The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap

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The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap
Stu Maschwitz (Paperback - Jan 1, 2007)
Buy New: ~~$49.99~~ $31.49 15 Used & new from $23.99

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description:
Written by Stu Maschwitz, co-founder of the Orphanage (the legendary guerrilla visual effects studio responsible for amazing and award-winning effects in such movies as Sin City, The Day After Tomorrow, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), this book is a must-have for all those budding filmmakers and students who want to produce action movies with visual effects but don't have Hollywood budgets. The Orphanage was created by three twenty-something visual effects veterans who wanted to make their own feature films and discovered they could do this by utilizing home computers, off the shelf software, and approaching things artistically. This guide details exactly how to do this: from planning and selecting the necessary cameras, software, and equipment, to creating specific special effects (including gunfire, Kung Fu fighting, car chases, dismemberment, and more) to editing and mixing sound and music. Its mantra is that the best, low-budget action moviemakers must visualize the end product first in order to reverse-engineer the least expensive way to get there. Readers will learn how to integrate visual effects into every aspect of filmmaking--before filming, during filming and with "in camera" shots, and with computers in postproduction. Throughout the book, the author makes specific references to and uses popular action movies (both low and big-budget) as detailed examples--including El Mariachi, La Femme Nikita, Die Hard, and Terminator 2. Note from the Publisher: If you have the 3rd printing of The DV Rebel’s Guide, your disc may be missing the data files that accompany the book. If this is the case, please send an email to Peachpit in order to obtain the files at ask@peachpit.com

Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
5.0 Customer Rating

Awesome book, November 20, 2009
By Byron Nash (Tega Cay, SC)
I have long known about The DV Rebel's Guide from reading Stu Maschwitz's blog and articles. You can't work in the visual effects industry very long before you run across something from Stu. He is quite opinionated and learned in his field. I can personally say that I have learned much from Stu's wealth of information on the internet. When it came out, I did not have much interest in reading the book since I am not a filmmaker per se. Eventually my curiosity and inner filmmaker took over and I got a copy of the book. The book is well written and comes with a level of street cred that you can sense as you read the information. Stu's wit and candor are evident as he use humorous stories and illustrations to get a point across. He covers all aspects of making a film on a low budget, some areas deeper than others. The areas that are not covered in depth are best covered in other books since they are topics unto themselves. Scriptwriting is a good example of this. Every chapter is sprinkled with invaluable side notes and 'jargon watch' panels. I would say that the jargon watch panels may be one of the most helpful aspects of the book. If you ever go on a set for your job, you would be well served to learn the lingo and know when to ask for a 'truck out' instead of a 'tilt up'. The chapters on editing, camera, and onlining were the most useful to me. Most of the material covered in the visual effects chapters were a good overview and would be extremely instructional for a junior fx artist. I think a solid understanding of the fields related to your own make you well rounded and easier to interface with. This book educates in that capacity and covers many topics well. Most importantly, The DV Rebel's Guide inspires you to want to go out and make a film...and I think that's the reason most of us are in the business after all.

5.0 Customer Rating

Awesome book for low budget film makers., September 16, 2009
By J. Hickson (Australia)
I'm a low (read no) budget filmmaker, however the $30 this book cost me was definitely well spent. Well written and accessible but full of fantastic information that both appreciates the limitations of guerilla film making and inspires you to push the boundaries.
I'd thoroughly recommend this book!!
Cheers
Jez

5.0 Customer Rating

Modern Day Filmmaker Bible, September 12, 2009
By Tito A. Costa (LA)
Guess my tittle says it all...

A pleasure to read, a world of precious information, no matter what level of a filmmaker you are, you should read this book.. no wait you HAVE to read this book!!!

T ; )~

5.0 Customer Rating

A must-buy!, August 12, 2009
By Athanasios Condax
This book was originally referred to me by Aharon Rabinowitz of [...] as great book for amateur filmmakers. It was definitely a great buy with some pretty useful bonus content on the DVD. Definitely worth checking out.

5.0 Customer Rating

Great read fun and informative at the same time, June 24, 2009
By James R. Waymire (Olathe, KS USA)
I really have enjoyed this book. Its whimsical approach has great bits of information and the author provides a supplemental cd with some great extras.