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The book is OK.The time to order and receive the book was too longThree weeks is too long to wait.I have since dropped the class that I bought the book for.The book like the Instructor was very labor intensive.
This is not a book for someone interested in doing wedding videos, but someone interested in going on safaris for National Geographic, like Braverman does, and buying all the expensive stuff that he has. This guy is obviously knowledgable, but he skims over a lot of stuff - not very in-depth. Spends too much time bad-mouthing DV instead of telling you how to use it. To be fair, there is a good amount of knowledge to be gained by reading it, but there must be better books out there than this one. I'm looking for one now after being disappointed by this one.
Specifically, the majority of example photos show the exact same scenes with/without the filter (e.g. It's about equipping you to become a cameraman for films and documentaries. So unless the author has two cameras strapped together, these images are simulated in software, rather than being actual examples of shooting with and without the filters, as the captions and text describe. then this book may be a good fit.
To be honest, the video and production quality of the DVD seems to be fairly low quality by today's standards. If you're hoping to learn how to make a compelling travel video with your new camcorder, then the majority of this book is not applicable.The exception is chapter 2, which talks about composition, close-ups, depth-of-field, light quality, etc. I also found the section on filters to be somewhat helpful, but even here I have to list a gripe. This book is not really about learning to be a good storyteller with your new camcorder. planning your story, or the elements or shots that you might want to incorporate (besides chapter 2). 204, 207, 208, 212)).
Since the author himself explains that the filter effects can't really be replicated in software, and the simulation isn't called out, I found it misleading and disappointing.Likewise, the main focus of the included DVD is to let you switch "filters" on various clips using the Viewing Angle option of your DVD player. It's clever and useful for what it is, but I think it should be made clear that these filters are simulated in software.
For example, I could be wrong but I didn't see anything about shooting or using "B-roll" mentioned anywhere in the book (and it's not in the index).To put it another way, this book is about becoming the cameraman, rather than the director of your film.It's tempting to give it only 1 star to counteract what I see as misleading 5-star reviews, above, but I'm not sure that's fair, so I give it 2 stars. If you foresee yourself setting up studio lights, a tripod/dolly/boom, large cinema lenses and adapters, monitor, boom microphone, etc.
Strangely, the DVD is labeled "Hola Amigos." by Houghton Mifflin (i.e. exact same strides (e.g.
pp. some Spanish textbook), but fortunately the DVD does contain the video from this book.In the end, there's very little here about "storytelling" -- e.g.
If it cost $15 rather than $30, I might have given it 3 stars.
As other reviews mention this is a book about the camera and the shooter and what the shooter should "see." If you are looking for a book on film making then look elsewhere. There is no glossary so the reader sometimes has to refer to the internet (no big deal) or other books to understand the basic concept or why he is making a point. Once again it requires a basic understanding of photography (for instance the relation of the iris/f stops to depth of field).The sections dealing with light (and there are many) force the reader to deal with the subject matter in visual terms relating back to a college art course where light and shadows and perspective are discussed. For the novice Video Shooter is one step above a "Dummies" book and one step below the camera's user's manual and Barry Green's HPX and HVX book.For instance assume the reader has limited knowledge of the pro video environment and has just purchased a $4,000 Panasonic HVX or HMC. For some reason the "arrow" instructions could not be accessed. What they probably know is home movie consumer based. There is a lot of useful information in Video Shooter sprinkled with a touch of attitude. Hence this is not a "Pro DV for Dummies" tome.The above said Video Shooter is very informative on style and approach to the pro video world.
As such, they struggle to bridge between consumer camera controls and the mulitude of options on the pro camera. Bravermans book assumes that the reader has some knowledge of the basic control options resulting in the novice reader struggling for definitions. The accompanying DVD did not work properly in my MAC quick time player. It may work in a standard DVD player with a remote control.DVD glitch aside this is a worthwhile read if you have some knowledge of camera controls and operations and is highly reccommended.
If you are trying, as I am, to buy a good self learning book in order to become be a good amateur video shooter, this is not such book. I suppose this book is oriented to professionals. Even the English level is too high and at moments looks as poetic language. The book is well printed and has nice pictures, but it will be for ever in my book shelf.
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