Video Books

Very clear explanations. Found it really easy to understand and apply to my own business. You could breeze through this book in a week by spending a few hours on it a day.

This book explores a whole different side of chemical engineering. Useful as a reference but some of the problems are extremely difficult. Overall good book

This is a well written text on the subject with the subject matter well presented. Another feature is the CD. Excellent spreadsheets.

it is good book come with student guide with the half price, good deal thank you amazon

This book gave me a lot of great ideas for the Second Life platform. I had no idea of the type of businesses that were in Second Life. Now that I have an idea of how to purchase land and have seen the various software applications being used to create product, I plan on experimenting with it for the next 90 days or so. From there, I'm going to continue using the platform to launch my Second Life business. This Book is fabulous!

Lanesa Stubbs

outstanding. this step-by-step guide is well-written, informative, and easy to navigate. the structure of the book allowed me to get straight to the topics i was interested in - it's clearly laid out and having first-hand advice from residents/experts was extremely useful and gave me confidence - there's a great chapter on Setting Up Shop, for example. It's a comprehensive how-to that makes the metaverse accessible to everyone.

This book is a great way to learn about the many financial opportunities that await you in Second Life. The layout is clean and colorful, the examples shown are interesting and inspiring, and it is a good examination of Second Life overall. The lessons ignite the imagination...where would I like to concentrate my efforts as an entrepreneur? What does it really take to make a business successful? How have others done it, and what can I learn from their experiences? Terdiman did his homework on this project and the guide provides a realistic look at what it would take to create your dream career.

Entrepreneur's Guide to Second Life: Making Money in the Metaverse

I figured this would be a useful book because when I was interviewed for it the questions were in-depth, thoughtful, and non-fluffy. And it turns out that the book is even better than I expected. This is a GREAT book for anyone who wants to start an in-world Second Life business, or for someone who wants to improve their existing business. I would have turned a profit quicker if I'd had it when I was a newbie!

This book is pretty thorough in covering all the aspects of digital cinematography, such as what the production process looks like, how to construct a compelling story, camera direction, lighting..... The sections on Lighting are especially thorough and very much tailored for the "Digital" part of Digital Cinematography, with easy to follow examples of how to create different lighting schemes in a 3D environment. Also, the artist spotlights on professionals working in the animation industry are very good to read as they add other insights and help you understand how they think and use this information. With most of the educational art books that I look for, good visuals are very important, and this book doesn't dissappoint. Great examples of 3D animation to illustrate the points of the book.

Exploring Digital Cinematography is the perfect source to inspire or inform those looking to leap into the fields of animation and film. From those with little to no experience to those with countless numbers of years in the field, this book provides detailed knowledge about topics such as color theory, cameras, and lighting that will help pave the way to create a visual masterpiece. Mr. Donati provides plenty of pictorial guidance to help ease students into learning the subject material. He also provides some hard truths that few beginners to the field realize before making the decision to enter animation. One specific overtone to this book that makes it a great reference is that animators are film makers and artists first. There is no way around that. Make great films, animation, and art with the help of this book. Highly recommended.

This book is a great resource for animation instructors or anyone looking to improve their skills as an animator. As the title indicates, it is built around the premise that good animators are first and foremost filmmakers--a fact that few budding animators consider. Donati walks readers through the entire animation process, and I've used several of the sections in both intro and upper-level classes. It conversational tone makes the text fun to read and there are plenty of graphics to reinforce the lessons. His thorough explanations of color theory, storyboarding and camera work make my lessons in these areas more effective. The accompanying CD-rom is full of helpful material as well, including a fantastic tutorial on 3-point lighting. If every 3D student followed this, there would be no more floating figures hovering above the ground when they should be running on it! Finally there's a book that covers the essential cinematographer's skills as they apply to animators. Strongly recommended.

This book is perfect for anyone hoping to gain a greater understanding of all facets of digital cinematography and producing films/animations.

Super for use in the classroom and personal projects. The thing I like most is that the chapters give a nice basic overview then go into great detail for those that want a lot more.

-Michael

For the first time in a while I was able to read a book without getting bored. It is written on a level that is easy to understand and incorporate in everyday life.

