Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen

Shot by Shot #1

by Steven D. Katz

Shot by Shot is the world’s go-to directing book, now newly updated for a special 25th Anniversary edition! The first edition sold over 250,000 copies, making it one of the bestselling books on film di-recting of all time. Aspiring directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers, many of whom are now working professionals, learned the craft of visual storytelling from Shot by Shot, the most com-plete source for preplanning the look of a movie.
The book contains over 800 photos and illustrations, and is by far the most comprehensive look at shot design in print, containing storyboards from movies such as Citizen Kane, Blade Runner, Dead-pool, and Moonrise Kingdom. Also introduced is the concept of A, I, and L patterns as a way to sim-plify the hundreds of staging choices facing a director in every scene.
Shot by Shot uniquely blends story analysis with compositional strategies, citing examples then il-lustrated with the storyboards used for the actual films. Throughout the book, various visual ap-proaches to short scenes are shown, exposing the directing processes of our most celebrated au-teurs — including a meticulous, lavishly illustrated analysis of Steven Spielberg’s scene design for Empire of the Sun.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Media Tie In, Photography, Design

393 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Xing Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as a novice film maker while directing/ producing my first short film. I really appreciated the technical depth- had picked up several volumes intended for beginning film makers, and this one was most useful as it went beyond the basics.

Certain aspects of directing are fairly intuitive, or are arrived at after some experience and trial and error. It’s extremely instructive to discover techniques, independently of indirectly-acquired book knowledge, while working on a project. At this early stage in my film making ventures, I want to experiment and be as creative as realistically possible, and I was concerned that reading a book like this might solidify and limit my notions of what I could do.

However, as it turned out, I was glad to have this book at hand to accelerate my process of insight formation. It’s filled with descriptions of techniques that have been arrived at throughout the history of film making, and acquaints the reader with formal terminology and definitions. It’s true that in many cases, one is limited by equipment and physical and budgetary constraints, and the book discussed ways of working within such boundaries, based on knowledge distilled from a wealth of experience accumulated by others who’ve trodden the path.

The approach taken was simultaneously very practical and theoretical- each sub-section presented the reader with challenges or objectives (e.g. create a certain mood for a scene, portray the characters a certain way), and listed the principle ways in which this could be accomplished. When planning how to direct a shoot, I start with an intuitive idea of how I could achieve my objectives, and pursue the most likely strategy. That’s a natural and acceptable way of going about it. However, having a manual like this to consult allows me to explore possibilities that I might not have considered or imagined otherwise.

Content covered included the sequence and composition of shots, choreography of actors and the camera, and transitions, and chapters were generously illustrated with excerpts from real screenplays, annotated diagrams, photos, and stills, which made concepts clear and immediately graspable. I particularly enjoyed the aesthetically-pleasing quality of the visuals, with gorgeous set sketches and storyboards from productions like Citizen Kane and Empire of the Sun- inspiring as well as informative.

The concepts and terms are pretty detailed (from my perspective)- at points, I was tempted to just skim the pages, so it took some concentration and dedication to read through the examples thoroughly, study the diagrams, and digest the tips properly. In every case though, the effort was worth it.

Engrossing historical information about the use and development of techniques and technology- set design, art direction, conventions in framing, perspective, focus, camera movement, and so on- was provided in just the right quantity and level of detail- not too involved and distracting, but enough to gain deeper understanding of how the field came to be the way it is today. Influential personalities- pioneers in departments such as illustration, direction and sound- are mentioned for their valuable contributions.

In my June 1991 print version of the book, my main criticism was with the layout of some sections- figures were placed several pages after the corresponding text, such that figures that appeared next to the text on a given page were meant to illustrate concepts mentioned some pages before. In most cases, I saw little reason for this displeasing arrangement- except lack of care from the page layout artists.

[Mohammad Javad · Rating 3 out of 5]

