Customer Reviews

Writing For Visual Media

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I received a review copy of this book and since my husband is a writer, I was kind of looking forward to it. I was also looking forward to the CD that the other reviewers talked about and was a bit miffed when I found the book didn't come with it. I felt cheated, then I found the business card clued to the inside front cover which directed me to go to the authors website. Once there I was prompted to enter the last full word in the last paragraph on page 17, along with my name and email address and voila, I was registered. Once in, I found that the website contains all the info that was on the CD I didn't get and instead of being slow, as one reviewer said, it's fast.

So using this book the way Mr. Friedmann intends, you know, reading a chapter, then going to the website, is a powerful way, I think, to learn how to write for media. The website is great and the book covers absolutely every thing you'd want to know, whether you want to write scripts or commercials. But the important thing, what makes this book so doggone good, is what it's not. One of the thing is not is boring. The other thing it's not is it's not written like a textbook. This book is kind of fun and it's interesting as all get out. If you've ever thought about writing for Television or the Movies or you just wanna do Jingles, well this is the book for you.

"Writing for the Visual Media" was probably intended as a textbook on how to write scripts for all forms of media, whether it be television, radio, interactive web-tv, advertising or even film. More than 'just another media textbook,' it gets into the real differences between writing what is meant to be read and that which is meant to be viewed in more visual media. Anthony Friedman really takes you through from the basics levels of writing for visual media to being able to identify issues that may make a script less than stellar. One of my professors caught me reading this book and asked to take a look at it. Now as a result, it is probably being considered as a classroom text for students entering into the media program next semseter.

I did not recieve a CD with this book, but rather a card with the web address that allowed me to download the extra included content for the book. I think I would rather have had the CD, and that is a personal preference rather than a complaint. I do understand, however, why the publishers offered a card with password inside the book to allow the reader to download the content. This also underscores how much media, publishing and content is changing constantly. The website was fairly user-friendly, and had sample scripts, online video, audio and demonstrations of the various aspects of writing scripts. I thought that the site was very helpful and definitely added more value to the book.

This book assumes that the reader has a basic knowledge of broadcast media, what is an over the shoulder graphic, what is a crawl, etc. He discusses in great detail the process of putting together scripts and tightening them up for the ever-changing arena of media which is converging at an alarmings speed. What many professionals are finding when entering into the industry just how much writing their is and the constancy of having those skills at your disposal - no matter if you're in front of the camera or behind it. You have to be able to make your writing and what you are presenting be as good as it can be. I do very much recommend this book to anyone who is either in or considering a career in any media or motion picture arts career.

It doesn't get any better than this: Here we have a master teacher -- Anthony Friedman, who holds a BA and PhD in English from Columbia and an MA from Harvard, all topped with coursework at the London School of Film Technique -- bringing 21 years of writing, producing and directing experience to bear writing the third edition of this very impressive text.

Used in many writing programs as well as in Friedman's own media writing classes, the aim of this text is offer instructional content for students taking an introductory course in scriptwriting. It's also useful for all writers trying to expand their skills to writing scripts for media. That said, from a conceptual perspective, I would say that the author is seeking to pin down and expand upon that aspect of writing that is brought forth from the visual mind. Or, put another way, it's an instructional text on how best to imbue each script with visual writing; "not the words of the final script but the imaging that makes the words of the final script possible."

The principal difference between the third edition and the second is the addition of a chapter devoted to writing for mobile media platforms. While, as the author states, "this is going out on a limb and more predictive than prescriptive," it reflects the state-of-the art approach this text offers.

So, how does Friedman go about addressing the challenges of learning to write for the visual media? Quite simply, by viewing and using the script as a plan for production, and by teaching how to sequence action so that directors, editors and eventually viewers can visualize in their mind's eye exactly what is intended. Just as a musician can hear in his own mind what the music should sound like, good visual-based writing encourages viewers to see in his or her own mind what is intended. The sequence of images flowing along a time line, should serve as a sort of blueprint to take the viewer to a place of mutual visual interest.

Though visual writing is, by nature, somewhat elusive, this book -- all about the fundamentals of scriptwriting -- will, as the author puts it: "take you from nowhere to somewhere, from no experience and no knowledge to a basic level of competence and knowledge..." That's a pretty good promise for those readers just starting off in scriptwriting!

The text, which is intended to work in tandem with the book's website, is arranged in five parts that are, in turn, divided into 15 chapters. Here are the five parts, followed by chapter headings:

Part 1 Defining the Problem:
Describing One Medium Through Another / A Seven-Step Method for Developing a Creative Concept / The Stages of Script Development / Describing Sight and Sound

Part 2 Solving Communication Problems with Visual Media:
Ads and PSAs: Copywriting for Visual Media / Corporate Communications: Selling, Telling, Training and Promoting / Documentary and Nonfiction Narrative

Part 3 Entertaining with Visual Media:
Dramatic Structure and Form / Writing techniques for Long-Scripts / Television Series, Sitcoms, and Soaps

Part 4 Writing for Interactive and Mobile Media:
Writing and Interactive Design / Writing for Interactive Communications / Writing for Interactive Entertainment / Writing for Mobile media

Part 5 Anticipating Professional Issues:
You Can Get Paid to Do This

An impressive book that delivers what it promises. Highly recommended for college, university and public library library collections and an essential purchase for anyone interested in writing for the visual media.

