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Since the very first days of cinema, audiences have marveled at the special effects imagery presented on movie screens. While long relegated to the margins of film studies, special effects have recently become the object of a burgeoning field of scholarship. With the emergence of a digital cinema, and the development of computerized visual effects, film theorists and historians have been reconsidering the traditional accounts of cinematic representation, recognising the important role of special effects. Understood as a constituent part of the cinema, special effects are a major technical but also aesthetic component of filmmaking and an important part of the experience for the audience. In this volume, new directions are charted for the exploration of this indispensable aspect of the cinematic experience. Each of the essays in this collection offers new insight into the theoretical and historical study of special effects. The contributors address the many aspects of special effects, from a variety of perspectives, considering them as a conceptual problem, recounting the history of specific special effects techniques, and analysing notable effects films.

Examining the significance of women’s work in popular film genres, Genre, Authorship and Contemporary Women Filmmakers sheds light on women’s contribution to genre cinema through an exploration of filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow, Diablo Cody, Sofia Coppola and Kelly Reichard. Exploring genres as diverse as horror, the war movie, the Western, the costume biopic and the romantic comedy, the book interrogates questions of authorial subversion, gendered concepts of film authorship and male/female genre divisions, as well as re-evaluating certain genres as a space worthy of feminist criticism. By offering an analysis of the films themselves and the circumstances of production and reception, this book redefines political, theoretical and commercial conceptualisations of women’s cinema, and offers new perspectives on how women filmmakers explore the aesthetic and imaginative power of genre.

Negotiating Dissidence traces the very beginnings of Arab women making documentaries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), from the 1970s and 1980s in Egypt and Lebanon, to the 1990s and 2000s in Morocco and Syria. Supporting a historical overview of the documentary form in the Arab world with a series of in-depth case studies, Stefanie Van de Peer looks at the work of pioneering figures like Ateyyat El Abnoudy, the 'mother of Egyptian documentary', Tunisia's Selma Baccar and the Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri. Case studies include: Egypt's Ateyyat El AbnoudyLebanon's Jocelyne SaabAlgeria's Assia DjebarTunisia's Selma BaccarPalestine's Mai MasriMorocco's Izza GéniniSyria's Halla Al Abdallah

This title argues that Internet diffusion and use in the Middle East enables meaningful micro-changes in citizens' lives, even in states where no Arab Spring revolution occurred. Using ethnographic evidence and taking a comparative perspective, it presents a grass roots look at how new media use fits into the practice of everyday life. It explores why citizens use social media to digitally route around state and other forms of power at work in their lives. This increase in citizen civil engagement, supported by new media use, offers the possibility of a new order of things, from redefining patriarchal power relations at home, to reconfigurations of citizens' relationships with the state, broadly defined. The author argues that new media channels offer pathways to empowerment widely and cheaply in the Middle East.

Innovation in technology means that almost anyone can make an independent film these days. Although this may be good news for aspiring filmmakers, it also means that the oversupply of independent films on the market has caused acquisition prices to dramatically decrease. As a result, producers and investors rarely recover their initial investment in the films they make. But don't be discouraged! Use this book to learn the realities of the market in advance and map out a winning distribution plan. This comprehensive manual for filmmakers and producers dedicated to film distribution and the marketplace could mean the difference between getting your film out to the public and keeping it \"in the can.\" Learn how to sell your movie to a studio, a cable network, a video distributor, or an international buyer. Self-distribution and other alternatives to traditional distribution are also considered. In addition, you'll hear some success stories from producers and hear exactly what buyers are seeking. Stacey Parks has worked with hundreds of hungry filmmakers to get their films a distribution deal and knows how frustrating the whole process can be. Let her show you how you can take control of your filmmaking career and start getting your work seen by audiences with a few little-known distribution secrets.