لپ‌تاپ‌م به‌روال همیشه لحظه شروع لنگ زد. با موبایل دراز کشیدم. سیم شارژر رو تا جایی که جا داشت کشیدم، از کنار و زیر تشک چسبیده به دیوار. روی تخت. وارد کلاس که شدم استاد هنوز داشت سلام و علیک معمول‌ش رو می‌کرد. دیگه تقریبا همه متفق‌القول به این نتیجه رسیده بودیم که از این استاد آبی گرم نمی‌شه. نمی‌دونم، بعضی از استادها از همون لحظه‌ی اول، حتی قبل از این‌که بری سر کلاس، فقط با شنیدن اسم‌ش می‌فهمی که قراره این ترم علاوه بر درد کله‌سحر بیدار شدن، عذاب نشستن پای درس این آدم هم تحمل کنی. من ندارم. تمام جلسات خوابیدم. بیدار می‌شدم تمرین‌هایی که همون لحظه می‌داد و باید جواب‌ش رو همون لحظه براش ایمیل می‌کردیم رو می‌دادم و کله‌م رو می‌ذاشتم روی بالشت و روی آسمونا. خوبم می‌خوابیدم. شب، شب یکی از همون جلسات اول، بهم رسوندن که گویا پروژه پایان ترم تغییر کرده. طی اون اولین جلسه‌ای که حضوری قبل این بلبشوی کرونا برگزار شد قرار بر این شد که آخر ترم یک فیلم‌کوتاه‌داستانی ۱۵ دقیقه‌ای ارائه بدیم. حالا توی این وضعیت، استاد چاره‌ی غریبی چیده بود. استوری بورد. این دیگه تیر پایانی بود. که بفهمیم، یا اگه ازش درمی‌رفتیم مثل خودم، مواجه بشیم که چقدر از این آدم بدمان می‌آید‌. اگر روراست باشم البته خیلی هم بی‌راه نبود، ولی آدم گاهی، دلش می‌خواهد، وقتی به‌جای دیگری دست‌ش نمی‌رسد، دق‌دلی‌ش را سر کسی خالی کند. ما همه‌چیز را از سر او می‌دیدیم.
خلاصه برای مشق مجبور شدم دوباره به این کتاب سر بزنم، و الا کتاب چیز جدیدی ندارد.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about all the types of shots, but it has a serious problem. The writer does not explain how the directors use and combine these shots with a narrative and emotional meaning. If you read this book, you will know a lot of positions and angles that a cameraman uses; but you won't know anything about when and why he uses them. Katz doesn't talk about the art of direction and the connection between the script and the camera shots.

If you want to learn the complicated art of the direction you must read other more interesting books, like “Film Directing Fundamentals” by Nicholas Proferes. Also you can analyze an Hitchcock's movie “shot by shot”. Any movie of Hitch is a master class.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This looks like a great book, full of helpful material for someone wanting to work as a director. I got a copy out of the Library to check it out and have skimmed through it, but it's not the sort of book I'll actually read.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

shoutout jac pour le cadeau 💝

[Jeffrey Moll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This filmmaking book informs the reader how important the first step in production is, the pre-production period. Most of the book describes how to maintain a certain movement within a frame and how important simple pans are when using character movement. Steven writes about how the director must give the actor space to move within the frame and close-ups, though important, must be used sparingly because of the space it takes away. Though the art of storyboarding has faded with increasing technology, this book informs the reader about how important it is to visually understand what is about to be shot. Pre-production, especially the writing portion, is the cheapest part of making a film so this step needs to be fleshed-out and exhausted in order to push forward. In the later chapters Steven uses the art of compiling moving shots with static to create a mood of its own, separate from the actors in front of the screen. This is the best pre-production film book I have ever read because of his ability to cut the fat and provide visuals to match his explanations. His straight-forward approach makes it a kind of dictionary for filmmaking.

[Ali Al Ghadani · Rating 1 out of 5]

الترجمة رديئة، أوصي بقراءة الكتاب بالإنجليزية.

[Saeid Arghiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب گام به گام از ابتدایی ترین مباحث کارگردانی با خواننده همراه می شود و سعی خود را برای ساده بیان کردن مفاهیم بعضا پیچیده کارگردانی کرده است، گرچه شاید در بعضی مواقع موفق نبوده.
از رابطه گروه کارگردانی با باقی صنوف سینمایی تا انواع قاب بندی و انواع موقعیت های تصویربرداری یک نفره و دونفره و ... تا در نهایت بحثی نسبتا مختصر و مفید راجع به دکوپاژ کردن و انتقالها در مرحله تدوین و تصویربرداری در نما به نما بررسی شده.
هرچقدر کمتر با سینما و صنوف سینمایی آشنا باشید، احتمالا سرعت خوانش کتاب کمتر خواهد شد، ولی در نهایت در فهم مسئله مشکلی ایجاد نمی شود.
قسمتهایی از کتاب بیشتر ماهیت مرجع دارند ونیاز به بازخوانش دارند، شاید هنگام ساخت باید بازگشت و دوباره این قسمتها را مطالعه کرد، به طور خاص قسمت موقعیت های چند نفره از این دست اند. سرعت خوانش در این قسمتها کمتر میشود و پیشنهاد من اینست که ازین قسمت ها به سرعت رد شوید و در فرصتی مناسب همزمان با کارگردانی یک پروژه یا در مرحله پیش تولید بازگردید و این قسمت ها را بازخوانی کنید.
در مجموع کتاب نما به نما را باید چندین بار خواند ، و کار کرد و خواند و کار کرد تا مفاهیمش در شخص نهادینه شود.

