The Complete Digital Video Guide: A Step-by-Step Handbook for Making Great Home Movies Using Your Digital Camcorder [Hardcover]

Bob Brandon (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest (November 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762106565
• ISBN-13: 978-0762106561
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strunk & White for Digital Video, December 24, 2005

By 

Mark A. Roberts - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Digital Video Guide: A Step-by-Step Handbook for Making Great Home Movies Using Your Digital Camcorder (Hardcover)

Don't end up like me-time wasted at camera store book racks;
fatigue from endless internet book searches. Eliminate the grief. Buy "The Complete Digital Video Guide" by Bob Brandon.

Chapters include: choosing a camera; using your camera; your camera and light; composition; telling a story; capturing sound and pictures; building your story; shooting a personal profile; editing your video.

A professional videographer's lifetime of experience distilled into an essential book. Strunk & White for digital video.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars low information density, June 7, 2008

By 

Robert T. Lewis (ALBANY, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Digital Video Guide: A Step-by-Step Handbook for Making Great Home Movies Using Your Digital Camcorder (Hardcover)

This is a large heavy book that has little really useful information considering its size. Digital Video for Beginners by Colin Barrett is a much better choice.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for the home videographer!, October 25, 2011

By 

KH - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Digital Video Guide: A Step-by-Step Handbook for Making Great Home Movies Using Your Digital Camcorder (Hardcover)

This book is the most detailed book I've found on exactly what I do as a hobby - make home videos of my family. Bob Brandon will show you step by step how to make those home videos more entertaining, exciting, and basically watchable by your family and friends. There was a time when I thought the art of videotaping was pressing the record button and leaving it on until the event was over. The problem with that was if I was filming a 3-hour graduation and mailed the DVD to my family living out of town, they would have to sit through an entire 3-hour graduation on tape without the view ever leaving the stage! I didn't realize it was torture for them, they were probably fast-forwarding through half of the event to get the part when my daughter received her diploma, and then fast forward again to the end. I would even hate to watch my own videos! At first I thought I needed better equipment to make the videos better, but then I realized, maybe I ought to read a quick book on technique before I invested money in equipment which may not solve the problem. The first book I picked up was the shortest and cheapest called, "How to How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck", by Steve Stockman. This book within minutes gave me the information I desperately needed to make my videos more exciting and I improved significantly immediately after reading this book. I honed Steve's technique as I shot more videos and I wanted to read more in depth following the same basic philosophy but in much more detail. I found Bob Brandon's book in the Library and it provided so much detail in such a clear and concise way of everything a home videographer needed to know on everything from choosing a camera, to planning your shoot, all the through editing. When I say detailed instructions, I mean step by step photograph by photograph in simple language of actual projects Bob has done. My favorite was his profile video of his mom. I did research on who Bob Brandon was to see how he was connected to the video industry and was blown away by some of the information I found and respect he has garnered in the television and documentary industry by his peers. There were even videos on YouTube covering his life (although he is now deceased). The reader will need to keep in mind that this book was written in 2005. Although some information is outdated, it can easily be adapted to today's technology. This book is hard cover for durability and written in very easy to understand language and has increased my video making skills tremendously!