Unfortunately, the one thing that Robotech Art 1's got going against it is that it's been out of print for several years, and has become extremely hard to find. It took me several months to track down a copy of it, but in the end it was worth it.

Sometimes, the thrill is in the chase...

Shrek: From the Swamp to the Screen
Well, as the ultimate Shrek fan, I thought this one was a great buy! It doesn't include all of the Shrek movies. The book talks a little about characters, design, and other animation aspects. And actually, a lot of the content (sketches and notes etc.) are shown on the DVD extras. Still, I like the book form better because you're more free to go at your own pace (but if you're reading this, you're probably already a book person so that's moot I guess.)
But over all, I was very pleased with the book as both a book on an animated film and about Shrek. Perfect for anyone who's a fan of animation,

Me encantó! Ideal para los fanáticos de las dos películas!
Hermosas ilustraciones a todo color y muy buena información técnica y no tanto sobre cómo se hicieron las dos películas.

I recieved this book as a birthday present. It's not a gift I regret recieving or reading, but I wouldn't spend that much money to buy it.

PROS:
-The pictures are gorgeous, all of my favorite moments are included
-The sidebar conversations with characters are pretty funny
-Easy navigation, side articles on interesting aspects of production

CONS:
-If this book had none of the above, it would be a really boring novel
-Very few comments about anything beyond the first visualization and storyboard sessions.
-Very few side stories, or funny anecdotes after the third chapter

If you want to read a good movie book, read Lord of the Rings: Making of a Movie Trilogy... They have great stories from the directors, designers, and even lawyers. Very entertaining, well worth the time.

This is a great book all about the rude humor filled animated movies from Dreamworks. It is necessary for any die-hard Shrek fan. This tells the story of how the movie got done, with little facts and full color photos from the movies. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the Shrek movies, this book is a great experience.

This is a sensational book which covers the idea of Shrek, both movies Shrek 1 & 2 as well as behind the scenes stuff such as animation techniques and so forth. You will learn all sorts of interesting trivia such as the sequel was originally going to be an election for the throne with candidates such as Pinocchio's policies being about honesty. This is a very high quality book with nice paper making up the 173 pages, the makers haven't skimped on the quality at all, with heaps of illustrations and actual still frames from the movies it would make a sensational gift for any Shrek fan. You do want to make sure you have seen both movies first because the book does go extremely detailed into the plots of both, it is an excellent book, there's not really anything negative that could be said about it. It is a great book which will provide hours of enjoyment.