The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age [Paperback]

Steven Ascher (Author), Edward Pincus (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 4, 2007

2008 Edition The authoritative guide to funding, preparing, shooting, lighting, editing, finishing and distributing your film or video

Widely acknowledged as the "bible" of film and video production and used in courses around the world, this indispensable guide to making movies is now updated with the latest advances in high- definition formats. For students and teachers, the professional and the novice filmmaker, this clear and comprehensive handbook remains the reliable reference to all aspects of moviemaking.

• Techniques for making narrative, documentary, corporate, experimental and feature films.
• Working with high-definition and standard-definition digital video formats, including DV, HD, and HDV.
• Extensive coverage of video editing with the latest nonlinear editing systems.
• Thorough grounding in lenses, lighting, sound recording, and sound editing.
• The business aspects of financing and producing movies

Written by filmmakers for filmmakers, this book will give you the skills you need to take your dreams from script to screen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Seminal.”
– New York Times
 
"Gold-standard technical reference book for filmmakers."
-Boston Globe
 
“The bible – updated.”
- The Independent
 
"This is an essential book."
-Self-Reliant Filmmaking
 
"You need this book. Billed as the authoritative guide to filmmaking from fundraising to distribution, the book achieves this in clear, accessible language using current up-to-date information. It's easy to see why this has become a standard text in many film schools. A gilt-edged investment for aspiring and beginning filmmakers and it would not be out of place in the libraries of experienced professionals either."
-James MacGregor, Netribution.co.uk
 
"This edition of the book is awesome. I don't know how you managed it. Such a mass of information so expertly organized and so clearly presented! Amazing."
-Alfred Guzzetti, Professor, Harvard University
 
“Anyone who is serious about learning the language and techniques of this art, whether amateur or professional, must have this comprehensive reference.”  
- Bookviews 
 
“Speaking as a member of the 'figure it out yourself' camp, I consider most 'technical' reference books to be nothing more than leisure reading. This one is worth its salt. Every page is relevant and fascinating. When I find a chapter that refers to something we've done, I realize that every mistake we made was covered, if only we'd thought to read up beforehand.”
- Genericfilms.com
 
"I was thrilled to find your book, which is a gem. No matter what corner of the subject I poked into, looking for cogent explanations, the Handbook passed with flying colors. So please accept my admiration, appreciation and thanks."
-Pat Jackson, Associate Professor, San Francisco State University; Emmy-winning Supervising Sound Editor

About the Author

Steven Ascher is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker who has taught film at Harvard and MIT.

Edward Pincus has taught film courses at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 832 pages
• Publisher: Plume; 0003-2008, Revised, edition (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452286786
• ISBN-13: 978-0452286788
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Cinematography
  • #60 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Reference

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you could only buy one book - consider this one first June 14, 2008

By Ken Randall

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have an entire library of filmmaking books - this one book (esp. the 2008 update) is fantastic - covering every aspect of filmmaking - and not just the technical stuff - even working with actors, directing and some basics of film theory. Of course it is best at the technical side - including HD production and post production editing. Very few of my collection come close to this one for breadth and depth.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars UNBEATABLE. Perfect in all regards December 2, 2007

By Daniel Benson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've read a lot of books on cinematography, and this is by far the finest I've seen.
This is an extremely well written, comprehensive book on ALL aspects of film making.
The authors have obviously worked very hard on this book, and it shows. For example, there are EXTENSIVE cross references throughout the book like: "before you read this you should read pages 22-25". This kind of cross referencing takes a lot of time to do accurately.
The cost is a real STEAL for the amount of information in it. In my opinion it is the only book you need on cinematography. If you don't think so, at least read this first. I think all your questions will be answered.
I can't recommend it highly enough.
Daniel O. Benson

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeper Than The Usual Fare of Still Photography Books June 4, 2009

By The Blood of Roses

Format:Paperback

I would encourage anyone from amateur (photographers committed by passion) to professional (photographers committed by career choice) to include within their ongoing study curriculum source material covering cinematography. And, this book should be first on their reading list! It is a perfect compendium of technique, theory, equipment and practice.

What impresses me is how much more deeply the authors explain basic concepts, beyond what you find in most of the regular digital photography books currently on the market; and, the explanations are so succinct. Take, for instance, when discussing depth of field and distance compression and expansion in perspective, the choice between changing the camera to subject distance or changing focal lenght to control the size of the subject in the frame, pages 142 to 146, makes an enormous difference in the way the image will look. It is explained that,

" ... as the camera is moved closer, the relative size of foreground and background objects increase at different rates. [...] Perspective may be thought of as the rate at which objects become smaller the farther they are from the camera."

