Digital Filmmaking for Beginners
A Practical Guide to Video Production
Michael K. Hughes
New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto
Digital Filmmaking for Beginners: A Practical Guide to Video Production
Copyright 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-0-07-179137-3
MHID: 0-07-179137-X
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN 978-0-07-179136-6, MHID 0-07-179136-1.
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.
McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative please e-mail us at .
Sponsoring Editor
Roger Stewart
Editorial Supervisor
Jody McKenzie
Project Editor
Howie Severson, Fortuitous Publishing Services
Acquisitions Coordinator
Molly Wyand
Copy Editor
Lisa McCoy
Proofreader
Emilia Thiuri
Indexer
Karin Arrigoni
Production Supervisor
James Kussow
Composition
Cenveo Publisher Services
Illustration
Cenveo Publisher Services
Art Director, Cover
Jeff Weeks
Information has been obtained by McGraw-Hill from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, McGraw-Hill, or others, McGraw-Hill does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information.
TERMS OF USE
This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (McGraw-Hill) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hills prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.
THE WORK IS PROVIDED AS IS. McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.
Contents at a Glance
About the Author
At the age of twelve Michael Hughes father insisted that he should have a movie camera. Thats when he began to fall in love with the moving picture art form. He followed his father into broadcasting, where he spent several years in television, working on both educational and broadcast programs. Michael eventually created a business that produces corporate videos for companies looking to augment their employee training or product promotional efforts. He also works on documentaries and how to videos for the consumer market.
Since about 1973 Michael has been teaching filmmaking and now video production at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver Film School, and lately Langara College. His teaching career in film/video production now spans 32 years. As a result, it only makes sense now for him to release a textbook on everything included in his well-honed course, plus a whole lot more that hes learned along the way.
Contents
Preface
The purpose of this book is to give you the best possible type and amount of information to begin a career in producing high-quality video programs, to add to the knowledge you already have if youre currently in the business, and to encourage you to improve the videos you makeeven if you are only making videos for yourself and your family. But, this is more than just a coffee table book that glosses over the information. This book is stuffed with information. There are a lot of text, pictures, and illustrations to absorb.
If youre serious about learning more about video productionfrom the ground upthis book is for you! I encourage you to give the book a thorough read, or, if youre experienced enough, look at the table of contents and pick the subjects you might like to know more about. Either way, youre bound to benefit from the information herein.
Enjoy the read!
Online Resources
More informative material is available to supplement what youll read in this book. There are tutorial videos and extra articles, as well as course materials for film instructors. Check it out at www.mikesdvp.com.
Acknowledgements
Gotta thank my broadcaster father, Ken Hughes, who insisted I have a movie camera when I was about 12 years old, which he bought for me out of my allowance (thanks, Dad!). Really, this is where it all began for me.
My wife, Linda, and my daughter, Ashley, have been both patient and helpful in many ways they arent even aware ofmostly to do with my sanity.
When it came time to have some proofreading and editing chores, I submitted unfinished copies to a few of my friends. One ex-student of mine who has become a very good friend, J.B. Krause, was invaluable in catching so many of the typos, spelling errors, structure, and design faults that plague even good authors. The professionals at McGraw-Hill Professional did a great job of correcting the rest.
Kerry Elfstrm has been the best associate and friend a self-employed filmmaker could ever have. Over the years, he has, through his instructional business, hired me to create many different types of video and audiovisual projects. Having to create a huge variety of weird and wonderful productions for Kerry has taught me how to think and work outside the box.
