Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics is a comprehensive manual that has inspired tens of thousands of readers worldwide to realize their artistic vision and produce well-constructed films. Filled with practical advice on every stage of production, this is the book you will return to throughout your career.

Directing covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating process of making a film. It emphasizes low-cost digital technology, which allows cutting-edge creativity and professionalism on shoestring budgets. And, recognizing that you learn best by doing, the book includes dozens of practical hands-on projects and activities to help you master technical and conceptual skills.

Just as important as surmounting technological hurdles is the conceptual and authorial side of filmmaking. This book provides an unusually clear view of the artistic process, particularly in working with actors. It offers eminently practical tools and exercises to help you develop credible and compelling stories with your cast, hone your narrative skills, and develop your artistic identity. This book shows you how to surpass mere technical proficiency and become a storyteller with a distinctive voice and style.

This edition has been streamlined and thoroughly revised for greater ease of use. Other updates include:
* current information on digital technology
* an expanded section on directing actors that cross-references thirty exercises
* new questionnaires to help you pinpoint a film's aesthetic needs and assess where your vocational strengths lie; and much more.

The companion web site includes teaching notes, checklists, and useful forms and questionnaires: www.focalpress.com/cw/rabiger

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Artistic Identity
• The Job of the Director
• Identifying Your Themes as a Director
• Developing Your Story Ideas
• Checklist
• Screencraft
• Screen Grammar
• Seeing with a Moviemaker's Eye
• Shooting Projects
• Checklist
• Writing
• The Screenplay
• The Process of Writing
• Adaptation from Art or Life
• Story Development Strategies
• Scene-Writing Exercises
• Checklist
• Aesthetics and Authorship
• Point of View
• Genre, Conflict, and Dialectics
• Structure, Plot, and Time
• Space, Stylized Environments, and Performances
• Form and Style
• Checklist
• Preproduction
• Interpreting the Script
• Casting
• Directing Actors
• Actors' Problems
• Improvisation Work to Explore Acting
• Exercises with a Text
• Rehearsal and Development
• Director and Actor Prepare a Scene
• Final Rehearsals and Planning Coverage
• Checklist
• Production
• Developing a Crew
• Mise en Scene Basics
• Getting Ready to Shoot
• Directing the Crew
• Monitoring Progress
• Checklist
• Postproduction
• Preparing to Edit
• Editing the First Assembly
• Editing from Rough Cut to Fine Cut
• Editing: Finalization
• Editing from Fine Cut to Sound Mix
• Titles and Acknowledgments
• Checklist
• Career Track
• Planning a Career
• Major International Film Video Schools
• Breaking into the Industry
• Checklist
• Further Information
• Glossary
• Select Bibliography
• Index