Customer Reviews

The Beginning Filmmaker's Guide to Directing

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When I first picked up this book I thought it would be a sound read. Well, I was wrong; while not a horrible book it is rather outdated, dealing with such things as Moviolas and splicing film all of which is dissolving from an increasingly technological industry. Also, take a look at some of the films this "filmmaker" has made - Jungle Trap, Exterminator II. I didn't have the courage to watch them, but instead visited the internet movie database, found a review of the latter film by Leonard Maltin, who gave it a rating of "BOMB". As much as I can appreciate the author's experience making movies, I find it silly to be taking advice on how to make films from someone who has been working "in the industry" for over a decade and has not had one commerical, or (apparently) critical success. Even the technical stuff gets old after awhile. Do yourself a favor and go read Robert Rodriguez's Ten Minute Film School (or whatever it's called), and avoid this outdated book, written by someone who really has about as much place giving advice to other filmmakers as I do.

What surprised me most about this book is how much information the author simply gets wrong. Some of it is technical and possibly not that important for a director to know (a cinematorgrapher once told me a famous director I won't name could not even comprehend the basics of photography), but some is fundamental, such as how to handle basic screen direction continuity. Other places the writing isn't clear enough to know whether the author is offering useful advice or not. That said, the book has some merits, including some sensible advice on directing actors. It might be worth while as supplemental reading, provided one takes what is says with a grain of salt, but it would be serious mistake to try to direct a film based only on what is in this book. A much better choice would be Sidney Lumet's Making Movies or Gaspard & Newton's Persistence of Vision (both of these aren't just informative but a real joy to read). Also, pretty much anything by Michael Wiese would merit a look.

Like a lot of movies it has maybe one good scene. Advice on working with actord is basically correct. Advice on how to cut budget is puching it. One thing most people learn is to NOT edit in the camera, but to have a well planned shoot with the option to shoot throw aways. While other authors use award winning, audience pleasing, well-known films, she opted to use less than memorable work.