Storytelling Techniques for Digital Filmmakers: Plot Structure, Camera Movement, Lens Selection, and More

by Ross Hockrow

The key elements of creating an effective film narrative-which involves a significant shift in mindset from still photography to motion capture-are detailed in this guide to becoming a standout digital videographer. Through teaching classic cinematic techniques for storytelling while addressing contemporary digital equipment and customer standards, the guide instructs such elements of filming as mixing the types of shots used, charting the plot, and introducing characters. Equipment use is also explored through the analysis of gear for camera movement and how to create ideal lighting. With a focus on high-definition filming, the book also provides invaluable information on obtaining high-quality audio and how to make the most of video editing.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Mateen Manek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is highly underrated. I found it by accident, but it’s one of the best film books I’ve picked up. It goes through everything you’d need to know from lighting, composition, editing and audio but gives a very real understanding of it. So many good ideas are in this book and it gets you to really think. It provides great examples you can look at, yet it’s a simple, straightforward book.

Seriously, if you’re a filmmaker, check this book out now.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a photographer I always assumed jumping over to movies would be a fairly logical step but after reading this book I understand a bit better the complexities of film making. There's a lot more to it than meets the eye. A fair amount does cross over to still photography but there is so much more to learn than that. This book covered different types of story telling sequences, types of transitions, equipment, audio, and basically anything else you can think of that goes into a film. I will say that while these topics were all discussed this book is really just the tip of the iceberg. I did enjoy that they pointed out specific scenes from popular movies to illustrate their examples and encouraged you to watch these films to look for what they were talking about.

[Trevor Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent quick read for beginners. Hockrow had some good tips and advice. If you are intermediate to advanced, don't bother picking this up. (Unless you want a refresher). Again, Hockrow did a fine job covering a big topic in a short, and easy to read book.