This comprehensive guide to building a career in video production and filmmaking takes a look at how to get an education in the field, which types of businesses are hiring and why, and the different angles employees are taking on the path to success.

This is the most up-to-date and complete book you will find on producing. It covers the new CUE process from BMI and ASCAP for getting paid for soundtrack music. It includes a buyer’s guide for covering Netflix Approved cameras. It covers the essentials and introduces you to the process. It can take a person who knows nothing about film & video production, leading them from story, to script, to budgeting, casting, finding actors, directors, camera people, composers, and distributors. -It will also show you how to do ALL of that yourself, on almost any budget. -You’ll learn about the gear you need like cameras, tripods, lighting, editing software, editing computer. -Story & Script, the logline, a spec pitch that went to pilot, Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey, John Truby and the Anatomy of Story, the writing concepts of Syd Field, Christopher Vogler, Michael Hague, plus outlines, the screenplay, free and demo screenwriting software sources, adapting a book into a movie, music synchronization licenses. -Finding actors and crew members. Free casting tools. Paid casting services. -A look at cameras, including f/stop, t/stops, depth of field, focal lengths, distortions, filter, matte boxes, global and rolling shutters, and lens mounts. -How to budget and plan a production economically. -Business types for setting up your production company. How to protect your assets and a discussion of liabilities and taxes. -Copyrights and licensing information. -Making a storyboard and using it for shooting, editing, and composing. -The shoot itself, framing shots, the master shot, the close shots, reverse angles, the 180 rule, lighting a set with sample diagrams, night for day shots, day for night shots, doing coverage of a scene, the role of the script supervisor. -Special Effects, blue, green, and yellow screen, examples. -Editing 16 and 35mm movie film, analog videotape using an edit controller, digital file types, editing software, the timeline, dialog editing, background, music, and room tone tracks. -A primer for Composing Music, learning how to count to make chords and patterns, major chords, minor chords, sevenths, major sevenths, diminished, perfect seconds, including a template for a key wheel to help you change keys and know what notes makeup what chords. Concepts that the video person who is all thumbs can use to make their own basic backgrounds scores if they can’t find a composer. -The new ASCAP and BMI Cue Sheets so you can get paid for any music when your productions air on broadcast or network television. Also covers the Harry Fox Agency for the licensing of your song, your music or to obtain permission to use someone else’s tunes. -The history of imaging, optics, the photographic process, projectors, sound recording, tube electronics, television, audio recording, the how and why of film speeds, how color movie film works, how color television works, the differences between American and European film and video, the digital age, SD, HD, 4k and 8k. A look at the mystical color spaces of YUV and YIQ. -Distribution concepts for your films. -Los Angeles Union Scale Rates for the cast and crew so you can budget your scripts. -A Bibliography of reference sources for further reading. The author has been doing film, photography, and audio recording for fifty-five years working on productions that have aired on television, been screened theatrically and on YouTube. The author has been writing on the topics of film, video, and audio for magazine since 1980, including contributions for Mix Magazine, Music Connection, Pro Sound News, Technical Photography, Moving Image, etc. The author was schooled in television electronics by engineers at Admiral in Chicago, and in film/theater production at Valley College in Los Angeles, under Dr. Milton Timmons, Dr. Stern, Peter Parkin MFA from Pasadena Playhouse, Elliot Bliss at CBS Television Studios (now Todd-AO).

The number of independent films produced each year has almost doubled in the past decade, yet only a fraction will succeed. If, like many filmmakers, you have no industry connections, little to no experience, and a low or ultra-low budget, this outsider’s guide will teach you what you need to know to produce a standout, high-quality film and get it into the right hands. Written by an entertainment lawyer and experienced director and producer, this handbook covers all the most essential business, legal, and practical aspects of producing on a low budget, including: Scripts Business plans Copyright issues Equity and non-equity financing Fund-raising Tax considerations Talent recruiting Scheduling Distribution Securities laws Film festivals And more Also discussed are the new crowd funding laws covered by the JOBS Act, making this book a must-read for every indie producer in today’s economy. If you want to produce a film that gets attention, pick up the book that is recommended or required reading at film, business, and law schools from UCLA to NYU. Whether you’re a recent film school graduate or simply a Hollywood outsider, Independent Film Producing will be like having a best friend who is an experienced, well-connected insider.

