Customer Reviews

Digital Video Production Cookbook: 100 Professional Techniques for Independent and Amateur Filmmakers (Cookbooks (O'Reilly))

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I visited a technical bookstore in Dallas during a programmer's convention. I was determined not to spend any money on any books while there (especially because I've already dropped a bundle on other video books). But I sat in the bookstore and read as much as I could for 2 or 3 hours. This book is amazing. It illustrates camera techniques by showing sequences of shots and how they were produced. Often that is the problem: we can read about something but not see it in action. More than half of the shot setups concern everyday scenes and situations. The last third was about special effects (blue screens, fake blood, etc) which didn't really interest me.

I'm a relative novice to video production, so maybe more experienced videographers would find some of this stuff basic things they learned through experience. What I liked is the many examples of how videographers could use a flaw/mistake and turn it into an interesting cinematic effect. This book does a great job of training the eye when setting up shots.

Another thing. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure the camera in the illustrations is the Sony HDV-HC1 (the same camera I own!).

Advances in computer video and moviemaking software has mad it very easy to make a bad movie. Software like iMovie, Avid Free and others allow easy input of video camera footage into a program which can edit both video and sound clips, overlay clips, and add transitions, titles, sound effects, graphics, credits and more.

All of this technology however does not guarantee a watchable or quality product. There still is no substitute for compelling narrative writing, acting, dialogue, purposeful editing, and soundtrack selections.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of amateur directors and producers who want to create their own films for personal, family, or group enjoyment. This is where a book like "Digital Video Production Cookbook" fills a need. This is a volume of about one hundred professional- level techniques to help independent and amateur filmmakers improve their movie's quality. Almost anyone with basic competence using a digital video camera and video editing software can use these techniques to improve their movie products.

The author is a writer, producer and director of award- winning independent films, as well as a contributor to computer arts publications. This is a book for beginning or novice filmmakers on low or no- cost, easy to implement, production techniques to enhance your personal creations. These are techniques about lighting effects, camera illusions, visual effects, night shooting, make- up effects, weather and sound effects, and more, all designed to enhance the visual and dramatic impact of your shots. Most of these techniques are used to help you tell your story. This is not a book on how to capture footage or how to use a digital video camera, but on how to go about telling your story via visual and audio techniques to improve your film quality.

A key point about these effects is that that are easy to understand and create but will almost certainly will have a large impact on the results of your work. It really does not take much to create impressions on an audience. Simple editing in a clever manner, or sound effects juxtaposed against innocuous video scenes, can be very persuasive and impactful.

Almost anyone can get started in amateur filmmaking. All it takes is a decent video camera and editing software, along with a handful of incidentals, like a tripod, microphone, and movie light. Author Kenworthy shows how easy it is to light a simple scene, whether indoors or outdoors, with natural light, artificial light, and candle light. Mood can be manipulated by coloring the light. A soft, romantic scene can be lit by natural light bounced off a yellow towel, for example. Backlighting a smoky background scene can imply a mysterious or eerie effect. Low lighting on a face creates a horror-look. Stories can be told using shadows. All of these effects are demonstrated in the section on lighting effects.

Certain illusions are easily produced using "pull focus" to show 2 scenes at once without moving a camera. Camera movements like a background slide, dolly shot, discovery shot, and spins can greatly enhance the dramatic impact and professional look of your film. A scary chase scene can be created, in part, by footage captured while running holding your camera close to the ground. Editing segments to show implied forward or backward looks is very easy to do with almost any decent software.

Other camera techniques demonstrated include shooting reflections, mimicking gunsight or binocular views, flash cutting multiple images, and picturing implied blood and bullet impacts using homemade fake blood. Interesting visual effects can be created using clever camera views or homemade models, like miniature worlds made of clay and other simple components, or spaceships made from cheap junk parts, but properly lit to mimic the dramatic scenes from "Star Wars".

There is a section on performing safe stunts like jumping large gaps, safe punching and fighting scenes, and smashing objects. More advanced techniques include showing how to mask foreground components from a background so they can be inserted elsewhere in other scenes to create action in illusionary environments.

Some of the most interesting effects deal with mimicking weather effects like rain and storms, and people- related effects like bruises, aging and serious injuries, sometimes just by using camera angles. It was interesting to learn how to create a fake brain spill using canned plums and fruit mix with colored water and glycerin. Cool!

This is a richly produced book with plenty of photographs and visual illustrations showing how to produce effects that duplicate some of the great producers and directors from Hollywood.

