5 comments about The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age.

1. If you buy a used copy of the book, you might get sent an earlier edition. This book is subtitled "A comprehensive guide for the digital age" but the version I got didn't have that subtitle. It was printed in 1984 and only deals with analog concepts.



2. This covers everything for both film and analog & digital video including High Def.
   
   This is a great book for the serious prosumer or pro. I am learning professional video at present and I've read half way through this book and I would say out of the many other books and numberless websites I've read this book has given me about half of my useful knowledge and covered everything in other books I've read so far except the consumer grade silliness. It gives really great explanations of technical stuff like file formats and codecs, compression, organization and camera movement to name a few examples. I like to understand stuff for myself and not just take the author's word for something, and that's how this book works. I especially like the useful examples and analogies.
   
   If you are a non-tech Consumer making Point & Shoot home videos and just want a quick, easy, color picture guide to video then you don't want this book although it still could be handy for a reference.
   
   If you are a Pro you definitely want this book and it's possible you might not need another except for books specific to certain areas or equipment. This book covers in moderate to heavy depth everything from planning to budgeting to lights to sound recording to editing to marketing.
   
   Bottom Line: I highly recommend this book! (Make sure and get the latest edition - as of 7-2010 it's 3)



3. This book is actually well put together as a review of equipment and doing the business end. However it does not have a very in depth chapter of the "How To Do This" from the storyboarding or from a cameraman's point of view, there are some pointers but not as much as I had hoped for in that area. Still a good read so far.
   
   Yes it is worth the read, especially if you want to put together a production company.



4. Great Deal for Aspiring Indie Filmmakers
   I recently purchased and read the 832 page monster known as The Filmmaker's Handbook. This book is pretty awesome for anyone looking to make their first documentary or fictional film. The book covers everything from the equipment used to the different roles of the crew. This book is somewhat up to date and includes most of the current digital technology but also deals with traditional film as well. It is written to inform the reader of how the film industry works and some of the fundamentals required. It isn't a substitute for formal film school but this is a great read for amateurs.
   
   Likes
   - Covers audio quite well
   - Very plain talk, explains industry terms well
   - Covers tons of topics
   
   Dislikes
   - It didn't cover a whole lot on specific shots
   - While it's not completely out of date (2007), it references HD-DVD and HDTV as new technology



5. Awsome resource. This book has everything you need to know about filmmaking from codecs to lighting. If you want to learn about film/video, buy this book.

5 comments about Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3.

1. There are so many photography books out there that it can be a daunting task to choose one. This set by Scott Kelby greatly exceeded my expectations. The content ranges from beginner to what I would call advanced/intermediate. I've been an DSLR user for almost 2 years, but was new to any photography terms/skills beyond point and shoot cameras. These books are set up to offer a variety of topics in small chunks. Each specific subject is on 1-2 page - Easy to read a little bit at a time. I always have one of these books with me to read at appointments or when waiting on kids in carpool lines. I can't emphasize enough that these books are both a valuable resource and a pleasure to read. My husband probably thinks I'm crazy when he sees me laughing out loud, holding a book on Digital Photography. Kelby's skill combined with a good dose of humor makes these books great. Hobbies like photography have so many technical aspects that, if taken too seriously, can be overwhelming to the kinds of people who actually need to read a photography book. I have learned a lot from this series. I would suggest reading them with page markers in hand to mark the pages you want to remember and reference later. My set has colored flags sticking up all over them.



2. I purchased the three book set of Digital Photography by Scott Kelby. Book 1 is written in plain language, without a lot of technical terms that make you feel like a dummy. He explains how to get most any kind of shot you want, with helpful hints to guide you along. The other books are a bit more complicated, but I am able to understand and love all his advice.



3. I found Scott Kelby's book to be as I expected it to be and more. I plan on getting more of his books soon. Dan B



4. I am glad I picked up his 3 volumes and read them all. I am an novice when it comes to taking pictures. I love the format of the book and how Scott presents the information by topics. As I read through vol 2 and then 3, each book has the same lay out in term of topics. But progressively each book delve deeper into more technical aspect of each topic. I appreciate his clear and concise teaching along with the humor at the beginning of each chapter. This is definitely a keeper on my bookshelf. I always check back certain topics before going out to take more photography. It really helps me improving my picture taking skills. If you are a beginner like me, buy the books. You won't regret it.



5. This series of books for anybody that has purchased a DSLR camera (or even have experience and just want to learn more). The style it is written in makes it easy to cut through the technical aspects of the camera and simply take great pictures. Rather than confuse you with details and the author focuses on what you should do to take better pictures with specific examples and advice for the types of photo you are taking. For a book on a technical subject it is easy to read and understand. In addition to the use of the camera there is good advice on composition and lighting. These concepts will help the beginner go from the world of blah photos to more interesting and professional looking shots that will make people say "wow". I dig these books and highly recommend them. Also, the concepts shared are not specific to any brand of camera, although there is a bit more information specific to Nikon and Canon DSLR's.

