Table Of ContentA PLUME BOOK
THE FILMMAKER’S HANDBOOK
STEVEN ASCHER is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker whose films include Troublesome Creek, So
Much So Fast, and Raising Renee (trilogy codirected with his wife, Jeanne Jordan). He has taught
filmmaking at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in workshops
around the world. His awards include the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, the Prix
Italia, a George Foster Peabody Award, and an Emmy Award, and he was nominated for a Directors
Guild of America Award. His website is www.WestCityFilms.com.
EDWARD PINCUS’s pioneering work in personal documentary led to Diaries (1971–76). He
codirected Black Natchez, One Step Away, Panola, Portrait of a McCarthy Supporter, and The Axe in
the Attic. He founded the Film Section at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later taught
filmmaking at Harvard. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and National Endowment for the
Arts grants. He is author of the widely used Guide to Filmmaking and grows cut flowers
commercially in northern New England.
Pincus and Ascher also codirected Life and Other Anxieties.
THE
FILMMAKER’S
HANDBOOK
A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
FOR THE DIGITAL AGE
FOURTH EDITION
Steven Ascher & Edward Pincus
Drawings by Carol Keller and Robert Brun
Original Photographs by Ted Spagna
and Stephen McCarthy
Completely Revised and Updated by Steven Ascher
With Contributions by David Leitner
A PLUME BOOK
PLUME
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, June 1984
First printing (second edition), March 1999
First printing (third edition), August 2007
First printing (fourth edition), December 2012
Copyright © Edward Pincus and Steven Ascher, 1984, 1999
Copyright © Steven Ascher, 2007, 2012
Drawings and photographs copyright © Steven Ascher, 1999, 2007, 2012
Drawings copyright © Carol Keller, 1999
Drawings copyright © Robert Brun, 1999
Photographs copyright © Ted Spagna, 1983
All rights reserved
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
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ISBN: 978-1-101-61380-1
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ALWAYS LEARNING PEARSON
For Jordan
For Jane
CONTENTS
Preface
1. Introduction to Digital and Film Systems
Digital Video Systems • The Video Format • What Is Compression? • Comparing Video Formats •
High Definition Digital Formats • Digital Cinematography Systems • Standard Definition Digital
Formats • Standard Definition Analog Formats • Recording to Memory Cards, Drives, and Discs •
Sound Recording for Video • Video Editing • Film Systems • Comparing Film Formats • Sound
Recording for Film • Film Editing • Shooting Digital Versus Shooting Film
2. Before You Begin Production
Getting Your Movie Off the Ground • Formats for the Big Screen and the Small(er) Screen • The
“Look” of the Movie • The Impact of Sensor Size and Film Gauge • Color and Sensitivity to Light
• Sharpness and Focus • Aspect Ratio Choices • Frame Rate and Scanning Choices • Choosing a
Camera • Planning Your Workflow • Managing Data in Production and Post • The Importance of
Sound • Coping with Technology
3. The Video Camcorder
Initial Settings • Viewfinder and Monitor Setup • Picture Controls • Recording to Cards, Drives,
and Optical Discs • Types of Media • Managing Data on the Shoot • Recording to Digital Tape •
Operating the Camcorder • Batteries and Power Supplies • Camera Sensitivity • Other Camera
Features
4. The Lens
Focal Length and Perspective • The Light-Gathering Power of the Lens • Focusing the Image •
Choosing a Zoom Lens • Prime Lenses • Close Focusing • Lens Quality and Condition • The Lens
Mount • Lens Seating Problems • Care of the Lens
5. The Video Image
Forming the Video Image • The Digital Video Camera’s Response to Light • Understanding and
Controlling Contrast • What Is Gamma? • Gamma Options When Shooting • Video Color Systems
• Some Image Manipulations and Artifacts • Video Monitors and Projectors • Timecode • Digital
Video Recording—How It Works • Pixels and Resolution • Working with Digital Data • Digital
Connections • Hard Drive Storage • RAIDs • File Formats and Data Exchange • Digital
Compression • Compression Methods • A Few Common Codecs
6. The Film Camera
The Film Gate and Shutter • Camera Speed and Motors • Viewing Systems • The Reflex
Viewfinder • Camera Film Capacity • Other Camera Features • Camera Tests and Maintenance
7. The Film Image
Properties of the Film Stock • Contrast of the Image • Sharpness • Choosing a Raw Stock •
Packaging, Handling, and Purchasing • The Light Meter and Exposure Control • Light Meters •
Taking Readings • Exposure and Film Stocks • The Film Lab During Production • Screening the
Rushes
8. Color and Filters
Color • Color Temperature • Filters • Matte Boxes and Lens Shades
9. Shooting the Movie
The Goals of Production • Composition and Shot Selection • The Moving Camera • Style and
Direction • Dramatic Films • Documentaries • Preparing for Production • Preparing the Script and
Approach • Scheduling and Planning • Organizing the Production • The Equipment Package • In
Production • Logging • Supporting the Camera • Slow Motion, Fast Motion, and Judder • Slow
Motion • Fast Motion • Judder or Strobing • Shooting TVs and Video Monitors • Shooting in 3D
10. Sound Recording Systems
Sound • How Audio Is Recorded • Analog Audio Recording • Digital Audio Recording • Types of
Audio Recorders • Digital Audio Recorders • Audio in the Video Camera • The Analog Tape
Recorder • The Microphone • Audio Connections
11. Sound Recording Techniques
Preparing for a Shoot • Gathering Gear • The Sound Recordist’s Role • Recording Technique •
Setting the Recording Level • Music, Narration, and Effects • Other Recording Issues • Recording
Double System for Video and Film • Syncing Audio and Picture • Operating a Double-System
Recorder
12. Lighting
Light • Lighting Equipment • Bulbs • Types of Lighting Instruments • Lighting Technique •
