Synopses & Reviews
So you want to make a documentary, but think you don't have a lot of time, money, or experience? It's time to get down and dirty! Down and dirty is a filmmaking mindset. It's the mentality that forces you to be creative with your resources. It's about doing more with less. Get started NOW with this book and DVD set, a one-stop shop written by a guerrilla filmmaker, for guerrilla filmmakers. You will learn how to make your project better, faster, and cheaper. The pages are crammed with 500 full-color pictures, tips from the pros, resources, checklists and charts, making it easy to find what you need fast.
The DVD includes:
* Video and audio tutorials, useful forms, and interviews with leading documentary filmmakers like Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens), Sam Pollard (4 Little Girls), and others
* 50+ Crazy Phat Bonus pages with jump start charts, online resources, releases, storyboards, checklists, equipment guides, and shooting procedures
Here's just a small sampling of what's inside the book:
* Putting together a crew
* Choosing a camera
* New HDV and 24P cameras
* Shooting in rough neighborhoods
* Interview skills and techniques
* 10 ways to lower your budget
* Common production forms
* Pull off your vision in creative and cost-effective ways
* Bonus DVD with video and audio tutorials, interviews, bonus pages with forms and checklists, and more
* 500+ full color illustrations: this book shows you, not tells you, how it's done
Review
"Anthony Artis has consolidated years of practical, professional experience into the quintessential blueprint for documentary filmmakers. I have used the techniques in this book on my documentary and narrative film projects, knowing that budget should never stop a
filmmaker from seeing his or her vision through. I highly recommend this book if you want to turn your limitations into assets. Now shut up and shoot!" -Pete Chatmon, Writer/Producer/Director "PREMIUM" and "761st"
Review
"Anthony Artis' "The Shut Up and Shoot Guide" is a good primer for the entry-level documentary filmmaker, presented in a breezy, down-to-earth vernacular style."
-Thomas White, Editor of Documentary Magazine, a publication of the International Documentary Association.
"Anthony Artis has consolidated years of practical, professional experience into the quintessential blueprint for documentary filmmakers. I have used the techniques in this book on my documentary and narrative film projects, knowing that budget should never stop a
filmmaker from seeing his or her vision through. I highly recommend this book if you want to turn your limitations into assets. Now shut up and shoot!" -Pete Chatmon, Writer/Producer/Director "PREMIUM" and "761st"
"Plain and simple, nuts and bolts on making documentary films. It's told in a conversational manner with no wasted or minced words and most importantly no BS! Few books of this type would mention how important it is to take care of your crew and how that can dramatically improve the outcome of your film. Definitely told from an insiders point of view with useful and practical info that won't go over your head." -Cliff Charles, DP, "When the Levees Broke," ThePeoplesDP.com
"The practical approach promised in the title is delivered fully by the text. Artis exposes the pitfalls that can swallow a beginning filmmaker and offers straightforward advice to avoid them." -Jonathan Luskin, Flying Moose Pictures, San Francisco.
Review
Beginning documentary filmmakers haven't had a resource until now
Review
"The key to Artis' style is his instant accessibility. He strives to give daunting, complicated technical and aesthetic concepts total and immediate clarity....he's as attentive to the subjective, intangible aspects of filmmaking (such as working with crews and interview subjects) as he is to the objective, technical ones....Most of this information is as applicable to fiction filmmakers as documentarians, making Artis' book a handy guide for a wide range of beginning independent directors and cameramen." - American Cinematographer
"Anthony Artis' "The Shut Up and Shoot Guide" is a good primer for the entry-level documentary filmmaker, presented in a breezy, down-to-earth vernacular style." -Thomas White, Editor of Documentary Magazine, a publication of the International Documentary Association.
