Digital Filmmaking: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures [Paperback]

Thomas Ohanian (Author), Michael E Phillips (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240802195 | ISBN-13: 978-0240802190 | Publication Date: April 11, 1996

Digital Filmmaking is the professional ¦bible¦ of the new era in filmmaking. This book details the procedural, creative, and technical aspects of preproduction, production, and post-production within a digital filmmaking environment. Readers will understand not only what new digital methods and techniques are redefining the filmmaking process, but also how the evolution into digital filmmaking can be used to achieve greater creative flexibility as well as cost and time savings.


Digital Filmmaking: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures thoroughly explains vital concepts, including digitization, compression, digital compositing, nonlinear editing, and on-set digital production and relates traditional film production and editing processes to those of digital techniques.

By far the most comprehensive book on the subject, Digital Filmmaking details how each stage of the traditional filmmaking process is being augmented by digital processes. Featuring interviews with leading filmmakers, including James Cameron and George Lucas, this book details how today's filmmakers are using digital techniques to enhance their creativity and to realize their imaginations.

Thomas A. Ohanian has worked on award winning commercials, documentaries, feature films, and television shows during his 17 years as an editor. A 1993 Emmy winner for the co-invention of the Avid Media Composer, a digital nonlinear editing system, he is also a winner of a 1994 Academy Award for Scientific and Engineering Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Mr. Ohanian lectures extensively on digital nonlinear production and post-production techniques, is a visiting editor at The Edit House, and the author of Digital Nonlinear Editing (Focal Press).

Michael E. Phillips owns and operates The Edit House in Boston, a digital post-production facility that offers the latest technology to independent filmmakers. He has served as digital editing consultant for the Columbia released film The Professional. He is also the film production specialist for Avid Technology where he helped develop the Film Composer; for which he was the co-recipient of the 1994 Academy Award for Scientific and Engineering Achievement from the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences. In 1987, Mr. Phillips was a winner at the New England Film Festival with his film The Chair.

Features interviews with leading filmmakers including James Cameron and George Lucas
The most comprehensive book on the subject of digital filmmaking.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'What you are about to read encompasses a depth and range of areas in digital filmmaking, with thoughts drawn from some of the best craftsmen in the entertainment industry, people actively working in the digital realm to break down the barriers between the technical and the artistic.' From the foreword by filmmaker James Cameron

From the Publisher

Digital Filmmaking provides a clear overview of the traditional filmmaking process, then goes on to illuminate the ways in which new methods accomplish old tasks. It explains vital concepts, including digitization, compression, digital compositing, nonlinear editing, and on-set digital production and relates traditional film production and editing processes to those of digital techniques. In the "Industry Viewpoints" sections in each chapter various filmmakers discuss their use of digital techniques to enhance the creative process. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press (April 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240802195
• ISBN-13: 978-0240802190
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,829,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No Real useful information, January 24, 2000

By 

e-rock "e-rock" (Burbank, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Filmmaking: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures (Paperback)

I work in digital production, and bought this book to get some background info before my interview with Sony Imageworks. Unfortunately, it is just a jumble of too general info and gee-whiz diagrams, that wouldn't be useful to anybody. Production pipelines vary from studio to studio, and are constantly changing. There are interviews with some impressive names, but most of it is this starry-eyed look at the digital future. The stupidest thing is the quote from Francis Ford Coppola "I knew it would happen all along". Give me a break! Spend your cash on some magazines like Computer Graphics world for the effects info.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Commercial for Avid, Circa 2000, October 15, 2000

By 

Gerald P. Owens (Pompano Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Digital Filmmaking, Second Edition: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures (Paperback)

Written like a bad stereo manual and padded with self-serving industry interviews, this title was an in-house product of Avid Press, and an unabashed commercial for their system as it existed at the turn of the century. Just one chapter was devoted to HD, with nothing useful about how to actually shoot in this medium, and there was no coverage of DV moviemaking either. The book was targeted towards Hollywood industry types who planned to shoot on 35 mm film, digitize their footage, and rent an expensive Avid editing suite for all post-production. Even Avid has had to rethink their business model in the intervening years, as competitors have offered more affordable software for desktop computers. Unless you just want an historical journey through obsolete editing systems, don't waste half a c-note on this book...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A disapoitment for the didital videographer, June 10, 2001

By 

G. Robinson "Extensive reader" (CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Digital Filmmaking, Second Edition: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures (Paperback)

I found the audience for this book to be elusive. It appears to be aimed at those currently working in major film industry centers on one hand and then at the enthusiast with a digital camcorder on the other. Someone currently working in film-in whatever capacity-probably knows considerably more than is presented in this book. The enthusiast with a camcorder will learn a little, but much of the material assumes a level of knowledge that he may not have.

My background is in sound, both production and video post, and running a recording studio the 70s. I then migrated into computers. About five years ago I started getting back into multimedia via web audio and video. I have some clients who want to produce movies using 24p for distribution via film and was hoping to get a view of current industry practice. This book only lightly touches on current technical practice and is incomplete in this area. I have shot some 24p and almost all of my experieence with cvamera work is digital. The information on digital technology is incomplete and in some cases inaccurate and the information on originating on video and finishing on film is trivial.

While a few of the interviews are good, most just occupy space and a few are fatuous. Much of the material is dated-such as the interview with Larry Blake, and the references to DNLE (today there are only digital Non Linear Editors). This second edition appears to be some minor material plastered onto the first edition. The first edition was aparently from some time in the middle 90s. The bright spot of the book is an excellent description and explanation of 3:2 pulldown.

Overall I found this book very disapointing.