Books on Movie Making
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THE CREAM OF THE CROP
If you can only afford seven
books these are the books to have in order
of importance. And I'll start with my April 2007 digital eBook. If you can only afford one get this one. I put everything I wish I'd known when I started out in it. Digital Filmmaking 101--this inspiring
instructional book is so much
fun you'll wish there were more like it. Film Directing Shot by
Shot
has everything you'll need for learning how to set up shots--this book
is cram-packed with material, so much so, I still have some to
read--but everything I've learned about shots I got from this
book. Maybe more important than the first two is The Complete
Independent Movie Marketing Handbook because if you don't have a
marketing plan what are you
going to do with your movie--every review about it is a rave--Bosko
makes the selling of your movie sound like fun--and it would not be a
bad idea to read this before you make your movie. Feature
Filmmaking at Used Car Prices is another inspirational
gem--though it covers
film more than dv--it includes essentials not covered elsewhere.
I read a very silly review of this book that said Rick Schmidt had
never made a movie of note so didn't have the right to write such a
book--who cares, Rick is an excellent teacher. And I'm including
Lighting for Digital Video, a book I just purchased, because I realize
my own failings in my first movies as far as lighting went. This
is almost an advanced book--you'll be using the glossary if you are a
beginner--but it is the best book on lighting I've seen. And also
Producing Great Sound for Digital Video for the same reason.
|
This is my new E-book. With everything I learned making Knaptid. Sort of a what not to do. If you can't afford much this 49 cent book will help you get started. |
MORE GOOD BOOKS
Okay now for next level of
books. The IFILM Digital Video
Filmmaker's Handbook (with
dvd) is pregnant with material and was the first book I read on digital
filmmaking ( and I understand there is a new edition). Of equal
interest and covering the same material with slightly better graphics
is The Digital Filmmaking Handbook (with cd). The cd includes
samples of
special effects software--and book shows how to create many effects. I
find, however, I refer back to the Digital Video book more often for
references--as it names microphone brands, etc. One problem with
these books is by the time they are printed some of the technical
material is already dated. So I recommend Filmmaker magazine
which is a must just to keep up with the ads for the
latest equipment. (Macintosh user magazines also have great
equipment ads, including cameras, best to browse them on the magazine
rack--don't buy a camera without checking the prices at the discount
houses advertising here.)
For loads of
additonal information read What They Don't Teach You At Film School
which discusses such things how your feelings might
affect your promotional efforts--but don't take any love advice from
these ladies. If you are going to try film festivals then
read The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide and with this book buy
the latest
edition if you can afford it so you get updated festival info--you can
also check out "www.withoutabox.com" for current festival
info. For special effects get Secrets Of Hollywood Special
Effects
and/or Creating Special Effects for TV and Movies. (There is far less overlap in these two
special
effects books than you would imagine-only the pyrotechnic sections come
close to repetition.) but skip firing squibs off on
actors go to
http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/blood/index.html
for a great
alternative. I included my own how-to version of this technique
as an added feature on my Knaptid--4 Days After the First Abduction DVD
listed below.
Other books of interest are The
Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint covering many
aspects of moviemaking--though with a very British slant. And for
reading in the loo--303 Digital Filmmaking Solutions with 303 short
sections
that you can use as a reference or just read when you have time to
kill--it is loaded with tips such as letting actors wear (wireless)
mics in the screen test to foresee problems such as the actor obviously
talking into the mic. Another gem I discovered in my public
library is Making A Winning Short--this author is inspiring as well
as informative.
WRITING
I was at a lecture by Lew Hunter
and happened to mention to the woman
sitting next to me that I used Lew's book SCREENWRITING 434 in
the fiction writing classes I taught, because both the fiction and
screenwriting students loved it. Turned out it was Lew's wife,
and I got to meet Lew. There are so many screenwriting books--and when
I was teaching I got free samples of all of them --but I have to pick
this one--it just gets your mind going on what "you" can do.
Robert
McKee's book I believe is the bestselling book on
screenwriting. I found it too much for those who want to dream
and intellectualize about screenwriting--than for those who want to
screenwrite. Syd Field is terrific. His books were my only
guide when I made my first major sale to the television show
WISEGUY. The ARTIST'S WAY is not for everyone. I
assigned it in my adult writing classes at the Univeristy of Montana
along with SCREENWRITING 434. About a third couldn't get into
ARTIST'S WY. However, it inspired me to write often enough to
actually start selling fiction on a regular basis. This is not a
book about writing (though Cameron is a filmmaker), but about getting
yourself to actually do whatever art you want to do. And if my
classes are typical it will work for 66% of you.
FOR INSPIRATION
For inspiration there is, of
course, Rebel Without A Crew.
But I loved The Making of The Wizard of Oz and what the
poor witch and her double suffered for special effects is
frightening. Inside Giligan's Island is a hilariously
funny book on how to play it tough and win in Hollywood--a great
read. One DVD you should see is American Movie though,
personally, I find the profanity overdone.
WRITING SOFTWARE PLUS
I've chosen Final Draft to replace
WordPerfect on my Mac.
Since my first sale to Wiseguy (you can catch my single contribution to
the show as the extra feature on Wiseguy Sonny Steelgrave and the Mob
I've been
using WordPerfect with macro's I created for screen
formating--unfortunately WordPerfect doesn't work well with Macintosh
OS X. I've been using an old Mac Performa for writing. So I
exported my lastest effort from WordPerfect as a text file, then
imported it into Final Draft on my iMac, and, I only needed a few minor
adjustments for the script to be formatted perfectly. Final Draft
is amazing! If you can't afford Final Draft or it's
equivalents I suggest you do a seach for "screenwriting software" on
the internet. There are some inexpensive programs out there. I
picked this Final Draft 7 Bundle for all the extras.
ADVANCED READING
If you buy Apple Computer's wonderful
Final Cut the tutorial will get
you started. But if you're lucky enough to also be able to afford
Photoshop you'll want to read Photoshop for Digital Video. You
will
need to have Photoshop to be able to use this
interactive book. (Tip: Buy an earlier version of Photoshop and
upgrade--you'll save a bundle.)
DVD COMMENTARY
Finally, for director commentary's on
filmmaking on dvd I recommend El Mariachi and my own Knaptid-Four Days
After the First Abduction. For
Knaptid the commentary is directed at filmmakers instead of a general
audience and I’ve tried to include as much of what I learned while
making the film as possible--such as what to do when your actress can't
drive standard shift and it's the only car available. The Knaptid DVD
also includes a four minute tutorial on how-to realistically fake
bullet hits on actors without dangerous squibs. You'll find a
link to Knaptid as well as my other movies at
"http://dfcurran.com" One fictional movie about moving making
also stands out Living in Oblivion. In fact there is a lot
of info in this movie for first time producers, directors, etc.
Like picking up the cast to make sure they arrive on time.
Some
more books on directing..

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