The Power Filmmaking Kit Make Your Professional Movie on a Next to Nothing Budget
Posted by HDTV in eBooks Jun 30th, 2009 | No CommentsThe Power Filmmaking Kit Make Your Professional Movie on a Next to Nothing Budget
* “Jason proves that top-notch production values are within the reach of anyone who has ever dreamt of making his own movie. Jason knows what he’s talking about because he’s actually done it!”
- Steve Skrovan, Executive Producer, “Everybody Loves Raymond”
* “Absolutely the most in-depth, informative and entertaining filmmaking book out there. It takes you through everything you need to know, demystifies the process, and shows you exactly how to make a movie, even if you don’t have a huge budget.”
- Kevin Cooper, Executive Producer, “Secondhand Lions”
* “The forms are what will probably get the most use from anyone who buys the Power Filmmaking Kit….the example letters are the treasure trove of the whole kit. Reading through these letters, you can see how Jason Tomaric was able to secure locations and equipment for free.” - Making the Movie blog
* “Mr. Tomaric has managed to write an exceptionally lucid and informative filmmaking volume in The Power Filmmaking Kit. As such, I highly recommend this to any microfilmmakers who are just starting out and want a good foundation. For filmmakers with more experience, this is still a very detailed book on the art of filmmaking that would prove helpful on your production bookshelf.”
-Jeremy Hanke, MicroFilmaker Magazine
“Few beginners’ guides are as thorough as Jason J. Tomaric’s The Power Filmmaking Kit, a book-and-DVD combo that benefits from the author’s experience as an award-winning independent filmmaker. There are no wasted words in Tomaric’s 400-page tome, which concisely summarizes each facet of the director’s craft while keeping the limitations of a first-time project in mind.” -Jim Hemphill, American Cinematographer Magazine
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Another Shot in the DV Revolution
I was so frustrated with the lack of practical filmmaking instruction that I took two years out of my life to write and illustrate “The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide”, so I speak from the heart when I say that Jason Tomaric’s “Power Filmmaking Kit” is a rare wonder of practicality, conciseness, and valuable filmmaking wisdom.
There are two ways you learn the things in a solid practical film book like this:
1) the hard way- by doing it and learning from your mistakes (fine if you’ve got the time and the money) or
2) by being smart enough to study and learn from a book like this how to stretch your time and money and get better results.
After fifteen years in this business, I still found plenty of valuable tidbits, forms, and practical wisdom in Jason’s book and the jam-packed DVD lessons to make it more than worth the cover price. I only wish I had access to a book like this back in my film school days.
Yet another big shot in the DV Revolution. Well done, Jason.
5 Stars A terrific primer
Books like this promise a lot but I have to say that Jason has done an excellent job of condensing the complex task of movie making into concise and accurate descriptions of each discipline. I’ve experienced quite a bit in the film business over 30 years and time and again as I read this book I kept saying “Oh yes, that’s true.” It is also a great reference for those noodly details one needs from time to time like proper script format. There is no need to hunt through your library for the answer, script format is right here on page 27. The other good thing about Jason’s breakdown is the responsibility associated with film making regarding money,permissions, safety and insurance. I cringe when I think back on how we made 16mm indie films back in the 70s. In some cases we were lucky to be alive afterward much less sued! The Power Filmmaking Kit is terrific primer for those who wish to make a movie in the classic tradition for very little money.
Mark Sawicki
Motion Picture Effects Cameraman/Actor and Author.
3 Stars Lots of information, not much to say
Author Jason Tomaric has written, directed and distributed several minor independent features which is a laudable feat. Yet, Tomaric has surprisingly little to say about the filmmaking process. Sure, there’s a lot of information here, but nothing you couldn’t get anywhere else. Even the skimpy material on his own productions generally amounts to one thought–”Need something for free? Just ask!” What makes similar books like the Complete Guide to Low-Budget filmmaking (Josh Becker) or Make Your Own Damn Movie! (Lloyd Kaufman) interesting is the authors’ willingness to share their personal views and stories of their triumphs and failures. Other books like The DV Rebel’s Guide (Stu Maschwitz) and Digital Filmmaking (Mike Figgis) are authored by highly-regarded professionals who describe how low-budget technology potentially transforms mainstream filmmaking processes. Tomaric, on the other hand, opts for an encyclopedic “wide as an ocean but shallow as a water basin” approach. The result is a paint-by-numbers text that reads less like a book and more like a reasonably executed career move.
