Hello.
I'm looking for some suggestions for good books about directing films. I've looked at all these HOW TO SHOOT AN INDEPENDENT GUERILLA FILM FOR CHEAP kind of books. I'm not interested in marketing, or how the film industry works, or what people to call, or all that crap. I just want to learn basic camera work, lighting, directing, pitfals, things to avoid, you know. I come from a writer background and I'm want something about MAKING movies - not selling them. I don't want dumbed down stupid shit like the Dummies books. I want the best book, the most elitist book! Yes, In my experience if you're thrown into the deep water you'll learn faster. I don't want to go thru alotta cliches that common sense already tells me. Does such books exists? DP stuff, editing stuff, sound stuff would be great too.
Thanks.
― monkchild (monkchild), Sunday, 13 June 2004 12:21 (nineteen years ago) link
Andre Bazin: 'What is Cinema?'
Robert Bresson: 'Notes on the Cinematographer'
Josef von Sternberg: 'Fun in a Chinese Laundry'
― Enrique (Enrique), Sunday, 13 June 2004 17:13 (nineteen years ago) link
Bernstein (?),
Film ProductionSpecialist books for basic knowledge on cinematography, editing, and sound each separately.
Otherwise, just fucking start doing shit. Do some shorts. Be willing and accepting of mistakes, provided you do what you can in your knowledge/power to avoid them.
Shoot on film, not DV. If you're financing it, I'd recommend cheaper stocks (R8, S8, 16mm, maybe reversal instead of negative, or b/w instead of color). The "great thing" (ie problem) with video is that you can just shoot, shoot, and shoot. Which both makes for an editing room nightmare (how the fuck do I get through all this shit?) and also keeps you from thinking creatively and on-your-feet (ie - I need to just get this this this angle vs. just shoot it all and we'll figure it out later). In theory, you can shoot video like film, but in my experience, it doesn't work that way. I also generally am much more happy as an editor, for the most part, when I have only 20 minutes of film vs. 3 hours of videotape.
Aim for the skies but don't fear failure. That's as simple as I can put it.
― Girolamo Savonarola, Sunday, 13 June 2004 18:00 (nineteen years ago) link
one month passes...
Great book that covers all the bases for how films communicate, it will help you know how and WHY: "How To Read A Film" by Monaco. Well written, entertaining, full of visual examples, light reading but incredibly descriptive of very abstract ideas.