elementry level filmmaking book?

[ChrisA]

This is posibly a little bit off topic as it's not strictly about shooting
underwater.

I want to buy a book or (maybe a video) for my wife. She just bought a Sony
Mini DV camera but has not much idea how to shoot video that is watchable by
others. A long time ago (in the days of 8 and 16mm film) I took a couple film
making classes. I'm not good at, it but at least I remember about how to
establish the scene with a long shot, the difference between an objective and
subjective shot and a little bit about how to cut the film to tell a story.

She's smart, is fluent in three languages and was able to get into and graduate
from a top-line university but has no mechanical abilty and does not want to
read about f-stops or ISO values. Running the camera in "full auto mode" works
well enough. I think if she learned even the basics of editing and how to
shoot for editing the quality of the result would improve dramatically.

So, I'm looking for a very elementry and readable level filmmaking book

 

[Groundhog246]

I haven't seen such a book or video, so if anyone knows, I'm interested too. I have learned a couple of things this summer. The most important is, if you or your buddy are diving new gear (exposure suit, BCD, etc) that might take some getting used to, leave the camera behind.

 

[MCL]

I'd be interested in something like this too, so I'm going to bump this up and see if there's anyone out there ready to drop some knowledge.

 

[drbill]

Some recommend Jim Church's "Essential Guide to Underwater Video." I bought a copy a few years ago, but didn't really get that much out of it. Of course by that time I had been shooting topside for decades (film, video, stills) and underwater for a year or so. However, it might serve as a good intro.

Dr. Bill

 

[diversteve]

Some recommend Jim Church's "Essential Guide to Underwater Video." I bought a copy a few years ago, but didn't really get that much out of it. Of course by that time I had been shooting topside for decades (film, video, stills) and underwater for a year or so. However, it might serve as a good intro.

Dr. Bill

I've got the Church book too, although the technology is really dated now - it was written when HI-8 was the new thing - there's some basic shot setup stuff that's still worth a read.

It's hard to find so if anybody wants to borrow mine send me a PM.

Steve

 

[ChrisA]

That's exactly why I asked about film making and editing books. There is a lot of theory that goes along with editing and it applies above and below water.

I can now answer the question I posted that stated this thread. First a definition of terms.

Most video camera owners don't really "edit". I'm using "edit" in the technical hollywood sense where the result is a show that fools the viewer into thinking they are seeing continous action. We watch a movie and see people talking, riding down elevators running down street and shooting at each other and we are tricked into thinking we are there seeing a real situation unfold. If done well we forget we are watching a movie. Movies only "work" because of some quirks in human perception and vision. Film editors have developed rules of thumb that take advantage of these quirks.

What most amatuers make is what I call a "video slide show" it's just a bunch of loosly related moving pictures. Much like a still slide show. Viewers are never tricked. Slide shows can be enertianing but the viewer is not tricked into thinking he is there watching something hapen

I wanted to make a "movie style" show ware the viewer thinks he is there watching John and Jane go on a dive trip and see fish, whales, turtles and whatever. Nothing wrong with slide shows but you need either a very good (hopfuly) live speaker or subject matter that is better then what everyone has seen 100 times on Discovery Channel.


Back to books:

I bought a few books, some good some not.

Church's book is not bad and he does go into "movie style" editing a little and even gives you a "cookbook" method to make the "john and Jane going on a dive trip" movie. Follow his advice and it will work out. It's basic but good. Equipment section is outdates but that's unimportent. Price is right too. $8.00 for a used copy on Anazon.

This book is very good and more advanced:
"Editing Digital Video : The Complete Creative and Technical Guide"
by Robert M. Goodman, Patrick McGrath

The book talks only about editing. How to cut raw footage into a story and comes with a CD with some video files on it so you can do some exercises. It aviods talking about any one specific equipment. The focus of the book is on editing as an art and craft. It suggests that your goal as a beginning film editor is to make five (or so) minute "video sketches" that tell a story ith a "beginning", "midle" and "end". and he tells you how. The author warns that if your skill level is such that you are reading this book you should not attempt to make that hour long documentary movie, start with the sketch.
The Edittorial Review at Anazon is acurate. THe book targets someone who knows how to use the camera and editing tools but little about the art and craft of cutting film.



"The Little Digital Video Book" by Michael Rubin
is a good book to buy if you have just bought a video camera and are at that awful beginner stage where you are still just panning the camera and zoommng and shooting stuff like your kids in front of different landmarks "And here is a shot of johny standing in front of the Grand Canyon." and then the camera zooms back and pans left and right a few times. If you know someone who shots like that buy them this book. It is short and easy to read. This book can help a camcorder owner begine a beginning videographer. Well written, short and easy to understand.

Some recommend Jim Church's "Essential Guide to Underwater Video." I bought a copy a few years ago, but didn't really get that much out of it. Of course by that time I had been shooting topside for decades (film, video, stills) and underwater for a year or so. However, it might serve as a good intro.

Dr. Bill

 

[drbill]

Hmmm... I guess I'm not fooling anybody with my products, but they seem well received. I'm glad to know that what I spend hundreds of hours a year doing is not called editing. Very interesting!

Dr. Bill

 

[Moogyboy]

hey all

A couple of suggestions:

There was a video that came out many years ago (on VHS, obviously) about underwater videography by a fellow named Robert "Tuna" Townsend (not the "Hollywood Shuffle" actor, this guy looks more like a slightly stoned Kona beach bum) which in spite of its one-static-camera-all-in-one-take production values has some good info. How old is it? He's using plain 8mm videotape and cameras.

Also, on a purely non-underwater level, I hear that Robert Rodriguez' book on zero-budget filmmaking is not only informative but inspiring. I've had a yen to do some writing-directing for some time and since I got blown away by "el Mariachi" last night (famously, shot for $7000 with a borrowed 16mm movie camera and a Radio Shack cassette recorder, edited on tape at a local community-access TV station) I intend to get my own copy. Also try a google search for his famous "10 Minute Film School" essay. There are plenty of other filmmaking books out there, but mostly geared toward making cinema-type films, on film.

cheers

Billy S.

 

[ChrisA]

I'm sure you know what I mean. I was actually thinking of your work when I wrote the comment that the "slide show" style can be good if there is a good speaker or the material was better then the discovery channel stuff.

You know, when they invented the movie camera people thought that you couldn't make radical visual jumps. Film makers thought it would disorient the viewer. After all, before then people only had experiance with watching plays from a fixed theator seat. It took some years before they learned how to cut from long shot to medium shot to closeup in a way the viewers woud not notice and percive as natural. It's actually not intuitive that movie should "work" at all. Jumping about a room instantainously moving from place to place and watching things form many vanage points is not a natural human experiance. Niether is seeing and actor then instantly seeing "though his eyes" what that actor sees. But it "works" in movies
Who would have thought such radical visual jumps could be made to be not noticed? But then breathing underwter is not natural either and it seem to "work"..

I wish there was an English word for "cutting film in the cinematic style".

Hmmm... I guess I'm not fooling anybody with my products, but they seem well received. I'm glad to know that what I spend hundreds of hours a year doing is not called editing. Very interesting!

Dr. Bill

 

[meekal]

a couple good sources on the web that i've found (now i just need to actually implement them!)

super introductory, but ya gotta start somewhere!
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/howto/Tips.asp?Langue_ID=7

gotta give Bill his dues....
title says it all - Movie Maker for Beginners
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/getstarted/default.mspx

couple of different articles on the same:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx


bunch of different articles
http://www.videouniversity.com/article2.htm