Lighting Styles • Positioning Lights • Controlling Lighting Contrast • Lighting and Color •
Special Lighting Effects • Location Lighting
13. Picture and Dialogue Editing
Some Film Theory • Approaches to Editing • Dialogue Editing • The Editing Process • Titles
14. Editing Digital Video
Components of a Nonlinear Editing System • How the NLE Plays and Edits Media •
Postproduction Workflow • What Format or Resolution to Edit In? • Importing and Organizing
Your Material • Importing Files • Capturing from Tape • Creating and Editing Sequences • Basic
Sound Editing • Working with Double-System Sound • Basic Video Effects • Titles, Graphics, and
Stills • Mixing and Converting Formats • Working with 24p and Pulldown • Editing 24p Footage •
Finishing and Output • Managing Media • Exporting a File • Output to Tape • Creating a DVD or
Blu-ray • Creating a Digital Cinema Package • Color Correction • Tape Editing • The EDL and
Online Editing
15. Sound Editing and Mixing
The Sound Editing Process • Sound Editing Tools • Sound Editing Technique • Music • Some
Sound Editing Issues • Preparing for the Mix • The Sound Mix • Level and Dynamic Range •
Frequency Range and EQ • Other Sound Processing • Mix Formats • Deliverables
16. Working with Film in Postproduction
Overview of Film-Video Transfers • Some Film-Digital Workflows • Film-to-Digital Transfer
Devices • Telecine Options and Controls • Recording Format and Scanning Options • Image
Control • Audio Options • Film Transfer Data • Booking a Transfer • Editing Film Digitally •
Preparing to Edit • Editing Considerations for Traditional Film Finish • When You’re Done with
the Offline Edit • From Digital to Film • Preparing for the Digital-to-Film Transfer • Traditional
Film Conforming and Blowups • Preparing the Original for Printing • Blowups • Making Film
Prints • Printing Basics • Answer Prints • Intermediates • Release Prints • Sound for Film Prints •
Analog Optical Tracks • Digital Sound Tracks • Film Projection
17. Producing and Distributing the Movie
Developing the Project • Funding Sources • Budgets • Business Arrangements • Legal and
Copyright Issues • Protecting Your Work • Releases for Real People, Places, and Things • Using
Copyrighted Material • Distribution and Marketing • A Last Word
Appendices
A. Adjusting a Video Monitor
B. Data Rates and Storage Needs for Various Digital Formats
C. Depth of Field Tables
D. Hyperfocal Distance Table
E. Angle of View in Different Formats
Bibliography
Websites
Index
PREFACE
I
f you look at how storytelling in movies changes over time, you can see moments when new
technology has made new kinds of narratives possible. Sometimes it’s a seismic shift. The
introduction of sound in the 1920s transformed scriptwriting, film acting, and editing. Or it may be
more gradual, but just as dramatic, like the way digital has led to documentary and fiction films that
would have been technically or financially impossible before.
As a filmmaker, you find that changes come so fast these days that it’s really daunting to try to tell
stories while having to learn and master so much about your craft. This book, which is for beginners
and for working professionals, can help you. Inevitably, some parts won’t be as current as the latest
information on the Web, but the book offers something most websites can’t: a view of the entire
filmmaking process from beginning to end. It will give you the foundation and language to
understand new developments as they come along.
The Filmmaker’s Handbook started out almost thirty years ago, and through the editions it’s
become a stockpot of ingredients added and removed. In 1984 Ed and I wrote the first edition about
working with celluloid film. After that, Ed bowed out of working on the book and in 1999 I wrote an
expanded second edition to include analog video; in 2007 I did another major expansion to introduce
digital, doubling the size of the original book. David Leitner—a talented filmmaker and explorer of
technology—contributed his expertise to that third edition and to this fourth edition. As of this edition,
I’ve had to jettison a lot of material about once-proud film, which is painful. But digital is the future
and the book is already a doorstop (or the e-book equivalent).
The world of moviemaking is really made up of many separate but related worlds. I’ve tried to
address the needs of fiction and documentary filmmakers, who may be creating work on their own or
as part of a large organization, to be shown in any number of ways, for profit or not.
In a sense, all moviemakers start out as independents. More often than not, beginners must become
versed in all aspects of production—shooting, sound recording, editing, raising money, distribution
—simply because there’s no one else to perform these tasks. Learning all the facets of filmmaking
has advantages no matter what your future career is in movies. In fact, with shrinking budgets and the
growing power of technology, professional moviemakers are often expected to have a range of skills
that go well beyond traditional job categories. This book is written with the assumption that you may
be performing all the tasks of making a movie, or that you’ll at least want to understand them. And of
course, it’s a reference: so read what concerns you and skip the sections that don’t.
For help along the way, thanks go to Mark Abbate, Benjamin Bergery, Richard Bock, David
Brown, Michael Callahan, Elvin Carini, Claude Chelli, Frank Coakley, Victoria Garvin Davis, Bob
Doyle, Stefan Forbes, Sandra Forman, Patrick Gaspar, Len Gittleman, Alfred Guzzetti, Arnie
Harchik, Bruce Jacobs, Sam Kauffmann, Rudolph Kingslake, Dennis Kitsz, Mark Lipman, Julie
Mallozzi, Greg McCleary, Ross McElwee, Matt McMakin, Eric Menninger, Robb Moss, Graeme
Nattress, Michael Phillips, Sami Pincus, Adam Schatten, Moe Shore, Tim Spitzer, and Serena Steuart.
Thanks to Ted Spagna, Stephen McCarthy, Ned Johnston, and Andy Young for photographs, to