[Rebecca Noran]

i used this heavily in a literature review i did for my Design Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation class called "Storyboarding: a tool for visualization." this book is so cool, the best source i found due to writing style and knowlege, and the art included. Another source written by a storyboard artist (listed below) was informative, but cheesier, breaking-into-the-business type book rather than discussing the storyboarding process.

here's the beginning of the lit review:

"Storyboarding is a tool for visualization created and used by the film industry to map camera shots sequentially, conveying the action and mood and creating a shared vision between the director and those involved in production. Developed for use in animation, its applications have grown. Storyboarding has evolved for use in interactive design, as well as sports, business, counseling, large-scale multimedia event planning, exhibition and other design, and other applications.

In his book on film directing, Katz discusses in detail storyboarding techniques, as does Mark Simon in his manual on storyboarding, Storyboarding: Motion in Art."

...and so forth...

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book back in film school, where we were assigned a couple chapters from it. But I kept it around with the intention of one day coming back and reading it cover to cover, and I'm glad I did. The book is an exceptional primer on preproduction and cinematography. I noticed some reviewers complained about it being too technical, and I think they make a good point. The book may be better suited to a reader with some experience in the field as opposed to an absolute beginner. Also, the edition of the book I read is beginning to show its age (copyright 1991). The digital filmmaking revolution was just beginning at the time of that release, and an update is definitely in order to bring the book in line with modern technique. But that being said, the large majority of the information included is timeless (composition, staging, storyboarding, etc.), regardless of whether your shooting with a Bolex or a Digital SLR. Even as someone who has been practicing the techniques Katz describes for many years now, I still found the book to be a welcome refresher. Highly recommended to all filmmakers and animators.

[Morgan McGuire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most practical and comprehensive of many film production books I read for my Cinematography course. I selected this one to cover continuity editing, storyboarding and preproduction in general, camera work, and shot framing.

I combined it with Mamet's On Film Directing for more preproduction (ironically, that book is not useful for directing actors), and the latest edition of Brown's classic Motion Picture Lighting text (Katz doesn't discuss lighting).

Katz could use a new edition...the love affair with 1985's emerging storyboarding PC programs is a little embarrassing today, and a chapter on nonlinear digital editing would be great new content. In fact, if he just added a chapter on scriptwriting and one on basic three-point lighting, this would be a standalone text.

[Ehab Elgingihy · Rating 3 out of 5]

الجزء الأول والتاني و التالت أفادوني بشكل كبير و كانو جداد بالنسبالي، غير كده كلام مكرر قريته في كذا كتاب قبل كده، بس هو حلو لو حد مكانش يعرف الحاجات اللي اتقالت فيهم بس غالبا مش كتير هيشوفوه كلام جديد لو قرو كتابين
1)The filmmaker's eye+ 2)The visual story
والميزة كمان إنهم خدو المواضيع اللي اتذكرت في الكتاب هنا بشكل مفصل أكتر.

ففي النهاية أنا بنصح بقراية
The filmmakers eye
و بعدين
The visual story
و بعدين
Film directing shot by shot أول تلت أجزاء من

[Tyler Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everytime you read this book you will learn something new.

[Amr Khaled]

asas

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but dated.
This was required reading when I was in grad school.

[نور الدين زهدي · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب ممتاز في تشريح عملية الإخراج، وهو مهم لكل شخص راغب في دراسة الإخراج أو يرغب في تحليل ونقد لقطات وتصوير الأفلام

[Russell Rufus · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I want to point out that. I really like this type of content. Boating, yachting, sailing, fishing and anything that falls under the concept of a marina.

I leave this information below for those who want to read it. A look at Boat and Yacht History:

the ships we encounter today are; They are large, robust and self-propelled watercraft used to transport cargo across the seas and oceans. This was not the case hundreds of years ago, and current ships went through centuries of development until they became what they are today.

In ancient times, sailors used rafts, bamboo logs, reed bales, inflated animal hides, and baskets covered with pitch to cross small bodies of water.

