Synopses & Reviews
Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics, Second Edition is a comprehensive manual that teaches the essentials of filmmaking from the perspective of the director. Ideal for film production and directing classes, as well as for professionals with sights on the director's chair, Directing covers all stages of production, from idea development to final cut. Thoroughly covering the basics, Directing guides the reader to professional standards of control and goes to the heart of what makes a great director. All the 'how-to' information is unified by a theory that naturally links personal experience and vision to the director's decision making and stresses that understanding one's own emotional and perceptual processes is the key to individuality on the screen and to success with audiences.This new edition is extensively revised in structure and expanded in content. It contains new sections on screen grammar, the basics of screen production, and story editing. Blocking and camera movement get more attention, and there is more information about how actors control the inner lives of their characters. Greater emphasis is given to how a director must think, feel, and act in order to create a work for the screen with a unified voice and point of view. Directing also includes an expanded guide to international film schools and a career guide. Since the why is as important as the how, Directing contains many practical exercises and projects, each with its own conceptual instructions, technical and artistic goals, and judgment criteria to help both student and teacher monitor strengths and weaknesses. Michael Rabiger has worked in the cutting room in feature films, as an editor and director in documentaries, and as a production and aesthetics educator for many years. He has directed or edited more than 35 films and is director of the documentary center at Columbia College, Chicago.. Most recently, he has led a multinational European documentary workshop for CILET, the World Consortium of film schools, and has taught narrative writing, directing, and production as Visiting Professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Practical, comprehensive manual that dissolves the barriers between the aesthetic and the technical.Common sense theory of film derived from everyday perceptual experience.
Synopsis
-- A practical and comprehensive manual that dissolves the barriers between the aesthetic and the technical
-- Common sense theory of film derived from everyday perceptual experience.
Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics, Second Edition is a comprehensive manual that teaches the essentials of filmmaking from the perspective of the director. Ideal for film production and directing classes, as well as for professionals with sights on the director's chair, Directing covers all stages of production, from idea development to final cut. Thoroughly covering the basics, Directing guides the reader to professional standards of control and goes to the heart of what makes a great director. All the 'how-to' information is unified by a theory that naturally links personal experience and vision to the director's decision making and stresses that understanding one's own emotional and perceptual processes is the key to individuality on the screen and to success with audiences.
About the Author
Michael Rabiger worked in the cutting rooms at Pinewood and Shepperton studios in England, as an editor and BBC director in documentaries, then as a production and aesthetics educator in the USA for many years. He has been department chair of the Film/Video Department at Columbia College Chicago during a period of great expansion, and before that founder of Columbia's Michael Rabiger Center for the Documentary. He has directed or edited more than 35 films, given workshops in many countries, and led a multinational European documentary workshop for CILECT, the international association of film schools. As Visiting Professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, he taught idea development, directing, and advanced production. He is presently writing the libretto for an opera.
Table of Contents
Artistic Identityx The Job of the Directorx Identifying Your Themes as a Directorx Developing Your Story Ideasx Checklistx Screencraftx Screen Grammarx Seeing with a Moviemaker's Eyex Shooting Projectsx Checklistx Writingx The Screenplayx The Process of Writingx Adaptation from Art or Lifex Story Development Strategiesx Scene-Writing Exercisesx Checklistx Aesthetics and Authorshipx Point of Viewx Genre, Conflict, and Dialecticsx Structure, Plot, and Timex Space, Stylized Environments, and Performancesx Form and Stylex Checklistx Preproductionx Interpreting the Scriptx Castingx Directing Actorsx Actors' Problemsx Improvisation Work to Explore Actingx Exercises with a Textx Rehearsal and Developmentx Director and Actor Prepare a Scenex Final Rehearsals and Planning Coveragex Checklistx Productionx Developing a Crewx Mise en Scene Basicsx Getting Ready to Shootx Directing the Crewx Monitoring Progressx Checklistx Postproductionx Preparing to Editx Editing the First Assemblyx Editing from Rough Cut to Fine Cutx Editing: Finalizationx Editing from Fine Cut to Sound Mixx Titles and Acknowledgmentsx Checklistx Career Trackx Planning a Careerx Major International Film/Video Schoolsx Breaking into the Industryx Checklistx Further Informationx Glossaryx Select Bibliographyx Index