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How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, and Multimedia : Language, History, Theory by Average Customer Review:  Paperback (15 January, 2000) list price: $26.00 -- our price: $17.16 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Reviews (9)
Techniques are covered include lighting, aspect ratio, tracks, film grade, and codes.And yes, there is the requisite film history, which is heavily condensed and goes through individual directors, countries, and certain genres in film.As only one chapter's devoted to it, but it's a quick cram-course in who's who, who-directed-what?, who-starred-in-what?, and what was going on in such-and-such a country. Another interesting concept is the terms film, cinema, and movies.The terms are defined in the way we look at the medium.Film is what it's called in relationship to the world, i.e. politics.Cinema refers to a more aesthetic and intellectual stance.And movie is a named when defined as a consumer-oriented, economic commodity.The terminology is interesting when one defines a performance as the sum of the actor's persona in conflict with the role he plays. Monaco then spends some time discussing the two schools, expressionism/formalism versus neorealism/functionalism.Expressionism, derived in Germany from such masters as Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau, focuses on the inner aspect of humanity, using symbols, stereotypes, stylization, which eventually influenced directors such as Hitchcock and Welles.Formalism, more from the Soviet masters like Sergei Eisenstein, is more analytic and scientific, concerned with technique.There are discussions of montage (series of shots that advance the action) vs. mis-en-scene (deep focus photography that allows more audience participation in the film experience) and the schools of thought that argued in favour of one over the other.There's an interesting observation by Andre Bazin, who saw film as the asymptote to reality, the imaginary line that nears but never touches reality, which if put into conjunction into the earlier definition of film being something that can't be explained. All this leds to multimedia and virtual reality.Most of the latter deals with the information age, detailing the history of computers and Internet, which led to the control and access to information.This ties in with the ethics regarding copyright in the merging of texts, images and sound, and downloading MP3's in this postmodernist, recontextualization of art, where film sits squarely.Doesn't this surely affect burning DVD's from the Net, which serves to accelerate already shrinking box office takings?Monaco quotes Lenin on how ethics is the esthetics of the future, sums this dilemma up pretty well. Monaco uses the example of David Bowman, the astronaut in 2001, and the virtual cage he's in at the end of the movie, to describe how our closed personalized environments, created to block out the noisy outside world, may give us security, i.e. Discmans, cellphones, VCR viewings as opposed to theatrical outings, but at the cost of losing touch visually and morally from our surroundings.Invaluable due to its being not only about the past of film, but its future as well.
Isbn: 019503869X |
$17.16 |
Or, how to ethically use a film in this Information Age
misleading title
Over-rated and irritating
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Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices : Second Revised Edition by Average Customer Review:  Paperback (05 June, 2000) list price: $16.95 -- our price: $11.53 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Reviews (17)
Isbn: 0140291849 |
$11.53 |
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Film Directing: Shot by Shot : Visualizing from Concept to Screen by Average Customer Review: Paperback (25 January, 1991) list price: $27.95 -- our price: $27.95 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Film Directing Shot by Shot offers a good introduction to the rudiments of film production. Steven D. Katz walks his readers through the various stages of moviemaking, advising them at every turn to visualize the films they wish to produce. Katz believes that one of the chief tasks of filmmaking is to negotiate between our three-dimensional reality and the two-dimensionality of the screen. He covers the number of technical options filmmakers can use to create a satisfying flow of shots, a continuity that will make sense to viewers and aptly tell the film's story. Katz provides in-depth coverage of production design, storyboarding, spatial connections, editing, scene staging, depth of frame, camera angles, point of view, and the various types of stable compositions and moving camera shots. ... Read more Reviews (23)
