Your favourite books about filmmaking

[Super-Swede]

I tend to read books about filmmaking from the 60´s and 70´s on lazy days. My favourite is "The book of movie photography" by David Cheshire, wich is yours?

Some of these old filmmaking-books are dated but still an enjoyable reading.

[BK]

Lenny Lipton's " Independent Filmmaking".

Bill

[PITIRRE]

Me too, Lenny Lipton's book about filmmaking is like the bible for many of us, but two magazines stand also for themselves also.

Super 8 filmmaking and Cinemagic, some of the articles from Super 8 filmmaking magazines were put together in a book called The guide to super 8 filmmaking and it really good also.

[TomFoolery]

I'll third Lenny Lipton's books. I was perusing "Independent Filmmaking" just last night. "the Super 8 book" is also very good.
Two favs that i would add to the list... "essential brakhage" and "In the Blink of an Eye" - Walter Murch. Both are more asthetic than hands on info. I like to skim Brakhage before big film shoots and Murch before editing... I find them both very insperational.
Oh, can't forget "American Cinematographer Manual" I have a nice leather bound copy from '69 (I think). The best for tech. film, lighting and camera info, with some amusing/obscure stuff also like shooting day for night, etc. My bible, that's small enough to stay in my camera case.

[jean]

I had a lot of fun reding Rodriguez' Rebel without a crew, and the many 60's books for reg8 and s8 filmmaking. I have a nice home-movie guide written for the Beaulieu wind-up 8mm cameras.

The book alone made me itchy to get one of the camera's!

Reading how hard filming was back then, how enthousiastic people were exploring those limited options - It almost spoils the fun when I look over to my laptop where I can do NLE, titles and whatever else I fancy.

[super8man]

GAF Guide to Better Home Movies - a classic

[timdrage]

All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger

[Evan Kubota]

Rebel Without a Crew is a good read and has a lot of good information and practical tips on doing things cheaply.

For more theoretical background, Tarkovsky's "Sculpting in Time" is interesting. I also like the Faber & Faber series of director books. "Kieslowski on Kieslowski" is excellent, but unfortunately recently went out of print and is fairly expensive.

[Alex_W]

I think 'Cinematography' bij Kris Malkievicz is pretty good. I like reading it anyway, the technical/practical proportion is good enough for the less experienced filmmaker.

One book you don't want to waste money on is of the same name by Blaine Brown. It's full of very stupid mistakes and vague formulations.

The essay about amateurism in Essential Brakhage is a nice read. The rest was a little too treehuggerish for my taste.

[mattias]

shot by shot, mamet's on directing film, and rebel.

/matt

[Guy Bennett]

A few (new & old) favorites:

Michelangelo Antonioni, "Écrits"
Rudolf Arnheim's "Film as Art"
Brakhage's "Essential Brakhage"
Alice Hutchinson's "Kenneth Anger"
Christian Lebrat, ed. "Peter Kubelka"
Dominique Noguez, "Une renaissance du cinéma: Le cinéma « underground » américain"

[Peromonco]

To stay with the super8 format take a look at :
"cinéma super8 & vidéo légère"
Michel Karlof
(There is much more subject on super8 then video anyhow)

History, filming techniques, aparatus, editing, producing...
about everything. The editing and producing area are kinda old school.
publishing 1980

But everything else is a good tutorial.

There is much more subject on super8 then video anyhow.

[paul]

Sergej Eisenstein, "towards a theory on montage", and Lipton

[akka10]

Anton Wilson's 'Cinema Workshop'

[Evan Kubota]

I heard Walter Murch's book on editing is good (forgot the title), if brief. Basically his point is: edit when you blink. A good concept.