Producing 24pP Video demystifies the emerging standards of film and video production and discusses the 24p video film format to help novice and experienced filmmakers alike learn how to better use the newly available DV cameras. Since the 24p frame rate closely approximates the look and feel of film, it is the speed of choice whenever a "cinematic" look is desired. 24p video also offers certain compression options that are advantageous to web and wireless delivery. This full-color book discusses the special techniques required by 24p productions - all the way through the production, from preproduction planning through post and output. Each chapter includes techniques, examples, tips, and case studies. The field techniques section features real-world setups presented as demonstrations or as tutorials. Case studies present profiles of people producing 24p projects, and the DVD includes step-by-step instructions that illustrate how to work with 24p material in NLE, compositor, DVD authoring, and audio applications.

This streamlined, step-by-step guide provides students and newcomers in the field of media with an overview of the complete production process, from conceiving of an idea to marketing the final product. Readers will learn what it takes to create a concept, develop it, and then market and sell it. Chapters discuss pitching, producing, marketing visionary concepts, financing, and distributing content. Focused on traditional and non-traditional platforms including social media, websites, and online advertising, this book explores currently evolving media platforms, ideas, and practices and provides examples of how to navigate these unique creative processes. Interviews with business executives offer insider tips and tricks to creating a marketable project. In this book, you will learn how to: Distinguish between a "great idea" and a "marketable idea." Condense your concept into an effective "elevator pitch." Build a basic business plan. Create a marketing strategy, be it traditional, digital, or both. Establish a personal brand and portfolio that will grab the right attention. This book will be of great help to the student, independent filmmaker, and content creator looking to understand the process of getting their work produced, distributed, and marketed.

This book is for working film/TV professionals and students alike. If you're a line producer, production manager, production supervisor, assistant director or production coordinator--the book has everything you'll need (including all the forms, contracts, releases and checklists) to set up and run a production--from finding a production office to turning over delivery elements. Even if you know what you're doing, you will be thrilled to find everything you need in one place. If you're not already working in film production, but think you'd like to be, read the book -- and then decide. If you choose to pursue this career path, you'll know what to expect, you'll be prepared, and you'll be ten steps ahead of everyone else just starting out. New topics and information in the fourth edition include: * Low-budget independent films, including documentaries and shorts * Information specific to television production and commercials * The industry's commitment to go green and how to do it * Coverage of new travel and shipping regulations * Updated information on scheduling, budgeting, deal memos, music clearances, communications, digital production, and new forms throughout

Go beyond the bland talking-head and PowerPoint slide-style of most corporate videos and learn how to land coveted corporate contracts with these comprehensive techniques from an industry veteran. Stuart Sweetow teaches you how to make imaginative corporate videos with eye-catching design, rhythmic editing tricks, and essential scriptwriting and interview techniques. Learn how to shoot on location or in a studio and how to work with employees-turned-actors. Also, discover how to get contracts and to produce online videos and podcasts for corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations.

Providing a detailed break-down of the skills required to establish and grow a profitable production company, this book enables content creators and filmmakers to navigate the commercial video production world and the needs of its clients. Drawing on professional experience in the industry as well historical examples, author Tom Vaughan-Mountford illustrates the ways in which producers can avoid common pitfalls and better manage their business, projects, and clients. Making the corporate world accessible for filmmakers, this book covers all aspects of the video production process, equipping creatives with the tools—and the mindset—to offer their skills to paying clients in a reliable, repeatable, and above all profitable manner. This book is ideal for filmmakers and content creators looking to establish a successful video production business, and features an online resource pack with example production paperwork including a call sheet, and example script re-writes.

This new and updated fourth edition of Film Production Management provides a step-by-step guide on how to budget, organize, and successfully shoot a film and get it onto the big screen. Whether you are a film student or film production professional just getting started in the industry, this book is an indispensable resource for day-to-day business on the set. Written by veteran filmmaker Bastian Clevé, this book will teach you how to: Break down a screenplay Organize a shooting schedule Create a realistic budget Find and secure locations Network with agents to find actors Hire a crew and communicate effectively with unions The new edition features updated information on contracts, permits, and insurance; special tips for low-budget filmmaking; new information on digital workflows and production software; advice on green production practices; and expanded coverage of the role of the line producer.

Video production requires a high degree of organization to be a success. Good organization will require a proper diary to be kept of your production. It is the understanding of the paperwork and its organization that will make your production either a success or a failure. Explained in accessible terms and assuming little prior knowledge of the subject, this book will help you to: plan successful procedures for all stages of a video production; produce paperwork logically to get professional results; understand the basic principles of setting up and running your own business; avoid common (and costly) pitfalls. If you are a student who wishes to learn about all aspects of planning and documenting a video production, from conceptualization right through to final screening, this book is for you. It is particularly suitable for the City and Guilds Media Techniques Certificate: Television and Video Production Competences. This book complements the other three titles in the series, which allow you to understand the overall process of video production, and then look in more detail at sound and lighting.