The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video

by Tom Schroeppel, Chuck DeLaney

Overview

Over 200,000 sold! Adopted for use by over 700 college courses!

Written by a working professional, here is the most user-friendly book available on the subject of film and video production; it reduces the shooting experience to its essence, making complicated concepts easy to grasp. Using simple clear language and more than 150 illustrations, the book explains:

• Exposure
• Lenses
• Composition
• Basic sequence
• Crossing the line
• Lighting
• Montages
• Sound
• Editing
• And much more!

When you finish this book, you will know and understand how to shoot good pictures that will edit together seamlessly in post-production. With added chapters on sound and editing, this new edition of The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video rounds out the education of any filmmaker.

Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621535263
Publisher:	Allworth
Publication date:	08/04/2015
Edition description:	3rd Edition, Third Edition
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	457,708
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Tom Schroeppel worked in film and video for more than thirty years as a freelance writer, director, cameraman, and editor. He also trained news crews at television stations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Table of Contents

Author's Note: How We Got to Here ix

Preface xi

1 Basics 1

The Camera-How it Works 1

Exposure 4

Color Temperature 6

Setting Exposure on a Video Camera 8

Setting Exposure on a Film Camera 9

Lenses 13

Depth of Field 19

2 Composition 25

The Camera-A Tool for Selective Vision 25

Use a Tripod 26

Rule of Thirds 27

Balance-Leading Looks 30

Balance-Masses 32

Balance-Colors 33

Angles 36

Frames within the Frame 38

Leading Lines 40

Backgrounds 41

In Search of a Good Composition 44

3 Basic Sequence 47

How a Basic Sequence Works 47

Shooting a Basic Sequence 52

Cutting on the Action 55

Clean Entrance/Clean Exit 56

Some Final Words on Basic Sequences 60

4 Screen Direction 61

Screen Direction and Crossing the Line 61

Using Screen Direction to Solve Shooting Problems 69

5 Camera Moves 73

Making Camera Moves 75

6 Montages 79

7 Lighting 81

Exterior Lighting 81

Interior Lighting 84

Basic Lighting Setup 87

8 Sound 91

Vibrating Bodies Create Spherical Sound Waves 91

Microphones 94

Sound Waves Bounce 103

Record Clean Sound 104

Wild Effects 105

Recording Voices and Presence 106

Voice-Slate and Keep a Sound Log 108

Remember Your Viewers 109

The Best Sound Recording Advice I Can Give You 110

9 Doing It 111

Planning and Shooting a Sequence 111

Shooting Scripts and Storyboards 113

Shooting Out of Sequence 114

Communicating 116

Working in Uncontrolled Situations 116

10 After the Shoot-Editing 119

The Human Eye as Editor 119

Read the Script. Divorce the Director 123

Good Log = Good Edit 124

Paper Edits 125

Establish Your Program's World, Then Re-Establish It 126

Look for Basic Sequences, Then Use Them 128

The Great Underlying Rule of Editing: Make Sure Each New Shot Is Different 129

Pacing-How Fast Things Change 130

Use an Appropriate Editing Style 131

Sound in Editing 133

Background Music 135

Selecting and Cutting Library Music 136

Sound Mixing-Separate Your Tracks 138

Your Last Step: Divorce the Editor 138

Some Final Words 141

Exercises 143

About the Author 160

Index 161