This book is very well written. It is understandable, but not insipid, and is actually quite useful.

When going through school you have books that you keep and you have books that you get rid off (I like everyone else try to sell them and get some money back). This is one of those books that I am keeping. Well written, easy to read.

Great book and easy to follow. It definitely peaked my interest the whole time.

This book has helped me so much on Falcon 4,science it is A VERY COMPLICATED SIM!

The Falcon 4.0 Simulator (*not* a game) is a very good facsimile of an F-16 and its operating environment. The sim manual is very comprehensive and very good, but this book should be required reading if you want to further your air-to-air and air-to-ground skills and compete in the campaigns, especially if you fly multi-player. I reference this book and review the tactical concepts constantly.

Of particular importance are the anecdotes, or personal *real-life* stories that Pete presents at the head of each section. These are more than just "war" stories, they are stories with an important lesson to be learned, and they apply to the *virtual-life* experiences that you'll have in the sim. If you fly Falcon 4.0, you need this book.

5 stars eh? yeah the book deserves more than five if you ask me.If you thought that manual was huge this would look very thin in front of it but boy o boy it sure have a punch in it.What can i say more it really improved my games and now i am enjoying the game more and more Thanx Peter And James for such an excellent book

Written by Pete "BOOMER" Bonanni and Jamie "LINUS" Reiner, 2 actual F-16 pilots gives this book an even more authentic feel and there true experiences they share with the reader sure give you an idea of the tough job a Viper pilot has. The book is well thought out with 25 chapters and 7 appendix's devoted to all areas of the sim. It will surely add to your enjoyment of Falcon 4.0 ORDER IT NOW!!!

The RCA CED VideoDisc system is barely mentioned in this book, but it does provide a comprehensive history of video tape formats, with an emphasis on how RCA and other American manufacturers let VCR production slip through their fingers. Besides covering the Betamax and VHS tape formats, the book also deals with other obscure tape formats like CV-2000, U-matic, EVR, InstaVision, Cartrivision, AutoVision, V-Cord, HoloTape, and MagTape. The last several chapters of the book deal extensively with the landmark Universal vs. Sony lawsuit.

This is a great book for those who think that Japanese firms somehow misbehaved in overtaking the U.S. electronics industry. It is also one book that the founders of Apple should have read. By keeping it for itelf, Sony seems to have insured the demise of the superior beta format!

This book is so relevant to the time we live in now its silly. All the IP issues that are argued ad nauseum about ... and its ilk have all been hashed out 20 years ago. Even some of the players were the same, such as our old friend Jack Valenti and Sony (who were on the other side at the time!) The IP parts are great, but the history of the BETA vs VHS battles are also very illuminating and the stories about the Sony engineers and early failed attempts at VCRs are fascinating.

Techno junkies will love this book. Order it....

It happens all the time. Here we go again. Pick a winner and win a prize. Here is a wonderful history book about new media, and the string of failures including CBS's EVR, RCA's Holotape and MagTape, Sony's U-Matic (it was intended to be a consumer device, but was an accidental hit in the professional market, not unlike IBM's PC) and Betamax, Discovision, Cartrivision, V-Cord, and the ultimate winner, JVC's Video Home System. It explains why the Japanese decided to fight it out in the marketplace with competing 1/2" tape systems, and has lots of coverage of the Betamax Case, which has important implications not only in Freedom of Speech and Copyright Law, but in the politics of Muchomedia. Many of the questions we struggle with in Modern Muchomedia tripped up these guys a decade earlier.

McFarland & Co. have published many fine books on film folks, and this is one of my favorites. Not only because I'm a big fan of the Lewton productions, but it's a brilliantly written book. Lewton was responsible for some of the best so-called Horror movies ever made, like "I Walked With A Zombie", "The Body Snatcher" and "Curse Of The Cat People". -All favorite films of mine. The book naturally covers all the famous thrillers, but it also tells the story of his relatively short life. I especially like the anecdote about how Lewton apparently once tossed away the script for "Gone With The Wind", calling it sentimental trash !. -Way to go, Val - I couldn't agree more. Lewton really knew what it took to make a good and eerie movie full of atmosphere, but film-makers of today sadly seem to have forgotten all about this. -Suspense is not something you can SEE, it's something you're supposed to FEEL. Director Robert Wise later showed what he learned in the "Lewton school", when he gave us the original "The Haunting". Director Jan De Bont recently showed us he didn't pay attention in his class. He, and everybody else ought to read this wonderful book.

