Single-Camera Video Production, Third Edition (Media Manuals) (Paperback)

by Robert B. Musburger (Author) "If a would-be artist were to suddenly pick up a brush and start to dab paint on a canvas, or any other handy surface, the..." (more)
Key Phrases: audio operator, graphic weight, continuity assistant, Mountain Productions, Mountain Industries, Ionizing Radiation (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Single-Camera Video Production is easy reading for the newcomer yet it has enough depth for the video professional. Chapters on digital video, nonlinear editing and a full description of pre-production treatments and contracts make it an excellent resource." - Videomaker -- Review

Review
"Single-Camera Video Production is easy reading for the newcomer yet it has enough depth for the video professional. Chapters on digital video, nonlinear editing and a full description of pre-production treatments and contracts make it an excellent resource." - Videomaker

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 3 edition (March 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240804767
• ISBN-13: 978-0240804767
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,243,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Uneven, August 5, 2006

By	W. Sanders (Bloomfield, CT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Single-Camera Video Production, Fourth Edition (Media Manuals) (Paperback)

The fact that a book has reached its fourth edition usually means it has some merit that readers have found useful. If that's the case with this book, it's a mystery to me how the book ever got out of the first edition.

First of all, the title "Single-Camera Video Production" led me to believe that the book's focus is on how to do everything for a video production using a single camera. For the bulk of the book, that's not what it's about. It's really a general book about using a video camera. (One section even illustrates using 5 cameras--rehearsing and preparing talent!)

Second, the illustrations are terrible. They look like they were done by a non-designer using Etch-a-sketch. Further, the drawings of the complex video cameras were so generic and seemingly dated that they were totally useless. However, that didn't matter because I didn't buy the book to learn about video cameras (that keep changing regularly), but rather some wisdom on the production process where the videographer is trying to produce using a single camera.

The reason that this book is rated two-stars instead of 1 (or 0) is because there were some materials on lighting with a single camera that were useful. (However, there was nothing unique and that I couldn't find on the Web for free.)

All in all, this book is a poorly crafted one, and one that I could cobble together with a topic search on the Web. Unfortunately, I think that a good book on Single-Camera Video Production is something that would be very useful. This just isn't it.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource for student filmmakers, October 8, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Now in a fully updated and expanded third edition, Single-Camera Video Production by Robert B. Musburger (Associate Professor, School of Communication, University of Houston), is a straightforward and highly recommended guide based upon the author's many years of practical field experience to planning, shooting, and editing video productions shot on location with essentially one camera at the filmmaker's disposal. An excellent resource for student filmmakers, Single-Camera Video Production offers a wealth of technical detail on audio signals, the scanning system, digital signal standards, camera controls, microphone types, and more, including sound advice on the social side of shooting film such as directing talent.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good style but flawed by inaccurate info, January 11, 2006

By	Lonnie Juli - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Single-Camera Video Production, Fourth Edition (Media Manuals) (Paperback)

Mr. Musburger tackles a very wide range of information in a comfortable and easy to read style. He peppers his text with interesting tidbits about TV production and technology and covers a lot of ground.

There are some unfortunate factual errors in this edition (I have not read earlier editions). Focal Press should improve their editing process and attempt to have more industry experts read books like this before going to press.

All in all this is a good overview for someone starting out in video production as long as they continue to seek out other information from various sources. Instructors in the field can furnish errata for their students that will greatly increase the value of this book.

Better fact checking would have made this a strong recommendation.