5 Stars Very good step by step information on filmmaking
Newer thought that I would be considering working on a feature film, but reading and viewing Jason great material just gave me the feeling that I also could do it.
5 Stars FANTASTIC BOOK! A Great Resource guide.
Another fantastic book from Focal Press. This book by Jason J. Tomaric is a fantastic resource guide, covering all aspects of filmmaking from start to finish. Well written, and a DVD loaded with extras! Don’t make an independent movie without it! Highly recommended!
World of Warcraft Tides of Darkness
Posted by HDTV in eBooks Jun 29th, 2009 | No CommentsWorld of Warcraft Tides of Darkness
After killing the corrupt Warchief Blackhand, Orgrim Doomhammer was quick to seize control over the Orcish Horde. Now he is determined to conquer the rest of Azeroth so that his people will once again have a home of their own in the…WORLD OF WARCRAFT Anduin Lothar, former Champion of Stormwind, has left his shattered homeland behind and led his people across the Great Sea to the shores of Lordaeron. There, with the aid of the noble King Terenas, he forges a mighty Alliance with the other human nations. But even that may not be enough to stop the Horde’s merciless onslaught. Elves, dwarves, and trolls enter the fray as the two emerging factions vie for dominance. Will the valiant Alliance prevail, or will the Horde’s tide of darkness consume the last vestiges of freedom on Azeroth?
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars I loved it
This is a great book, it’s great to be able to read about the heroes and rulers, and then go online and play in the world you were reading about, along with all the other Warcraft Novels, I strongly suggest getting this one.
3 Stars What?!
I liked this book, not the best in the series, and a long way from Richard Knaak’s writing, but its decent. It’s nice to relive the old memories if you used to play the game as a kid, too. But i have one problem with this Rosenberg fellow. Why is Doomhammer, supposedly a smart commander, so dumb?! When his orcs are unable to batter down the gates of Capital City, he doesn’t tell the dragon to use its fire to burn them down, which would have granted him an easy victory. No, he sends it off. WHAT?! How could anyone be so stupid? And when Lothar needs to warn the elves of Silvermoon of the threat of the invading Horde, does he send a gryphon rider? No! maybe it’s the author…. but, what the crap??? This book is enjoyable, but the lack of realistic-ness in such instances as those gets very annoying very quickly. Beware! If you’re not a big fan of warcraft, but are interested in the series, go for the books by Richard A. Knaak.
5 Stars Nice and enriching storyline
For those whom are into Warcraft lore. This is one of the books for you.
It has an enriching storyline and once you’ve started it, you won’t want to put it down. The words are simply enough to be understood and the flow of the story is just right.
2 Stars This was a painful read
After a big night at the casino, I picked up nearly every full length novel from the Warcraft series (WotA Trilogy, Warcraft Archive, Tides, Dark Portal, Rise of the Horde, etc.) and decided to read them in chronological order. The second war is by a long shot my favorite part of Warcraft lore, and while I started playing in Warcraft: Orcs vs. Humans, Warcraft II was really what got me into the universe.
For that reason, I was absurdly excited when I finally made it up to this book, only go have my world crushed. Overall the writing is clumsy and amateur, and while I was plowing through a Warcraft book every few days, this one stopped me cold for nearly a month. It never felt engaging, and the relationships between characters (that are already well known and have established relationships mind you) felt forced and awkward. Half the book seemed to be filled with repeated description that felt out of place (a fun game to play would be to count the number of times the author mentions Alleria raising her bow in a salute…), and the story never really takes hold.
If anything, I dislike Turalyon because he comes off as a whiney wimp after reading this story, and I personally feel the author demolishes the reputation of Doomhammer within this novel.
Overall, its a long series of “meh” that leads to an anti-climax. Yes, it is a retelling of the second war, I guess you can’t knock it for that, but I’d only recommend this book as a rental, and only if you like this part of Warcraft lore enough to struggle through this book… I did, I do, but I still say use caution. I’d probably like it better if I was younger, or if I was going back to catch up on history and had only started in the Warcraft universe at WoW, but because I’m not a kid and I’ve been there since the beginning this book let me down.
4 Stars Excellent
A good book with a lot of cool information about the world. Not my favorite in the series of books, but still well worth the read. For anybody with any interest in understanding a lot of the lore behind the World of Warcraft game, the book is fulled with a lot of information that should peak your interest. For other people, still a solid story with a classic ending.
