Making Digital Videos

by Ben Long

Have you ever thought about making your own music video or even a full-length feature? Well, with today's high-quality digital video cameras, microphones, software, computers, and delivery tools, it's possible for just about anyone to make a movie. If you have the right tools and skills, the rest is up to your imagination! Whether you want to make a video of your friend's band, a documentary, or a video of a special family event, you'll need to learn the basic skills of movie how to make a good story, how to translate your story into images, how to capture the images, and how to turn the images into a finished piece. Making Digital Videos answers all of these questions; from writing your script and planning the shoot, to using your gear and delivering it on tape, CD-ROM, DVD, e-mail, or the Web. You'll also learn about editing, adding sound, and creating special effects by working with actual movie footage. Each chapter includes helpful hints, watchouts, and practice activities, and for those of you considering the film industry as a career, there is information on a variety of jobs in the industry.

284 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

Reviews

[Dave Riley]

Long has written a book that is just right. In very clear language he has explained the essential DIY of digital video production without writing one page of obscure text.

This is digital video for would be-s and beginners who want to be treated as half smart. It nonetheless doesn't serve very well as a reference book as the information is parred down to essentials. The accompanying CD and tutorials on the disc aren't very useful either -- in fact, given that the book is about digital media, the video quality on the CD is abysmal and the resources on offer shallow and extraneous.

But if you are beginning your video journey with a committed seriousness, and ambition, this is the book you need to read.