5 comments about In the Blink of an Eye Revised 2nd Edition.

1. "In the Blink of an Eye" is a great film editor's book on the editing of motion pictures. Walter Murch's book became a classic for people editing moving pictures soon after the book's 1995 release. Later, Mr. Murch revised the book to keep current with digital developments in the field, and Silman-James Press published the second edition in 2001.
   
   Although Murch talks shop for much of the book, he never loses sight of big-picture topics. He is well-educated in the psychology and aesthetics of motion pictures. So, when he makes an observation, say, about why cuts work, or a criticism, say, of digital technology, his words carry the weight of informed insight.
   
   For example, in an explanation of why "cuts" work, Murch quotes John Huston on page 60 of the paperback edition:
   "Look at that lamp across the room. Now look back at me. Look back at that lamp. Now look back at me again. Do you see what you did? You blinked. Those are cuts. After the first look, you know there's no reason to pan continuously from me to the lamp because you know what's in between. Your mind cut the scene. First, you behold the lamp. Cut. Then you behold me."
   
   For much of the book, Murch seems underwhelmed by the advances in digital editing, but, in the 2001 edition, he puts his reservations in perspective. Murch's reservations are born, not of a Luddite fear, but of a deep understanding of the potentiality and limitations of non-linear editing. The final section of "In the Blink of an Eye," 'Afterword: Digital Film Editing,' explains in some detail the digital upside and the downside. For example, Murch shows that digital editing favors the director-editor team that prefers to work in isolation, projecting onto the screen--as accurately as possible--what the director and editor conceive in their heads, while the old-style Moviola editing favors their collaboration with other members of the production team.
   
   The digital motion-picture revolution has advanced even faster than Murch anticipated in the 2001 edition. One would hope for a 3rd edition from him soon.
   
   "In the Blink of an Eye" contains shop-talk, but Murch places the shop-talk in the context of the general discussion about art, psychology, and the aesthetics of moving pictures.



2. OK, we can all agree that Walter Murch is one of the Popes of film editing. His works speak for themselves! So we won't belittle that, he IS incredibly talented!
   As for this book, one has to bear in mind that it was not meant to be a teaching book - its contents were a lecture given live to students of the matter! So it will put you in an 'editing' frame of mind, give you the philosophical approach for film editing, but not any practical advice as to what equipment, how to do things, or anything regarding the actual activity of cutting film in a professional studio.
   My niece Marie (22) is a student of media design and she will do film editing this coming semester. So she prepares for it by first reading this book right now, and I am sharing in the reading. We both agree that it is certainly a good way to 'warm up' to the matter, get the philosophical foundation for the practical work to come. After that, she will move on to more technical works.
   And for this 'warm-up', I can recommend it. After that, one definitely needs to purchase and study some real hands-on works, in order to get the practical knowledge.



3. I was very pleased with the timely receipt of the book and the condition of which it was received.



4. I had to purchase this book for a film editing class I took and it completely opened my eyes. I absolutely loved the way in which Walter explains the process of making movies. I highly recommend this book to film students, aspiring editors, or anyone who just wants to understand the role of a film editor. This book helped me immensely!



5. In The Blink Of An Eye is an intense journey with Walter Murch through his world of editing. Murch's skill as a master film editor transitions seamlessly to the written word. He is concise, direct, and absolutely engaging. He discusses what editing is, why it works, and how he does it. He also leads the reader through his philosophies of human thought and its relationship to film. Highly recommended.

5 comments about A Short Course In Photography.

1. This is a good book for the beginner who wants to learn how to operate a chemical darkroom. It's simple and straight forward.



2. It's well writtten and illustrated and goes through all the fine points related to film photography. A Keeper!



3. This book is great for begining photographers. It goes over all the important aspects of photography and is very easy to follow. I love the visual aid. It's a great book to go back to when you forget how to load film in a camera or just picking up basic f-stop and shutter combinations for varioius situations.



4. I am a teacher of photography and have looked at a number of different photographic text books and this is one of the best I have seen for beginners. One of the strongest aspects of this book is its copious illustrations and photographic examples that reinforce the concepts it is putting forth. While no book is perfect, I challenge any of the critics of the book here to come up with a better text that is as easy to read and as clearly laid out as this book.
   
   I would agree that this book does not have a lot of information about how to use a digital camera - most of the digital information is about editing and printing photographs. I can see that would be a problem for someone wanting to learn just from this book about how to use their specific digital camera, but to be fair digital cameras can be so different from one make or model to the next and with the rate of change of all things digital it is very challenging to set anything down in a published text that will really be true for every digital camera. I do have to supplement the information in this book with information about that, but this book does an excellent job of explaining all the basic technical information about how a camera works which is completely applicable to all cameras, digital or otherwise.