It is an excellent tool for the film & videomaker, you can use it for quick reference, if you're shooting a conversation, it explains, how you can do it without breaking the axis.. If you're starting to study film, let Steven Katz, be your teacher, and make your first shorts knowing how to doing them right ... Read more Isbn: 0941188108 |
$27.95 |
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Teach Yourself Film Making by Average Customer Review:  Paperback (25 July, 2002) list price: $12.95 -- our price: $10.36 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Reviews (2)
Isbn: 0071398244 |
$10.36 |
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Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Average Customer Review: Paperback (01 September, 1999) list price: $18.00 -- our price: $12.24 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review "Personality, in our sense, is a Shakespearean invention, and is notonly Shakespeare's greatest originality but also the authentic cause of his perpetual pervasiveness."So Harold Bloom opines in his outrageously ambitious Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. This is a titanic claim. But then this is a titanic book, wrought by a latter-day critical colossus--and before Bloom is done with us, he has made us wonder whether his vision of Shakespeare's influence on the whole of our lives might not be simply the sober truth. Shakespeare is a feast of arguments and insights, written with engaging frankness and affecting immediacy. Bloom ranges through the Bard's plays in the probable order of their composition, relating play to play and character to character, maintaining all the while a shrewd grasp of Shakespeare's own burgeoning sensibility. It is a long and fascinating itinerary, and one littered with thousands of sharp insights. Listen to Bloom on Romeo and Juliet: "The Nurse and Mercutio, both of them audience favorites, are nevertheless bad news, in different but complementary ways." On The Merchant of Venice: "To reduce him to contemporary theatrical terms, Shylock would be an Arthur Miller protagonist displaced into a Cole Porter musical, Willy Loman wandering about in Kiss Me Kate."On As You Like It: "Rosalind is unique in Shakespeare, perhaps indeed in Western drama, because it is so difficult to achieve a perspective upon her that she herself does not anticipate and share." Bloom even offers some belated vocational counseling to Falstaff, identifying him as an Elizabethan Mr. Chips: "Falstaff is more than skeptical, but he is too much of a teacher (his true vocation, more than highwayman) to follow skepticism out to its nihilistic borders, as Hamlet does." In the end, it doesn't matter very much whether we agree with all or any of these ideas. What does matter is that Bloom's capacious book sends us hurrying back to some of the central texts of our civilization. "The ultimate use of Shakespeare," the author asserts, "is to let him teach you to think too well, to whatever truth you can sustain without perishing." Bloom himself has made excellent use of his hero's instruction, and now he teaches us all to do the same. --Daniel Hintzsche ... Read more Reviews (90)
In fact, all literary criticism revolves around the burning sun of presumption, and Bloom knows how to borrow that fire better than almost anyone. Do not be fooled, this is Bloom's attempt to permanently enthrone Shakespeare above all in the pantheon of history, even above his beloved Freud.Even if he suggests Freud's analysis can lead to us Shakespeare better than anyone, he is still lifting up Shakespeare above all.The man's arms must be getting tired from constantly trying to ascend already ascended figures. He spends a lot of time on Hamlet.A lot of time.And while this may be justified by the fact that Hamlet was the best thing Shakespeare ever wrote, there are other plays that deserve just as much space.He also ignores (basically) the sonnets, which accounts for 50% of Shakespeare genius. However, in terms of Shakespeare criticism, you will be hard pressed to find someone who has spent more time pouring over the material, thinking about it, publishing about it, and generally living it day to day.Bloom's grasp of Shakespeare has reached a level so far above others that he's no longer considered the best there is.I remember a few years above, Stephen Greenblatt was supposedly the cutting-edge in Shakespeare.No one wanted to talk to me about Bloom in the English department, they were too busy divorcing and remarrying each other. The problem here is that there is hardly any usefulness outside of pure inventive thought.Using this in your thesis on Shakespeare, in today's literary zeitgeist, is going to be met with a resounding groan.Bloom is too good, and he even seems to recognize this by establishing something called the "School of Resentment," which includes anyone who buys into modern literary theory.This excludes Bloom, of course, so you see the equation.The trouble is, who is being resented; Shakespeare for being so good, or Bloom for being so quick as to see how good Shakespeare really is?
