Filming the Fantastic: A Guide to Visual Effects Cinematography

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review




Not for the modern film maker, January 12, 2009
By Lars-Petter Steen (Stockholm, Sweden)
It's difficult to review a book that wasn't for me in the first place, but if it keeps someone else from getting dissappointed, I still think it could be useful.

"Filming the Fantastic" is written by a talented and experienced cinematagropher, and if anything, this book is a historical lesson about how film makers used to (and to some extent still) shoot scenes. Every chapter dedicates 80% to explain in detail of how and who things work they do, and also one or two examples from his own experience. The last 20% is left for "how to do it digitally".

The back side of the book describes it a "step-by-step" guide, which it really isn't. While it includes alot of examples, they are far too shallow to help you through the more demandings setups.

My point is that this book is old school and sometimes contradictory - on one hand the author talks about "shooting on a budget" and how easy and cheap it is to do it yourself, on the other he lists everything that needs to be included - and we talk about extremely expensive equipment - but he also counts on that you have a small film crew (with artists, for example). I'm dissappointed because as a young film maker with extremely limited budgets and cheap prosumer cameras, I feel like we live in two different worlds.



Review Filming the Fantastic, October 28, 2008
By J. Phillips
Many have made favorable comments on this, and I agree with the favorable ones. This is a good reference. Inspiring on another level to expand creativity. Recommend this.



Outstanding Book - Highly Recommended, June 6, 2008
By Jason J. Tomaric (Los Angeles, CA)
As a working Hollywood director and published author (The Power Filmmaking Kit), I usually take many filmmaking books with a grain of salt. They are either overly simplistic, revealing the inexperience of the author or serving as blatant self-promotion. "Filming the Fantastic" is neither. Mark Sawicki's take on visual effects cinematography whipped me back to my childhood when I dreamed of creating the same in-camera special effects I grew up with in movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The one book I wish existed years ago, "Filming the Fantastic" is chock full of techniques, tips and advice to both novice and experienced filmmakers alike, focusing on the art of using lenses, practical set pieces, miniatures, forced perspective, and a variety of non-CGI approaches to making incredible effects. If you are interested in making movies or the filmmaking process, I highly recommend "Filming the Fantastic." It is a fascinating read, and a fresh look at an extraordinary art form.



A book on effects for everyone., March 12, 2008
By Paul Howell (Melbourne, Australia)
Mark Sawicki's book, is a wonderful resource for those interested or involved with the history and creation of visual effects for film and TV. This book would be a great addition to a visual art students library - teachers will also find the practical exercises excellent, while film industry professionals will find the advice and commonsense approach to making visual effects invaluable. I should stress that this beautifully illustrated book is different to the glossy (and all too common) "how we made the effects for such-and-such blockbuster", Filming the Fantastic is much more real and practical, always encouraging the reader to learn by trying things for themselves.

Filming the Fantastic is about creating visual effects - not just those made by computers. The use of miniatures, matte painting and clever planning demonstrate how time and money can be saved while producing outstanding results. Marks professional effects experience provides the framework for the book, backed up with interesting anecdotes and exercises for the reader make their own special effect shots. A really unique feature of this book is showing how to deal with the inevitable situations where there has been little or no planning prior to filming.

This substantial book is crammed with photographs and diagrams, illustrating the text and clearly explaining concepts for the reader. There is considerable depth to the theory sections on colour, perspective and lighting, making the book a fine reference work for any filmmaker. The exciting thing I found about this book was sections such as "So you don't have a million dollars" - which go into making effects with a low budget or if you are challenged for time. Effects are created using home video equipment with simple props - ideas on how to create you own blue screens, superimposed backgrounds, stop motion animation, people falling out of buildings, crowd replication and even a pan across an airplane crash scene, can all be created with a few dollars and a few hours. This may make the book sound too simplistic for a professional, however "in camera effects" (as they are called) are becoming more rather than less common in feature film production. These "tricks" are recognised as time savers in the professional industry.

In summary this well written book is very easy to read with clear thought out examples for students, teachers and professionals. Great illustrations and photos explain the key concepts thoroughly while the broad topic range make the book relevant for many people and situations.

A great gift for yourself or anyone interested in the magic of movie making. My advice is to dust off the camera and try the effects for yourself!





A must have for any filmmaker!, March 7, 2008
By David Basulto (Los Angeles)
If you are a filmmaker Mark Sawicki's book is a must for your arsenal. The book will give you much needed fundamentals of how visual effects shots are done. Dont try to "fix it in post". Do it right the first time in your camera.