5. THIS BOOK IS VERY HELPFUL, CLEARCUT, AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. I HIGHLY RECOMEND BUYING THIS BOOK, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING THE BASIC FUNDAMENTALS...

5 comments about Photography (10th Edition).

1. When I went to Brooks Institute 500 years ago this was THE mandatory classroom book and proved to be a great investment. And now that I run my own Photography Success photography school, this is the book I recommend to all our students. It is really well written and illustrated, informative and engaging. If you want just one book to have as a reference so you can spend the rest of your time actually going out and taking pictures, this is it.



2. I am taking a photography class at my local community college. This is the required text. I have found it to be very well written and easy to follow. I particularly like how information is re stated in different ways to further clarify the topic. I would not consider selling it back to the school at the end of the semester. It is a reference book that I will definitely hold on to and continue to reference after the class is over.



3. The book was in great shape and delivery was timely! I save $50 over the bookstore price.



4. I originally was very surprised about the cost of this item. But once I received the book, I figured it's a reasonable price. This book was recommended to me as I wish to sit for a CPP test. This book covers a vast wealth of information from early photography to modern day digital. This is a great reference book for everyone.



5. If you want to learn very simple to relatively complex photographic techniques, this is a very good book for that. It is especially good if you are still into developing film. It has a lot of very useful information about film photography such as the types of film and developing techniques. The book is easily understood because it is aided by very detailed descriptions and photographs. All in all, a useful guide for most types of photographers.

5 comments about A Photographic Atlas for the Anatomy & Physiology Laboratory.

1. If your studying Anatomy and Physiology as I am you will find this very helpful. With High Quality photos and info, it's a keeper.



2. Shipping was prompt book arrived earlier than expected delivery date, book was in great shape and perfect description. :)



3. I received this item on time and in new condition as expected. However, I did not realize I needed to buy a binder for the product until after I purchased it.



4. This Atlas was very helpful. I used it a lot in class and would recommend it to anyone who is taking A&P!!



5. Ordered and did not carefully read what I had ordered so I did not realize that the atlas would be loose leaf. Although it was not hard to find a binder to fit the pages. Unfortunately, I looked elsewhere after I received the order and could not find one that was in book bound form. I have no other disappointments with this atlas. Great material and photos for study!
   
   Recommend to others!

5 comments about The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers.

1. While I have long used Scott Kelby's books with Photoshop Elements, I find that his Lightroom book is great for getting started with Lightroom but needs more depth. This book is significantly more comprehensive.



2. I installed the program in my computer but have not use it yet. I haven't had a chance to read the book. My reason of purchasing the book is to learn how to convert my raw images to jpg and to learn how to correct some of my images, like adjusting lights, noices, skin tone and sharpness.
   
   Adam



3. This book is an incredible value. I'd purchased Lightroom 3 to replace my Photoshop Elements 7, and I was completely lost trying to do anything. While I'm still no expert, I can work confidently in Lightroom 3 now, without feeling like I'm always on the edge of a disaster. As other folks have pointed out, this isn't a "hand holding" book. The writing is clear, coverage is thorough, and a lot of detail on "why", rather than "move slider to 75". I have more Lightroom books, but this is by far the best.



4. I buy Evening's books on Lightroom and Photoshop every time a new edition of either product comes out. His books are encyclopedic and sometimes you get more than you need or want which can be confusing. Scott Kelby's books are better as an introduction, and he covers most of the essential stuff in a much more digestible way. Still I return to Evening's book sometimes for a more detailed view. It's a useful book, but more than the average Lightroom user needs, or, I suspect, wants.



5. Martin Evenings Lightroom books are excellent sources of information, but they are not for the easily intimidated. The books, including this one, are very technical but accessible. They are not a step by step, here's how this is done type of book. This is a reference for those who want to truly understand what is going on in the program and want to learn not only the how but the why of things. If you're familiar with the program and want to understand what you're doing, then I highly recommend this book. If you just want to be told how to do things in a step by step format, then Scott Kelby's book might be more to your liking.

5 comments about Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows: The Missing Manual.

1. this is my second copy, first one went into the swimming pool.
   this was the only publication i found to answer my questions straight forward and so i could understand the.



2. The book was what I ordered and arrived in very satisfactory condition, promptly. Thanks.



3. Digital photography is one of the great inventions of the twentieth century. This book is the best guide to using the best program for those who want to control the photos they take.
   
   If I had digital photography when I was trying to make a photo business work years ago I might still be in the business. My knowlege of how things are done on the computer is limited to say the least. This book, indeed the whole series of books in the Missing Manuals series, is a great help to both the computer expert and the novice.
   
