Digital Cinema: The Hollywood Insider's Guide to the Evolution of Storytelling

My involvement with a project shot entirely with a mini digital video camera began in mid-September of this year. My new client was very pleased that I identified the format correctly within a couple minutes of viewing the first episode, but other than that I was clueless regarding the issues involved with shooting in the digital format. DIGITAL CINEMA changed that immediately. The authors have provided me with invaluable insights into the use of digital video, and I was able to read (study) their book whenever I had a few minutes available. Wasting no time, Chapter One provided a detailed chart comparing the expense of shooting on film compared to shooting on digital video. While I'm involved with a television show, many of the issues translate directly to my situation. The rest of the book continued to enlighten me in the most cost-effective manner possible, and I now feel completely comfortable and confident whenever a conversation turns to this topic. The postproduction discussions were most personally relevant, but everything else is also extremely helpful. For instance, I wasn't even thinking in terms of digital video being a series of "ones and zeroes" instead of true video, but I'm aware of such issues - both large and small - now thanks to this book. I thank the authors for their work, and recommend it to all.

If Speilberg could start his career with a Super-8 camera, I can only imagine the amazing results that readers of DIGITAL CINEMA can accomplish with their digital cameras after reading this book! Taylor & Hsu not only discuss the decade-old issue of "digital vs. 35mm", they provide helpful comparisons, valuable resources, and look at digital filmmaking from all sides, including story concept, realistic limitations, advice on actual shooting, how to keep costs down, and marketing your finished product. Concise, informative and easy-to-understand!

I appreciate a book like "Digital Cinema" that can clearly and thoroughly explain a subject, especially the technical aspects. A friend in the film business strongly recommended it to me, and her enthusiasm was certainly justified. A great read for filmmakers and anyone who loves movies.

As someone who approached DV as a novice, this book was excellent -- informative, thorough, and extremely readable. (I imagine a DV pro would find a lot of useful info here, too.) The book was also very well-rounded, and looked at DV from all angles, not just artistic ones. It's also nice to hear the persepctives of those that have been intimately involved with DV, and their experiences. Very much worth the purchase!

This book is a absolute must for anyone who wants to make a film using digital video. It explains the real in-and-outs of the process while offering opinions and insights from producers and directors who've succedded at it. If you want to use your nice digital camera for something bigger than birthday parties, (not that there's anything wrong with that), check this book out. It's INSPIRING!