Practical DV filmmaking / Russell Evans.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Written for the beginner, Practical DV Filmmaking guides you thorough the process of making a film with low-cost digital equipment: from development through to production, post-production and distribution. While the technical tools you need are fully explained, the book concentrates on filmmaking principles throughout, illustrating how these tools can be used to achieve stylistic approaches for innovative filmmaking. The book assumes no background knowledge in either technology or filmmaking and is divided into four key areas: *DEVELOPMENT: turn your idea into a workable script, storyboard and schedule. *PRODUCTION: develop skills to shoot original short films and turn a zero-to-low budget to your advantage. *POST-PRODUCTION: learn basic editing techniques to enhance your original idea using iMovie, Premiere and other popular tools. *DISTRIBUTION: set up a website and use the internet to promote your film. Includes numerous links to useful websites. Plus, top tips for how to enter a film festival and a new chapter on developing a career. Projects enable you to master each step of the process taking you through different aspects of filmmaking today. Gradually you will find out where your strengths lie and how to make the most of them. The book also encourages stylistic development by intruding theoretical approaches to filmmaking. A glossary of terms plus an appendix of resources make this guide a one-stop essential handbook to DV filmmaking practice for beginners and student filmmakers.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgements (p. ix)
• Introduction to the second edition (p. xi)
• How to use this book (p. xiii)
• Chapter 1 Overview (p. 1)
• 1 Think big (p. 1)
• 2 The filmmaking process (p. 2)
• 3 Low-budget filmmaking (p. 6)
• Chapter 2 Inside video (p. 10)
• 1 What is digital technology? (p. 10)
• 2 How the camcorder works (p. 16)
• 3 Operating the camcorder (p. 24)
• Project 1 In-camera edit: hand-made movie (p. 29)
• 4 Video safety and good practice (p. 32)
• 5 Video compression (p. 35)
• Chapter 3 Films and how they work (p. 43)
• 1 Types of film and filmmakers (p. 43)
• Project 2 In-camera edit (p. 52)
• 2 How films work (p. 55)
• 3 Film language and how to speak it (p. 63)
• Chapter 4 Pre-production (p. 70)
• Part 1 Logistics and crew (p. 71)
• 1 Working out a budget (p. 71)
• 2 Collaboration and you (p. 80)
• Project 3 Scene description (p. 91)
• Project 4 Collaboration (p. 92)
• Project 5 Developing stories (p. 94)
• 3 Making a schedule (p. 96)
• Part 2 Scriptwriting (p. 100)
• 4 Story and structure (p. 100)
• Project 6 Core scenes (p. 112)
• Project 7 Silent movie remake (p. 114)
• 5 Alternative script structure (p. 118)
• Project 8 New movie structures (p. 123)
• 6 Devising stories for low budgets (p. 124)
• Project 9 Revealing subtext in your movie (p. 128)
• Project 10 Symbolism in the movies (p. 130)
• Part 3 Visuals (p. 132)
• 7 Visualizing your film (p. 132)
• 8 Storyboards and visual tools (p. 136)
• Chapter 5 Production tools (p. 145)
• 1 A condensed guide to shooting (p. 146)
• 2 Lighting (p. 150)
• 3 Sound recording (p. 161)
• Project 11 The chase (p. 176)
• Project 12 Sound environment (p. 179)
• 4 Real world guide to location shooting (p. 180)
• 5 Shooting for compression (p. 188)
• Project 13 New format movie (p. 192)
• Chapter 6 Production aesthetics (p. 194)
• 1 Better looking films (p. 194)
• Project 14 Close-ups (p. 206)
• 2 Continuity (p. 211)
• Project 15 Urban legends (p. 219)
• 3 Documentary (p. 221)
• Project 16 My obituary (p. 227)
• 4 Music video and the VJ (p. 229)
• Project 17 Music video (p. 238)
• Chapter 7 Post-production tools (p. 242)
• 1 Condensed guide to editing (p. 243)
• 2 Starting to work in digital editing (p. 244)
• 3 Preparing to edit (p. 255)
• 4 Editing with sound (p. 258)
• 5 Understanding timecode (p. 265)
• 6 Working with text (p. 268)
• Chapter 8 Post-production aesthetics (p. 272)
• 1 Editing aesthetics: editing for genre (p. 272)
• 2 Editing aesthetics: non-narrative (p. 281)
• Project 18 Polymedia movie (p. 289)
• 3 Montage editing (p. 290)
• Project 19 Movie spell (p. 295)
• Chapter 9 Careers and distribution (p. 297)
• Part 1 Where am I going? (p. 297)
• 1 What's a career? (p. 297)
• 2 Careers: essential knowledge (p. 302)
• 3 Essential qualities (p. 306)
• 4 Three stages of a career (p. 311)
• 5 The career map (p. 314)
• 6 Career troubleshooting (p. 322)
• Part 2 How do I get there? (p. 325)
• 7 Where to get your movies seen (p. 325)
• 8 Guide to distribution (p. 331)
• 9 Strategies for promotion (p. 341)
• Project 20 Showreel: who am I? (p. 348)
• 10 Film festivals (p. 349)
• 11 Using Internet broadcast sites (p. 356)
• 12 Your rights: protecting your movie on the web (p. 359)
• Chapter 10 Mapping the industry (p. 362)
• 1 State of the art: mapping the film industry (p. 362)
• 2 State of the art: expansion and convergence (p. 365)
• 3 Trends affecting film (p. 378)
• Glossary of film and video terms (p. 381)
• Bibliography (p. 397)
• Index (p. 399)

Author notes provided by Syndetics