   If you need help this is a very thorough guide step by step covering activities both simple and advanced in cleqar language and readable type. You can count on htis book for the help you need.



4. I guess I could just quote the sub-title and say that this is the book that should have been in the box, yet this one goes further than anything they could have included. It's more detailed and has a better layout than most manuals you get, but what is the best feature is the step by step way Barbara Brundage explains how to do something. As a former writer of high tech operational manuals I appreciate that style knowing that once you do something correctly a couple of times it becomes second nature. On top of that knowing how to have fun with a photo makes me want to learn more. For example, I fixed the only picture my friend had of his mother by scanning it and doing a little healing to replace a torn section. He was somewhat reluctant to hand the damaged photo to me but he was very happy to see the new one version. It was kick to be able to help!
   So this is the book I keep in the office so when I import the latest group of pictures I've got it handy in case I have to change or fix something. She did a good job of explaining how to use layers, which I knew nothing about when I got PSE5 a few years ago. By the way, this is not a "Dummies" style manual, though they have their place. This one is complete enough that it may be the only reference manual you need for PSE8. It is definately worth the price.



5. this book is nothing better then a text book about the program. takes to long to learn the program that you will wish you never bought the program. use Photoshop Elements 8: Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks (Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks) much faster to learn the program.

5 comments about Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera.

1. Having read several of Bryan's others books I was familiar with his style and was looking forward to another good read. As others have mentioned- if you have read Understanding Exposure (which I also highly recommend), you will find much of the same information (and even photos) throughout. This book does go beyond that though and even though I recognized much info from the UE book, I still found loads of helpful information. UE goes into more detail regarding aperture, shutter speed and ISO choices. This book gives you a moderate overview of these items and adds features about doing macro work, composition and other topics. This book will go in my permanent collection for me to refer to often. I also appreciate Bryan's writing style- I am being taught but not over my head and in a friendly language.
   
   Bottom line, if you've read UE I'll give this 3.5 stars for the overlap. If you have not read UE I give it 5 stars.



2. Easy read, concise and helpful. Made me a much better photographer. Plan to buy his upcoming revised book on Exposure.



3. Others have covered the details describing this book so I won't bother - except to say I agree. For me, this book has been an inspiration and an awakening of both latent and forgotten skills. (I'm an old guy.)
   
   I should mention that this book is limited to outdoor still photography. It contains no instruction for studio portrait photography or commercial product photography. But Bryan Peterson is a truly gifted teacher/author. This book is intended as simply an outdoor field guide - a do as you read book.
   
   I'm so impressed that I ordered two more of Peterson"s books. They'll be available next month: the 3rd Edition of his "Understanding Exposure" and his "Beyond Portraiture."
   
   With study (and daily picture making) my photographs are really improving. I would recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in improving their photographs.



4. Best book on Photography I have read in a long time. I wish I had this book years ago. It would have prevented a lot of mediocre photographs and perhaps led to some more memorable. Well organized and illustrated with examples. Highly recommended. Peterson has several other less complete but more focused (no pun intended) books as well, but this is my favorite.



5. Much of the content in this book is also found in Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. What is especially nice about this book though is it is small enough to carry anywhere with you. It is perfect for answering those questions that arise when out shooting photos. Would highly recommend this book for its portability and excellent content.

5 comments about Black and White Photography, Third Revised Edition.

1. I have another book on the same subject. It covers more and it offers more detail in almost every subject it handles.
   And, it made me feel helpless when I tried to read it. I said, "no, I cannot do this whole processing, printing and whatever thing"!
   Now, after reading Horenstein's book, I think I CAN do it! I must do it! That, I call a big difference.
   
   In short: This is a beautifully prepared, detailed guideline for entering into the conventional B&W photography world.
   It has almost nothing that could be useful for digital photography.
   I say "almost" because there are many beautiful photographs by some leading photographers within (all related to the subject matter, by the way).
   Watching those can be inspiring even for those shooting digital only :)
   
   In fact, its title says it all (this has become a rather unusual event, lately): "A Basic Manual".
   It handles every imaginable subject with, authority and care; from film ISO to mounting prints.
   Suitable even for those who have started photography just recently.
   I recommend this book without any reservation to the small, specific subset of B&W film photographers who intend to print their own images in a darkroom.



2. A well done book about Black and White photography. It was purchased for a class I'm taking. It essentially goes over all of the basics.



3. The book was in very good shape. However, I did order standard shipping and it took over two weeks for the book to arrive from the day it was shipped, so I wasn't pleased with the service.



4. the seller canceled the purchase because the book was not in stock, but anybody sent me a mail about it. so I was waiting for the book for 1 month
   santiago weksler



5. This books is a detailed guide to understand how your camera functions and how different aspects work together to produce an image. Horenstein does a good job of introducing technical concepts in simplistic terms. Not only so, each chapter is short and to the point.