EAN:9781932907513
Label:Michael Wiese Productions
Author:Christopher Kenworthy
Binding:Paperback | For the beginner or occasional filmmaker, this is a great book Great help to visualizing your film. Essentially it is an encyclopedia of master shots, a hundred of them2009-02-20 Rating 5. Most are illustrated with stills from various films and with 3D models created in Poser 7.
The author provides details about how the shot is set up, the feeling the shot is intended to convey and pertinent information. Kenworthy deliberately stays away from things like lenses, equipment, lighting and so on.
His point is that the shots can be accomplished with any kind of camera. It is the point of view that matters and the action that establishes the meaning of the shot and advances the story.
Master Shots is definitely an aid to the beginning filmmaker or those who shoot only occasionally and could you a bit of assistance in visualizing how to tell their story.
For a very reasonable cost, you have a hundred classic master shots diagrammed and explained for you. Good deal.
Jerry. I have no intention of shooting a movie, but I was interested in this book as a way of extending my visual literacy You'll never see movies in the same way again. Quite simply, this is a great book for exposing the visual grammar that underlies the business of telling a story in film2009-02-19 Rating 5. It's as concerned with the mechanics of storytelling as it is with the business of filming.
A great and surprising present for movie-loving friends. I'm currently sitting on page 96 of this book and its driving me crazy Vague and effortless photo material. This book utilizes frames from existing films with computer storyboards2009-02-14 Rating 1. What drives me crazy is that the descriptions aren't detailed enough to get a visual understanding of what is occuring in the storyboards and screengrabs. A demo dvd would have been nice to accompany the volume or at least a time code where you can go to the screenshots yourself to see exactly how the shot is played out. Or leave out the screen shots and put in more detailed storyboards. I'm a film student and I was REALLY excited to receive a copy of this book Good. But not exactly all "Advanced", nor practical for Beginners.. I realize this book is not about certain shots being limited to a particular example, but also giving you ideas to expand on2009-01-22 Rating 3. However, I was slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, this book is still helpful, but I'm having a hard time understanding who this book is MAINLY targeted towards to.
First of all, even if you follow the "techniques", your low budget film will still look low budget if you don't have the proper equipments (and believable actors, lighting, script, and the list goes on. . ) That's reality. This book alone is not going to give you that "expensive look on your low-budget movie". That's just a marketing tool. Just be aware of that. (This is not the reason I'm giving it a 3 stars!) If you do have a dolly track, Steadicam, or crane, THAT will give you an "EXPENSIVE" *LOOK* -- however, if you're trying to convey a STORY using those tools, then there has to be a meaning to it or feel natural; or else the audience will feel disconnected. That's what this book is here to help you with. It's all about the e-MOTION. (Get it? The motion has to convey the emotion. )
The author mentions about using long/short lens, focus pull, dolly. etc, so you better really have that ability down first or know the basics. If you try to go hand held on a consumer camera, unless you're going for the Blair Witch/Cloverfield style, it's still going to look BAD.
As far as camera techniques go, it just uses the same, common, existing shots several times (it could just be a simple motionless long shot, or tracking/panning and coming to a halt; but just used in different examples). If you're looking for mindblowing innovation, this is not it. I guess when I heard the term "camera techniques", I had the wrong expectation of thinking it would be several camera tricks; for example, like "The Vertigo effect" (dolly zoom). However, the techniques in this book rely heavily on directing the actor's movements (and sometimes post editing and using props/location/lighting shadows; I thought this book was supposed to teach CAMERA techniques? I mean sure, all those things are crucial to a cinematographer, but it doesn't necessarily pertain all to the camera itself). It will keep using things like dolly, long/short lens, low/high angle, close up, etc, but what this book goes over briefly is basically the motivation of when to use them. There's a lot of recycled shots, but the only difference is the situation.
