Tell effective visual stories by utilizing the "grammar of film and video with this elegant, modular reference. See what you absolutely need to know to put together your own film or video, shot by shot. Whether you're just learning how to frame a shot or simply looking for a refresher, Grammar of the Shot gives you a toolkit to help you build a successful visual story that flows smoothly. Understand the basic building blocks essential for successful shot lighting, screen direction, 3D elements, camera movement, and many general practices that make for richer, multi-layered visuals. Expand your visual vocabulary and help jumpstart your career in film and video. Get ample examples and further instruction on the new companion website. Designed as an easy-to-use reference, Grammar of the Shot presents each topic succinctly with clear photographs and diagrams illustrating the key concepts. Simple and easy to use, Grammar of the Shot is a staple of any filmmaker's library.

Directing & Producing for Television affords the reader a step-by-step approach to television direction and production. The emphasis is on the hands-on portion of the director's job in pre-production, production, and post-production. It approaches those tasks through the formats and the procedures that each format requires, including panel shows, music formats, standard television, public service announcements, and news programs, etc. The emphasis is on multiple camera television, although serious considerations is given to single camera production in those formats where single camera production is the predominant production technique (i.e. documentaries and commercials/PSAs). The material in the book comes from the author's own experience in the industry and in university settings. Finding that students are adept at handling equipment but often lacking in actual production technique, this text addresses what outlines are needed by whom and why; how to mark a script; what a rehearsal agenda ought to be, and more. This approach to television production, which outlines the demands of each format, gives the students the tools they need to help them direct and produce efficiently in a variety of settings. Ivan Cury has taught in the radio/TV department at Cal State, Los Angeles for the past seven years. He is also the producer and director of commercials, sitcoms, variety shows and documentaries. His credits include "The Young & The Restless" (CBS), "The Doctors" (NBC), major variety programs, major documentaries such as "Violence in America" (NBC), and numerous other documentaries and commercials. He has served as a judge for the Emmys, ACE, and the DGA awards. Before joining the radio/tv department at Cal State, he taught for eleven years at the MPTV department at UCLA. He lives in Encino, California.

The life and influence of singer Phil Ochs Phil Ochs burst onto the American music scene just as the popularity of folk music was breaking through on the national consciousness. Along with friend and rival Bob Dylan, Ochs wrote some of the most compelling topical music of his time. In There But for Fortune, Michael Schumacher explores the life and career of a singer, songwriter, and political activist whose music resonates today as much as it applied to a divided country a half-century ago. His politically charged songs were covered by Pete Seeger; Joan Baez; Gordon Lightfoot; Peter, Paul and Mary; and a host of others, and such songs as “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” and “The War Is Over” became anthems of the anti–Vietnam War movement. He seemed to be performing everywhere, from concerts on college campuses to huge demonstrations, culminating with an appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968. But as this biography illustrates in painstaking detail, Ochs suffered from a dark side that gravely affected his life and music. Diagnosed as manic depressive, he shifted between incredible highs and debilitating lows that ultimately drove him to suicide at age 36. To piece together his life story, Schumacher interviewed Ochs’s friends, family members, and fellow musicians; examined his journals and scrapbooks; and even scrutinized his FBI files. While Phil Ochs’s life might have been plagued by downturn and tragedies, his music is an enduring call to activism and fighting for a better future.

Bestselling author Roy Glenn returns with Cold Blooded, his latest Mike Black novel that delivers shocking urban suspense. Following the murder of his friend and business associate, Quentin Hunter, Mike Black decides that he might ask a few questions. Why would Daniel Beason kill Quentin, and why would Beason have murdered his business partner, Elias Colton? If Black is hitting the streets, you can be sure that Bobby Ray is hitting the streets with him. It doesn’t take them long to find that weapons, drugs, and The Troka Clan, an Albanian mafia organization engaged in international human and organ trafficking, are involved. However, this isn't the extent of the involvement with The Family. After finding her cousin, flight attendant Sapphire Langston, safe, Rain Robinson looks to get back to business. But before that can happen, Sapphire gets a call informing her that men are holding her mother hostage. They demand the return of a thumb drive that Rain found on her last flight. Rain discovers that The Troka Clan is behind the kidnapping and that the drive contains information about the clan’s transactions, contacts, and the location of their warehouses. When the exchange doesn’t go well, Rain selects a target from the data and goes on a rampage. She takes The Family to war against the clan until Black, who has been violently seeking answers, shuts her down—but not before more blood is spilled in the streets.