"Iago, like Hamlet and Macbeth, is beyond us, but we are Iachimo.Our bravado, malice, fearfulness, confusion are all in Iachimo, who is not much worse than we are, and whom Shakespeare intends to spare."(p. 637). I have a DVD collection (3 discs), LIVE DEAD, THE GRATEFUL DEAD IN CONCERT, which has an interview with the band, probably the special Dead Facts fan quiz on the GRATEFUL DEAD:TICKET TO NEW YEAR'S recorded at the Oakland Coliseum on December 31, 1987, in which some fan wants to know what they think the words of the song, "Iko Iko" mean:"Jockamo fee na - ne'."It sounds like Iachimo to me, and the attitude that the band adopts to come up with a reasonable explanation which will not produce any more questions is worthy of a truly comic society.The song has been around since 1964, and one verse is like a Shakespeare play: "Look at my king all dressed in red. Incidentally, there is a version of "Iko-Iko" on the Warren Zevon CD "Wanted Dead or Alive," which also has his song "She Quit Me" which was used in the movie "Midnight Cowboy," which is pretty good if you want to see Dustin Hoffman playing a character called Ratso. Bloom dates "Cymbeline" to 1609-10, with Shakespeare returning to Stratford in 1610 for semi-retirement (p. xiv), which allowed him to turn on his work with what Bloom regards as "unmistakable overtones of his personal distaste for the London of 1609-10."(p. 615).The larger question is "the question of Shakespeare himself.What was he trying to do for himself as a maker of plays by the heap of self-parodies that constitute `Cymbeline'?"(p. 621).Obviously, "Shakespeare is his own worst enemy in `Cymbeline':he is weary of making plays."(p. 621).Bloom still finds some good poetry: "Golden lads and girls all must, The six lines of [V.iv. 146-51] are so good that they show up on page 634 and 635 as "Compulsive self-parody" which leads to "It is another of those uncanny recognitions in which Shakespeare is already beyond Nietzsche."(p. 636). It is easy for me to look up plays that other people might think are awful.Bloom thinks that "Troilus and Cressida" was never staged at the Globe because it "might seem too lively a satire upon the fallen Earl of Essex, who may be the model for the play's outrageous Achilles,"(p. 327).Thersites denies having any honour:"no, no:I am a rascal, a scurvy railing knave:a very filthy rogue."(p. 329).Margarelon told him, "The devil take thee, coward."(p. 329).Bloom is sympathetic."If we can trust anyone in the play, then it must be Thersites, deranged as doubtless he is."(p. 332). "Timon of Athens" is considered unfinished."Shakespeare appears to have to have abandoned `Timon of Athens,' for reasons still unclear.He never staged it, and parts of it are less finished than others."(p. 588).There are a few examples of "venereal invective" (p. 596) that were ultimately dismissed as unworthy of himself."This hymn to syphilis is unmatched and unmatchable."(p. 597).There are topics which are far more worthy of poetry in this book, and the book makes every effort to present explanations which make the poetry worth understanding.Not every reader in our society will make the effort to find what they want in Shakespeare.This book will make sense to people who would want to know all this, whether it will do them any good or not. This is April."Shakespeare was christened on April 26, 1564, at Stratford-on-Avon, and died there on April 23, 1616."(p. xiii).He only lived to the age of 52, more or less.Many of his plays were so popular that Bloom can keep talking about characters throughout the book as if readers who have not encountered them already will know who they are someday.They should, too.
Isbn: 157322751X |
$12.24 |
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The Art Book by Average Customer Review: Paperback (17 April, 1997) list price: $9.95 -- our price: $9.95 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review This user-friendly book is an alphabetical reference guide to 500 of the world's greatest painters and sculptors, from antiquity to the present. Measuring roughly 5 by 6-1/2 inches and now in paperback, The Art Book is not only affordable, but also light, compact, and extremely portable, completely reforming the concept of an art reference book. It is perfect for the coffee table or for the backpack or pocketbook as well. Each artist is represented by a full-color plate and by explanatory and illuminating information on both the image and the artist. Cross references are provided to other artists in the book, and glossaries of technical terms and artistic movements are also included, making the book a valuable reference tool in the art library. Presented are some of the most famous artists of all time and their greatest masterworks--never before have they been so accessible as they are in this format. ... Read more Reviews (23)
The Art Book is an EXCELLENT reference guide.How many times reading the Arts section of a newspaper, or an interview with an artist, etc., does one hear a reference to another artist and one has no idea who that person is? With this book, you can quickly check it out! I also very much appreciate the cross-linking - since it's alphabetical, and not by style or school of thought, the editors have listed on each artists's page other artists who are similar or somehow related to that one.I have found the cross-referencing to be very helpful many times. Unless one already has an encyclopedic knowledge of 500 years of art, this is a PERFECT book for one's art library as a reference tool. And it's also a GREAT jumping off point for exploring artists: page through randomly, come across something interesting, then go and look for a book of that artist, or head to the museum "in search of." I treasure my copy, and would not ever wish to part with it. ... Read more Isbn: 0714836257 |