R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University

An engaging textbook that trains, entertains and concentrates on contemporary writing issues in an accessible way,

This book delivers a treasure trove of valuable, well-written information aspiring writers can use to familiarize themselves with the challenges of visual media. Professionals can reacquaint themselves with industry basics - formats, devices and drafts - as well as rejuvenate their skills for new mediums addressed in chapter 12 (Writing for interactive communications), chapter 13 (Writing for interactive entertainment) and chapter 14 (Writing for mobile media).

I selected this textbook from Amazon's Vine program, attracted by an opportunity to refresh my writing skills. I write commercials, PSAs, miniscripts and corporate communications. Expecting another dry, academic course book, author Anthony Friedmann's clear, engaging instruction was a pleasant surprise.

After reading the chapters of professional interest, I explored chapter 9 (Writing Techniques for Long-Form Scripts) and chapter 10 (Television Series, Sitcoms and Soaps). Both chapters were entertaining and informative reads. The author uses a wide range of real-world examples, from illustrating narrative point of view with Bartleby to one-liners from South Park.

In the preface to the second edition, Friedmann states that "the brevity and economy in the length of chapters is suitable to the contemporary college student's reluctance to read." College professors have my pity. Aspiring writers reluctant to read can look forward to a bright future working a drive-up window. Pity for the plight of college professors aside, the book includes multimedia features on the author's website, including video clips in QuickTime format and scrollable scripts. The website is a bit wonky and I found the Visual Media Discusson Forum [sic] empty. Nothing online was more engaging than the book itself.

Rating: Five stars.

BTW: I reread my Amazon review of Danny Draven's The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead: How to Make Your Own Heart-Racing Horror Movie, a decidedly non-academic approach to visual media. I wrote "This book would make an outstanding gift for any young person who aspires to become a filmmaker." The same can be said for Friedmann's Writing for Visual Media, Third Edition, which should enjoy a wider audience than just nonreaders who happen to be enrolled in college.

I was originally going to do my own video review using this book as a guide but unfortunately my home PC died so I'm stuck having to do a written review. so here goes :)

At first I didnt know what to expect from this book, I have story I want to tell/write but didnt know how to go about it, so I picked up this book to see if it could help me. well it turns our I got more than I expected.

The book covers all types of areas such as writting scripts for Public service announcements, TV series, radio comercials, movies etc. I learned how to best decide what type of media to use for the type of message or story I want to convey to other people.

Turns out that when writting there are so many things to consider, depending on geography, population, economic level, education level etc, it teaches you how to attack all these issues to make the best desitions of what ideas to use when writting a script, it also teaches steps on how to proceed with such writting.

I also liked how you get to learn all the technical words used in real life script writting and how to comunicate your ideas to producers and directors. theres also how to market or sell your idea to a client.

All in all this book has given me a great insight on how to write and anyone aspiring to making his own movies should definetely give this a read.

I thought Writing for Visual Media was very informative, and easy to understand. At first I got intimidated by the many words the book contains, I usually like to see more pictures and visual examples in the books I read, but the entire book is very informative and has a nice flow, with a nice touch of humoristic remarks. I've never seen a CD-ROM for a textbook, with so many visual elements. I spent about an hour and a half navigating through it. I kept finding more and more stuff to see and read. I thought the CD-ROM was very creative, and indeed entertaining. I like the idea of the book linking to specific chapters in the cd-rom. The book is great for people like me who are just starting to begin writing for the Media. I probably wouldn't recommended for semi-pro's who already know most of the writing techniques, and know what a video camera tilt and pan is!.
There's actually a lot of funny video clips in the CD-ROM, which makes it very compelling for learning purposes. In the beginning the CD-ROM loads slowly because the contents of it are stuffed like a turkey with multimedia content. But I do like the fact that there are tons of multimedia content which helps to understand "visually" what writing for the media is all about.

Candor is refreshing in any work because it let's an audience member identify with the vulnerability of the process being described. In this case the process is producing, marketing, and seeking acceptance of a script for a visual medium of communication. Professor Friedmann shares his successes, but he doesn't ignore his failures. Failure is part of the road to success in any endeavor. The only person who hasn't failed is the one who hasn't attempted anything of significance. In this insider account, we're given a look at the various markets and media forms available for aspiring writers.

The accompanying CD is a bonus. It is full of ancillary material that adds enormous depth to the explanations described in the book. Anyone interested in pursuing scriptwriting will learn a lot from this book.

'Writing for Visual Media' Is a textbook for students interested in writing and producing all different sorts of visual media. This is in no ways limited to writing for television shows and motion pictures which makes this a more comprehensive tool for paople interested in the medium.

Friedman helps you think about what form your work will take on the screen before you even begin to write. He has examples of various scripts from a 'How to' presentation for the classroom, to a Public Service announcement, to Web movies, Training videos, as well as Motion picture and television writing.

There is a website companion to the text full of information that coincides with the chapters in the text and provides examples from start to finish. [...]

(Note you will have to register with codes found in the book)

This is a great book for both the professional writer or the novice starting out.

Item came fast in great condition... I will use this service again and recommend them to others, no problems with anything...

Friedmann in some ways takes on an impossible task. After four chapters of basic (screen) writing skills, he covers individual types of writing - ads, corporate training, entertainment, documentaries ... - in a chapter each. So if your interest is narrow - web/interactive - it is easy to feel cheated. You've skipped much of an expensive book. However, this is not fair to the author. Much of the value of the book is in the access to the companion web site and in Friedmann's ability to describe a creative process as a repeatable process. He does this with the most basic of rules - find the communication problem and fix it. And, by golly, he convinces you that you can. Definitely a cost effective purchase.