"I vouch for this book...extremely helpful for the newborn documentary filmmaker." -Albert Maysles, Grey Gardens
"A superb addition to the 'how to' subsection of your library, Artis' tome is concise, while containing useful, accessible information on every aspect of documentary filmmaking, all with a doggedly hands-on attitude. Five stars." - Empire Magazine
"The book is a very easy, straightforward read with plenty of graphics to demonstrate proper and improper techniques…It is also extremely user friendly in its layout…. [It] will be helpful to you for many, many years to come." – Microfilmmaker Magazine
"Anthony Artis has consolidated years of practical, professional experience into the quintessential blueprint for documentary filmmakers...I highly recommend this book if you want to turn your limitations into assets. Now shut up and shoot!" -Pete Chatmon, Writer/Producer/Director PREMIUM and 761st
"[Shut Up and Shoot] has three principle outstanding qualities that you seldom find individually let alone together in the same book. The first is how comprehensive it is; the second is how intensely practical it is; and the third is how clear it is..."-Nik Powell (Director of the National Film and Television School in London)
About the Author
Anthony Q. Artis (prn. /ant-nee art-iss/) originally hails from Baltimore, Maryland, and has made his home in New York City for most of the last 15 years. There he has honed his skills as a straight up digital guerrilla. He has worked professionally in positions as diverse as producer, gaffer, cinematographer, and narrative projects and survived more low-budget shoots than he cares to admit. His feature films and TV shows have screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, the IFP Market, Slamdance, Cinequest, as well as on MTV, The Independent Film Channel and The special-FX make up, sound mixer, and location manager just to name a few. Anthony is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Since graduating, he has crewed and produced a variety of television, documentary Education Channel. Most notably, he produced the feature film, Shelter which won first prize for Emerging Narratives at the 2003 IFP Market along with many other awards on the festival circuit. Anthony can be seen in full guerrilla action as Associate Producer, Gaffer, and 2nd Unit DP in the feature documentary, Paper Chasers, which chronicles the hip-hop music industry and the down and dirty making of a low-budget guerrilla doc. Through the years Anthony has organized numerous student film festivals and trained hundreds of aspiring guerrilla filmmakers for major institutions, including New York University, New York City’s famed LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, and Baltimore County Public Schools. Anthony is presently the manager of the Film and TV Production Center at N.Y.U.’s Tisch School of the Arts where he coordinates the technical training and production equipment for all film and TV students. He most recently launched the Down and Dirty DV Podcast on iTunes and is currently producing an instructional series of guerrilla filmmaking books, DVD’s, and boot camps. He remains an active guerrilla filmmaker, educator and “artrepreneur”.
Anthony Artis is a 15-year veteran of the film and TV industry whose features and shows have been screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, the IFP Feature Market, Slamdance, and on MTV. He is the manager of the Film and TV Production Center at New York University's renowned film school.
Table of Contents
This Aint Your Mamas Film Book; Introduction; The Down And Dirty DV Project; CHAPTER 1 '" PREPRODUCTION; GETTING IT JUMP-STARTED; Learning The Filmmaking Process; Been There, Done That: Why Make A Documentary? - Albert Maysles; Doc Preproduction; GETTING THE IDEA; Brainstorming Your Idea; The Importance Of Research; Been There, Done That : Research and Fact-Checking - Safiya McClinton; Selecting Subjects; ApproachandStorytelling; Been There, Done That : Concept and Storytelling - Sam Pollard; The Production Plan; GETTING THE MONEY; Been There, Done That : How to Raise Money - Michelle Coe; Budgeting Your Doc; Hot Tip: 4 Common Budgeting Mistakes; Hot Tip: 10 Ways to Lower Your Budget; Where To Find Prices; Budgeting '" A Final Word; GETTING THE GEAR; Choosing An Equipment Package; Been There, Done That : Using and Learning the Tools of the Trade; Video Formats 101; A Quick Lesson In Digital Video; Hot Tip: What to Look for in a Camera; THE DOWN AND DIRTY DV CAMERA GUIDE; Canon 3-Chip Mini-Dv Camera Guide; JVCandPanasonic 3-Chip Mini-Dv Camera Guide; Sony 3-Chip Mini-Dv Camera Guide; Buying Vs. Renting; Hot Tip: Educational Equipment Access; Doc Equipment Packages; Hot Tip: 5 Tips for Traveling w/ Equipment; Before You Shoot; GETTING THE CREW; The Doc Crew; Been There, Done That: The Producer - Director Relationship; Assembling A Crew; The Crew Meeting; Feeding The Crew; Hot Tip: 5 Down and Dirty Food Ideas; CHAPTER 2 - LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION; MANAGING LOCATIONS; Shooting On Location; Location Management 101; Sensitive Location Overview; P.R. Reps