$9.95 |
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Apple iBook Notebook M8860LL/A (700-MHz PowerPC G3, 128MB RAM, 20 GB Hard Drive) Average Customer Review: Personal Computers US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Now there's even more to love about Apple's iBook notebook. Weighing in at a respectable 4.9 pounds and featuring a 700 MHz PowerPC G3 processor, a 20 GB hard drive, and 128 MB of RAM--plus AirPort wireless networking and FireWire, USB, and Ethernet ports--the iBook connects to hundreds of peripherals designed to fit your life. This system features a brilliant 12.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display and razor-sharp 1,024 x 768 resolution. It's the perfect place for doing everything from working on spreadsheets to displaying your movies and digital pictures in millions of colors. (Incidentally, the iBook display scales down beautifully, again with millions of colors, for special games and applications optimized for 800 x 600 or 640 x 480 resolutions.) Included is a CD-ROM drive for playing games and music CDs, and buyers have the option of upgrading to a DVD-ROM for enjoying DVD movies. The 700 MHz iBook ships with a 20 GB hard drive that provides exceptional storage space. In addition, this system comes with the ATI Mobility Radeon graphics accelerator with 16 MB of SDRAM and AGP 2x support for gorgeous 3-D graphics. The iBook also comes loaded with iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, and iDVD application software, making it easier than ever before to manage your digital images, video, and music. ... Read more Reviews (11)
As to the ignorant complaint that the G3 chip is outdated, the G3 has been updated numerous times, not just in clock speed, since its introduction. It will most likely be dropped in favor of the G4 at the end of the year, but it is a great chip in its own right, and the speed is fine. Every computer uses a chip that will be dropped or changed by the end of the year, by the way. You won't find a better value for a small, basic laptop computer. ... Read more Asin: B00007DWC2 |
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JVC GR-DVM75U Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode Average Customer Review: Electronics list price: $1,499.99 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review With the GR-DVM75U, JVC brings a true workhorse of a camcorder to market. A number of great features are packed into this small, easy-to-carry device. With a 680,000 pixel CCD, the GR-DVM75U records the marvelous 520 lines of resolution proscribed in the DV standard, making every memory captured sharp and crisp. Being in a low-light environment is not an issue for the GR-DVM75U, the special night shooting function enhances low-light sensitivity so you can still capture clear images at night in full color. There is also a built-in digital still camera that captures images in many modes--such as full screen, frame, pin-up, negative, or multipicture--onto either tape or the included 8 MB MMC card. These photos are capable of a resolution of either 640 x 480 or 1,024 x 768 pixels. The GR-DVM75U is compatible with both MultiMedia or SD memory cards. The GR-DVM75U also comes with a variety of multimedia interfacing capabilities, making transferring DV recordings or digital photos to a computer fast and simple. In addition to the standard IEEE 1394 DV interface, there is a USB port for quick transfers to PC. With the included software and cable you can easily bring your photos into your computer for editing or e-mailing. Also included are an AC power adapter/charger, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, remote control, CD-ROM software for photo editing, shoulder strap, jack box, USB cable, AV cable, and editing cable. ... Read more Features Reviews (17)
I recently had mine stolen, after tinkering around with comparible Sony's I'm going right back to buy another JVC GR-DVM75!
I bought this digital camcorder in January 2002 to record my daughters birth and document her growing years.Well I've had this camcorder for 7 months and I have used the playback feature a whole 5 times.Two weeks ago I went to playback my daughters baptism and to my surprise the playback feature does not work. I tried using two different rechargable batteries, the AC power adapter alone, the AC adapter and battery together, and nothing works.However, I could record fine, at least I think I am recording.Don't know for sure since I can't playback. Anyhow, I took it in to one of JVC's authorized service center.They want to charge me [money](30% of what I paid for this stupid camcorder) to fix a problem with the control board.Sounds to me like the camcorder I got is defective.I wonder how many more are out there with this problem?If you buy this camcorder then beware of this potential problem? Well lets see if JVC will stand behind their product.I am sending it back to them so they can fix it or hopefully send me a new one.Most likely, I'll just write off the [money]I paid for this camcorder and get a Sony MiniDV.At the very least, I know I'll get a superior product even if I have to pay a premium. Buyer Beware!!!
