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I second Masterclass courses and LinkedIn learning classes if you have access.
And here's a classic book.
Artists kinda suck at explaining composition, not gonna lie. I remember learning about the golden ratio and understanding none of it. Nothing stuck until I started taking film & photography in college.
I’d recommend reading ‘The Filmmaker’s Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic Composition’ by Gustavo Mercado. It’s a textbook we used in class, and it goes over pretty much everything you need to know. It’s only $33 on Amazon— cheap for a textbook, and it’s well worth the money. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Filmmakers-Eye-Learning-Cinematic-Composition/dp/0240812174
You can also search “Film Framing” and “Photography Framing” on Google or YouTube and find a lot of information that way. I’d still recommend using the book though— it’s a lot more convenient than finding everything by yourself, but I’m sure you can do it if you do your research.
Good luck!
I hype this book a ton, but I feel like its just a great basis for making better, more engaging films without over thinking all of it. How To Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck But some bits in there that I like to reiterate:
People are entertained and engaged by stories. So think about everything with that lens. Everything! Sure you're whole movie is a story. But keep breaking it down. Every scene in your movie should be a mini story. And a story has a beginning, middle, and end.
(You could even think about a single shot as a story. Which is a really good recipe for engaging single shots)
Think about it like a comic strip with 3 panels. First, something gets started and established. Second, things get heightened, or stressed, or blocked, or weird. And then, finally, things get resolved.
So when you're thinking about that boring photo, how does that photo fit into 1 of the 3 parts of that mini story you're in. Does that establish the scene you're starting telling us where you are, just before you go into how your team is at their biggest game yet in this town? Great. That sounds like part of a story, that's moving things forward.
But if you find yourself saying, it isn't part of the story at all. It's just pretty. Cut. Cut mercilessly. Great editing is the ability to cut so much stuff you really really liked at one point. But able to realize it isn't right for a particular story.
I wouldn't fear filming your own stuff if that's keeping you back. "Editing in camera" is a great thing to learn. Meaning: thinking while your shooting on how this shot is going to look, time its going to roll, so it's not all in post production.
Great book to checkout if you're new to filming yourself: How To Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck Also really hits the basics of editing that will get you making videos with your own stuff that you'll be proud about without getting to deep in the details of editing tools.
The Filmmaker's Handbook by Steven Ascher is the closest thing I can think of, although it covers all aspects of filmmaking beyond cinematography so may not get into the level of detail you're looking for.
The Bare Bones Camera Course book is a pretty good place to start. Its a very simple guide to the very basics. Required reading for my first college course for video production years ago. And the other place to go is YouTube. Everything from basic principles and concepts to technical tutorials for gear and software.
It's a really fun book and it teaches a lot of the basics. I had a copy of it in high school and it absolutely helped sort things out. It does also tend to teach you to draw like John Buscema, which may or may not be what you ultimately want. In terms of the Marvel style, this book is very much in the 60s and 70s era. If you want more of the Art Adams or Jim Lee stuff from the 1980s, this book will be helpful but not as immediately relevant. And if you're looking to do stuff like Frank Quitely or Mark Bagley, it also might not be exactly what you're looking for.
You might also check out The Five Cs of Cinematography, which is all about staging and movement and time, and was a book that at least some of the Marvel artists relied on to help with their storytelling. It obviously won't teach you how to draw, but it will show you what to draw when you're telling a story.
Books on Cinematography are an excellent resource for understanding the emotional impact of cinematography. Here’s one I loved reading: Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographers and Directors https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138940925/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SFKZWR3EHMEZJYE4BFXR
I also highly recommend just reading/listening to the filmmakers themselves talk about the reasons behind their use of certain cinematic techniques. After all, the source is always the best place when looking for answers. You find all kinds of amazing
I taught cinematography in universities for several years and my most recommended book by far was this one. It's cinematography-for-dummies basically but 80% of what I do on a "Hollywood" set is contained in this very accessible book. The rest is politics :)
https://www.amazon.ca/Bare-Bones-Camera-Course-Video/dp/1621535266
I believe this is the textbook USC uses and some other film schools too:
https://www.amazon.com/Bare-Bones-Camera-Course-Video/dp/1621535266
It's kind of bland but concise and really excellent. Im a good starting place.
There are so many different jobs in the industry and all of them can lead to directing, so, to an extent following your interests is a good idea, too. I've heard about directors who barely worry about coverage (which camera angles to shoot), directors who start as screenwriters, directors who start as actors, and directors who focus primarily on the abstract visual aspects of filmmaking and don't block actors but leave that in part to the assistant director (blocking being telling them where to walk during a scene). I heard this second hand so what do I know. But to an extent just follow your interests. In a way I miss the days of camcorders and film cameras requiring a budget and a crew – camcorders (and hiring a crew) handled the technical stuff for you so you could focus more on storytelling than on cinematography. This shift to hyper-technical filmmakers I think has its ups and downs and top festivals are not as concerned with technical perfection as we are. :/
But that book above I think is excellent. Film Art and Film History are good textbooks too, but more college-level and much less production-oriented. Just have fun with it for now and discovery your interests and keep pursuing those. But the link I posted I think is a really good starting point, though it's also unnecessarily technical if you're just starting (imo).
