Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen

Steve Katz

ISBN 10: 0941188108 / ISBN 13: 9780941188104

Published by Michael Wiese Productions, 1991

Shot by Shot is the world's go-to directing book, now newly updated for a special 25th Anniversary edition The first edition sold over 250,000 copies, making it one of the bestselling books on film di-recting of all time. Aspiring directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers, many of whom are now working professionals, learned the craft of visual storytelling from Shot by Shot, the most com-plete source for preplanning the look of a movie. The book contains over 800 photos and illustrations, and is by far the most comprehensive look at shot design in print, containing storyboards from movies such as Citizen Kane, Blade Runner, Dead-pool, and Moonrise Kingdom. Also introduced is the concept of A, I, and L patterns as a way to sim-plify the hundreds of staging choices facing a director in every scene. Shot by Shot uniquely blends story analysis with compositional strategies, citing examples then il-lustrated with the storyboards used for the actual films. Throughout the book, various visual ap-proaches to short scenes are shown, exposing the directing processes of our most celebrated au-teurs -- including a meticulous, lavishly illustrated analysis of Steven Spielberg's scene design for Empire of the Sun. Seller Inventory # CIN0941188108VG

Synopsis:

A complete catalogue of motion picture techniques for filmmakers. It concentrates on the 'storytelling' school of filmmaking, utilizing the work of the great stylists who established the versatile vocabulary of technique that has dominated the movies since 1915. This graphic approach includes comparisons of style by interpreting a 'model script', created for the book, in storyboard form.

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 visualise 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. --Jake Bond

Bibliographic Details

Title: Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing ...
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
Publication Date: 1991
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good