The shots are broken down for these categories:
Ch. 01: Fight Scenes (8 shots total)
Ch. 02: Chase Scenes (10 shots)
Ch. 03: Entrances & Exits (8 shots)
Ch. 04: Suspense, Searching & Creeping (9 shots)
Ch. 05: Dramatic Shift (9 shots)
Ch. 06: Revelations & Discoveries (9 shots)
Ch. 07: Shock Horror (9 shots)
Ch. 08: Directing Attention (7 shots)
Ch. 09: Car Scenes (7 shots)
Ch. 10: Dialogue Scenes (8 shots)
Ch. 11: Arguments & Conflict (8 shots)
Ch. 12: Love & Sex Scenes (8 shots)
If you don't know how to shoot a person in a car scene (have the camera in front of the car, backseat, or passenger side. . ) and need "advanced" help from this book, then you really shouldn't be a DP. I mean, there's some really useful examples and subtle tips in this book, don't get me wrong, but I just find some shots to be a little redundant or so basic that it's not even worth mentioning (or cause it to receive an applause from the viewer to say, "Wow, that looked advanced. ")
The 3D model (made with Poser 7) picture, with only arrows pointing, and only two or three screen STILLS at most, from the actual movie, wasn't really helping me to fully understand, especially when I'm not familiar with the movie. I thought it was kind of strange, and somewhat humorous, for the sex scene shots, they would actually make female 3D model fully nude and detailed (hide this away from your kids! Will somebody please think of the children?!? Sorry. ), while the male 3D rendering has his pants on (not that I'm complaining or anything about the latter). I almost think the 3D renderings were just something the makers enjoyed doing for themselves. Even some movies I were familiar with, the author explains it differently or there were discrepancies with the 3D diagram (Romeo + Juliet, the camera was panning around, so shouldn't it be showing arrows instead of three different camera set-ups and cutting between them?). The book contains brief short paragraphs of the explanation than being in-depth. For some shots, the author doesn't even mention what the movie is from. It would have been better if he had the movie title (and possibly the timecode for the scene) next to the screen stills, just for better organization, instead of sometimes being mentioned in the paragraphs.
Sure, if this was a drawing art book then stills are fine, but for movies. . not quite. Some were quite obvious and a 3D model was totally unnecessary. I mean, camera placement is pretty evident just by looking at the still picture; however, if you haven't seen the movie before, it's a little difficult to understand what the movement exactly is. It would have been nice if this book came with a DVD-Rom with sample clips of the movie or clips of the 3D models! I'm sure costs would be a problem, but I wouldn't mind paying extra for it.
The author obviously knows his stuff. I don't hate this book. However, I think it could be a lot clearer in some examples, especially the 3D models and stills, and be more consistent on the order of explaining and which movie it is from. Moreover, focus on a certain target audience (maybe add a "level of difficulty" rating of what the author thinks on each example) than try to be too broad with obvious basic/repetitive examples or too complex to pull off without having the right setup. Overall, I think this book is targeted more towards people who already understand the basics of filmmaking and willing to invest on the essential tools to truly fulfill these shots (do not rely on hand held shots), but just can't come up with anything besides keeping the camera still on a tripod and cutting between them. For professional cinematographers, this will just be a nice reference, a "reminder".
After further review, I guess I wouldn't mind giving this book a 4 stars. The author at least doesn't ramble, doesn't use too much jargon, and gets to the point. The book doesn't feel outdated and uses mostly contemporary movies such as Children of Men, Minority Report, Fight Club, Terminator 3 (Not sure why he used the worst one out of the series), Amelie, Crouching Tiger, etc. . I am in awe of this book Best of Its Kind. And I think I have the chops to be a good judge of its worth2009-01-19 Rating 5. I have directed four feature films, and couple of dozen primetime TV shows and rock videos; taught directing for thirteen years at a leading filmschool (Chapman) and given seminars on "how to direct the camera" in eleven countries on three continents. I have also written my own universally well-reviewed, how-to book on directing - "First Time Director".
Kenworthy has a deep and broad understanding of how to direct the camera. In this book, he analyzes more than hundred different shots - most of them using a moving camera - and he is absolutely, spot-on accurate in describing the dramatic impact - the feel - of each shot. This makes the book as much about story as camera. His analyses are well written and easy to understand. And most important, the visual tools he uses to illustrate how to execute the shots are highly effective - better than I have seen in any how-to book on directing, including my own.
Anybody with a basic understanding of camera and lenses can pick up this book, study it, and start taking giant strides towards becoming a master of visual design for motion pictures. If you want to make movies that like the directors whose films Kenworthy uses to illustrate his points: Kubrick, Spielberg, Lucas and Cuaron, to name a few, this book is a great place to start.
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 |
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