Digital Video Pocket Guide (O'Reilly Digital Studio)

Digital Video Pocket Guide (O'Reilly Digital Studio) Review

The Digital Video Pocket Guide is concise, easy to use, and is overflowing with the techniques you'll need to know to create great movies. This book is organized, like the popular Digital Photography Pocket Guide, into three chapters: "What Is It?", "How Does It Work?", and "How Do I...Tips, Tricks, and Techniques". Its compact size, organization, and detailed illustrations make it easy to find the information you need.

In the first chapter, "What Is It?", you're introduced to the ins and outs of your DV camcorder. Author Derrick Story builds the solid foundation that helps you better understand the camera you have now, and will prove invaluable when shopping for your next camcorder. For instance, what is a tally lamp, and do you need one? What is the difference between the optical and digital zoom? Should you spend the extra money for a 3-CCD chip?

Chapter two puts the tools in action. It maps out, step by step, a sure-fire approach to successful movie making -- including home videos, tutorials, and even short features. This chapter takes the worry out of organizing and lets you focus on creativity.

Next, you'll accelerate your prowess by learning the rock-solid techniques of video experts. Among the tips and tricks featured in chapter three are how the pros shoot action video, arrange lighting for an interview, and capture clean audio. Finally, the Appendix is packed with well-organized tables and charts on a myriad of topics and includes: a color temperature chart, a guide to color correction gels, a table of everyday lux ratings, a handy cable connector guide, a reference for microphone patterns, and much, much, more.

Completely indexed, beautifully illustrated in color, and more compact than those bulky books that never make if off your bedside nightstand, the Digital Video Pocket Guide is the ultimate shooting companion that will help your create the videos you want to show to friends, family, or even the world at large.

DV Filmmaking: From Start to Finish (O'Reilly Digital Studio)

DV Filmmaking: From Start to Finish (O'Reilly Digital Studio) Review

Thanks to the digital revolution, film artists now have a spectacular array of powerful, new, inexpensive tools for creative expression through digital film. The once powerful studios can no longer stifle an artist's creativity. With the power of the Internet, film artists are finding once unimaginable ways to distribute their creations worldwide.

DV Filmmaking: From Start to Finish covers all aspects of the new digital video frontier, for amateurs and professionals alike--from the nuts and bolts of timecode and aspect ratio; to framing, lighting, and sound recording; as well as editing, special effects creation, and distribution.

The book is written for filmmakers at varying experience levels--taking an integrated approach to media production, and emphasizing the ways different aspects of the process work together to create a vital work of digital art:

• Hands-on detailed examination of the artistic aspects of film and video production
• Extensive examples use comprehensive step-by-step exercises for advanced editing techniques
• Scenes from successful films illustrate techniques used by professionals
• Includes a collection of professionally shot video clips, so the user can read and follow along with sets of structured exercises
• Develops a highly refined repertoire of advanced skills in editing, effects creation, title design, and more
• Inspires advanced readers to work with the included clips on their own and experiment with new ideas
• Written for both Mac and PC users and covers advanced uses of both Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects

Written in an engaging, accessible style, DV Filmmaking provides a solid foundation of tremendous value to a beginner, while addressing the fine points of filmmaking with a level of sophistication, detail, and insight that even the most worldly director or educator can appreciate. The author draws upon his years of experience teaching at the college and graduate level, his extensive professional background as a media producer, and his unmistakable love of cinema to create a text that's not only easy to learn from, but also fun to read.

Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition (O'Reilly Digital Studio)

Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition (O'Reilly Digital Studio) Review

Today's digital cameras are affordable and provide quality images that rival their traditional film counterparts. Because digital images are easier to share, and because you only have to print the pictures you need, this new medium is both cost effective and environmentally friendly. Best of all, it's fun! With a digital camera, you can set free your creative spirit and take risks you never would with a film camera. The only obstacle is learning how to unlock all or this power and pleasure packed into these pocket-sized picture takers.

Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition expands on the basic photography techniques introduced in the bestselling first edition to help you take the kind of pictures you've always wanted to--and now in full color! This book is the photo mentor you've always wanted: it explains each of the camera's components, shows you what they do, and then helps you choose the right settings. When you ask, "How can I get that picture?", simply pull this small guide out of your camera bag, backpack, or back pocket and find the answer quickly.

This fully illustrated book covers everything from image resolution, shooting sports action, close ups and night shots, to memory cards, transferring images, archiving, making QuickTime movies, and much more. Topics in the guide's three main sections on "Digital Camera Components", "Standard Camera Functions", and "How Do I?" are labeled A to Z for quick reference. Or if you prefer, use the comprehensive index or table of contents to find the information you need. There's even an entire section of easy to read reference tables for quick look up of white balance settings, exposure compensation, camera mode explanations, and much more.

DVD Studio Pro 3 In The Studio (O'Reilly Digital Studio)

DVD Studio Pro 3 In The Studio (O'Reilly Digital Studio) Review

Apple's DVD Studio Pro, released in 2001, provided a low-cost, professional solution for home and small business DVD authoring. Today, the highly sophisticated yet easy-to-use DVD Studio Pro 3 allows independent filmmakers, video producers, trainers, event videographers, and enthusiasts to create professional-grade DVDs on the Macintosh platform. Pair the program with DVD Studio Pro 3: In the Studio, and you've got everything you need to embrace the digital video revolution.

This indispensable book gives you the tools and know-how to master DVD Studio Pro 3. Oversized and in full color, the highly visual DVD Studio Pro 3: In the Studio is ideal for Macintosh ProApps developers--those who use Final Cut Pro 4 and Shake 3--as well as for prosumer and professional filmmakers who wish to transfer their projects to DVDs. The book goes well beyond the program's features list to demystify the entire process of DVD design and authoring.

Author Marc Loy, who has been using DVD Studio Pro since its inception, goes beyond a simple discussion about the DVD Studio Pro 3 interface and entices readers to experience the program's powerful capabilities as they create eye-catching, innovative DVD designs. He covers the actual protocols involved with the DVD files and filesystems, pixel aspect ratio issues, and common "gotchas" using both still and motion media. He also delivers plenty of tips and tricks for using dynamic buttons. DVD Studio Pro 3: In the Studio explores most everything you need and want to know, including importing from Photoshop and Final Cut Pro, making motion video menus available, effective looping of video and audio, adding multilingual menus and subtitles, encoding rules for DVDs, scripting, and mass duplication hunts.

DVD Studio Pro 3: In the Studio is a professional-level book for anyone who's serious about creating high-impact, professional-level DVDs to make your unique vision a digital video reality.