Filmmakers Handbook or Learning Python

Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age

Author: Steven Ascher

Widely acknowledged as the "bible" of film and video production and used in courses around the world, this indispensable guide to making movies is now updated with the latest advances in high- definition formats. For students and teachers, the professional and the novice filmmaker, this clear and comprehensive handbook remains the reliable reference to all aspects of moviemaking.

Techniques for making narrative, documentary, corporate, experimental and feature films.

Working with high-definition and standard-definition digital video formats, including DV, HD, and HDV.

Extensive coverage of video editing with the latest nonlinear editing systems.

Thorough grounding in lenses, lighting, sound recording, and sound editing.

The business aspects of financing and producing movies.

Written by filmmakers for filmmakers, this book will give you the skills you need to take your dreams from script to screen.

The Independent

THE BIBLE, UPDATED. The Filmmaker's Handbook was first published in 1984 and has been a production bible ever since... Starting with the most fundamental functions of the camera, The Filmmaker's Handbook outlines the processes that create both film and video images and guides the reader through every stage of production—from assembling a crew to delivering a print or broadcast master. Encyclopedic in scope, the book breaks every subject down to its component elements, resulting in a reference work for students and working filmmakers alike.... Provides an invaluable course in both technology and technique.... As independent filmmakers often wear many hats (say, producing, shooting, and editing their own project), The Filmmaker's Handbook is a valuable tool that can prepare them for the problems and challenges unique to every stage of production-digital or analog.

STEVEN ASCHER has taught filmmaking at Harvard and MIT. His awards include Sundance Grand Jury Prize, a George Foster Peabody Award, and the Prix Italia. He has been nominated for an Oscar.
EDWARD PINCUS founded the film section at MIT and later taught filmmaking at Harvard. His awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, and he is the author of the widely used Guide to Filmmaking.

Boston Globe

Gold-standard technical reference book for filmmakers.

Self-Reliant Filmmaking

This is an essential book.

Booknews

A comprehensive guide for commercial and independent filmmakers, students, and teachers of film and video, updated from the 1984 edition to include recent technology, methods, and examples. Explains such aspects as shooting with film and video cameras, editing with computer-based nonlinear systems, digital and analog recording, and business aspects of producing and distributing movies. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

What People Are Saying

Steven Ascher

From the Author:

A book for people working in video, in film or both.

This new edition was written with the idea that you may want to work just in video, or just in film, or in any combination. Writing the first edition, I tried to put in a book the essential things you need to know to make films. In the new edition, I've tried to do the same thing with video. Camcorders, nonlinear editing, tape-based and computer-based systems, TV broadcast. We are in a transitional era, in which both analog and digital gear are in use — the book deals with both. Moviemakers working with digital video (DV) cameras, analog video, 16mm or 35mm should find what they're looking for. The book isn't just about technology. It's about the tools and methods of telling stories with motion pictures, and includes a short course in fundraising, legal and business issues and distribution as well.

Alfred Guzzetti
"This edition of the book is awesome. I don't know how you managed it. Such a mass of information so expertly organized and so clearly presented! Amazing."--(Alfred Guzzetti, Professor, Harvard University)

Pat Jackson
"I was thrilled to find your book, which is a gem. No matter what corner of the subject I poked into, looking for cogent explanations, the Handbook passed with flying colors. So please accept my admiration, appreciation and thanks."--(Pat Jackson, Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University)

Table of Contents:

	Preface
1	Introduction to Film and Video Systems	1
2	The Film Camera	45
3	The Lens	76
4	The Film Image	111
5	Color and Filters	151
6	The Video Camcorder	168
7	The Video Image	188
8	Shooting	208
9	Sound Recording Systems	245
10	Sound Recording Techniques	274
11	Lighting	304
12	Picture and Dialogue Editing	346
13	Editing Film	361
14	Editing Video	398
15	Sound Editing	446
16	The Film Laboratory	472
17	Film-Video Transfers	510
18	Producing and Distributing the Movie	534
App. A	Adjusting a Video Monitor	567
App. B	Depth of Field Tables	571
App. C	Hyperfocal Distance Table	575
App. D	Lens Angle/Focal Length Tables	577
App. E	A Comparison of Running Times and Formats of 8mm, Super 8, 16mm and 35mm Motion Picture Films	579
App. F	A Technique for Synchronizing the Rushes	583
App. G	Splitting 16mm and 35mm Mag Tracks Prior to the Mix	585
App. H	Cement Splicing	587
App. I	Conforming Film Original	591
	Bibliography	593
	Index	599

Learning Python

Author: Mark Lutz

Portable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is ideal for both standalone programs and scripting applications. With this hands-on book, you can master the fundamentals of the core Python language quickly and efficiently, whether you're new to programming or just new to Python. Once you finish, you will know enough about the language to use it in any application domain you choose. Learning Python is based on material from author Mark Lutz's popular training courses, which he's taught over the past decade. Each chapter is a self-contained lesson that helps you thoroughly understand a key component of Python before you continue. Along with plenty of annotated examples, illustrations, and chapter summaries, every chapter also contains Brain Builder, a unique section with practical exercises and review quizzes that let you practice new skills and test your understanding as you go. This book covers: Types and Operations -- Python's major built-in object types in depth: numbers, lists, dictionaries, and more Statements and Syntax -- the code you type to create and process objects in Python, along with Python's general syntax model Functions -- Python's basic procedural tool for structuring and reusing code Modules -- packages of statements, functions, and other tools organized into larger components Classes and OOP -- Python's optional object-oriented programming tool for structuring code for customization and reuse Exceptions and Tools -- exception handling model and statements, plus a look at development tools for writing larger programs Learning Python gives you a deep and complete understanding of the language that will help you comprehend any application-level examples ofPython thatyou later encounter. If you're ready to discover what Google and YouTube see in Python, this book is the best way to get started.