The Physics of Star Trek
Posted by HDTV in eBooks Jun 29th, 2009 | No Comments
Sure, we all know Star Trek is fiction, but warp drives and transporters and holodecks don’t seem altogether implausible. Are any of these futuristic inventions fundamentally outlawed by physics as we understand it today? The Physics of Star Trek takes a lighthearted look at this subject, speculating on how the wonders of Star Trek technology might actually work–and, in some cases, revealing why the inventions are impossible or impractical even for an advanced civilization. (Example: “dematerializing” a person for transport would require about as much energy as is released by a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb). The Physics of Star Trek deserves merit for providing a refresher course on topics such as relativity and antimatter, but let’s face it: the reason most people will want to read this book is simply that it’s fun to poke holes in the premises of their favorite science fiction shows!
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The Star Trekie takes a Side-Trek
Need a crash course in how to create your own warp drive (hint, bend spacetime behind so that it moves away and in front so that they move closer)? Or perhaps want to know what Star Trek writers got right (and horribly wrong)? Well then this is a book for you. Not terribly technical, Krauss does an excellent job of explaining complicated theories so a dummy like me can comprehend them and with a joke.
1 Star The Physics of star trek
I was very very dissapointed with this book. It was advertised as a Hard back and when i received the book it was not it was a PLASTIC back. I have always been happy with my purchases from Amazon but i am sorry not this time.
5 Stars Some of the Most Enjoyable Thinking I’ve Ever Been Prompted to Do
Chances are that if you consider a complicated and thought-provoking series like Star Trek to be entertaining, then you’ll find Lawrence Krauss’s discussions of scientific realities and almost realities to be similarly enthralling, especially when he throws some good discourse on ethics into the mix. I am not a science person by any stretch of the imagination. Math hurts my brain, 10th grade Chemistry bored me silly, and I’m relatively comfortable in trusting that Geordi LaForge knows what he’s talking about when he reels off explanations of matter/anti-matter mixing, force field frequencies, and inertial dampeners. Yet Krauss masters a balance between complexity and accessibility in his book, making everything easily understandable even while helping you to comprehend the basics of cutting edge physical laws and theories. This guy should be everyone’s first science teacher.
Krauss’ exploration is just fascinating, whether in discussing how transporters might work (do you actually transmit the atoms or simply destroy the original person and clone them on the other end? How are consciousness, memory, and the soul transmitted?), or the problems involved with faster than light speed travel and time relativity. Krauss isn’t just some holier than thou critic who seeks to tear apart the science of Star Trek, either. Instead, he offers possible explanations for how much of the technology might actually be able to work, all while pointing out that, a decade and a half later, many of the imaginary scientific concepts used in these shows have turned out to be more accurate than not.
This is a book written for those of us that enjoy the scientific and ethical aspects of Star Trek (and this book focuses primarily on Next Generation). If that’s the case for you, then “The Physics of Star Trek” is the logical next step. It’s far more accessible than the Next Generation Technical Manual, and it’s far more rewarding, as well.
**Note: This review was based upon the original 1995 printing of “The Physics of Star Trek.” Amazon is selling a version that was last revised in 2007. Twelve years of cutting edge science have, no doubt, had a transforming impact upon the book since then.
4 Stars Recommend
If you like Star Trek you will like this book, and broaden your knowledge base. If you have any interest at all in science, you will find this very interesting. I bought it for my husband and read it after he finished it. (He is a Star Trek fan; I am not.) We both enjoyed it and learned a lot from it.
5 Stars Best Book Ever!
This Book was one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. I suggest this book for everyone to read. Whether you are a fan of Star Trek or have no idea what Star Trek is, whether you like science or think it is all meaningless and boring. If you are a big fan you will love this book because he goes into great detail about individual episodes all the way from Captain Kirk to Captain Archer. The book talks about certain incidences in some of the episodes that not even I can remember and I have seen every episode. If you have no idea what Star Trek is this book will still be one of the best books I think you will ever read. It is very interesting! Talks about how everything you see on T.V. is different than from real life. How you look at one thing on earth and it will read 2+2=4 but then you look at that same thing in space and it will read 2+2=5 everything in space is completely different and this book has the best examples that I have ever seen. I highly suggest that everyone reads this book. Whether you are a fan of Star Trek or not.
