Title: The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video
Abstract: THE BARE BONES CAMERA COURSE FOR FILM AND VIDEO Tom Schroeppel. Tampa: Tom Schroeppel, 2003, 89 pp. We've all seen those bright yellow or orange books with titles like Dummies Guide to Golf of The Idiot's Guide to Retirement Planning. These popular books have become a publishing phenomenon because they cut through the clutter, avoid big words, use lots of illustrations and humor, and generally make it easier and more fun to learn. At least a dozen years before these books arrived on the scene, Tom Schroeppel used the same approach to great effect in The Bare Bones Camera Course for and Video. Somewhat of a well-kept secret early in its publishing history, the bookfirst came to my attention in the mid-1980s, when was a beginning film student at the University of Miami. At the time, was always on the lookout for new sources of practical information about filmmaking. In a pre-Internet world where many filmmaking concepts were regarded as trade secrets, turned over every stone looking for insider information and soaked up everything found. One day caught sight of Bare Bones in my professor's office. As thumbed through the slim volume, was struck by its homemade layout and cartoon-like illustrations. Both things suggested a nontraditional film production textbook-an accessible manual of trade secrets from an actual working filmmaker, and a refreshing alternative to dry and intimidating textbooks. knew immediately that the book might be a Holy Grail for me, a way to truly grasp the basics of difficult concepts such as continuity, composition, and lighting. At the time there were fewer film production textbooks available than there are today, and those in popular circulation were usually overwrought and needlessly complicated, written by academics more interested in film theory than the nuts and bolts of everyday filmmaking. ordered my first copy directly from the author, and twenty years later, that's still the easiest way to get the book. (Don't bother with Amazon-they can't seem to keep the book in stock. Order it from Schroeppel directly at http:// tomschroeppel.home.att.net/). Bare Bones is not a traditional textbook. As the author has commented, wrote this book on my IBM Selectric typewriter in 1979, planning to give copies to clients in lieu of drawing pictures on napkins to explain shooting concepts. Now in its thirtieth printing, and with more than ninety thousand copies in print, Schroeppel's book has defied the mainstream academic publishing establishment. Over two hundred colleges and universities currently use the text, and it can rightfully be called one of the most popular filmmaking texts ever. In the past year, thoroughly surveyed textbooks suitable for a beginning filmmaking class and was shocked at how few there are. It is a mystery to me why there are not more books like The Bare Bones Camera Course for and Video. Could it be that no one can top what Schroeppel has done? Let's face it-basic filmmaking does not have to be hard or intimidating. It can and should be fun to learn, and in one word, that is how would characterize this book. Through cartoon illustrations and matter-of-fact writing, the book never takes itself or filmmakingtoo seriously. Consequently, it's accessible to any reader at any stage of filmmaking development. Beginners and veterans alike are sure to walk away with something valuable after reading it. While don't recommend the book by itself in a beginningfilm orvideo production class, strongly recommend it as a supplement to a more traditional text. have used it successfully along with David Cheshire's out-of-print but excellent The Book of Video Photography for several semesters in my Film and Video Production I course at American University. Students consistently rave about Bare Bones because it easily achieves its main objective-to provide a no-nonsense introduction to some of the most important concepts beginning filmmakers must grasp. …
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 7
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