"Fearing the Dark" represents all that is Ed Bansak. Beautifully crafted with an almost poetic flair, Bansak fearlessly delves into the dark and mysterious realm of horror and film noir, opening its secrets and laying them out for the reader with the deft hand of a true authority on the subject. Celebrated as one of the premier texts on the topic, this book is an invaluable source for any interested in the darker side of film. Fear not viewers! Bansak will deliver you from the things that go bump in the night.

People have all praised the book, but have said very little about the author, the true reason behind the greatness of the book. Mr. Bansak was my teacher in high school, and made my 7:30 AM A block class, the last semester of my senior year, actually enjoyable. This guy knows his stuff about movies and manages to explain it all extremely well, being both entertaining and educational. Rock on Mr. B!

This book has been out of print for a good many years. Still, if you logged onto this entry, you must be a fan, a TRUE fan. Since you are, this book is certainly for you, adding a little personal information on a producer who absorbed and delivered the sensitive, innovative, and intelligent work that most horror profiteers can't. The concept of producer is misleading and mostly boring. Often, the producer is the guy who pays for the filmed project - a guy who considers the money angle, considers the production costs, and goes home at the end of the day. (Mr. Jerry 'Pearl Harbor' Bruckheimmer I'm looking at you. Shame on you....) Other times there are 'producers' who are assigned by movie studios to deliver the movie on time, and on budget. Val Lewton was one of those producers, given an assignment, and always a subordinate of the RKO film system.

Yeah, it was/is a bad system, but there are & were producers who not only 'oversaw' film but were a creative part of those same projects. There have been so FEW of them. Val Lewton was one of them.

What a legacy. Val Lewton's productions had a talented staff and even better directors. Considering the budget of those epic films ('Cat People', its sequel, 'The Body Snatcher)it's astonishing how vital these films are. I don't have alloted time to tell you, but Carol Reed's 'The Third Man,' Hitchcock's 'Psycho' shower scene, and many other films owe a debt to Lewton's creative influence. Val Lewton created a profound influence that's here with us today. But you already know that. That's why you clicked on to my review. Buy this book.

I was taking a intro to audio class and my teacher who worked in the sound industry has recommended this book for all kinds of reasons. Starting from story boarding to angle shots and sounds, and all kinds of very interesting information that just cannot be covered by me talking.

Very awesome book and whoever is in the industry should try using it.

This book is excellent for the fundemental understanding of film and its various stages. It allows readers to look at films through the eyes of filmmakers and critics alike. It simply allows you to understand how films work, as well as provide a summerized yet thorough hisotry of early film all over the world. The book provides readers with movie titles that are important in the developement and influence for movies today. Overall, the book is worth every penny for those who are looking for a detailed understanding of film and film history.

We used this as our textbook for a course on "The Art of Film" at my university. It's packed with a lot of great detail, obviously written by someone who knows and loves the subject. The problem is that it's not as well organized as it could be. For example, the authors will make a comment along the lines of "there are three important reasons why X works the way it does." Then you spend the next 28 pages trying to find the three reasons (since you KNOW you're going to be tested on this), which are usually buried among a lot of very interesting details. A few well-placed paragraph and sub-paragraph headings would help alleviate the need to play "where's Waldo" with important concepts.

My other beef isn't so much with the content of the book but with McGraw-Hill's penchant for printing paperback textbooks like this one on the **heaviest** paper they can find. Not that the paper is thicker or more durable or anything, it just weighs a TON. Add a couple of these tomes to your backpack, and it's off to the chiropractor. The paper also has a kind of "sheen" to it that makes it very difficult to read under library lights (most lights, for that matter) due to the glare that appears on the pages. I usually end up holding the book at some odd angle just to be able to see through the bright spots. Obviously, this is not something the authors necessarily have any control over, but I believe it deserves mention.

