Digital Cinematography & Directing [Paperback]

Dan Ablan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0735712581 | ISBN-13: 978-0735712584 | Edition: 1

digital Cinematography and Directing is unlike any other cinematography or directing book you've seen. This book was written entirely for 3D animators. Based on real-world photographic and cinematic principles, it teaches you essential skills and concepts that you can apply to any industry 3D application, such as LightWave 3D, Softimage XSI, 3ds max, CINEMA 4D, Maya, and other leading programs. This book does not focus on using software but rather teaches you how to understand and use the camera within your 3D application.

• Master focal lengths, f-stops, and apertures within your 3D aplication.
• Learn how pre-production planning can guide and enhance your project by applying essential storyboarding techniques.
• Use light as not only an illumination source, but as a tool for cinematic storytelling. Learn how to direct your digital cast with proper staging techniques
"Dan Ablan's years of innovating digital production techniques and his undeniable expertise at teaching CGI, FX, and Film, makes digitalCinematography and Directing a must-have!" -Dave Adams, Dreamworks.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

[digital] Cinematography and Directing is unlike any other cinematography or directing book you've seen. This book was written entirely for 3D animators. Based on real-world photographic and cinematic principles, it teaches you essential skills and concepts that you can apply to any industry 3D application, such as LightWave 3D, Softimage XSI, 3ds max, CINEMA 4D, Maya, and other leading programs. This book does not focus on using software but rather teaches you how to understand and use the camera within your 3D application.

* Master focal lengths, f-stops, and apertures within your 3D aplication.
* Learn how pre-production planning can guide and enhance your project by applying essential storyboarding techniques.
* Use light as not only an illumination source, but as a tool for cinematic storytelling.Learn how to direct your digital cast with proper staging techniques"Dan Ablan's years of innovating digital production techniques and his undeniable expertise at teaching CGI, FX, and Film, makes digitalCinematography and Directing a must-have!" -Dave Adams, Dreamworks.

About the Author

Dan Ablan has been involved in the visual arts for more than 20 years. He has worked as photographer, editor, producer, and 3D artist. Currently, Dan is the president of AGA Digital Studios, Inc., located in the Chicago area. AGA Digital Studios, Inc. creates 3D animations and visual effects for film and television, in association with Post Meridian, LLC. Dan is also the author of five other books from New Riders: LightWave Power Guide, Inside LightWave 3D, Inside LightWave 6, LightWave 6.5 Magic, and Inside LightWave 7. Dan has written for LightWave Pro Magazine, Video Toaster User, 3D Magazine, 3D World Magazine, and NewTek Pro Magazine. Dan was a contributor to After Effects 5.5 Magic, and he was also the technical editor for Jeremy Birn's digital Lighting & Rendering, both from New Riders Publishing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press; 1 edition (December 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735712581
• ISBN-13: 978-0735712584
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dan Ablan is president of AGA Digital Studios, Inc., a 3D animation, photography, and training company in the Chicago area. AGA Digital has produced 3D visuals for broadcast, corporate, and architectural clients since 1994, as well as post-production services in conjunction with Post Meridian, LLC. AGA Digital Studios, Inc. also provides lifestyle photography services with Dan.
Dan is the author of 13 books from New Riders Publishing, Thomson Course Technology, and Sybex. They are: LightWave Power Guide (v5.0), Inside LightWave 3D (v5.5), Inside LightWave [6], LightWave 6.5 Effects Magic, Inside LightWave 7, Inside LightWave 8, and co-author of LightWave 8 Killer Tips. His latest books are Digital Photography for 3D Imaging & Animation, Inside LightWave v9, and The Official Luxology modo Guide. He also is the author of [digital] Cinematography & Directing, and served as technical editor for [digital] Lighting & Rendering. Dan was also a contributor to After Effects 5.5 Magic, from New Riders Publishing. His 12th book is just out this month - The Official Luxology modo 301 Guide. Book #13 is now available, also from New Riders Publishing and Adobe Press -
Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques. Dan has written the revision to this popular series from Ben Willmore.