Home Theater For Dummies
Posted by HDTV in eBooks Jun 29th, 2009 | No Comments
“…clear and concise…a good read throughout…” — DVD Monthly, July 2003
“…exhaustive and uncomplicated…” (Camcorder User, August 2003)
“…clear and concise…a good read throughout…” (DVD Monthly, July 2003)
“…superb at demystifying the murky and often bewildering world of home cinema…written in plain English…worth the investment…” (Hi Fi Choice, July 2003)
“…exhaustive and uncomplicated…” — Camcorder User, August 2003
“…superb at demystifying the murky and often bewildering world of home cinema…written in plain English…worth the investment…” — Hi Fi Choice, July 2003
…clear and concise; a good read throughout… — DVD Monthly, July 2003
…exhaustive and uncomplicated… — Camcorder User, August 2003
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Excellent Update to a Classic
I believe this is the first review of the new Third Edition which just came out in Nov 2008. It has been extensively updated and I highly recommend it. I also own the Second Edition (2006) and did a quick comparison ……… the organization is the same (same chapter headings) but the material has definately been revised to reflect the fast evolving HT equipment, systems, and media. There’s more emphasis on Blu-ray, integration of MCPC’s and gaming devices, lossless audio formats, HDMI interconnects, etc, etc. All-in-all this a very comprehensive guide to every aspect of home theater. The book starts with the basics and then layers on more detail in each area. Its a fine reference for anyone who is considering HT, or expanding/upgrading an existing HT.
4 Stars HTPC
As always the “Dummies” book give good basic information and this book did not disappoint me. I was looking for more information on the integration of a HTPC on the self-built system though.
2 Stars Good but out of date
This book is written well and explains the technology well, and is a good reference for the basic design and set-up. However, items mentioned as coming in the future are already standard. The HD TV and Home Theater technology is changing so fast it is hard to write, print and distribute a book and keep it current.
2 Stars Did not help me
This book was not what I thought. Most of it deals with what to purchase and how to set it up. I still have not been able to set my system up and will still have to call a pro.
4 Stars Home Theater for Dummies
This was a well written basics type book. Definitely good for someone who knows nothing about home theater.
Vanity Fairs Tales of Hollywood
Posted by HDTV in eBooks Jun 29th, 2009 | No CommentsVanity Fairs Tales of Hollywood
These lively essays from Vanity Fair reveal the stories behind 13 iconic films. The attitude taken toward several of these baker’s-dozen movies is, however, more ironic than reverent. But the circumstances surrounding the making of such ringers as Myra Breckinridge, Tommy, and Cleopatra make for reading that’s not only shamefully fascinating in a car-wreck sort of way but illuminating of the maddening methods of Hollywood. Not surprisingly, though, it’s the genuine classics—among them, Rebel without a Cause, All about Eve, The Magnificent Ambersons, and Midnight Cowboy—that concern the most substantive and rewarding entries. The contributors, who include such notable entertainment writers as James Wolcott and Peter Biskind, dish up enough gossip to satisfy the casual moviegoer (e.g., Mike Nichols originally envisioned Robert Redford and Ava Gardner for The Graduate) but pair it with enough substance to satisfy hard-core film buffs. This slender volume manages to cover a surprising amount of territory. –Gordon Flagg
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars On Masterpieces and Disasterpieces
This is a perfect book to read if you love movies, and it’s too cold out to go to one! Culled from Vanity Fair’s vast output of movie exposes, this compilation, from different staff writers, focuses on 13 titles. Classics like Rebel Without a Cause, All About Eve, Reds, and Midnight Cowboy are included, along with such legendary disasters like Cleopatra and Myra Breckenridge. The behind-the-scenes trivia is fun and the stories are generally well written with amusing observations from the (surviving) cast and crew of each film. Among those things I learned: Burt Lancaster was hardly a Prince among men, and Debbie Reynolds was among those considered for the heroine in “Rebel.” The chapter on “Eve” subsequently became an entire book from that writer. Includes a foreword from present-day editor Graydon Carter.
5 Stars A great tale of movie backgrounds
This is a riveting and absorbing look at the backstory of and circumstances surrounding a wide array of films, from marred classics such as “Magnificent Ambersons” to legendary flops like “Cleopatra” to triumphs like “The Graduate.”
This book is recommended for movie buffs.
3 Stars Vanity Fair’s Tales of Hollywood:Rebels, Reds, and Graduates and the Wold Stories Behind the Making of 13 IconicFilms
This book is a look at the making of some very famous movies of the 50’s/60’s/70’s and 80’s.
The stories are reprints from the original stories that were in Vanity Fair years ago with some minor updates.
Always written well and very informative.
4 Stars Movie lover’s dream!
This is a perfect book for movie lovers of all ages and preferences. The articles are very entertaining and can be read in one sitting or over a period of weeks without needing to keep up with a time line. I would eagerly purchase a second edition of this book with further movie-related articles.
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