Sergei Eisenstein is arguably the most important single figure in the history of movies. He was certainly the most versatile. The director of the masterpieces Battleship Potemkin and Alexander Nevsky, Eisenstein also wrote ground-breaking essays on film art and taught classes on motion picture production. In this book Eisenstein writes about film directing.

Documentary films have enjoyed a huge resurgence over the last few years, and there's a new generation of filmmakers wanting to get involved. In addition, the digital revolution has made documentaries even more accessible to the general filmmaker. Documentary films can now be shot professionally using cheaper equipment, and smaller cameras enable the documentarian to be less intrusive and therefore more intimate in the subjects' lives. With an increasing number of documentaries making it to the big screen (and enjoying ongoing sales on DVD), the time is right for an information-packed handbook that will guide new filmmakers towards potential artistic and commercial success. The Documentary Film Makers Handbook features incisive and helpful interviews with dozens of industry professionals, on subjects as diverse as interview techniques, the NBC News Archive, music rights, setting up your own company, the Film Arts Foundation, pitching your proposal, the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Documentary Channel, the British Film Council, camera hire, filmmaking ethics, working with kids, editing your documentary, and DVD distribution. The book also includes in-depth case studies of some of the most successful and acclaimed documentary films of recent years, including Mad Hot Ballroom, Born Into Brothels, Touching the Void, Beneath the Veil,and Amandla! The Documentary Film Makers Handbook will be an essential resource for anyone who wants to know more about breaking into this exciting field.

Exploring Movie Construction & Production contains eight chapters of the major areas of film construction and production. The discussion covers theme, genre, narrative structure, character portrayal, story, plot, directing style, cinematography, and editing. Important terminology is defined and types of analysis are discussed and demonstrated. An extended example of how a movie description reflects the setting, narrative structure, or directing style is used throughout the book to illustrate building blocks of each theme. This approach to film instruction and analysis has proved beneficial to increasing students¿ learning, while enhancing the creativity and critical thinking of the student.

A Quick Guide to Film Directing provides the reader with a concise and comprehensive overview of this creative and exciting occupation. Written in a fast-paced, easy-to-understand fashion, the book addresses such topics as what film direction is; the history of the profession; how to become a director; the creative and practical duties and challenges of a film director in the three stages of making a movie (preproduction, production, and postproduction); working with actors; working with the members of the technical crew (cinematographers, editors, production designers, etc.); the director's support team (assistant director, production manager, and so on); and the business of being a film director. It also offers a brief look at some of the greatest and most influential film directors in the history of the cinema.

This comprehensive manual has inspired tens of thousands of readers worldwide to realize their artistic vision and produce well-constructed films. Filled with practical advice on every stage of production, this is the book you will return to throughout your career. Directing covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating process of making a film. The core of the book is the human, psychological, and technical knowledge that every director needs, the enduring elements of the craft that remain vital. Directing also provides an unusually clear view of the artistic process, particularly in working with actors and principle crew to achieve personally expressive storytelling and professionalism on any budget. Directing explores in detailed and applicable terms how to engage with the conceptual and authorial sides of filmmaking. Its eminently practical tools and exercises show how to: discover your artistic identity; develop credible and compelling stories with your cast and crew; and become a storyteller with a distinctive voice and style. The companion website includes teaching notes, dozens of practical hands-on projects and film study activities to help you master technical and conceptual skills, film analysis questionnaires, and all the essential production forms and logs. New to the fifth edition * Virtually every chapter has been revised, updated, and re-organized for a streamlined and integrated approach. * Expanded sections on the basics of drama, including thorough analyses of recent films * Discussions of the director’s approach to script analysis and development * New discussion exploring the elements of naturalistic and stylistic aesthetic approaches. * New discussion on the narrative power of lighting and the lens - including many recent film examples for shot size, perspective, focus and exposure * Greater emphasis on the implications of composition, mise-en-scène, continuity shooting and editing, long take shooting, point-of-view sequences, and camera handling * Expanded discussion of collaboration between the director and principle creative crew * Updated coverage of workflow and comparative advantages to digital or film acquisition * New section on film production safety, set protocol and etiquette

An instant classic since its debut in 1991, Film Directing: Shot By Shot and its famous blue cover is one of the most well-known books on directing in the business, and is a favorite of professional directors as an on-set quick reference guide.

Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video is the definitive book on the subject for beginning filmmakers and students. The book clearly illustrates all of the steps involved in preproduction, production, postproduction, and distribution. Its unique two-fold approach looks at filmmaking from the perspectives of both producer and director, and explains how their separate energies must combine to create a successful short film or video, from script to final product. This guide offers extensive examples from award-winning shorts and includes insightful quotes from the filmmakers themselves describing the problems they encountered and how they solved them. The companion website contains useful forms and information on grants and financing sources, distributors, film and video festivals, film schools, internet sources for short works, and professional associations.