As a matter of fact, the first boat; it was in the form of a simple frame made of interconnected rods and sewn animal hides that skillfully covered them. These boats could easily carry large and heavy loads. Information about similar old boat examples; You can find it among bull boats, Eskimo canoes, and British Islander merchant ships on the North American plains. In addition to these, another old-style boat is the one carved from the log and the ends of which are sharpened. Some of these were 60 feet (approx. 18 m) long.

When we look at the history of seafaring in ancient times, we come across a very interesting study of human strength and survival instincts. For example, in ancient times, the simple shovel mechanism we know was not used. Instead, people used their hands to move through the water in tiny boats. They propelled their rafts forward, pushing the masts to the bottom of the rivers. Increasingly, using his creative instincts and ingenuity, man redesigned the posts by straightening them and widening one end, thus making it usable in deeper waters. Later, this form was masterfully redeveloped and the blade fixed to the sides of the boat was transformed into the shape of a wide oar.

Invention of the sail
The invention of the sail was the greatest turning point in maritime history. Sails replaced human muscle movements, and sailboats were able to travel longer with heavier loads. The first ships used square sails, which were best suited to sail downwind. Side sails were invented later.

The Egyptians credit the emergence of advanced sailing cargo ships. These were made by connecting and stitching together small pieces of wood. These cargo ships were used to transport large stone pillars used in the construction of monuments.

Here are the contents I love about two beautiful marinas.

https://foodlord.net

https://theboatyacht.com/concept-4400...
https://numberoneboats.com/concept-44...
https://theboatyacht.com/concept-27-f...
https://numberoneboats.com/concept-27...
https://theboatyacht.com/concept-23-c...
https://numberoneboats.com/concept-23...
https://theboatyacht.com/boats-for-sa...
https://numberoneboats.com/boats-for-...

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

(This is for the second, 2019 edition)

Has some handy visual tips, and includes an interesting breakdown of a scene from Empire of the Sun, but largely this book is a mess. First of all, the photos and staging breakdowns provided in the meat of the book are helpful, but lack context. It would be ten times more helpful to have stills from well-known films that illustrate the concepts in action. Perhaps this was omitted to keep costs down. For every tip and angle and blocking example here, a simple fair-use video on YouTube would be much more illustrative, being both a) in colour, b) in motion, and c) from actual movies rather than made-up scenarios.

Second, the text accompanying the visual work is endearingly, bemusingly scatterbrained. Paragraphs begin and change topic halfway through and then just end, and you turn the page and realise you've reached the end of a whole chapter on this dangling half-finished half-thought. It reinforces that Katz is clearly a very visual (i.e. not verbal) guy, and this sense of an undirected stream of consciousness becomes a kind of companion by the end. It becomes less amusing when you realise, halfway through, that this book isn't really written for directors. It doesn't seem to have a target audience at all; it's just a bunch of half-baked arguments about various topics strung together with no central thesis or target demographic.

Still, from this brain vomit a few omens can be intuited. The heavy focus on production design in the opening chapters suggests that directors should be more involved in that than they might expect. The focus on storyboards (and seemingly endless enumerations of programs and software for making them) also underscores that the director's job really is to prepare, reminding them that principle photography is dwarfed in duration by pre-production. The rest is advice just as good for cinematographers as for directors.

Overall, this might have been handy to have on set before the digital age, so the HODs could flip through and visualise some alternatives to what was planned. But now, in the age of tablets and streaming video, much higher-quality visual aids can be found for much cheaper; the book's lack of 21st century accompaniment really hurts its value as a product (the images in it are all greyscale to boot). As well, there is virtually nothing here about translating the perceived emotional core of the film into visual terms. Theme and symbolism and mis-en-scene are never developed as topics. So if you're interested in learning about film directing, and how to take a screenplay and break it down shot by shot into the film you want to make, there isn't enough here for you. I honestly don't know who this book would be for in 2020, in a post-Every-Frame-A-Painting-world. But it unfortunately isn't really for anyone interested in film directing, shot by shot, and visualising from concept to screen. Wait, that's literally the title? Yikes.

[Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book on film directing I've ever read and it just feels so crazy to finally get to finish it today after reading this for an entire year. I have to admit that it even makes me sad that there's a page where it all ends because I've learned so much by just reading it that I just wanted to keep learning more and more about film.

I am not someone who's English is their first language but everything in this book is written with such precision that I perfectly understood what each term and concept meant and the fact that this book contains multiple sketches, diagrams, storyboards and stills on how each term is performed just makes things even better because I could visualize everything in my head with much more clarity. This book is an accesible tool for beginners as it introduces you to many things such as concept art, storyboards, staging, camera movements/angles, formats, tools for visualization and it even gives you an insight on what happens during the different stages of making a motion picture.

