Anthony Q. Artis (
Editorial Reviews
Product Description:So you want to make a documentary, but think you don't have a lot of time, money, or experience? It's time to get down and dirty! Down and dirty is a filmmaking mindset. It's the mentality that forces you to be creative with your resources. It's about doing more with less. Get started NOW with this book and DVD set, a one-stop shop written by a guerrilla filmmaker, for guerrilla filmmakers. You will learn how to make your project better, faster, and cheaper. The pages are crammed with 500 full-color pictures, tips from the pros, resources, checklists and charts, making it easy to find what you need fast.
The DVD includes:* Video and audio tutorials, useful forms, and interviews with leading documentary filmmakers like Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens), Sam Pollard (4 Little Girls), and others
* 50+ Crazy Phat Bonus pages with jump start charts, online resources, releases, storyboards, checklists, equipment guides, and shooting procedures
Here's just a small sampling of what's inside the book:
* Putting together a crew
* Choosing a camera
* New HDV and 24P cameras
* Shooting in rough neighborhoods
* Interview skills and techniques
* 10 ways to lower your budget
* Common production forms
* Pull off your vision in creative and cost-effective ways
* Bonus DVD with video and audio tutorials, interviews, bonus pages with forms and checklists, and more
* 500+ full color illustrations: this book shows you, not tells you
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
Excellent Book, December 5, 2008
By
Eduardo Vertiz Mascarenas (Mexico City, Mexico)
This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to make a documentary. I agree with the author, in that some books, and some film classes end up messing with your head with so much useless or confusing information. This is a very practical book, filled with great examples and very good tips for the inexperienced documentarian. Next year I will be shooting my first documentary and I couldn't tell you how much the information on this book has helped me to prepare. Congratulations, highly recommeded!
a mediocore beginners book, September 29, 2008
By
Roman SafiullinI was required to purchase this book for a production class in a graduate program and after flipping through it in about an hour, I gave it away to a friend who wanted to make home movies. Mr. Artis is a good promoter of his products, but everything he writes here is a shallow overview of much more interesting things that can be found on various internet forums. Just Google a topic of your interest and you'll find everything (and much much more) that's in this book, and it's free of charge. The DVD companion is also nothing but an advertising gimmick to seduce us to buy more products from him.
Additionally, I found Mr. Artis very pretentious and off-putting as a person. For instance, to kick off his book he provides us with a quote from HIMSELF. He interviews fairly famous documentary filmmakers and the language, the questions he asks them (watch the DVD), confuses even them. Half the time, however, he provides interviews of himself, telling us things that can be learned by simply playing with your camera for a few minutes or reading the manual... When he's done with the presentation, he often likes to throw in a piece sign or to cover himself with a hoodie top and walk off the screen for I guess added dramatic effect.
Don't buy this book. Browse the equipment manual, look at the online forums, everything's at your finger tips.
The best first book for shooting video - Period, September 23, 2008
By
T. N. Fowler (Columbia, SC USA)
Whether you shoot, produce, direct, edit or write - buy and read "Shut Up and Shoot". You'll laugh and you'll learn. Clear diagrams for practical field lighting show real world variations that work. "Shut Up and Shoot" wants you to get the story even when well planned shoots fall apart, as they do. Check-off lists are concise, learned the old, hard-headed way by many of us. Our craft is public and personal. Long after we pack up gear and shake hands, those we leave hope we'll tell their story fairly. This manual never forgets "subjects" are people, some scared, others reluctant and most wondering how they'll be seen. "Shut Up and Shoot" is a bargain if you want to shoot well and screw up less.Apple MacBook Pro MB134LL/A 15.4-inch Laptop (2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive)
A great book for filmmakers!, August 25, 2008
By
George KouryWhether you are a beginner or experienced digital filmmaker, this book is a really great resource. Nothing is left out, and all of the information is communicated in a way that is simple, clear and direct. There are terrific color charts, that make all the information easily accessible.
I have been involved in production of live theatre for many years, looking to write and create a documentary and a narrative feature. This book was a huge help in bypassing the great frustration in attempting to obtain technical information that was written in a way that would not require a special degree to understand.
If you are creating a documentary, feature narrative, or other project, get this book!
It is well worth it.
Go baby go!, August 24, 2008
By
Elias ChristeasI read this because I hoped that the content would do justice to the title. It has. Within a few months after reading it, I found my idea, and at the time of my writing this entry, I'm 6 days away from hitting the road for my doc: www.insearchoftheexperience.com "Shut up" has all kinds of simply put technical knowledge and also hails from a place where understanding people is its secret pulse. I wrote Anthony to tell him about the fire he started and he even wrote me back! This guy cares about this stuff. Get it - read it - and get out there! - elias