Asin: B00005KAMT |
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JVC GRDVP7U Digital Camcorder w/ 1.02 Megapixel CCD, MPEG4 Video, and 8MB SD/ MMC Average Customer Review: Electronics list price: $1,299.99 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review The JVC GR-DVP7U is a top-flight digital camcorder in a tiny body, and it's capable of snapping 1-megapixel digital stills. Plus, it's chock-full of enough features to satisfy just about any amateur videographer, including a 10x optical zoom, 2-inch LCD, manual focus mode, and a whole slew of digital effects and faders. Lens Digital Stills Inputs and Outputs Features Reviews (8)
I played around with all the feautes, ended up using what suited me best, e.g., widescreen format (awesome), night owl (so,so, need to keep camera still), framed photo capturing, fade to black inbetween shots (great feature-makes your shots seem professionally filmed), and wind reduction, are along the others I learned to use and have adapted.Being able to switch from video mode to memory mode (for taking digital stills) has never been easier.It takes a few seconds to adjust but its quick enough.What I would do is capture some events in video and wish to also capture it in digital stills so that I can develop it.Just a small switch allows me to do this. The functions/features may seem complicated at first, but like anything else, you got to "grind" the info at hand and get use to it.Hey, its the only camcorder on my trip, so I had to make the best of it!The only disadvantages it has that I found, but easily tolerated, is the image focusing.The camcorder sometimes has trouble auto-focusing when it can't seem to find its target or focal point. Its also hard to take sharp dark video and image shots when the "Night Owl" is set.Its required that you keep the camcorder still as best possible, or else it will come out blurry.As you'll find out, its hard to keep a camera very still!But in the brightest of days, especially found in the Philippines, the outcome of pictures and video, is impressively sharp.Outstanding, digital quality video! Overall, the advantages very much outweigh the disadvantages unanimously!Its very stylish, would just place it in my pocket and ready to shoot whenever.Its got a full load of features that are very much necessary and impressive, allowing a professional outcome.Most important of all, the camcorder produces great quality digital video!! Can't say much about the digital 1.02 Mpx, but its good enough for a camcorder.The emphasis of this review is pretty much its digital quality video, it is quite impressive! I've personlly returned to this site to make this review because I feel that I owe it to other fellow customers of how much I appreciated this camcorder.I do own one and will not return it, unless in need of repair, of course. ... Read more Asin: B0000669B8 |
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Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes : A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema by Average Customer Review: Paperback (07 February, 1997) list price: $12.95 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Reviews (7)
While he talks to and about Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Moore, Jim Jaramusch, Spike Lee and others, and while it's a first account of the American independent film movement circa 1990s - this is NOT a book about their films (either as analysis or critique) or them (as directors and their techniques or merely celeb gossip). This is a book about the trials and tribulations of being a producer's rep. There are two types of people who should read this book and would find it useful. If you plan on directing or producing a movie - consider this book a MUST READ - film distribution 101 reading. He talks in relevant detail about representing some of the most important American independent films of the 1990s including SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT, CLERKS, ROGER & ME and others. While he gives an almost day-by-day blow of some of these films as they travel from film festival circuit to deal making to publicity tours - the real value is are the details about the process that one can expect as an independent film maker. Now, a decade later, many things have changed (especially the financing numbers and studio/distribution situation today versus the 1990s) - what hasn't changed is the overall process of what you might encounter and expect. Here's a great opportunity to read what they encountered and what lessons you might learn from them. The detailed summary on a deal-memo and points that they negotiated regarding the distribution contract and revenues from distribution and home video - are worth the price of a USC Film School class (not the whole education - the books not that great - just a excellent class :-) If you are a film fanatic and want to learn a portion of the nuts and bolts of the process of film festivals and independent distribution - you should find this book of interest. Why only three stars? Deduct one star for ... this book would've been more interesting if we got more of a first hand account from the directors and their feelings during the process along with John Pierson's. Deduct another star because the industry and the financial numbers and the players have changed so the details of the situations are not very useful. But the foundation of Sundance and other buzz-worthy festivals reached the public eye during this period so if you're going (or thinking of going) to Sundance, Toronto, et al - get up to speed on all that's transpired so far. Again, this is a MUST READ for aspiring directors and producers. For others, it all depends on how interested you are in the history of the business process of indepedent film-making ...
Isbn: 0786882220 |
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