I would have given this book a rating of 4.5 had that been an option, as the content IS quite good. Over the course of my class, I've been making a list of "movies I must see before I die" based on some of the comments and examples used in this book. As I mentioned above, the biggest problem is organization, and unless you're a student with limited time, this probably wouldn't be an issue.

This is one of the best introductions to film studies. The bulk of the book is about the formal analysis of film, from genre, to editing, staging, sound, and mise-en-scene. Although this is an introductory book, it goes very in-depth into all the formal elements of film-making. All terms are carefully defined with many examples. Film has its own "language," and this book helps readers to understand that language. After reading this book, you will never watch a film in the same way again. It will vastly increase your understanding. The writing is clear, accessible, well-organized, and straightforward. There are also chapters on film production and distribution, and a helpful chapter on film history. Reading a film textbook tends to be an exercise in frustration, since there is so much technical analysis of films that either you haven't seen, or haven't seen recently. The many pictures help with that problem to some extent. The physical size of the book is rather awkward for reading, unless you're sitting at a large desk with the book laid out in front of you. The accompanying CD includes a few very short film clips and some quizzes on the chapter materials.

In this expansive encyclopedia, author Billman offers a comprehensive who's who of Hollywood film choreographers and dance directors from the start of the movie business. Each entry provides a brief biography/perspective of the talent under examination as well as providing their film credits and listing their career contributions in other mediums.

Of particular interest are the author's essays on the history/development of screen dance as techniques, style, and technology impacted how choreographers and dance directors executed their craft in Hollywood productions over the many decades.

A unique treasure trove of information well worth purchasing--and enjoying!

This book will delight you if you love dance in movies. I picked it up out of curiosity and found myself lost in its pages in no time. Even as someone who knows a lot about dancing in the movies, I kept saying "I didn't know that!" as I read through the various biographies. It's most impressive the way the author has cross-referenced the complex relationships between dancers and choreographers. As director of the Academy of Dance on Film, he has access to the "backstory" of how things really happened, and this book is filled with wonderful anecdotes.

This book is a totally unique resource. It contains both a history of dance on film (by decade) and a veritable biographic encyclopedia of film choreographers and dance directors, from the well known to those who should be. Despite the massive research that must have been required for this book, it does not read like an academic tome, but is written in a lively, enjoyable style that makes it difficult to put down. An added bonus are the numerous. and often rare, photographs.

From the review in Dance Spirit Magazine - "When you pick up a copy of Film Choreographers and Dance Directors, you'll wonder how on earth you managed without it. This comprehensive encyclopedia contains biographies and credits for 970 choreographers, who worked on 3,500 films. This 664-page book includes 184 photographs, a decade-by-decade history of dance in movies, and a detailed index."

it's very inspirational for designers to keep this handy. these posters are as good or better than the films.

This is a wonderful book in the series with wonderful reproductions of the posters of the decade. Makes a wonderful gift for someone who loves movies as well as a great coffee table book. Highly recommended

Like the other decade books in this series Film Posters of the 60's is a sensational buy. You could either keep it intact as a collection of posters in a book to show and discuss with friends, or cut the book up and actually have a vast number of posters up on your wall. This book is about a third the size of your standard film poster and most movies are full page colour. Any of them would look great up on the wall.

The 60's bought Sean Connery as James Bond to the screens. Rock stars like The Beatles also made movies. Films like Cool Hand Luke, The Graduate, Dracula, Night of the Living Dead, The Endless Summer, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Ocean?s 11 along with a heap of Westerns and World War movies like The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape have stood the test of time. Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman and others went up on walls for the first time in the 60's and you can put them up again today.

I wasn't born in the 60's but I still know most of these great movies. Buy this book.

Tony Nourmand's "Film posters of the 60's" is a wonderful and colorful coffee table style book that is a great treat to look through. There are many of the classic film poster images of the French New wave, the films of Stanley Kubrick and the classic 007 posters, just to name a few. Film poster collecting is a great adventure and this book reflects that enthusiasm. This book was lovingly organized with great detail. A superb value! Looking forward to future editions.