Attack of the Killer Video Book: Tips and Tricks for Young Directors

For aspiring video makers, this is a terrific book. It is written for kids and I gave it to my granddaughter who makes videos for YouTube. However, it's also a good introduction for adults.

We bought this little book for our son, who had a new Flip video camera and a lot of passion for making movies, but not a lot of focus on how to get started. The book's title and look were appealing to his pre-teen sensibility, and he was totally willing to sit down and read it cover to cover. He even was inspired to take a film editing class, and he seems to understand now that making movies takes more than filming your friends playing a video game or something dumb. This is not a particularly advanced book, or one that would be necessary for a child who is really focused or self-starting. But for kids who need to take a step back and organize themselves, Attack of the Killer Video is a wonderful place to begin.

In Attack of the Killer Video Book, Mark Shulman and Hazlitt Krog, two veteran American filmmaker/writers who specialize in young people's film and video production,provide everything young people need to know to create their own masterpieces on video. Illustrated by artist Martha Newbigging's cartoons, the book stands out for a number of reasons, particularly the authors' ability to walk that fine line between making filmmaking seem "cool" to young readers while at the same time dispensing the kind of practical technical advice they need.Shulman and Krog cover every imaginable aspect of moviemaking, including scriptwriting, choosing locations and costumes, shooting, and editing footage. What's more, they go beyond the technical details of production, providing excellent instructional material that teaches young readers how to brainstorm potential story ideas and how to promote their work and organize a premiere screening. Readers will benefit by the outstanding organization of the text into step-bystep thematic chunks - including assembling a production team, instructions for directors, handling and operating a camera - while at the same time enjoying the high-energy prose and lively illustrations. Adults will value the book's underlying can-do theme, which shows how young people can create something of lasting value on their own while learning important lessons about creativity, team-building and seeing a big project through to completion. As a writer and organizer of film discussion groups for kids, this book is highly recommended.