Move over, movies: the freshest storytelling today is on television, where the multi-episodic format is used for rich character development and innovative story arcs. Directors Tell the Story offers rare insight and advice straight from two A-list television directors whose credits include Monk, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Weeds, and more. They direct dramas and comedies using the same process that Steven Spielberg (or any other movie director uses)-just with less money and time. Learn what it takes to become a director: master the technical aspects, appreciate aesthetic qualities, and practice leadership, all while exuding that "X factor that distinguishes the excellent director from the merely good one. Covering everything from prep, the shoot, and post, the authors emphasize how aspiring directors can develop a creative vision-because without it, they are just technicians. Hands-on and practical, this book lets you not only read about the secrets of directors, it also includes exercises using original scripted material. The companion web site includes scenes from the authors' own TV shows, along with the scripts, shot lists, and other materials that made the scenes possible. Key Features * Highly experienced Hollywood directors share inside information about what it really takes to be a director, giving the advice that readers covet. * Covers everything a director needs to know: the creative vision, how to translate script into a visual story, establishing the look and feel, selecting and leading a crew, coaching actors, keeping a complex operation on time and on budget, overseeing the edit, and troubleshooting through the whole shoot. * "Insider Info sections feature interviews, advice, and tips from film and TV luminaries whose productions include Private Practice, Monk, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, The Informant, American Beauty, and more! * Hands-on exercises help you understand and master the craft of directing.

A structured perspective on the crucial interface of director and screenplay, this book encompasses twenty-two seminal aspects of the approach to story and script that a director needs to understand before embarking on all other facets of the director’s craft. Drawing on seventeen years of teaching filmmaking at a graduate level and on his prior career as a director and in production at the BBC, Markham shows how the filmmaker can apply rigorous analysis of the elements of dramatic narrative in a screenplay to their creative vision, whether of a short or feature, TV episode or season. Combining examination of such fundamental topics as story, premise, theme, genre, world and setting, tone, structure, and key images with the introduction of less familiar concepts such as cultural, social, and moral canvas, narrative point of view, and the journey of the audience, What’s The Story? The Director Meets Their Screenplay applies the insights of each chapter to a case study—the screenplay of the short film Contrapelo, nominated for the Jury Award at Tribeca in 2014. This book is an essential resource for any aspiring director who wants to understand exactly how to approach a screenplay in order to get the very best from it, and an invaluable resource for any filmmaker who wants to understand the important creative interplay between the director and screenplay in bringing a story to life.

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA With an Introduction by 'Britain's most sophisticated film critic' David Thomson, THE TIMES 'A remarkable imagination continually provokes both pity and terror' OBSERVER 'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN 'How long he fought with them in the darkness he could not tell, but at last the beating of the wings about him lessened and then withdrew . . .' A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's sense of dominance over the natural world.

This fully revised and updated edition of an award-winning classic traces the history of Hollywood from the silent era to the present day. The Hollywood Storycomprehensively covers every aspect of movie-making in America, taking in nickelodeans, drive-ins and multiplexes; the transition from silent to sound, black and white to color; the relationships of producers, directors, stars and technicians; and the function and output of the studios - their major hits and most expensive flops.

The beloved bathroom reader series returns with this twenty-sixth edition that’s flush with weird facts on a wide array of topics. The twenty-sixth annual edition of Uncle John’s wildly successful series is all-new and jam-packed with the BRI’s patented mix of fun and information. Open to any page and you may find an interesting origin (like the origin of the snow globe) or a piece of obscure history (like the true story of the man who tried to repeal the law of gravity). You’ll also find weird news, urban legends, brain teasers, classic riddles, bizarre headlines, and of course, the incredible factoids at the bottom of each page. Here are a few of the perpetually pleasing articles awaiting you: · The Lamest Excuses of All Time · How to Survive on . . . Roadkill · Astronauts Who Got Kicked Out of Space · The Woman Who Was Her Own Twin · Foiled by Technology: Dumb Crooks Edition · The History of the Teleprompter, the Police Car, and the Fly Swatter · “Jogging Makes You Dumber,” and Other Real Study Results · The Lost Fortune of Abraham Lincoln · Boxing Lingo · And much, much more 2014 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Winner in Humor!

Good lawyers have an ability to tell stories. Whether they are arguing a murder case or a complex financial securities case, they can capably explain a chain of events to judges and juries so that they understand them. The best lawyers are also able to construct narratives that have an emotional impact on their intended audiences. But what is a narrative, and how can lawyers go about constructing one? How does one transform a cold presentation of facts into a seamless story that clearly and compellingly takes readers not only from point A to point B, but to points C, D, E, F, and G as well? In Storytelling for Lawyers, Phil Meyer explains how. He begins with a pragmatic theory of the narrative foundations of litigation practice and then applies it to a range of practical illustrative examples: briefs, judicial opinions and oral arguments. Intended for legal practitioners, teachers, law students, and even interdisciplinary academics, the book offers a basic yet comprehensive explanation of the central role of narrative in litigation. The book also offers a narrative tool kit that supplements the analytical skills traditionally emphasized in law school as well as practical tips for practicing attorneys that will help them craft their own legal stories.

