Sharing his own process honed over a decades-long career, Emmy-nominated director Dan Attias brings you into the actual experience of directing series television. Whether it’s the high-stakes pressure of solving a last-minute problem on set, or the joy of pulling off a perfect shot by the skin of your teeth, Attias brings you right into the director’s chair, sharing his knowledge and taking you through the process one challenging episode at a time. Offering a fundamental focus on story, and eschewing industry language for plain talk, Attias offers in-depth guidance how best to work with actors, how to “speak” through the camera, how to work with a showrunner, and how to be ready for the many ways a director will be challenged, large and small. Directing Great Television is a fascinating window into television’s best shows, compelling to directors and non-directors alike. Attias’s book transcends other filmmaking guides by detailing his journey to a surprising place of self-discovery, one with applications beyond entertainment.
Collaborating with actors is, for many filmmakers, the last frontier―the scariest part and the part they long for―the human part, the place where connection happens. Directing Actors: 25th Anniversary Edition covers the challenges of the actor-director relationship―the pitfalls of “result direction”; breaking down a script; how to prepare for casting sessions; when, how and whether to rehearse―but with updated references, expanded ideas, more detailed chapters on rehearsal and script analysis (using a scene from The Matrix)―and a whole new chapter on directing children. For twenty-five years the industry standard for instilling confidence in filmmakers, Directing Actors perseveres in its mission―to bring directors, actors and writers deeper into the exhilarating task of creating characters the world will not forget.
This edition features a brand new section: The Director’s Survival Guide to Episodic Television and explores the political danger zones faced in the ever expanding world of Streaming, Cable and Network television.
Shot by Shot is the world’s go-to directing book, now newly updated for a special 25th Anniversary edition! The first edition sold over 250,000 copies, making it one of the bestselling books on film directing of all time. Aspiring directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers, many of whom are now working professionals, learned the craft of visual storytelling from Shot by Shot, the most complete source for preplanning the look of a movie.
The book contains over 800 photos and illustrations and is by far the most comprehensive look at shot design in print, containing storyboards from movies such as Citizen Kane, Blade Runner, Dead-pool, and Moonrise Kingdom. Also introduced is the concept of A, I, and L patterns as a way to simplify the hundreds of staging choices facing a director in every scene.
Shot by Shot uniquely blends story analysis with compositional strategies, citing examples then illustrated with the storyboards used for the actual films. Throughout the book, various visual approaches to short scenes are shown, exposing the directing processes of our most celebrated auteurs ― including a meticulous, lavishly illustrated analysis of Steven Spielberg’s scene design for Empire of the Sun.
Visual Storytelling covers all major components of creating powerful images including lighting, camera functions, composition and storytelling. However, the main focus of the book is not just creating compelling visuals, but more importantly creating images that inform and move the audience. Images carry emotional weight and Visual Storytelling teaches readers how to harness these emotions to maximize the emotion of the story, while minimizing the amount of dialogue necessary.
What makes Visual Storytelling unique is that it not only covers the theoretical concepts of filmmaking but also the technical elements necessary to achieve the emotional outcome. This combination of theory and practice helps to create well informed and skilled filmmakers.
Suspense with a Camera brings the secrets of suspense out of the shadows. Written for screenwriters and directors by a leading expert on Hitchcock techniques, you’ll have fresh insights on crafting suspense. These ideas have never been published before and share revelations that go far beyond the cliché knives, corpses, and blondes that many associate with Hitchcock.
The Director s Six Senses is an innovative, unique, and engaging approach to the development of the skills that every visual storyteller must have. It s based on the premise that a director is a storyteller 24/7 and must be aware of the truth that he or she experiences in life in order to be able to reproduce it on the big screen. Through a series of hands-on exercises and practical experiences, the reader develops the directorial senses in order to be able to tell a story in the most effective way.”
Martin Scorsese directs films that range from the subtlest studies of relationships to violent gangster movies, with characters who are driven to the extremes of their personality. This book looks at Scorsese’s key techniques, showing how he uses space, framing, and a strong sense of direction, to en-sure that your films are brimming with tension, shock, and emotion.