\"Few guide books are as honest as Make Your Movie. The film industry is one of the hardest to break into and it's important to anticipate the major setbacks that can manifest. The book offers ways to cope with creative and financial difficulties as well as how to adequately put your work out there.\" -International Business Times \"Regardless if one wants to make it in the industry or not, Make Your Movie is a book that every filmmaker should read. Make Your Movie is bound to help you make a great film, hone your skill set or even get you a job. Focal Press makes some really great text books on filmmaking, but Barbara Doyle’s Make Your Movie is like an encyclopedia, enclosed in a small book. Highly Recommended!\" -Film Monthly, www.filmmonthly.com

Comprehensive. Detailed. Practical. Set Lighting Technician's Handbook , Fourth Edition, is a friendly, hands-on manual covering the day-to-day practices, equipment, and tricks of the trade essential to anyone doing motion picture lighting, including the lamp operator, rigging crew, gaffer, best boy, or director of photography. This handbook offers a wealth of practical technical information, useful techniques, as well as aesthetic discussions. The Set Lighting Technician's Handbook focuses on what is important when working on-set: trouble-shooting, teamwork, set protocol, and safety. It describes tricks and techniques for operating a vast array of lighting equipment including LEDs, xenons, camera synchronous strobes, black lights, underwater units, lighting effects units, and many others. Since its first edition, this handy on-set reference continues to be widely adopted as a training and reference manual by union training programs as well as top university film production programs. New to the fourth edition: * Detailed information on LED technology and gear * Harmonized with union safety and training procedures * All the latest and greatest DMX gadgets, including remote control systems * Many new and useful lights and how to use them and troubleshoot them. * New additions to the arsenal of electrical distribution equipment that make our sets safer and easier to power. * More rigging tricks and techniques. * the same friendly, easy to read style that has made this book so popular.

Don't waste valuable time and budget fixing your footage in post! Shoot the effects you want effectively and creatively the first time. This full-color step-by step guide to visual effects cinematography empowers you to plan out and execute visual effects shots on a budget, without falling into the common pitfall of using high-end computer graphics to \"fix it in post,\" which can be an expensive, drawn out process. Instead, learn how to put your shots together before you start shooting–whether you're working in digital or film. Learn how to effectively photograph and create miniatures, matte paintings, green screen set ups, crowd replication, digital rear projection, and so much more to create elements that will composite together flawlessly. The main purpose of effects is to promote the story, not just to wow an audience with amazing tricks created digitally. This book describes methods for creating seamless effects that don't call attention to themselves but enhance the scene as a whole. The technical foundations of film and digital capture are given in the introductory chapters of the book, and you are presented with real world scenarios that illustrate these basic concepts in a practical sense. Step-by-step illustrations of photographic element creation empower you to learn how to effectively pre-plan and execute your own visual effects challenges. • Hundreds of full-color set photographs show you exactly how it's done • Includes step-by-step information on green screen setup • Real-world examples and exercises throughout

Master what it takes to make your rotoscoping and digital painting blend seamlessly into each shot. Through illustrious four color presentation, the book features step-by-step instruction on the artistic techniques of rotoscoping and digital painting with lessons on: • Articulate mattes • Digital paint in moving footage • Motion tracking • Advanced rotoscoping and digital paint techniques, and much more It also features practical insight on the subject and industry, delving into: • The history and evolution of rotoscoping and the role of the rotoscoper • A typical day in the life of a rotoscoper • How to get a job as a rotoscoper

Indie Film Producing explains the simple, basic, clear cut role of the independent film producer. Raising funds to do your dream project, producing award-winning films with a low budget, putting name actors on your indie film-it's all doable, and this book guides you through the entire process of being a successful producer with bonus tips on how to effortlessly maneuver through the sphere of social media marketing and fundraising tactics. Indie film producer Suzanne Lyons pilots you through the actual making of low budget films to show you how easy and fun it can be. Laid out in a step-by-step, A to Z, matter-of-fact style that shows how the producer's role can be easy, how to treat the film as a business, and especially how to avoid the painful pitfalls faced by so many producers, this book gives you the essential tools you need to make your film a success from the ground up. . Begins with the earliest stages of concept development, continues through production & post, and ultimately concludes with distribution . Shows you how to create a buzz for your film through marketing and promotions . Interviews with global producers who produced films using social media, festivals, apps, and more, give you real-world insight that can be applied to your own films . Website points you to a fantastic collection of resources that you'll need to produce your own films (http://booksite.focalpress.com/indiefilmproducing)