|  | Author: Christopher Kenworthy
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.63
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Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 1956
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Pages: 227
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 11 x 7.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 1932907513
Dewey Decimal Number: 778.534
EAN: 9781932907513
ASIN: 1932907513
Publication Date: January 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 56-60 of 67
 Fantastic Book! Worth it's weight in Gold! October 23, 2008
Jim Francis (Miami/London/Negril)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you're considering making movies then this is a MUST HAVE book!
Show's you that results are not necessarily based on whether or not you have the latest gear and cameras but more on how creatively you use what you've got. In other words, it's the dramatic effects or angles and lighting that can make all the difference.
A little "know how" can go a long way towards helping you create a masterpiece and this book gives it to you plain and simple - with no jargon.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! AAA+++
So you wanna make a movie, do you? October 23, 2008
ZETAZEN (Maryland)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Christopher Kenworthy's book is a realistic view of how people who want to make a movie, but don't know how to set up their shots a way to set them up even if they don't have a flushed with cash budget to do it.
This book is giving the reader "tricks" of the trade techniques to get the various shots without having the best cameras with expensive lenes. Each chapter contains several types of images a viewer would see on the screen; scenes/images i.e. fight, chase, entrance/exit, suspense, car, and love/sex. Within these chapters, Kenworthy, writes out detailed set ups and has matching pictures to show you how this scene should work with camera and actor placement.
It's a nice reference book for beginning and low-budget directors. It's for those directing novices who aren't sure of how to set a scene up to get the most dramatization.
Good Inspiration; take it with a grain of salt October 23, 2008
Mr. Eddie (New York, NY)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
The author has done what any really good aspiring director should do -- watch films for camera techniques with an eye for how a director has implemented them. What we have here is a big list of shots that you can take inspiration from or outright imitate to achieve an "advanced" look to your videos / films; however, more often than not this will probably lead to them looking more "Hollywood" than they would have otherwise. I'm not sure this is what aspiring directors need at this point of time when all films at the multiplex look the same. On the plus side, this cookbook will probably help you hone your eye to detect camera movement with even greater detail on your own. To give the author credit, he says as much in the introduction.
It is interesting that the first chapter starts out with the most overused, tired scene of all: the fight scene. Admittedly, there is one of the more dynamic shot set-ups so you hit the ground running -- but it also just goes to the point that this is not a book that is interested in developing a naturalistic camera technique. If anything, this book is the antithesis of everything the French New Wave spoke about, specifically "mise en scene". These are relatively advanced techniques, but they are endlessly repeated techniques.
So "Master Shots" has done a lot of the work for you in examining films and let you in on some important pieces of information on how to achieve them. As such, it accomplishes its goal and can help inflate your reel so that some producer will recognize the Hollywood look that he feels comfortable with. But used sparingly, it can help make individual shots have more impact while still maintaining the artistic integrity of your work.
Not Just For Moviemakers...but also for Graphic Novels and Fine Arts October 23, 2008
Lance M. Foster (Helena, Montana, USA)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is targeted for filmmakers but it could be useful for the other visual arts as well. Of course the primary use is to help beginning filmmakers make movies with a more professional look, and for the more experienced industry pros as a quick reference. There is certainly cross-fertilization between the movies and graphic novels. Movies have been taking on the look of graphic novels, anime, and manga for a couple of decades now. Now by using this book there is a chance for artists working on graphic novels and manga to learn from the movies. And the same goes for the fine arts.
The copy I reviewed for Vine is a pre-release copy, an uncorrected galley for review, so I reserve comments on grammatical errors, etc. The book is designed for quick reference, with a selection of solutions for fight scenes (8 shots, from the first punch to the moment of defeat); chase scenes (10 shots, moving through various kinds of locations to the final grab); entrances and exits (8 shots of people, transitions and places); suspense, searching & creeping (9 shots creating a mood of anticipation); dramatic shift (9 shots showing changes in emotional states); revelations & discoveries (9 shots); shock horror (9 shots for scaring the viewer); directing attention (7 shots to make the viewer look at something specifically); car scenes (7 shots for shooting guns and conversations); dialogue scenes (9 shots to keep talking heads interesting); arguments & conflict (8 shots); and love & sex scenes (8 shots, from eye contact to intimate action, 'nuff said).
The format is very usable. There are generally three types of illustrations used for each shot: 1) an example of the shot from an actual movie, 2) a diagram showing the placement of characters, camera, and arrows showing the movements of the camera and characters, and 3) what the camera sees in the shot.
Though the book is a gem, there are a couple of things that could be better, which is why I give it four stars instead of five. I personally find Poser-based illustrations annoying. I like playing with Poser, but computer-generated anatomy is dissonant, jarring and off-putting on some level; everything looks like a video game. I would prefer freehand sketches showing the placements of characters. Also, the actual movies used as examples are not always identified, and they should be.
However, this book is an excellent shorthand reference tool that should be on the shelves of graphic and fine artists as well as moviemakers. The publishers should take note of this marketing opportunity to expand the audience for this book.
Steal from the best October 22, 2008
Riley0091 (Concord, NH)
4 out of 9 found this review helpful
Who says, "You can judge a book by its cover." This is one book that the title says it all! 100 scenes from popular films are dissected (in still and storyboard form) to give any first-time film enthusiast the knowledge and techniques required to recreate them for their own low-budget masterpieces. Mr. Kenworthy, an industry workhorse, does a great job explaining the technical aspects of filmmaking, so much so, that even an amateur would have no trouble following.
Chapters include: chase scenes, fight scenes, entrances & exits, suspense, dramatic shift, car scenes, dialogue scenes, love & sex, arguments & conflict, horror, revelations, directing attention, and conclusion.
Showing reviews 56-60 of 67
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