Filmmaking books
 

Hi,
I love the internet but sometimes I need to give my eyes a rest and read a good old fashioned book... any recommendations on good/helpful/inspirational books for filmmakers?
p.s. some titles I have found helpful in the past include "The Guerilla Filmmakers Movie Blueprint" by Chris Jones, "Rebel Without A Crew" by Robert Rodriguez and "The Screenwriters Problem Solver" by Syd Field (or any book by Syd Field as they're all good)

Specific areas of interest?

A classic ...

"The 5 C's of Cinematography" by Mascelli

and 2 from my own holiday reading list,

"Sound for Film and Television" and "Sound for Digital Video" both by Tomlinson Holman (he's the 'TH' in 'THX Sound').

I would suggest you get "The Filmmakers Handbook." I also suggest you look in getting it from Amazon.com, not only because they have them used from $9.50 with less than $4.00 shipping, but also when you buy a book from them, their program will show you addition books on the same subject that others have bought. I is a great way to see the other offerings on the same subject.

I have bought about 5 books on filmmaking from them, and I have learned a lot.

Mike

Hi Paul
 

Scott Billups "Digital Moviemaking"

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Moviem...e=UTF8&s=books

Steve: Joseph V. Mascelli's "The Five C's of Cinematography" was the very first moviemaking book I ever read while I was in high school! Great choice! I still have my original hardcover (but the dust jacket is in bad shape)

Paul, one other suggestion. Borders has a great filmmaker's section. You'll find some great books that you can actually inspect on the spot to see if they meet your needs. Also, take a gander at the computer section. I accidentally found a few digital moviemaking books there.

Good luck!

Don't forget to browse through the Read About It forum. Lots of good recommendations have been posted there as well.

Have to say that I really enjoyed "Digital Filmmaking for Teens". And the "Shot by Shot" Katz series.

From Reel to Deal by Dov Simens and Make Your Own Damn Movie by my dear friend Lloyd Kaufman. Hope that helps.

Cinematography by Blain Brown theres also a book called "story" i forget who its by tho

FilmCraft Books
 

Film Lighting, Cinematography, both by Kris Malkiewicz.
Matters of light and Depth, by Ross Lowell-THE best book on lighting ever written, bar none.
The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies by Stu Maschwitz, recommended by Robert Rodriguez-and me!

Another for the 'must read' list: "Grammar of the Film Language" by Arijon

Wow, most of the books I'd mention have been brought up already!

I recommend "Practical DV Filmmaking" to anyone who wants to read about making independent films. It is somewhat of a beginners book but even now I find reading it is good for a "back to basics" reference and solving problems cheaply:

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Film...e=UTF8&s=books

The Digital Filmmaking Handbook (Long & Schenk)
Film Directing Shot By Shot (Katz)
Elements of Film (Bobker)
The Directors Journey (Travis)

Mentioned above I also recommend THe Filmmaker's Handbook and without question, you MUST read Lloyd Kaufman's books (mentioned above plus "All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger").

I respectfully disagree with the recomendation for Digital Moviemaking (Scott Billups) - others may have had different experiences but I didn't find this book to be particularly useful....to be honest, it's been a few years since I read it and I can't remember now why I didn't like it, but I know I found the Long & Schenk book above to be much more useful.

This is pathetic...I've spent more time reading about movie making than actually making movies!

Aside from the excellent recommendations, I love Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices by Rick Schmidt:

http://lightvideo.com/

and

http://www.amazon.com/Feature-Filmma...e=UTF8&s=books

I'll be reading Extreme DV soon, but the chapter or section on Dogme 95 puts me off a bit. I've done dogme 95 twice and don't want to go back to that style.

Also, I think once you get some knowledge, START MAKING MOVIES! Shorts, though, to begin. Cheaper and easier and follow a 3-act structure. Oh, and don't shoot your film--hire a DP.

heath