Post by Eric T. Jones on Dec 26, 2006 22:41:07 GMT -5
Judy got this for me as a Christmas gift, and I don't think I've zipped through a book this fast since I had to wait in line for Bruce Campbell's autograph.
Got to around the halfway point. Piper does have tiresome anti-Hollywood and anti-critic commentary that gets in the way of an otherwise fascinating filmmaking manual (his anti-Hollywood ideals are so radicalist that he feels making feature films is equivalent to selling out... this is easily contradicted by all the feature-length Hollywood films he recommends).
Taking the angle of the hobbyist, he claims not to have technical detail in mind, but he does emphasize the importance of good editing and shot composition. As making feature length films are what he calls selling out, this is not among the many books trying to prepare you for your future big-shot career. He acknowledges that you'll still have to work, say, in a convenience store or as a taxi driver in order to get your funds, but claims it's rewarding to show a work that's completely by you to your friends at the coffee shop.
Most useful, though, are his sections about documentary filmmaking... tips I really could have used during the movie-within-a-movie scenes for "Visions". He has some good points about minimalist filmmaking, which is sticking to the essentials and not revealing every single detail to be out in the open.
Also, though printed in black-and-white like the rest of 'em, there are far more screenshot examples (from actual "student" films, I may add) than most "intro to film"-type manuals. If he has a point to make, or a technique to tell you about, he'll give the verbal description like anyone else, but then he'll have screenshots laid out like storyboards. This is useful for anyone not able to access a computer with DVD-ROM to view the short films he's included with the book... and it just helps with understanding the read.
Last, but certainly not least, the book is very much accessible to non-technical readers. Those who are sick of my writing "essays" on the technical specifications of DMI films and future projects will not get them here- it's all in clear-cut English.
I should read the second half of the book, and see the 30 films that are included on the disc.
Got to around the halfway point. Piper does have tiresome anti-Hollywood and anti-critic commentary that gets in the way of an otherwise fascinating filmmaking manual (his anti-Hollywood ideals are so radicalist that he feels making feature films is equivalent to selling out... this is easily contradicted by all the feature-length Hollywood films he recommends).
Taking the angle of the hobbyist, he claims not to have technical detail in mind, but he does emphasize the importance of good editing and shot composition. As making feature length films are what he calls selling out, this is not among the many books trying to prepare you for your future big-shot career. He acknowledges that you'll still have to work, say, in a convenience store or as a taxi driver in order to get your funds, but claims it's rewarding to show a work that's completely by you to your friends at the coffee shop.
Most useful, though, are his sections about documentary filmmaking... tips I really could have used during the movie-within-a-movie scenes for "Visions". He has some good points about minimalist filmmaking, which is sticking to the essentials and not revealing every single detail to be out in the open.
Also, though printed in black-and-white like the rest of 'em, there are far more screenshot examples (from actual "student" films, I may add) than most "intro to film"-type manuals. If he has a point to make, or a technique to tell you about, he'll give the verbal description like anyone else, but then he'll have screenshots laid out like storyboards. This is useful for anyone not able to access a computer with DVD-ROM to view the short films he's included with the book... and it just helps with understanding the read.
Last, but certainly not least, the book is very much accessible to non-technical readers. Those who are sick of my writing "essays" on the technical specifications of DMI films and future projects will not get them here- it's all in clear-cut English.
I should read the second half of the book, and see the 30 films that are included on the disc.