The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age: 2013 Edition

by Steven Ascher, Edward Pincus

Overview

An updated edition of the authoritative guide to producing, directing, shooting, editing, and distributing your video or film.

Widely acknowledged as the “bible” of video and film production, and used in courses around the world, The Filmmaker’s Handbook is now updated with the latest advances in HD and new digital formats. For students and teachers, professionals and novices, this indispensable handbook covers all aspects of movie making.

• Techniques for making dramatic features, documentaries, corporate, broadcast, and experimental videos and films
•  Shooting with DSLRs, video, film, and digital cinema cameras
•  Digital editing with the latest video editing systems
•  In-depth coverage of lenses, lighting, sound recording, and mixing
•  The business aspects of funding and producing your project
•  Getting your movie shown in theaters, on TV, and on the Web

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101613801
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/27/2012
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	832
Sales rank:	176,341
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Steven Ascher is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker who has taught film at Harvard and MIT. He most recently directed the Emmy-nominated documentary Raising Renee.

Edward Pincus was a director of many films, including The Axe in the Attic and One Cut, One Life. He taught film courses at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and developed the MIT Film Section. He died in 2013.

What People are Saying About This

Pat Jackson

"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, Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University)

Steven Ascher

From the Author:

A book for people working in video, in film or both.

This new edition was written with the idea that you may want to work just in video, or just in film, or in any combination. Writing the first edition, I tried to put in a book the essential things you need to know to make films. In the new edition, I've tried to do the same thing with video. Camcorders, nonlinear editing, tape-based and computer-based systems, TV broadcast. We are in a transitional era, in which both analog and digital gear are in use — the book deals with both. Moviemakers working with digital video (DV) cameras, analog video, 16mm or 35mm should find what they're looking for. The book isn't just about technology. It's about the tools and methods of telling stories with motion pictures, and includes a short course in fundraising, legal and business issues and distribution as well.

From the Publisher

“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

Alfred Guzzetti

"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)

Editorial Reviews

THE BIBLE, UPDATED. The Filmmaker's Handbook was first published in 1984 and has been a production bible ever since... Starting with the most fundamental functions of the camera, The Filmmaker's Handbook outlines the processes that create both film and video images and guides the reader through every stage of production—from assembling a crew to delivering a print or broadcast master. Encyclopedic in scope, the book breaks every subject down to its component elements, resulting in a reference work for students and working filmmakers alike.... Provides an invaluable course in both technology and technique.... As independent filmmakers often wear many hats (say, producing, shooting, and editing their own project), The Filmmaker's Handbook is a valuable tool that can prepare them for the problems and challenges unique to every stage of production-digital or analog.

The Independent

Gold-standard technical reference book for filmmakers.

Boston Globe

This is an essential book.

Self-Reliant Filmmaking

A comprehensive guide for commercial and independent filmmakers, students, and teachers of film and video, updated from the 1984 edition to include recent technology, methods, and examples. Explains such aspects as shooting with film and video cameras, editing with computer-based nonlinear systems, digital and analog recording, and business aspects of producing and distributing movies. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Praise for The Filmmaker’s Handbook

“Seminal.”—The 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

From the Publisher