Covering everything from Edison to Avatar, Gomery and Pafort-Overduin have written the clearest, best organized, and most user-friendly film history textbook on the market. It masterfully distills the major trends and movements of film history, so that the subject can be taught in one semester. And each chapter includes a compelling case study that highlights an important moment in movie history and, at the same time, subtly introduces a methodological approach. This book is a pleasure to read and to teach. Peter Decherney, University of Pennsylvania, USA In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of the development of film around the world, the book gives us examples of how to do film history, including organizing the details and discussing their implications.Hugh McCarney, Western Connecticut State University, USA Douglas Gomery and Clara Pafort-Overduin have created an outstanding textbook with an impressive breadth of content, covering over 100 years in the evolution of cinema. Movie History: A Survey is an engaging book that will reward readers with a contemporary perspective of the history of motion pictures and provide a solid foundation for the study of film. Matthew Hanson, Eastern Michigan University, USA How can we understand the history of film? Historical facts don’t answer the basic questions of film history. History, as this fascinating book shows, is more than the simple accumulation of film titles, facts and figures. This is a survey of over 100 years of cinema history, from its beginnings in 1895, to its current state in the twenty-first century. An accessible, introductory text, Movie History: A Survey looks at not only the major films, filmmakers, and cinema institutions throughout the years, but also extends to the production, distribution, exhibition, technology and reception of films. The textbook is divided chronologically into four sections, using the timeline of technological changes: Section One looks at the era of silent movies from 1895 to 1927; Section Two starts with the coming of sound and covers 1928 until 1950; Section Three runs from 1951 to 1975 and deals with the coming and development of television; and Section Four focuses on the coming of home video and the transition to digital, from 1975 to 2010. Key pedagogical features include: timelines in each section help students to situate the films within a broader historical context case study boxes with close-up analysis of specific film histories and a particular emphasis on film reception lavishly illustrated with over 450 color images to put faces to names, and to connect pictures to film titles margin notes add background information and clarity glossary for clear understanding of the key terms described references and further reading at the end of each chapter to enhance further study. A supporting website is available at www.routledge.com/textbooks/moviehistory, with lots of extra materials, useful for the classroom or independent study, including: additional case studies – new, in-depth and unique to the website international case studies – for the Netherlands in Dutch and English timeline - A movie history timeline charting key dates in the history of cinema from 1890 to the present day revision flash cards – ideal for getting to grips with key terms in film studies related resources – on the website you will find every link from the book for ease of use, plus access to additional online material students are also invited to submit their own movie history case studies - see website for details Written by two highly respected film scholars and experienced teachers, Movie History is the ideal textbook for students studying film history.

Cinema in India is an entertainment medium that is interwoven into society and culture at large. It is clearly evident that continuous struggle and conflict at the personal as well as societal levels is depicted in cinema in India. It has become a reflection of society both in negative and positive ways. Hence, cinema has become an influential factor and one of the largest mass communication mediums in the nation. Social and Cultural Dynamics in Indian Cinema is an essential reference source that discusses cultural and societal issues including caste, gender, oppression, and social movements through cinema and particularly in specific language cinema and culture. Featuring research on topics such as Bollywood, film studies, and gender equality, this book is ideally designed for researchers, academicians, film studies students, and industry professionals seeking coverage on various aspects of regional cinema in India.

In A History of American Movies: A Film-by-Film Look at the Art, Craft and Business of Cinema, Paul Monaco provides a survey of the narrative feature film from the 1920s to the present. The book focuses on 170 of the most highly regarded and recognized feature films selected by the Hollywood establishment: each Oscar winner for Best Picture, as well as those voted the greatest by members of the American Film Institute. By focusing on a select group of films that represent the epitome of these collaborations, Monaco provides an essential history of one of the modern world's most complex and successful cultural institutions: Hollywood. Divided into three sections, "Classic Hollywood, 1927-1948," "Hollywood In Transition, 1949-1974," and "The New Hollywood, 1975 To The Present," Monaco examines some of the most memorable works in cinematic history, including The General, Wings, Bringing Up Baby, Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, On the Waterfront, The Searchers, Psycho, West Side Story, The Godfat

A challenging critique of narrative theologies, including the works of George Lindbeck, Robert Jenson, and Herbert McCabe. Francesca Aran Murphy argues that the use of the concept of story or narrative in theology is circular and self-referential, and that the widespread notion that the role of the theologian is to 'tell God's story' has not helped theology to advance the reality of its doctrines. Murphy contends that the scriptural revelation on which Christian theology depends is not a story or a plot but a dramatic encounter between mysterious, free, and unpredictable persons. She offers her own alternative approach, making use of cinema and film theory, and engaging in particular in a dialogue with the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar.