Synopses & Reviews
Sound has always been an integral component of the moviegoing experience. Even during the so-called andldquo;silent era,andrdquo; motion pictures were regularly accompanied by live music, lectures, and sound effects. Today, whether we listen to movies in booming Dolby theaters or on tiny laptop speakers, sonic elements hold our attention and guide our emotional responses. Yet few of us are fully aware of the tremendous collaborative work, involving both artistry and technical wizardry, required to create that cinematic soundscape.and#160;
and#160;Sound, the latest book in the Behind the Silver Screen series, introduces key concepts, seminal moments, and pivotal figures in the development of cinematic sound. Each of the bookandrsquo;s six chapters cover a different era in the history of Hollywood, from silent films to the digital age, and each is written by an expert in that period. Together, the bookandrsquo;s contributors are able to explore a remarkable range of past and present film industry practices, from the hiring of elocution coaches to the marketing of soundtrack records. and#160;
and#160;Not only does the collection highlight the achievements of renowned sound designers and film composers like Ben Burtt and John Williams, it also honors the unsung workers whose inventions, artistry, and performances have shaped the soundscapes of many notable movies. After you read Sound, youandrsquo;ll never seeandmdash;or hearandmdash;movies in quite the same way.and#160;
and#160;Sound is a volume in the Behind the Silver Screen seriesandmdash;other titles in the series include Acting; Animation; Art Direction and Production Design; Cinematography; Costume, Makeup, and Hair; Directing; Editing and Special Visual Effects; Producing; and Screenwriting.and#160;and#160;and#160;
Review
andquot;Thoroughly researched and revelatory, this book is an essentialand#160;resource for sound and cinema studies. Again and again, theand#160;contributors to this excellent volume showed me how much I still haveand#160;to learn about cinema sound.andquot;
Review
andquot;A complete history of the use and development of sound in movies from silent films until today. Interesting reading for professionals and also for anyone interested in moviemaking.andquot;
Review
andquot;Six insightful critics turn their collective gaze to Hollywood's least-gratifying field of endeavor and redefine the writer's role in film history. A witty, instructive, and long overdue survey.andquot;
Review
andquot;From Samuel Arkoff to Adolph Zukor, Producing gives us a model for examining this most misunderstood position in the movie hierarchy, and for analyzing the history and historiography of executive labor in Hollywood.andquot;
Review
andquot;Producing is an invaluable contribution to film studies andndash; and to American film history andndash; that sheds some serious light on the single most undervalued and misunderstood role in Hollywood filmmaking.andquot;
Synopsis
The chapters in
Acting provide a fascinating, in-depth look at the history of film acting, from its inception in 1895 when spectators thrilled at the sight of vaudeville performers, wild-west stars, and athletes captured in motion to the present when audiences marvel at the seamless blend of human actors with CGI. In six original essays, the contributors to this volume illuminate the dynamic role of acting in the creation and evolving practices of the American film industry. and#160;and#160;
Synopsis
Screen performances entertain and delight us but we rarely stop to consider actorsandrsquo; reliance on their craft to create memorable characters. Although film acting may appear effortless, a host of techniques, artistic conventions, and social factors shape the construction of each role. and#160;
The chapters in Acting provide a fascinating, in-depth look at the history of film acting, from its inception in 1895 when spectators thrilled at the sight of vaudeville performers, Wild West stars, and athletes captured in motion, to the present when audiences marvel at the seamless blend of human actors with CGI. Experts in the field take readers behind the silver screen to learn about the craft of film acting in six eras: the silent screen (1895andndash;1928), classical Hollywood (1928andndash;1946), postwar Hollywood (1947andndash;1967), the auteur renaissance (1968andndash;1980), the New Hollywood (1981andndash;1999), and the modern entertainment marketplace (2000andndash;present). The contributors pay special attention to definitive performances by notable film stars, including Lillian Gish, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, Beulah Bondi, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Nicholas Cage, Denzel Washington, and Andy Serkis.
