Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2735 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-19
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Synopsis
In this indispensable step-by-step guide, leading director Mike Figgis ("Timecode", "Leaving Las Vegas", "Internal Affairs") offers the reader a tutorial in how to get the very best from digital film-making technology. Offering everything that you could wish to know on the subject, this is a handbook that will become an essential back-pocket reference for the digital film enthusiast - whether your goal is to make no-budget movies, or simply to put your video camera to more use than just holidays and weddings.

Customer Reviews

very useful book
I really liked this book. It was very personal and most useful. There are loads of books out there about how to do this and that. What I wanted was some great advice. For starters know your equipment inside out, get a book and write notes about how your settings work, try different combinations. I thought that might be obvious to some but it was inspirational to me. Another great tip was treasure your equipment. Keep it immaculate, really clean especially the lens, otherwise big blobs appear on the big screen! Its got a lot of really good points which I found most useful.

I like the fact that he talks about his work, his passion, his attention to every detail. It's important and very useful. Without passion nothing get done to the highest levels.

Anyone can make a film
This is a truly inspiring book for any aspiring film-maker. Though it is by no means a "how to" manual it nonetheless equips the reader with a sense that there really is no barrier to creating a film with next to no budget and minimal equipment. Figgis points out that ideas, ingenuity and vision are the essential tools of the film director rather than expensive equipment and a professional crew. The style of the book is conversational and full of anecdotes (some useful and illuminating others simply reminiscences) from Figgis' own film-making experiences. For me the book is most useful on lighting, on which subject Figgis gives some really practical and surprising tips, and working with actors, where his insights into the motivations and insecurities of that profession could save the novice director a lot of grief! Altogether a useful and highly readable addition to the aspiring film-makers bookshelf.

Lacking in Detail
Hmmm. . . This is a good book, I certainly found it inspiring and it's full of illuminating little hints. However, it's also very short and lacking in detail. Not a 'how to', more of an 'I did'.