And Media Liasons; LOCATION LOGISTICS; Hot Tip: How Not Get Your Camera Jacked; Been There, Done That: Being Prepared for Remote Locations; Transportation Considerations; Hot Tip: Stealth Shooting Tactics; OTHER LOCATION ISSUES; Location ReleasesandInsurance; Insurance Issues; Production War Story; Hot Tip: Shooting in Da' Hood; CHAPTER 3 - INTERVIEW LIGHTING; SAFETY AND TOOLS; ElectricityandSafety; Lighting Safety Tip Sheet; Lighting Tools Of The Trade; Lighting KitsandInstruments; 3 AND 4-POINT LIGHTING; Interview Lighting Set-Ups; Setting Up Lights In 6 Easy Steps; The Key Light; DOWN AND DIRTY GEL GUIDE; Hair Light And Back Light; The Fill Light; INTERVIEW LIGHTING COOKBOOK; Practical Lighting Set-Up; 4-Point Lighting Set-Up; Simple Lighting Set-Up; Window Lighting Set-Up; Anonymous Lighting Set-Up; Hot Tip: 4 Tips for Shooting in Low Light; CHAPTER 4 - IMAGE CONTROLandCAMERAWORK; IMAGE BASICS; Basics Of Image Control; Focus; Exposure; Zebra StripesandGain; Color Temperature; White Balance; Shutter Speed Basics; Shutter SpeedandMovement; BEYOND THE BASICS; Hot Tip: Creating a Film Look; Manual Vs Auto Functions; When To Use Auto-Functions; Been There, Done That: Capturing Truth; Using The Zoom Control; Handheld Secrets Of The Pros; Handheld Camera Positions; OTHER CAMERA CONSIDERATIONS; Using Tripods; Pre-RollandEnd Roll; Set Recording Protocol; Color Bars; Labeling Tapes; Hot Tip: Cleaning Your Lens; CHAPTER 5 '" SOUND; SOUND TOOLS OF THE TRADE; Basic Sound Package; Intermediate Sound Package; Microphones '" Boom Mics; Hot Tip: 8 Quick Tips For Better Booming; Good Boom, Bad Boom; Booming Technique; Microphones '" LavsandHandhelds; Mounting A Lav Mic; RECORDING TECHNIQUES; Hot Tip: Recording 2; Subjects w/ 1 Lav Mic; The Right Mic For The Job; Recording Sound Levels; Why Use A Mixer?; Using A Field Mixer; Other Mixer Features; 5 Sound Rules To Live By; Location Sound Recording; Location Sound Hazards; OTHER SOUND TYPE STUFF; DOWN AND DIRTY CABLE GUIDE; Production War Story; Miscellaneous Sound Tips; How To Use Sound Blankets; CHAPTER 6 - BEFORE THE INTERVIEW; INTERVIEW PREP; All About Interviews; Final Preparations; Arriving At Location; Choosing Interview Backgrounds; Hot Tip: Easy Do It Yourself Backdrops; MAKING THEM LOOK GOOD; Positioning And Eye Line; How Do I Look?; Video Clothing Issues; Fixing Faces; Hot Tip: Easy Powder Make-Up; WORKING WITH SUBJECTS; Talent Releases; Been There, Done That: Getting Releases From Subjects; Briefing Your Subject; Instructing Subjects
Hot Tip: Keepin' It Real; CHAPTER 7 - VISUAL STORYTELLING; WHAT IT LOOK LIKE?; Aspect Ratios; Shooting Widescreen DV; Hot Tip: Down and Dirty Widescreen; Composition Basics; Composition Tricks; Lens Focal Length; TelephotoandWide Angle Lenses; THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF DOCS; Dont Just Tell Em, Show 'Em; Establishing Shots; Wide and Medium Shots; Close-Upsand2-Shots; 1-Shots, O.T.S., Reverse/Reaction, Dutch Angle; Dolly Shots; Tilt Up and Tilt Down; Dramatic Zoom Ins; Cutaways; Storytelling And Cutaways; MORE VISUAL STORYTELLING TOOLS; Your B-Roll Is Your 'A' Roll; Depth-Of-Field' Demystified; Hot Tip: Shallow Depth of Field; 10 Tips For Shooting Live Events; CHAPTER 8 - CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS; INTERVIEW QUESTIONS; Monitoring Technical Issues; Interview Hazards; Asking QuestionsandResponding; Form Of Questions; Logical Order Of Questions; INTERVIEW TECHNIQUESandPRACTICE; Been There, Done That: Interviewing Resistant Subjects; Hot Tip: How to Work a Press Conference; Interview PreparationandWarm Up; Listening Skills; Responding To Your Subject; Giving Feedback; Been There, Done That: The Thin Line of Exploitation; The Soapbox Question; Hot Tip: Interviewing Celebrities; The Wrap Out; CHAPTER 9 - THE POST-PRODUCTION PROCESS; PREPARING TO EDIT; ViewingandTaking Notes; Logging Footage
Hot Tip: Automatic Tape Logging; Transcribing Interviews; EDITING; Cutting Your own Film; Working With a Technical Editor; Handing Your Film Off to a Creative Editor; Been There, Done That: Working With Editors; Time Code And DV Tapes; Stock Footage And Music; Been There, Done That: 7 Commandments of Archival Footage; GETTING IT OUT THERE; Hot Tip: 5 Reasons to Get Down w/ Podcasting; Been There, Done That: Finding an Audience Through Podcasting
Film Festival Strategy; Been There, Done That: Passion, BusinessandFilmmaking; 7 Ways To Work A Film Festival; Been There, Done That: Hustling at Sundance; THE CRAZY PHAT BONUS PAGES; Live Event Gig Sheet; TalentandInterview Release Form; DV Edit Log; Storyboards; Craft Services Checklist; Documentary Shoot Checklist; Documentary Budget Form; Camera Cheat Sheet; Sound Cheat Sheet; Lighting Cheat Sheet; Jump Start Chart - Panasonic DVX-100a '" Left 1; Jump Start Chart - Panasonic DVX-100a - Left 2; Jump Start Chart '" Shure FP-33 Mixer '" Front; Jump Start Chart '" Shure FP-33 Mixer '" SidesandTop; Warm Card #1*; Warm Card #2*; Equipment Security 101; THE CRAZY PHAT RESOURCE PAGES; Recent Doc Study Cheat Sheet; Documentary Grant Resources; Internet Resources; Recommended Reading; Glossary; About The Author; Book and DVD Credits