and#160;In six original essays, the contributors to this volume illuminate the dynamic role of acting in the creation and evolving practices of the American film industry. and#160;
and#160;Acting is a volume in the Behind the Silver Screen seriesandmdash;other titles in the series include Animation; Art Direction and Production Design; Cinematography; Costume, Makeup, and Hair; Directing; Editing and Special/Visual Effects; Producing; Screenwriting; and Sound.and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;
Synopsis
Sound introduces key concepts, seminal moments, and pivotal figures in the development of cinematic sound, revealing the unseen work of film composers, Foley artists, elocution coaches, and many more. Each of the bookandrsquo;s six chapters cover a different era in the history of Hollywood, from silent films to the digital age, and each is written by an expert in that period. After you read Sound, youandrsquo;ll never seeandmdash;or hearandmdash;movies in quite the same way.and#160;and#160;
Synopsis
and#160;With contributions from established film scholars and accomplished screenwriters, this collection of original essays gives readers a comprehensive portrait of both the art and business of screenwriting. Examining the films of celebrated writer-directors from Preston Sturges to Alexander Payne, while also revealing the work of journeyman writers and andldquo;script doctorsandrdquo; who toil in obscurity,
Screenwriting charts the ever-evolving roles that screenwriters have played, from the dawn of Hollywood to the age of YouTube. and#160;
Synopsis
and#160;Screenwriters often joke that andldquo;no one ever paid a dollar at a movie theater to watch a screenplay.andrdquo; Yet the screenplay is where a movie begins, determining whether a production gets the andldquo;green lightandrdquo; from its financial backers and wins approval from its audience. This innovative volume gives readers a comprehensive portrait of the art and business of screenwriting, while showing how the role of the screenwriter has evolved over the years.
Reaching back to the early days of Hollywood, when moonlighting novelists, playwrights, and journalists were first hired to write scenarios and photoplays, Screenwriting illuminates the profound ways that screenwriters have contributed to the films we love. This book explores the social, political, and economic implications of the changing craft of American screenwriting from the silent screen through the classical Hollywood years, the rise of independent cinema, and on to the contemporary global multi-media marketplace. From The Birth of a Nation (1915), Gone With the Wind (1939), and Gentlemanandrsquo;s Agreement (1947) to Chinatown (1974), American Beauty (1999), and Lost in Translation (2003), each project began as writers with pen and ink, typewriters, or computers captured the hopes and dreams, the nightmares and concerns of the periods in which they were writing.
As the contributors take us behind the silver screen to chronicle the history of screenwriting, they spotlight a range of key screenplays that changed the game in Hollywood and beyond. With original essays from both distinguished film scholars and accomplished screenwriters, Screenwriting is sure to fascinate anyone with an interest in Hollywood, from movie buffs to industry professionals.and#160;
Synopsis
Producing is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the myriad roles that producers have played in Hollywood, from the dawn of the twentieth century to the present day. It introduces readers to the colorful figures who helped to define and reimagine the producerandrsquo;s role, including inventors like Thomas Edison, entrepreneurs like Walt Disney, and mavericks like Roger Corman. Along the way, we get an illuminating picture of the creative, managerial, and financial decisions that producers make.and#160;
Synopsis
Of all the job titles listed in the opening and closing screen credits, producer is certainly the most amorphous. There are businessmen (and women)-producers, writer-director- and movie-star-producers; producers who work for the studio; executive producers whose reputation and industry clout alone gets a project financed (though their day-to-day participation in the project may be negligible). The job title, regardless of the actual work involved, warrants a great deal of prestige in the film business; it is the credited producers, after all, who collect the Oscar for Best Picture. But what producers do and what they donandrsquo;t or wonandrsquo;t do varies from project to project.and#160;Producing is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the roles that producers have played in Hollywood, from the dawn of the twentieth century to the present day. It introduces readers to the colorful figures who helped to define and reimagine the producerandrsquo;s role, including inventors like Thomas Edison, moguls like Darryl F. Zanuck, entrepreneurs like Walt Disney, and mavericks like Roger Corman. Readers also get an inside look at the less glamorous jobs producers have often performed: shepherding projects through many years of development, securing financial backers, and supervising movie shoots. and#160;and#160;The latest book in the acclaimed Behind the Silver Screen series, Producing includes essays written by seven film scholars, each an expert in a different period of cinema history. Together, they give readers a full picture of how the art and business of producing films has changed over timeandmdash;and how the producerandrsquo;s myriad job duties continue to evolve in the digital era.and#160;and#160;
About the Author
ANDREW HORTON is the Jeanne H. Smith Professor of Film and Video Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He is an award-winning screenwriter and the author of twenty-six books, including
Screenwriting for a Global Market.
JULIAN HOXTER is an associate professor of cinema and screenwriting coordinator at San Francisco State University. The author of Write What You Donandrsquo;t Know: An Accessible Manual for Screenwriters, he is also an award-winning filmmaker, a rewrite specialist, and a story consultant for independent features.and#160;