Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, Second Edition for $7.00

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This book should have been a required text book for school (in any film production course)! I really could have used this when we shot our student short film (,000 budget) on Super 16 film; the whole experience itself was a great learning experience, but if I had this book for support, I would have felt more comfortable on what I needed to do and to expect from other crew members.

This book breaks down everything in detail from start to finish; getting the idea, budget (has humor about catering of not just offering pizza because it would end up being a "pizza film" and definitely have salad -- very true! need to keep the crew happy), getting crew members, what each crew member specifically needs to do, figuring out the whole production and style of the film, the audio, workflow, etc. It's organized and it has samples, templates, some black and white pictures, and many great advices/quotes.

The book may be a little too overwhelming to a total beginner -- there is a lot of information -- but if filmmaking is your passion, you'll love it. For me, it is currently the Bible of how to make films.

It's imperative to have good teamwork and communication in filmmaking; even if you're not going to be the director/producer, it's very beneficial to know what every department does.

It's definitely a must have for students planning on making a film. It's more guidance than my professors ever really explained in my years of taking film classes (sad, but true).

I don't know if this was a mistake, but I was a little confused here:
on page XIX, it says "(see Figure 1.1 for producer's responsibilities)" but I don't see any other 1.1 figure besides on page 4 of "two hungry diners, from The Lunch Date."

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"Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, Second Edition" Overview

Considered by many to be the definitive book on the subject, Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, Second Edition clearly illustrates all of the steps involved in preproduction, production, postproduction, and distribution. Its unique two-fold approach looks at filmmaking from the perspectives of both producer and director, and explains how their separate energies must combine to create a successful short film or video-all the way from script to final product. This guide offers extensive examples from two award-winning short narrative films (Lunch Date and Truman) and one short documentary (Mirror Mirror), and includes insightful quotes from the filmmakers themselves describing the problems they encountered and how they solved them.

This edition expands on the director's role in pre-visualizing a project, aided by the addition of more than 50 new photos and illustrations. Issues such as storyboarding, lighting, and composition are addressed in detail. Other additions and enhancements include a discussion of the evolving role of digital technology on all aspects of production from script to screen.

Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, Second Edition is accompanied by a companion website (www.focalpress.com/companions) containing useful forms and information on grants and financing sources, distributors, film and video festivals, film schools, internet sources for short works, and professional associations.

Whether you're a student or an independent filmmaker, this practical guide will demystify the process, and help you to develop and sharpen your skills as you tackle the challenges of making a short film or video.

Unique approach looks at the process from both the producer and the director's point of view

This edition includes significant revisions and updates to the study of post-production, and the evolving role of digital technology

Companion website offers useful forms plus information on grants and financing sources, distributors, internet sources, and more

Customer Reviews

Exhaustive overview of the entire process - Jason - NC, USA
I've read many books on creating short films and directing.

This book is more about the theory and a higher level understanding of the "how to"... and I love it.

I got so many ideas from reading this book, things that never quite clicked before that now do.

I've spent some time helping local businesses create commercials for their company, and after reading this book and learning some of the more advanced techniques, it's going to change how I approach things.

The part about having everything have a "mini story" is just so enlightening that it changes how I approach everything.

I'm still slowly working away at a script for an animation, and it's books like these that cause me to never complete it (you just get so many ideas and ways to improve things).

This is the kind of book that you'll read and gain some tip or insight that'll change how you approach something.

I recommend picking up this book if you're new to producing films and directing. You'll get a great sense of what is required, tips and tricks on things to implement, and be well on your way to producing impressive digital shorts.

This isn't the only book you'll ever need, but it is one HECK of a start. Especially if you're learning this in your spare time (like me), and piecing together things as you go along. This book is a real eye opener, and can't recommend it enough for budding film makers.

(Both those who wish to produce live action films or digital shorts).

A textbook reference rather than a home video editor's guide - Damodar Chetty - Minnesota, US [www.swengsol.com]
Before I begin, let me admit that I mistook this title to be one of the many how-tos on home video production. This is anything but.

It is not an understatement to say this is as complete a treatment of the art of movie making as I have ever encountered and is geared towards the serious student of professional film making. Unfortunately, I'm at most a dabbler in the art.

Fortunately for me, I'm an avid fan of cinema, and so this book did give me a deeper glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes of movie-making - a lot deeper than what the "Making Of" snippets that I'd find on movie discs.

For instance, in the chapter that covers the actor, you learn how stand-ins work to help you practice your camera movements, the importance of keeping your actor comfortable, and how to help guide your actor to perform (tight shots require less performance, and guiding an actor's eye line), and how apple boxes can be used to make an actor seem taller. In addition, you see how the assistant director creates "mini-stories" for the background characters in a scene (such as a crowded bar) so as to create a natural looking scene within which the primary and secondary characters perform. What's cool is that I didn't realize that the extras in such scenes are simply required to mime their actions (such as laugh without making a sound). The actual sound is added back in during post production.

As you can tell, there's a wealth of information in this book - but make no mistake - it's neither a coffee table book, nor is it a casual read. It feels and reads (and even weighs) like a textbook, and would be brilliant when used in a course.

Happy Reading!
~Damodar

Fine textbook for serious filmmaking and videography students - Jim -
In addition to looking inside Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video via Amazon's "look inside this book" feature, you can look at quite a bit more of the 3rd edition at Google books.

The authors are Associate Professors at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and their book is an excellent textbook for introducing informal DIY and formal in-school students to the complexities of producing and directing short films and videos. (The 3rd, 2006 edition of PDSFV is the sole required textbook for a course in film production taught by Terry Linehan for the Film Studies department of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.)

The textbook is comprehensive as a glance at the table of contents indicates, and it is a book to be used for serious ongoing study and reference - to compliment actual work on a project (enter "the School of Hard Knocks" and "efficio cognosio," "learn by doing," as the authors emphasize in the preface to the 4th edition) - rather than for a cover-to-cover word-for-word read through (which isn't to say that someone with more focus, discipline, energy and ability to quickly absorb large quantities of information than I couldn't do that with benefit).

The book is about 8 1/2 x 11 and lays open flat. It does not include a DVD but does give readers access to a companion website (where one must register with a user name and password and enter a passcode from the book) that includes links to several short videos as well as their scripts (in doc. format).

Another excellent book from Focal Press for the serious student of filmmaking and/or videography.

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