Spielberg makes his audience feel something, whether he s shooting a kids adventure, a dramatic chase, or the darkest war scene. The auteur always employs a core set of techniques that make each shot crystal clear and evoke the most intense emotions from the audience. This book shows you how. From tension to tearjerker, these moves will make your scenes memorable enough to be talked about for years to come. Spielberg directs films that cover everything from childhood dreams to the horrors of war. He always hones in on the emotional center of a scene. This book unravels the secrets of his core techniques, and shows how you can use the same simple camera moves and setups to make your films full of wonder, thrills, and emotion.”
Want your film to sizzle with danger? Then learn from the master of tension and action. Using Tar-antino s secret tricks for creating conflict, keeping dialogue taut, and letting all hell break loose, you will enhance your own shooting style. Whatever your budget, get the action pumping with the camera setups and moves revealed in this dynamic book. Quentin Tarantino is a master of tension, suspense, shocking moments, dazzling dialogue, and off-beat humor. This book shows you why the best moments in his films work so well, and how you can use these ideas to enhance your own filmic style and stun your audience.
This text is written about the power of scene transitions as a visual storytelling tool. Make your audience feel your story on an emotional level through shifts in time, place, and character. Filmmaker, radio producer, and film scholar Jeffrey Michael Bays has taken what used to be vague instinct and turned it into the primary driving force behind connecting your audience emotionally with your story.
On motion picture and television sets today the director spends 90% of his time directing the camera. Professional actors come to set prepared to direct themselves. In spite of this recent change, 90% of all books on directing do not teach specifically how to direct the camera. Gil Bettman’s ‘Directing the Camera’ fills that void by teaching the elements of craft that contemporary directors use to give their films the visually dynamic look preferred by audiences today.
The Master Shots books have garnered critical acclaim throughout the world. In this new volume, Kenworthy gets directors to define their vision in every shot and provides advanced techniques to make a breakthrough film.
Master Shots gives filmmakers the techniques they need to execute complex, original shots on any budget. By using powerful master shots and well-executed moves, directors can develop a strong style and stand out from the crowd. Most low-budget movies look low-budget, because the director is forced to compromise at the last minute. Master Shots gives you so many powerful techniques that you ll be able to respond, even under pressure, and create knock-out shots. Even when the clock is ticking and the light is fading, the techniques in this book can rescue your film, and make every shot look like it cost a fortune.
Each technique is illustrated with samples from great feature films and computer-generated diagrams for absolute clarity.
This is a visual and straightforward manual describing the various aspects of the storyboarding profession. The book includes tips and advice from a working professional with expertise in film, television, and advertising.
This is the ChineseSimplified version. Dialogue scenes are the most important moments in your film, but most directors get them wrong.
If you block your scenes well, you do more than capture the basic scene; you echo the meaning, emotion, and drama of every moment. That is never more important than with dialogue.
Whatever your budget, there is an exciting way to capture dialogue.
It is a tragedy that so many directors are happy to open a scene with a moving master shot, and then just settle into dull coverage for the dialogue. You can do better than that and Master Shots Vol 2 gives you 100 ways to shoot dynamic dialogue.
Here, for the first time, author Mark Travis finally reveals the secret techniques, inner workings, and most powerful short cuts to directing actors and writers in theatre, television, and film. This is the one book you need to be a great director.
Through balancing interviews with working ASC cinematographers and the technical, aesthetic and historical side of cinematography, this text guides directors toward a more powerful collaboration with their closest ally, the cinematographer.
Animation continues to make earth-shattering leaps and breakthroughs – from the flat world of Mickey Mouse to the 3D universe of WALL-E. The possibilities are endless.
Whether you need to learn the difference between a jump cut and a match cut or you’re a working filmmaker looking for visual ideas on how to best communicate the stories you want to tell, Setting Up Your Shots is an encyclopedia of camera moves and cinematic storytelling techniques that directors of all levels will find useful.
Written in clear, non-technical language and laid out in a nonlinear format with self-contained chapters for easy reference, this book provides detailed descriptions of more than 100 camera setups, angles and techniques, using examples from over 140 popular films.
An excellent primer for beginner filmmakers, as well as a handy quick-reference guide for experienced directors.
Contains 150 references to the great shots of your favorite films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blue Velvet, Citizen Kane, The Matrix, She’s Gotta Have It, The Usual Suspects and Vertigo.