If you're someone like me who also started to recently learn about film then I do absolutely recommend to back up the literature of this book with videos on Youtube that show how the terms and concepts of the book are being performed in movies and if neccesary then also look on explainations on Youtube about said terms mentioned in the book as well. You can also learn the terms of the book by analysing the movies you watch and break each component separately just so you can learn the concepts of the book much quicker and efficently.

I am very thankful my parents could get this book for me last christmas or birthday (I don't recall when exactly I got this, I'm sorry) and I think I will forever cherish their gift because of how helpful it actually was for me :3

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quality Rating: Five Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

I’ve read so many filmmaking books at this point, but the best ones are always those that seek the provide transferable skills and illustrated examples, without balking at the complexity and trying the reader with respect. This book features some of the best variety of storytelling, camera and performance techniques in an accessible and practical way. Without telling the reader when they must use certain choices, it instead sets out to arm the filmmaker with options they can choose between for themselves. The specifics on technology and trends in styles are pretty outdated from its 1991 publication, but so much of its content is still true and shockingly ignored in the modern screen industries. There aren’t many books I’ll go back to every time I get to create another film, but this will have a prized place with them.

[Diego Garcia-Taborga · Rating 4 out of 5]

No, I didn't really finish this book.

The truth of this book is that it is a GREAT guide to film directing. It has insights on a few of it's pages that are very hard to come by else where (as when the author states that the variety and creativity in film directing has decreased somewhat). Also, it's visual list of all the types of shots that you might possibly see is VERY helpful to directors on set. There is sooo much good information in this book, and YET, I found it kind of boring. Ultimately, after this book put me in a reading slump for 6 months, I had to give up after reading 200 pages. I may revisit it for work at a later date.

[Luke Zwanziger]

A really straightforward breakdown of shots, what they motivate and communicate as well as ways to think about editing. Lots of storyboards and diagrams for the visual learners and great ways to model your own storyboards and shotlists. Think of it as a mechanical guide for composing sequences for film.

I've been directing and DPing for nearly ten years. Always nice to revisit the basics and remind yourself of what you instinctually do as well as pick up a few tips and break some bad habits.

[Kate Winborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview with some technical depth where it’s needed, but generally a broad overview of a lot of different factors that go into cinematic storytelling and emphasizes directing both the physical camera and actors in accordance to one another alongside production set up in order to achieve the composition and visual elements of the shot you want (and how those two things develop style and theme). Definitely a useful tool for beginning filmmakers to start applying and learning filmic terms, or for film students to be able to deconstruct those elements when watching others’ works.

[Ignacio Peña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone looking to understand the visual language of filmmaking. A lot of what's in here are things I have actively put into practice over the last decade of work I've done in previs and animation, and have learned on the job. It was really neat to read where a lot of it has come from historically. A lot of the work I do now has evolved beyond what the book illustrates, and it was fascinating to see how much of how Katz predicted visualization to evolve has come to pass.

[megasyrnyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Читала довго, уже навіть трохи втомилась від цієї книги!! Але вона дійсно містить багато важливого й цікавого стосовно зображальних прийомів і технік у кінематографі. Єдине що не покидала думка про те, що це мала би бути не книга, а якийсь відеокурс — забагато буков, які описують те, що на відео могло би бути продемонстровано за кілька секунд. Хоча, може, в цьому є і своя користь, яка полягає в тренуванні уяви та мисленнєвої візуаліації кадрів і сцен.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for any beginner looking to get into visual storytelling. It contains lots of pictures that help the reader visualize the many concepts covered. If you know nothing of cinematography or how to compose a story visually, this book will give you the vocabulary and basic knowledge needed in order to research these concepts further.

[Athul Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a film student who utilizes books as a means to consistently gain more knowledge about my chosen art form, Katz's book was not only helpful, but provided me with extensive insight into the nature of the industry as a whole. Insight that I must add, was very clearly from a man who clearly holds immense experience in the filmmaking business.

[Raúl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores manuales para filmar (y para diseñar storyboards), con una exploración muy detallada de los diferentes casos de rodaje que podemos encontrar. Claro, con cero de pretensiones, nada de petulancia, muy práctico y accesible para profesionales y estudiantes.

[Juan García · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro muy muy tecnico, que para principiantes como yo, te ayuda a valorar mucho mas el proceso de hacer una pelicula, ya que tiene millones de cosas detrás que a simple vista no se aprecian. Ademas aprendes mucho y lo aplicas cuando ves peliculas

[Michael Kareev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just classics of the genre