Dan is also the founder of 3D Garage.com, a website dedicated to computer software based video training. 3D Garage is owned and operated by AGA Digital Studios, Inc. and offers high quality DVD-ROM based LightWave 3D, modo 3D, Mac and Photoshop training courseware. Dan offers a two day, one on one digital photography workshop through 3D Garage.com as well. AGA Digital Studios, Inc. is a NewTek authorized LightWave training facility and reseller. Dan Ablan has written columns and articles for LightWave Pro magazine, Video Toaster User magazine, 3D Design magazine, 3D World magazine, and NewTek Pro magazine. Dan has been teaching LightWave seminars since 1995 across the country, and at AGA Digital Studios, Inc. Some of the companies Dan has trained include Fox Television, ABC-TV New York City, CBS-TV Indianapolis, WTTW-TV PBS Chicago, Lockheed Martin, and many others. Dan served as Editor-in-Chief of Keyframe Magazine (now HDRI 3D magazine) for two years.

In addition to his daily duties at AGA Digital Studios, Inc., Dan Ablan is also an accomplished photographer having photographed since 1980. Coming from the days of film and darkrooms, he has studied photojournalism in college, and has made the full transition to digital. He and his wife have a portrait studio in the Chicago area (www.AblanGallery.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Almost Content-Free, November 23, 2004

By 

jd (Harrisburg, PA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Cinematography & Directing (Paperback)

I'm quite amazed at how bad this book is. I have the sister book, Digital Lighting and Rendering, and that book is excellent. The author of this book has apparently written "the" book on Lightwave. And Digital Cinematography and Directing has gotten a lot of good reviews. And some bad ones. Pay attention to the bad reviews (like I wish I had).

This book is quite short - 225 pages. And literally half of the book is comprised of half-page-sized illustrations. That brings the text down to about 112 pages. Then subtract the one-page introduction to each chapter of the twelve chapters, and the half-page wrap-up, and you are down to about 94 pages of text (trust me - I am not exaggerating). That would be a very few pages for any author to cover the subject. And this author doesn't. It is one of the strangest reading experiences that I have ever had. The author can go on for several pages without really saying anything about the subject. One reviewer said that reading this book was like reading a magazine. I found reading this book more like reading a brochure about a book on Digital Cinematography. The author makes statements like "you are lucky because you are working in a 3D program and can do whatever you want. You don't have to pay actors our be bound by adverse lighting conditions, unions, etc." Or "you are the director. Take charge of your project. A confident digital director is always in charge ..." This book goes on like that forever, but never gets around to imparting any real information. Bizarre.

And about the illustrations - they are badly lit, badly textured, badly posed Poser renders. I have nothing against Poser - I own it - but this is really bad Poser. For example, for an illustration of a group shot shown from the top view, the author has obviously copied and pasted a Poser figure six times - without even bothering to change the pose or clothing - and placed it in a random, nonsensical grouping so that he can illustrate a camera set-up. That illustration takes up half a page (they all do). Then when he makes a statement about visiting a library to find more books on the subject of cinematography, you are directed to another half-page illustration of a screenshot of 3D modeled books!

The only thing that I can figure is that New Riders decided that they needed a Digital Cinematography book for their Digital series and made it as fast and as cheaply, and as carelessly, as possible. Do yourself a favor - don't buy it! As I am always short of shelf space - this book may actually hit the dumpster!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Bad and Misleading., January 3, 2006

By 

Ed Forte (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Cinematography & Directing (Paperback)

This book was slapped together to make a fast buck. If you know absolutely NOTHING about directing or video, this book might be for you. If you have spent a few minutes searching the internet, then there will already be very little it can teach you. If you are still thinking about buying this book, take a look at some of the better reviews. Do they seem like they were written by someone like me or you? I took the time to check them out: one of the reviewers wrote about every single title released by NRP on the subject. I wonder what kind of costumer this is... Some other reviews have tried to lead us into thinking that the book appropriately addresses its target reader: the absolute beginner. This is an obvious attempt at justifying its lack of content. Fortunately, I read a borrowed copy and saved my money.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing outstanding - not so "digital" really, October 4, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Cinematography & Directing (Paperback)

Sure it's a nice book to have, although for the price it's paperback and quite thin. The problem is it's just another average book on directing. There's a lot about storyboards, continuity, camera angles, CU shots, Med shots, character staging, headroom. Did I learn anything unique to animation? No. Did I learn anything new? NO.

Except for the digital and animated nature of the images, there is only maybe 1 chapter (10 pages) that is purely related to digital as in 3d animation, and that is about resolutions, compression, and rendering. Wow! -640x480! NTSC! 16:9! I learned that all in school and on the web.

Save your money.