Voice and Vision: A Creative Approach to Narrative Film and DV Production

by Mick Hurbis-Cherrier

Voice & Vision is a comprehensive manual for the independent filmmakers and film students who want a solid grounding in the tools, techniques, and processes of narrative film in order to achieve their artistic vision. This book includes essential and detailed information on relevant film and digital video tools, a thorough overview of the filmmaking stages, and the aesthetic considerations for telling a visual story.

The ultimate goal of this book is to help you develop your creative voice while acquiring the solid practical skills and confidence to use it. Unlike many books that privilege raw technical information or the line-producing aspects of production, Voice & Vision places creativity, visual expression, and cinematic ideas front and center. After all, every practical decision a filmmaker makes, like choosing a location, an actor, a film stock, a focal length, a lighting set-up, an edit point, or a sound effect is also an expressive one and should serve the filmmaker's vision. Every decision, from the largest conceptual choices to the smallest practical solutions, has a profound impact on what appears on the screen and how it moves an audience.

"In Practice” sidebars throughout Voice & Vision connect conceptual, aesthetic and technical issues to their application in the real world. Some provide a brief analysis of a scene or technique from easily rentable films which illustrate how a specific technology or process is used to support a conceptual, narrative, or aesthetic choice. Others recount common production challenges encountered on real student and professional shoots which will inspire you to be innovative and resourceful when you are solving your own filmmaking challenges.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Reference

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Grayson Zaragoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly granular and detailed; the exhaustive quality of the book made it very difficult to finish, but overall it's filled to the brim with information about every aspect of the filmmaking process, with plenty of visuals and examples to go alongside the concepts; a pretty foundational book for anyone wanting to begin an understanding of visual storytelling

[betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

really helpful in understanding movies and how it's like to produce your creative works

[Benjamin Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good basics included in this book. I'm not sure it's for me though.

[James]

Excellent. Very informative ... continue to "re-read"