This isn't your ususal dslr concept of camera to subject distance and its effect on the still image, but it goes a great deal further to better conceptualize, visualize and help dslr photographers understand how to consciously and intelligently compose scenes to communicate subject character and thematic content. The authors then go on to explicitly demonstrate this concept through comparing and contrasting different photographs, and diagrams.

Another instance of this succint and analytical style of writing is near by, between pgs.... 151-153, concerning applying focusing to the image and determining depth of field:

"In the ideal (theoretical) lens, there is only one subject plane in focus-everything in front of or behind this plane is out of focus. In the case of the portrait, if the man's eyes were exactly 10 feet from the camera, his nose and ears would be out of focus. Fortunately, with real lenses the area that looks in focus is more generous. A zone (called the depth of field) extends from in front of the subject to behind the subject, delineatiing the area of acceptable sharpness (see Fig. 4-8). In other words, the depth of field is the zone, measured in terms of near distance and far distance from the camera, where the image appears acceptably sharp."

Illustration follows to assist the visualization. These are just a couple of examples of the analytical and clear vision with which the book in its entirety has been written. These are the kinds of explanations for which I have been searching; and, no doubt, which you would welcome in lieu of sitting in a classroom listening to a professor lecture.

I bought this book after browsing at Borders for something to help me understand how to use cinematography techniques to produce still photos that look more cinematic. I got lucky that night! But you will find even more luck getting it from Amazon, since the price may be about half of what I paid at Borders. It's a great deal to get so much expert guidance for Amazon prices! Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nuts and Bolts of Filmmaking May 28, 2009

By D. Vonder Embse

Format:Paperback

I have enjoyed reading this book. It is the nuts and bolts of film making. It is a step up from a technical manual, but it does gloss over the feel and philosophy of filmmaking. I would recommend this book to serious independent filmmakers. It is probably too basic for professional filmmakers and too technical for shooting home-movies. This really nails that middle ground.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview of the business of filmmaking July 4, 2009

By Nathan Andersen TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

For those who love films but don't really know what's involved in their getting made, this is an excellent guide. Of course, it's even more indispensible for those who hope one day to make a film but aren't currently involved in the business. I emphasize "business" here because this isn't really a guide to the art of making films; you could imagine a similar book called "The Entrepeneur's Handbook: A comprehensive guide to establishing your own business in the age of the internet" and it would cover the same types of topics. For a guide to the art of filmmaking/directing, my favorite book is "Film Directing Fundamentals" by Nicholas Proferes. But for the practical and day to day and big picture of the business of filmmaking, "The Filmmaker's Handbook" is Indispensible: an excellent and thorough introduction and guide to the processes, the people, the arrangements, the contracts, the details that go into making films, especially independent films.

I required this book as one of the textbooks for my film history course on "American Independent Film" because it seemed to me there was no better way to indicate to students how much is involved in getting films made. It's a very helpful piece of the course and gives students a perspective that they wouldn't get from my own emphasis on film theory and criticism.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Filmmaker's Handbook: AWESOME! September 24, 2010

By Ryan Nuzzo

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

So, I bought this book out of interest in cinematography. I've been making videos at my church for a while, but I was never really BEHIND the process. I was either an actor, director, or writer for the video while my friend did the camerawork and editing. This always kind of bothered me; there were certain things that I wanted in the video, be it a shot or effect, and it sometimes didn't come across. This frustrated me to the point where I knew I needed to learn about cameras and stuff- I knew almost nothing about cameras (Our church's Canon XL2 at first to me looked like it was written in Chinese or something). So, I went to Amazon, found, and bought this book.

I did read it ALL the way through- it took a while, but my, oh my was it worth it! This really does start from the beginning- learning how the video and film image is produced and tweaked in the camera itself; then to other factors like lighting, the lens and the shot; and all the way to editing and distribution. After the first three chapters, I was able to figure out EVERYTHING on that XL2- EVERYTHING. It felt so liberating actually shooting, lighting, and editing my first video- and it looked the way I wanted it to!!! No more hoping that it turned out OK; now I have a complete grasp of the videomaking process.

This book has even further sparked my passion for making videos- I realized that now that I know what the GAIN on a camera is, how to change my depth of field, and other stuff I didn't know before, I'm actually good at it- with some practice of course. I'm taking the first out of four TV Production classes my high school has to offer (really recommend it to anyone if your school has it!).... I walked into class a week after school started, due to schedule conflicts, and already knew what the notes were for what we had already been taught and more! One kid actually complimented me on how much I knew!!! I really have to thank this book; it's given me the tools that I needed to grow as a cinematographer and filmmaker. Read more ›