This book is fantastic! It gives two page descriptions of all kinds of cool video tricks, as well as describing proper video technique. Given the length most of these descriptions act as a starting point, but that's what you really want anyway.

I can't recommend this book more highly. It's just what you want if your idea is to add Hollywood style techniques to your movies.

The difference between ordinary and compelling video is often lighting, camera motion, or an unusual effect.
Indie filmmaker Chris Kenworthy has compiled 100 great professional tips.
The techniques are grouped into sections. Each technique is described in one or two pages, with text and six or seven photos illustrating how to set up the effect.
Although the format does not permit going into much detail,
the techniques are well presented and easy to understand.
Some are pretty straightforward, such as using a light card
to decrease shadows on faces, selective focus, and framing
a subject dramatically. Others are ways to simulate a complex
shot with basic equipment, such as various kinds of night-for-
day shooting and faking rain, snow, and desert sun. There
are several hints on using camera motion to make scenes
more interesting.
The section on make-up describes how to make your actors appear sick, injured, or dead.
Many of the effects are techniques for use on a set, but
there are some computer editing tricks: passing through walls
and keyholes, using a bluescreen to simulate a moving
background for a parked car, and making ‘picture-in-picture
video’ appear to be showing on a television or computer monitor.
This book is aimed primarily at videographers who want to create
dramatic productions, music videos, and commercials,
where striking shots help hold viewer interest.
All of us, however, can improve our videos by following the techniques on proper lighting and camera movement.
The format of this book is somewhat similar to O’Reilly’s "Digital Video Hacks", but the subject matter is complementary. Videographers who want “oohs and aahs” from their viewers will find both books valuable. (Review from MBUG Newsletter 2/06).

very practical way of showing how to do multimedia effects at minimal or no cost. Good illustrations & straight to the point. very clear bullet points under the photos, No boring bulcky paragraphs.

I recomment this book, it's Excellent.

This book is fantastic.

I am recommending it in the appendix of the second edition of my own book, "$30 Film School."

I'm going to say:

"Digital Video Production Cookbook has everything else that you need to know about filmmaking that isn't in the book you're holding in your hands right now. Digital Video Production Cookbook covers high-end Hollywood tricks, especially lighting, in a way that you can do them on a low budget or even no budget. And the models in all the photos are really cute too."

--Michael W. Dean

This book is for you that want to have an idea of the hole filmmaking process. It covers all the technical topics in film production, from the camera angles, lightning tricks, to special effects using editing softwares. These information are displayed always in the same formula: if you want to make it appear just like "that", you got to do the "A" process, then pass to the "B" process, and it's done!

"Only it? Easy!", you may think when reading, for example, a special effects trick. "Why do the famous movies take about months of post-production to do something that is shown in this book just in some lines?".

But, when you stop, think, and try to practice the new effects what you've learned, you realize the lack of specific information on some tricks (unfortunatelly, the nice ones). "How do I go from "A" to "B"? " or "Hey what the hell are you talking about? What's chroma key?". At this time, you will want to throw this book out of the window, and will regret of buying this.

Conclusion: this book is a very reallistic book, may not be for the very begginer in filmmaking. So, if you know the basics of editing, lightning or some technical thing more specific, and know what "chroma key" and "bluescreen effect" means, what are you waiting for? Buy this book right know! It can be your Bible, your films will be much better. But if your don't know anything about editing and lightning, and you are just someone looking for a book with tricks that improve the overall quality of the movies you do with friends, avoid buying this. It may be not worthy your money.

Not bad, but I have read better. It does have a lot of good pictures of the effects they are teaching and all in all this book is not bad, there are just so many others that I feel are better. Check out The "DV Rebel Guide" by Stu something or other or "101 Digital Video hacks", both I feel are better than this.
Enjoy!

I read through the book which was very informative, form ohh so thats how and TV never really was the same after. I have also tested out good part of it and got good resuslts. I would recommend it highly

I was looking for a video book that shows methods of filming ideas. Just searching I ended up with very complex cinephotographer books that contained tons of detail but too complex for casual person like myself. Just happended to stumbled across this book and was really surprised at the clear writing style and easy to understand images. For making a simple film project with no budget I thought this was the perfect book.

If you are looking to improve your video skills or making a large student project, I would highly recommend this book. For the film student or professional these tips might be already covered in school. Many of the project require nothing special, just a standard video camera and basic editing software. This is a nice change from other books that almost require Adobe After Effects to produce a good special effect.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and will keep this in my video bag to spark any ideas I might need during filming.