You should check out the book, "How to shoot videos that doesn't suck" https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239
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Perfect for photogs going into video.
first and foremost, i notice the phrase "i got an idea for a short film"... but i dont see "i wrote a script"
if you are going to be directing, filming and editing, making things as EASY as possible on yourself is key. And a script is one of those things.
think of hiring builders to build you a house. you can have the best, most talented, carpenters, but without a plan or blueprint, how do they know what it will look like?
a script is like your storytelling blueprint. when you write, you can write in directions of how you see the shot, and a lot of scriptwriting software includes things like storyboarding features, where you could go find examples of what you had in mind, so that on the day of the shoot, you show up, you direct, you film, but you take the technical thinking out of it; you already have a map
a great resource for script writing is the book "save the cat"
in terms of just cinematography, i really enjoyed "The Filmmakers Eye"
lastly, finishing is important. the act of seeing something through to the end, even if it's flawed, even if it's not as great as you want it to be...that's an important step in growing and learning. when you are finished, reflect on what you did well, and what you could improve upon. good luck!
The Five C’s of cinematography (https://www.amazon.com/Five-Cs-Cinematography-Picture-Techniques/dp/187950541X) is an old but really good book about how to film footage that’s useful and easy to edit. Highly recommend you get a copy and study it.
The best way to learn about lenses is by using them. This is why I recommend to all aspiring/student to pick up photography, it's really the simplest and most cost effective way to get hands on experience that's key to understanding how shot, lens, optics, and light all work together to create an image.
But if I had to start learning from a book, I'd recommend The Filmmaker's Eye. It's a book that's focused on shot composition & framing, but in reading it you'll definitely learn a lot about the focal properties of lenses and which lenses are used for specific visual effects and what not.
In my personal opinion - buy that book, read it cover to cover, then buy a cheap DSLR and a couple cheap lenses and go shoot photography as a hobby. That's a great way to get immerse in the life of a cinematographer/photographer/visual artist.
If you’re just looking to learn, check out the master shot books. Don’t just read them, read them and stop at each setup and duplicate the work. It’s a good way to learn a lot very quickly. They’re geared more toward cinematography, but they are very relevant to general videography and lighting as well.
Videography is harder in some ways because it’s often live, and you’re chasing the action without an ability to reshoot, but understanding how to do it ideally is very valuable to getting it right the first try. For product shots or promotions etc it carries over nicely.
for anyone looking to know more on this an many other subjects I highly recommend this book. It's vey informative and I come back to it time and time again throughout my career.
If you want fundamentals this is the book:
The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video
I got the book for one of my USC cinema courses. It’s really really great.
Available wherever books are sold. Also here.
I'm a little late to the party but I recommend
The Visual Story - Bruce Block
The Visual Story may seem more focused on directing the cinematography, and maybe thats true, but when I'm looking to hire a DP, I want to know they understand how to tell a story visually as much as I do.
Lascia perdere siti e tutorial.
Con questo libro sei a posto.
Not free, but worth it - I would start with The Filmmaker's Handbook (https://www.amazon.com/Filmmakers-Handbook-2013-Steven-Ascher/dp/0452297281).
It has detailed and extensive knowledge on almost every aspect of independent and industry filmmaking. Excellent book if you're trying to get a grasp on filmmaking as a practice. It was a good starting point for me.
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film — https://www.amazon.com/Conversations-Walter-Murch-Editing-Film/dp/0375709827
Cut to the Chase: Forty-Five Years of Editing America's Favourite Movies — https://www.amazon.com/Cut-Chase-Forty-Five-Americas-Favourite/dp/094118837X/
Books are your friend. It's surprising how much a difference a single book can make.
This series of books is precisely for those who want to get a quick run down on professional looking cinematography: Master Shots - Christopher Kenworthy http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Vol-2nd-Techniques/dp/1615930876/ref=la_B001JOXCNS_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465496281&sr=1-1
And here is a sort of..."cheat" for reels. Pick a good angle, light it perfectly, and do one monologue (that applies to the location you choose to shoot, be it in a nice dining room or dark alley), all by yourself. It can be anything you want, look for screenplays online if you dont feel like writing or have someone write it for you. No one will care that its just a scene you shot yourself and that it's not an actual film. Simply because they can't tell. What the viewer will see is a single performance done by you under perfect conditions.
Thanks man :) You can see where I started if you go back to some of my 2012 videos. One in particular was called "Winter Camping in the Meadow 2012" I was really bad at editing etc. I've also done a lot of studying of film techniques for the past few years and it has helped :) I recently found a good book too which I could suggest if you are interested. "5 C's of Cinematography" which applies more to film but you can apply a bit of the techniques... http://www.amazon.com/Five-Cs-Cinematography-Picture-Techniques/dp/187950541X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458232324&sr=8-1&keywords=5+c%27s+of+cinematography
assuming you were talking about filming skill :P Cause i dont consider my bushcraft skill that superb ;) My filming skill needs work still too but I know i've gotten better :D
Another great way to learn is to watch highly-regarded films on mute and ask yourself "what are they trying to tell me with this shot - the props, the framing, the lighting, the movement". The things you'll discover are mind-blowing!
I adore this book: http://www.amazon.com/Cinematography-Theory-Practice-Cinematographers-Directors/dp/0240812093/ref=zg_bs_2023_4
There are actually 2 180-degree rules, both of which are important when you're starting out.
The first is the 180-degree shutter rule: basically set your shutter speed to 2x that of your framerate (30fps = 1/60 shutter speed) to get a nice motion blur. Lower speed makes more blur, higher speed makes for jarringly sharp motion. Use an ND filter to take the exposure back down if you need to.
The second is the 180-degree eyeline rule. Basically, imagine a line between your subject and the thing that's most important to them in the scene (often this is another person). Keep the camera on ONE side of that line. The exception is if you shoot a camera move that crosses the line - this way the audience stays oriented when you switch. A related lighting note: usually your key light looks best if it's on the side of the line that is opposite the camera.
Finally, use stabilization for the sake of your viewers (you did this really well in your previous video - tripods or wide lenses to smooth motion).